This article introduces, annotates, and translates “On the Relationship between Buddhism and the Social Order” (lun fojiao yu qunzhi zhi guanxi 論佛教與群治之關係), an essay published in 1902 by the famous Chinese intellectual Liang Qichao 梁啟超 (1873–1929). This essay was arguably the first Chinese modernist Buddhist publication in history. That is, it was the first published writing, composed in Chinese by a Chinese writer, to reflect an understanding of Buddhism that scholars today identify as Buddhist modernism. In the essay, Liang argues that Buddhism properly understood is not only true but also socially useful, because it is rational, socially engaged, and egalitarian.
The terminology and arguments in the essay were foundational for new developments in twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism. The text offers clues about how modernist forms of Buddhism emerged and mutated, and how variants of modernist Buddhism differ. The strongly detraditionalizing variant of Buddhism Liang sketches in this essay—centrally concerned with the sociopolitical order and featuring a fallible Buddha—was rejected by the later Chinese Buddhist clerical mainstream. Yet elements of Liang’s proposal, including his emphasis on transforming society and creating a pure land in this world, became central discourses in Chinese Buddhism and have remained so until the present.
Abstract 105 Keywords 106 摘要 106 關鍵詞 106 General Characteristics of “Buddhism and the Social Order” 109 Assumptions Underlying “Buddhism and the Social Order” 113 Historical Relevance of “Buddhism and the Social Order” 116 Notes on the Translation and Transcription 120 Religion 宗教：On the Relationship between Buddhism and the Social Order（1902）論佛教與群治之關係, by New Person of China 中國之新民 122 Introduction 122 Section 1 124 1. Buddhist faith is wise faith (zhixin), not superstition [mixin: “confused faith”] 124 一、佛教之信仰乃智信而非迷信 124 Section 2 128 2. Buddhist faith is [faith in] all-inclusive goodness, not partial goodness 128 二、佛教之信仰乃兼善而非獨善 128 Section 3 132 3. Buddhist faith is world-entering (rushi 入世), not world-rejecting (yanshi 厭世) 132 三、佛教之信仰乃入世而非厭世 132 Section 4 136 4. Buddhist faith is [faith in] the unlimited, not the limited 136 四、佛教之信仰乃無量而非有限 136 Section 5 140 5. Buddhist faith is egalitarian, not hierarchical 140 五、佛教之信仰乃平等而非差別 140 Section 6 141 6. Buddhist faith is [faith in] self-power, not other-power 141 六、佛教之信仰乃自力而非他力 141 Conclusion 149 Appendix 1: Propositions about Buddhism and Confucianism in Contemporaneous East Asian Texts 151 Appendix 2: Variant Characters in the Original Chinese 154 References 155
