從《論佛骨表》看韓愈崇儒排佛思想中的身體關切=Han Yu’s Concern for Human Body Shown in His Thought of Advocating Confucianism and Rejecting Buddhism:A Study of the Memorial on Buddha Bones
Han Yu’s(韓愈) the Memorial on Buddha Bones(《論佛骨表》) reflected his concern for human body shown in his thought of advocating Confucianism and rejecting Buddhism. The narrative in the text of this memorial embodied his strong anxiety for exorcism. The self-harming by the common people because of their fanatical worship to the Buddha bones, and the early death of the emperors in the former dynasties who enshrined and worshiped the Buddha bones, convinced Han Yu that the Buddha bones were harmful to human body for their evil power. Han Yu highly valued the significance of human body in a Confucian’s right conduct, holding that the development and expansion of Confucianism should be based on the full respect for the Confucians’ strong physique and exuberant vitality, which were the guarantee for the implementation of Confucian doctrine. The evil power of the Buddha bones which could injure human body and even shorten a person’s life, might bring about the corruption of Chinese custom and morality. There were some debates in history over the literary style of Han Yu’s the Memorial on Buddha Bones, concerning whether it was a truthful account(“表”) or a critical statement(“疏”). A careful study of its style shows that this memorial was a truthful account to indicate Han’s loyalty to the Emperor by showing great concern for his health. This was characterized with a memorial in which a courtier expressed his feelings to the emperor about proper human relations. This memorial was not in the style of a critical statement, which was written mainly for discussions about government affairs. Han Yu expected that the Emperor should take good care of his own health and prevent himself from the injury by the Buddha bones, so as to protect the foundation of Chinese morality from being shaken. Han Yu’s concern for human body in his admonishment against the worship to the Buddha bones was of great significance to the further observation of the complex connotation of the conflict between Confucianism and Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty.
