民國經懺佛教之省思與批判 － 青年星雲《無聲息的歌唱》的「人間佛教」觀=Ritual Buddhism in China during the Republican Period and the Concept of Humanistic Buddhism in Hsing Yun's Singing with Silence
This article discusses the phenomenon of ritual Buddhism in China during the Republican period, particularly as it is addressed in Hsing Yun’s Singing With Silence, an early book written during his first visit to Taiwan (1949-1951). He wrote this book on ritual implements and musical instruments to show the corruption of Buddhism during the Republican period in China. The present article is limited to the Republican period in mainland China. Reform-oriented Buddhists believed that a ritual-oriented Buddhism must be opposed. Ever since the Ming and Qing dynasties, Chinese Buddhism has increasingly emphasized repentance rites, superstition, and stories of ghosts, leading to criticism by society and intellectuals. This continued into the Republican period, when the monk Taixu (1890-1947) proposed Humanistic Buddhism as a solution. Many were influenced by Taixu’s concept of Humanistic Buddhism, including Hsing Yun. On the one hand, this article examines the phenomenon of ritual Buddhism during the Republic of China, based on Hsing Yun’s Singing with Silence. On the other hand, it discusses how Hsing Yun formed his concept of Humanistic Buddhism against the background of ritual Buddhism of that time.
