A Study of Qiu Jun’s Thought on Religion

Qiu Jun considered the heaven as the supreme lord, and emphasized instructing people through religion. In other words, he affirmed the notion of unpredicted misfortune on the one hand, while he negated the view of soothsaying on the other hand, which is rather rare. Qiu Jun’s attack on Buddhism and Taoism is an attempt to remove their impact in both the elite and popular culture. Nevertheless, Qiu Jun was still associated with some hermits, Taoist priests and monks, as is evident in some of his poems on this topic. In his poems on this subject matter can be discerned not only his criticism of Buddhism and Taoism but also his aspiration for peaceful life.