Author: AC/DC

In Japan during the 13th Century a new form of Buddhism began to emerge. Led by a single man, this new form of Buddhism would, at first, seem inconsequential, yet centuries later would appear to have great impact upon the world. This, of course, is Nichiren Buddhism. Founded by the monk Nichiren (1222-1282), this sect of Buddhism is dedicated to a text known as the Lotus Sutra, through which Nichiren and his followers believed enlightenment lay.¹ The focus of this piece is not the concepts of the Lotus Sutra, but rather the forms of the Bodhisattva’s from which Nichiren took personal inspiration from and on whose ways he based his teachings and lifestyle around: the Bodhisattva of Superb Action and the Bodhisattva Ever-Abused, as well as how his successors and students model themselves after such examples.²

Nichiren was inspired by both of these figures. For the former, Nichiren was attracted to the man’s actions and stalwart pioneering of Buddhism and propagating the Perfect Truth.³ For the later, Nichiren was attracted to the suffering that the Bodhisattvas underwent due to his beliefs. Through this, Nichiren crafted his own beliefs in Buddhism – one must never waver in their faith and must suffer abuses of some nature – whether they be physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, or verbal – in order to truly understand the words of the Lotus Sutra and be able to properly spread the teachings of Buddha.³ In fact, Nichiren himself often believed himself to be reincarnations of the two Bodhisattva’s, and often tried to perceive his own suffering through them.³ This belief was due to Nichiren’s actions: he spoke out against the established sects of the time as well as being rather outspoken against the rulers of Japan who had become patrons of these “heretical” sects.⁴ These actions caused Nichiren to be arrested – where he was supposedly saved from execution by a bolt of lightning from the heavens – and eventually he was banished to an island in the Sea of Japan.⁵ But this did not deter Nichiren, who continued to write and convey his faith to his followers and students in hopes they would follow in the footsteps of the Bodhisattvas and his own.⁴  

As mentioned above Nichiren encouraged his students to imitate the Bodhisattvas’ ideals of perseverance and self-sacrifice, as he believed that every student should be ready to give their life for the cause.⁶ One of his students, Nichije (1250-?), helped Nichiren in writing down the elder man’s teachings, and even following him in his exile, thus living some form of suffering (abuse).⁶ Nichije also followed the ideals of the Bodhisattva of Superb Action by going on missions throughout Japan (Hokkaido) and eventually making his way to Siberia to spread the teachings of Nichiren.⁶

Another student of Nichiren’s teachings, Nisshin (1407-1488), operated out of Kyushu before making his way to Kyoto.⁶ While in Kyoto Nisshin spoke out against the shogun in his acts as a street-corner evangelist.⁶ He openly challenged the shogun to prosecute the other Buddhist sects and pledge his loyalty and faith to the Lotus Sutra.⁶ Because of this, Nisshin was thrown in jail and tortured by the shogun’s men in order to cease and desist.⁶ When he did not, a pot was jammed over his head so as to keep him from talking, thus giving him the name ”pot-wearer” (nabe-kaburi).⁶ As such, Nisshin lived his life by way of both Bodhisattvas – with his work in Kyushu and Kyoto being signs of Superb Action and his imprisonment, torture, and head accessory being a source of Ever-Abused.⁶  

The final notable follower of Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra was Nichio (1565-1630).⁷ Nichio was uncompromising as he led a sect of Nichiren Buddhism – called the Fuju-fuse.⁷ Nichio was so outspoken and uncompromising that when the Buddhist sects were called by Hideyoshi Toyotomi for a festival of celebration, Nichio refused to allow the Fuju-fuse to attend.⁷ Later, when the shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa unified Japan, Nichio again refused to send the Fuju-fuse for a celebration.⁷ Due to this, Tokugawa exiled Nichio and began to persecute the Fuju-fuse, though the group was able to survive to the 20th Century.⁷ In this way, Nichio was able to imitate the lifestyle of the Bodhisattvas of Ever-Abused. ((Ibid, p.295))

To reiterate, Nichiren and his followers believed that one of the best ways to achieve enlightenment and successfully spread the word of the Lotus Sutra was to follow in the paths of the Bodhisattvas of Ever-Abused and Superb Action. Nichiren and those who believed in the Lotus Sutra were able to follow these paths, as detailed above.  

