Holmes Welch; Buddhist monasticism; The Practice of Chinese Buddhism; women; hereditary temples
摘要
The first volume of Welch’s trilogy, The Practice of Chinese Buddhism, 1900–1950 provides a detailed and wide-ranging account of monastic Buddhism in China before its radical disruption during the Maoist period. Welch based his work on interviews with monks living in exile. Over the past couple of decades it has become possible for researchers to conduct research onsite at monasteries in mainland China, thus opening ethnographic avenues of inquiry unavailable to Welch. This article examines Welch’s approach and findings to determine their continued relevance and shortcomings; lacunae will be identified as well as points of strength so that readers may come away from his work with an appreciation of its limitations and a basis for further research.
