Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.1, 2014

 

Tang Yongtong and Modern Study of the History of Chinese Buddhism

(Abstract)

 

Zhao Jianyong

 

From the perspective of international Oriental studies, Tang Yongtong integrated new and old scholarly approaches, creating a research method of historical hermeneutics based on cross-cultural research and comparison. On the basis of the excavation of rich historical materials, he systematically expounded the historical process and characteristics of the sinicization of Indian Buddhism; set up a rigorous and complete system of research into the history of Buddhism; laid the foundation for the history of Buddhism in China as a discipline, and brought it into the ambit of history, where it assumed an important place; and put an end to the situation whereby Chinese research on Buddhism was an appendage to research done overseas. By elucidating the process of the initial clashes and subsequent integration of foreign Buddhism and Chinese culture, Tang Yongtong drew out the universal rules of the development of interchange among different cultures, ushering in a new age for the relevant research on cultural history. His research paradigm has been recognized as the norm in academic circles both at home and abroad.