1. Bary, William Theodore De, Sources of Japanese Tradition: Vol. 1: From Earliest Times to 1600 (Columbia University Press, 2002), p.292 [↩]
2. Bary, Sources of Japanese Tradition, p.293 [↩]
3. Ibid, p.293 [↩] [↩] [↩]
4. Ibid, pp.293-294 [↩] [↩]
5. Ibid. p.294 [↩]
6. Ibid, pp.294-295 [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
7. Ibid, p.295 [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]

During the early 1900s the revival of Chinese traditions was becoming a heated issue for the various political and insurgent groups. One of these traditions – which came under fire from the various groups – was Confucianism. The resurgence of Confucius beliefs was talked about and exploited by all participants of the political spectrum: conservatives, progressives, liberals, communists, and fascists alike all vied to have their personally views of Confucian principles heard – or more accurately they all warred to have their modified Confucian ideals implemented into society in a way that would benefit their goals for China. One of the most prevalent political leaders of the time was Sun Yat-Sen, a powerful and charismatic man who gained quite the following after his death, with his views being explored and exploited by many who had followed him¹. The goal of this post is to explore the thoughts that Sun Yat-Sen held about Confucian ideals in modifying them to fit with a more modern society, as well as the views of others about Confucianism in China during the early 1900s².  

Sun Yat-Sen’s interest in defending and adapting Confucianism first became apparent when he decided to speak and write in protest of the New Culture Movement³. Said movement was a group of students who attacked ethics and institutions associated with the then failing Chinese dynastic system while also promoting science and democracy as the basis for a new national culture³. This eventually led to a total repudiation of Confucianism, and other hegemonic traditions, with members, associates, and allies of the New Culture Movement declaring them to be ‘backward’ and ‘superstitious’, as well as against the ‘spirit of modernity’⁴. This is not the only group that spoke out against such traditions, the May Fourth Movement being another of the primary groups involved in anti-traditionalist movements³.  In response to this, Sun Yat-Sen – among others – began to speak out against the New Culture. Movement and other like it.  

In his 1924 lectures “Three Principles of the People” (Sanminzhuyi) Sun Yat-Sen vocally rebutted the anti-Confucians and expanded upon his views of Confucianism in the present⁵. In this, he states that Confucian ideals and Confucianism as a whole is compatible with many of the wonders of the technological age, a dream which Sun was extremely enthusiastic about⁵.  Much of Sun’s writing and speeches in these lectures involve the relation of Confucianism and the machine age⁵, with his going into detail as to how Confucianism solidifies the cultural nature that is integral to Chinese history⁵. He also explains how those who attack Confucianism – the New Culture Movement and even Sun’s Communist allies – were attempting to destroy the cultural cohesion that bound the Chinese people together⁵. Sun’s writing on the topic garnered much attention from his allies in the GMD, such as Dai Jitao, as well as young up-and-comers like Chen Lifu and He Zhonghan, all of whom jumped on the literary and political bandwagon of attacking their much hated Communist rivals through the values of Confucianism⁶. However, Sun never directly attacked the Communist, merely writing about their anti-Confucian ideals in a passive aggressive style, never outright attacking them through his writing, as such methods would destabilize the United Front⁶. 

However, Sun’s thoughts were not just on criticizing the anti-Confucian organizations, but also about developing and changing Confucianism to match the modern world. His personal viewpoint on the matter was how Confucianism would tie into and increase the national unity and pride of the Chinese⁷. During this time the Chinese people were divided, constantly pulled in multiple directions by various political parties, not to mention the actions of foreign nations, such as the Japanese invasions and their various religious expenditures. As such many prominent Chinese political groups encouraged citizens to adopt their manufactured concepts of national unity, which would be born from a sense of national culture and history⁷. For Sun Yat-Sen, Confucianism fit this bill perfectly. As such, he encouraged citizens to help in efforts to recover China’s “native morality”, which would help the people overthrow the yoke of imperialism and help to reestablish China as a dominate player on the world’s stage⁷. As presented by Sun, native morals were closely interlinked with Confucian ideals and precepts like filial piety⁷. Sun believed that such ideas should be reawakened and transmuted to the basis of national unity, with loyalty and unity for the state overriding the old beliefs of loyalty and unity for the emperor⁷. Thus, Sun Yat-Sen’s ideal of Confucianism was one that, for lack of a better word, was” updated” to suit the purpose of Chinese society as the time.  

