From Online Buddha Halls to Robot-Monks: New Developments in the Long-Term Interaction between Buddhism, Media, and Technology in Contemporary China=從線上佛堂到機器僧：佛教、媒體與科技在當代現代中國的互動與發展
Special Issue: Chinese Buddhism from Holmes Welch to the Present edited by Gareth Fisher
關鍵詞
artificial intelligence; digital religion; Buddhism; China
摘要
The interaction between religion and the new media has affected the perception that society has of religion, changed cardinal structures in the relationship between religious practice and religious authorities, and also transformed features and functions of the media. If we look at mainland China today, religious individuals and groups have their own WeChat and Weibo accounts, and internet websites; some believers operate solely in cyberspace and perform rituals online; and commercials often adopt religious symbols to brand nonreligious products. In other words, we find religious people or organizations that use (and even own) different media platforms as channels of communication; we also see that religious imageries are more and more put to use in the secular domain for nonreligious purposes. This article will analyze how and why Buddhists have resorted to social and digital media and even robotics to preach the Dharma and attract potential new followers, but also to redefine their public image in the wider Chinese society. This study also will ask whether the state has directed or merely engaged with this new Dharma media-enterprise, and in what way. In addressing these questions, one section of this article will explore the creation of the robot-monk Xian’er (at the Longquan Monastery, Beijing). Xian’er’s creation will be considered in relation to similar androids, placed in dialogue with the current debate on the use of robotics in religion, and viewed from posthumanist perspectives.
目次
Abstract 120 1 Chinese Buddhism, Media, and Technology: before and during the Time of Xian'er 124 1.1 The Long-Term Interaction between Buddhism, Media, and Technology: Examples from China and Taiwan 124 1.2 Critical Concepts, Research Approaches, and Arguments 127 1.3 How Chinese Buddhists Perceive the New Media Age 128 2 Case Study: the Buddhist Robot-Monk Xian'er 130 2.1 Xian'er's Biography: from Comics to Robotics 130 2.2 Xian’er and Robotics in World Religions: from BlessU2 to In-myung 137 2.3 "Spiritual Robots": between Embodiment and Misembodiment 141 2.4 From the Perspective of Posthumanism 142 3 Conclusion 143 Acknowledgements 143 References 144
