<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html>   In literature, Buddhist sutras (fojing), which are more widely circulated and popularly read than the abstruse and elitist Confucian classics, pave the way for other new and lengthy secular literary works.  The new literary forms of these sutras prepare the reading public for the acceptance of mixing prose with verse, for the handling of multi-dimensional themes and ultimately, for the birth of new literary genres such as the novel and drama. Buddhist learning on history and of the art of statecraft challenged the staid monopoly of orthodox Confucianism (Ru Jia) on politics, albeit borrowing much from Legalism.  And Buddhists were increasingly recognized for their relative objectivity in their judgement of history and for their innovative originality in their approach to current secular problems. In both military strategy and political theory, Buddhist intellectual contributions played major roles in a fragmented China's quest for reunification.  In return, Buddhism (Fo Jiao) flourished under those rulers, such as those of the preceding Sui dynasty (581-618), who had been wise enough to employ universally potent Buddhist ideas and apply them to political advantage, let alone exploiting the ready-made, broad-based support of mushrooming Buddhist communities all over the fragmented political landscape. Constantine the Great (288-337) had reaped an whole empire from the fateful, even if only expediently faithful decision to accept Christianity.  The role of Christianity as a state religion in reunifying the fragmented Roman political landscape is well recognized by historians. The development of China's culture, politics and spirit cannot be fully understood without taking into account the influence of Buddhism (Fo Jiao) since its importation around 2 B.C. From the fifth century on, Buddhists both contributed to, and in turn were affected by the historic polarization in China during the era of North-South Dynasties (Nan-Bei Chao 420-589), a period spanning the late phase of Six Dynasties (Liu Chao 220-589) which had emerged after the fall of the glorious Han dynasty (B.C. 206-220 A.D.).  Buddhism adopted itself during this period in the South to a society characterized by the independence of a transplanted guizu (aristocracy), with client groups with large estates.  It's ecclesiastical structure has developed into a network of loosely connected, but individually autonomous monasteries. It was therefore not surprising that the great Southern seng (Buddhist monk), Huiyun (334-416), would write an anti-Confucian essay entitled: Treatise on the Exemption of Religious Institutions from Monarchial Authority (Shamen bujing Wangzhi Lun).  Written in 404, the treatise asserted the independence of religion from secular control.  It was among the earliest intellectual treatises on the principle of separation of church and state. Meanwhile, during the era of North-South Dynasties (Nan-Bei Chao 420-589), a period spanning the late phase of Six Dynasties (Liu Chao 220-589) which had emerged after the fall of the glorious Han dynasty (B.C. 206-220 A.D.), traditional central political authority in the North forced Buddhism (Fo Jiao) to seek support from the ruling sovereign who tended to be the sole source of secular favors. For example, with transparent motive and shrewd purpose, Seng Fakuo (d. 420) of Bei Wei dynasty (Northern Wei 386-534), leader of the Buddhist clergy in the North, claimed Emperor Daowu (r. 386-409) as the living reincarnation of Buddha.  Seng Fakuo was bestowed high secular titles during his life, culminating with the hereditary rank of a lord. Buddhists of 7th-century China would seek favoritism from the secular state at the same time they asserted their independence and separation from traditional imperial institutions by calling for Buddhist exemption from taxation, military service and the long arm of secular law. This inherently contradictory posture still would not have brought the wrath of the dragon throne on Buddhists if they were not simultaneously engaged in secular factional intrigues and class politics. Furthermore, growing abuse of religious privileges and laxity in monastic discipline inevitably would force the dragon throne to adopt intrusive measures of control on theology, and secular supervision of ecclesiastic establishments.  Also, proliferation of clerical ordination and monasterial founding, much of which less than legitimate if not outright fraudulent, had begun to deprive the state of much needed manpower and tax revenue. The removal from the economy of large tracts of prime land which would be donated outright, or under formulae of deferred giving, or sometimes through fraudulent tax-evading schemes, caused serious economic imbalance in many areas.  The sanctuary provided by Buddhist monasteries to the lawless, to tax evaders and conscript dodgers, as well as to political dissidents, also threatened the totalitarian authority of the dragon throne and security interests of the secular order. The huge expenses of Buddhist temple construction, the costly maintenance of an ever expanding clergy population and its associated lay communities and the drain on a scarce supply of metal caused by the frequent casting of ever larger and larger Buddhist statues and bells, had been interfering with the secular state's own increasingly ambitious plans for domestic capital construction and for arms production needed by foreign campaigns. The growing economic power of Buddhist monasteries, often the main socio-economic institution in many regions, also had its de-stabilizing political implications.  While Buddhism had been repeatedly sponsored by secular authorities for political purposes, official anti-Buddhist pogroms, known as shatai (ecclesiastical cleansing), would systematically recur throughout the long history of China, up to the Christian-supported 1911 democratic revolution which would establish the nationalist Republic, not to mention the subsequent Marxist-Leninist People's Republic, particularly during the extremist Cultural Revolution in 1966. The distressing phenomenon of shatai becomes even more complex when other issues, such as xenophobia, backlash from social reform, and preventive suppression of revolts are mingled with traditional socio-political pressure for curbing unwelcome Buddhist expansion into the secular world. State persecution and state sponsorship of religion prove always to be two sides of the same evil coin. Henry C.K. Liu  </html>