In conclusion, Sun Yat-Sen’s ideals for the revival of Confucianism revolved around a core idea of national unity, one that ran contrary to the ideals of the many other groups of political activists during the early 1900s.  

1. Clinton, Maggie, Revolutionary Nativism: Fascism and Culture in China, 1925-1937, 71  [↩]
2. Clinton, Revolutionary Nativism, p.72  [↩]
3. Ibid, p.67  [↩] [↩] [↩]
4. Ibid, p.68 [↩]
5. Ibid, p.72 [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
6. Ibid, p.72-73 [↩] [↩]
7. Ibid, p.73-74 [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]

The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) was a bloody period of conflict in Chinese history, with one man – Hong Xiuquan – at the center of this conflict. Hong Xiuquan was the leader of the Taipings and the one who lead his followers to combat the Emperor and his forces, eventually dying for all his efforts. Yet, the impact of the Taiping’s remains, not in any material force but in the written words of the Taipings culture. What I hope to imprint upon readers is the magnitude of the written works of the Taipings and how they conflicted with Chinese Imperial thought during the mid-1800s.  

However, before the focus can be put on the Taipings, one must first focus on the first Chinese printed bibles and Christian based manuscripts. These were the translations provided by Reverend Karl Gutzlaff, as well as the writings of China’s first evangelists, Liang Afa¹. The problem that arose because of these translations and writings is because of the various wording and translations done, which had a greater impact on the culture of China as a whole.  

Afa’s works were mostly influential in that they brought the first teachings of Christianity to a large amount of people in China. His work – Good Words to Admonish the Age – was the very work that introduced Hong Xiuquan to the ideas of Christianity². Said book was a loose collection of Bible passages – jumping from the beginning in Genesis to Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount – while composed in a way to emphasize the Protestant views of individual salvation, instead of salvation of a people or nation³. That being said, Good Words does not delve into the realms of politics, society, culture, and the role that religion plays in them, and as such suffered amongst the Chinese for this³. 

Reverend Gutzlaff’s Bible translation held two influential markings for Chinese culture: One was its narrative structure; and the other was the meaning behind the characters⁴. When Gutzlaff translated the Bible into Chinese, he did so in way that told a story. A story of a deity who punished or destroyed evil nations, while rewarding his chosen nations – the good nations⁵. This was also balanced by said deity being a patron of art, music, food, marriage, and wellbeing – all aspects critical to Chinese culture⁴. Gutzlaff’s Bible also provided some historical basis, with events happening to specific people of a specific group and nationality⁴. In short, Gutzlaff’s Bible allowed for a historical narrative while also imparting the importance of culture, religion, society, and politics to a people who lacked this from Afa’s works⁵, all of which gave Hong Xiuquan much of the basis for the Taiping religion⁵. This is not the full extent of their works though. 

Reverend Gutzltaff’s translations inspired many other translations, all of which contributed to the rise of the Taiping religion and uprising⁴. The main show of “blasphemy” – as seen by the Chinese imperial forces – was for the name of God that the Taiping’s used: Shangdi or Sovereign on High⁶. This name is usually reserved for the Emperor and first appeared in Afa’s Good Works, though the debate in what to call God went on for some time⁷. Nonetheless, applying the characters of the name Shangdi was controversy in Chinese culture, as the Emperor was a holy figure with the mandate from heaven⁶ and a key aspect of the Chinese Imperial Culture. As such, it was blasphemous to consider anyone – or anything – as equal to or greater than the Emperor. Hong Xiuquan took this a step further, applying the name of Huang Shangdi (Supreme Sovereign on High) to god, yet another character from the imperial title⁶. This was a direct attack on the Chinese imperial family as well as the culture and society that it promoted – which was a key goal of the Taiping movement⁸. 

That was simply the start of Hong Xiuquan’s blasphemy. In the Taiping work The Principles of the Heavenly Nature Chinese culture and history is also made an example of – with Taoism in the Ch’in Dynasty (c. 221-206) and Buddhism in the Han Dynasty (c. 206-220) being made into examples of times when “demons infiltrated the hearts of man”⁹. The implications here is that the evils of non-Christian – more specifically non-Protestant – based religions have been infecting China for centuries, and now is the time to fight back. With words like this, and more, the Taipings were able to gather a large amount of traction in their rebellion against the Imperial Forces.  

