Leaving for the Rising Sun: Chinese Zen Master Yinyuan and the Authenticity Crisis in Early Modern East Asia. By Jiang Wu. Oxford University Press, December 12, 2014. 384 pages. ISBN-10: 0199393133 ISBN-13: 978-0199393138
摘要
The authenticity crisis here envisaged came with the overthrow of the Ming dynasty and its replacement by “barbarian” rulers of Manchu descent who founded the Qing dynasty. From a Japanese perspective, the place of the middle kingdom and center of civilization was thus left vacant, and attempts were made to create a tributary network centering on Edo. Here, Wu sees the reason for Yinyuan's surprisingly warm reception when he arrived in Japan in 1654. The monk was close to Ming loyalists and gained respect as a representative of traditional Chinese cultural achievements. His brand of eclectic Buddhism was part of it. He became the first abbot of a temple in Uji that was meant to remain under Chinese abbots and represent China's presence in the new Japanese world order. This came to an end in 1740 when Chinese restrictions no longer allowed monks of sufficient status to migrate to Japan. The author's interest lies in the diplomatic role played by Chinese monks and in their ideological impact. The book is based on an impressive array of original sources. Its strength does not lie in overarching analysis, but in the intense and precise presentation of aspects of the Japanese discourse at a point in time when modern Japan was beginning to take shape.
