Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.1, 2013

 

'A Contest That Could Be Seen as A Form of Friendship': from the Debate between Chen Yuan and Hu Shi to Modern Research Paradigms for the Early History of Chinese Buddhism

(Abstract)

             

Ge Zhaoguang

 

In 1933, a debate occurred between Hu Shi and Chen Yuan about the date of the translation of the Sutra in Forty-two Sections (四十二章经, sìshíèr zhāng jīng) and the Treatise on the '(理惑论, Lihuolun). Although it ended without reaching a conclusion, the debate raised important issues of research methodology. By tracing the academic history of the debate and Chinese and foreign research on these texts, we can tell the story of how the problem consciousness and research methods of Western and Japanese historians of Buddhism in the first half of the 20th century influenced Chinese scholars and reveal how the latter responded to these issues and methods and gradually formed their own modern research approach in this field. We can thus gain a picture of the development of research methods and paradigms in Chinese academic work on the early history of Buddhism in China.