In conclusion, the words of the Taipings – such as the chosen names of God – had numerous cultural and societal problems, all of which contributed to the Taiping Rebellion.  

 

 

1. Reilly, Thomas H., The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire (University of Washington Press,2014) p.78   [↩]
2. Reilly, Thomas H., Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, p.64 [↩]
3. Ibid, p.64 [↩] [↩]
4. Ibid, p.79 [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
5. Ibid, pp.78-79 [↩] [↩] [↩]
6. Ibid, p.92 [↩] [↩] [↩]
7. Ibid, pp.80-91 [↩]
8. Ibid, p.93 [↩]
9. de Barry, Theodore, Chan, Wing-tsit, Tan, Chester, Sources of Chinese Tradition Vol. II (New York and London, 1960), p.36  [↩]

During the early to mid 1900s (ending around 1945) the Japanese state and government expanded their empire into the reaches of China and Korea, with continued expansion into the great Asia continent being planned. These expansions were led by men such as Tanaka Chigaku (1861-1939), whose approach to conquest was justified by his interpretation of the ideal of compassion found in Nichiren Buddhism{1}.  

Tanaka Chigaku was a Japanese nationalist, imperialist, and militarist during the Russo-Japanese War, as well as both World Wars. He was an avid student of Nichiren Buddhism, and professed that it led to the one true path for all humanity: all human, joined together under the banner of the Japanese imperial family while worshipping the gods Amaterasu-kami and Hachiman as universal deities{2}. Tanaka claimed that this was given out by Nichiren under the phrase Nippon no enbudai – to include the whole earth in Japan{3}. This objective of Nippon no enbudai would be complete by what Tanaka called shakubuku – conquer evil aggressively{4}.  

The concept of shakubuku is the main focus, as Tanaka used it as a justification for the aggression against China in the 1930s, saying “When it is said that the Japanese Imperial Army is an army of humanity and justice, for maintaining justice and building peace, it means that it is a force for compassion. The shakubuku of Nichirenism must be like this”{5}. For Tanaka, “compassion” was an extension of the emperor-centric Japanese polity (kokutai) that had dominated the land for since the Meiji Restoration. For Tanaka, and most Nichiren imperialist, the world was destined to united under the emperor by means of the Lotus Sutra – the central sutra of Nichiren Buddhism – and the sword.  

To Tanaka, it was the sacred duty of the Japanese to extend kokutai to those of non-Japanese origin. He claimed that Japan, with its “unbroken line of emperors” was given the right and mandate to “guide and induce every country in the world to become a state ruled by the Way of the Prince”{6}. Tanaka further justified kokutai as a means of imperialism by emphasizing the emperor’s holiness and origin in Heaven as a descendant of Amaterasu-kami, and how the emperors extolled virtues and brilliance inherited from the first Emperor, Jinmu{7}. The implication here being that, due to the emperor’s divine origins and gifts, as well as his inheritance and the Japanese people’s own superiority to endorse shakubuku on a worldwide scale. 

Tanaka placed his beliefs in shakubuku as subordinate to kokutai, yet in his writings and beliefs, certainly seemed to believe that shakubuku was the most important action one could take in their life. His writings and personal beliefs show a strong sense of national pride and superiority, and his fervent belief in Nichiren Buddhism’s such as his Shumon no Ishin{8}. In this, Tanaka shows how fervent his faith in shakubuku is by urging followers of the Lotus Sutra to believe, pray and write aggressively, while also “praying for aggression”, and that when the aggression comes, the people can use the Lotus Sutra as the sword, under their leader – Nichiren – and bring all of Asia – and eventually the world – under Japan’s “guidance” through the “compassion of the Emperor”{9}. This fervent belief can be seen later, during the invasion of Manchuria, which Tanaka was greatly involved in. 

In conclusion, Tanaka’s “compassion” for others was but a front, as while he truly believed that the world could be united under Japan and the Emperor, he also justified it through shakubuku, a practice not unlike that of the Crusades.