| Chapter 1: | The Life and Times of Zanning |
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served at the court of the previous dynasty, the Later Zhou (951-959), who, under the authority of Emperor Shizong (r. 954-959) mounted one of the most severe attacks on Buddhism in Chinese history.33 A contemporary document records the reasons for the suppression as follows:
Buddhism is the true religion, and the miraculous way of sages. In assisting the world and encouraging good, its benefits are extremely abundant. Since former eras it had continued to maintain a coherent system (of belief), but recently (Buddhist monks) have corrupted the social order with alarming frequency. According to a report received from a recent investigation of the various provinces, monks are continuously violating the law. If they are not punished and prohibited from doing so, it will turn into a serious matter. Privately ordained monks and nuns daily increase to lawless proportions. The temples and monasteries that they have built to practice in have increasingly become widespread. Among the villages and towns, their improprieties have become profuse. [Among them] are rogues who engage in licentious practices or commit robberies and conceal their evils by conspiring with chief priests. When one tries to make the teachings of the law (i.e., Buddhism) prosper, one must distinguish good from evil. Appropriately, and in accordance with former precedents, we undertake to rectify the improprieties mentioned in the above.34
As a result of measures enacted by officials under Shizong’s authority, 33,336 temples were allegedly destroyed (2,694 were allowed to remain).35 In addition, provisions were established governing the existence of Buddhist monasteries and temples, controlling tightly the circumstances under which one could enter the clergy.
How could Zanning, a Buddhist monk, operate successfully in such an environment, much less win the admiration of his anti-Buddhist, secular colleagues? Zanning won the approval of would be critics by distinguishing himself in terms that they valued, in areas where scholarship and literary skill counted for more than religious allegiance. This is plainly admitted in the opening lines of Wang’s preface, which serve to explain how a person like Wang could come to write a preface for