A Modern Encounter betweeen Chinese Buddhism and Periodical Publishing

This thesis contends that the encounter between Chinese Buddhism and the periodical publication industry played a crucial part in the reform and transformation of Buddhism in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century China. By delineating Buddhism’s initial encounter with modern print technology and the subsequent development of Buddhist periodical publications, this thesis highlights the ways in which the monastic community used modern print technology to spread the voice of Buddhism in this era of drastic social change. Buddhist print culture also serves to illustrate another historical reality often neglected when studying modern Chinese Buddhism: the initiative of the Buddhist monastic order to participate in social transformation as well as Buddhist reform by combating the continuing degradation caused by national and ideological crises. Taking prominent Buddhist monks such as Zongyang, Yinguang, and Taixu as examples of various manners of engaging with periodical publication, this thesis reveals the different strategies implemented by the Buddhist sangha and the mixed attitudes they held toward modern communication techniques. The thesis ends by discussing advertisements printed in early twentieth-century Buddhist periodicals, which present a picture of a prosperous, active, and vivified—but not unified—Buddhist community which not only served its own members but also adapted to a changing social environment that incentivized proposals for both reform and preservation of Chinese Buddhism.