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Journal of Chinese Religions

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Martial Monks in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

Nikolas Broy

To cite this article: Nikolas Broy (2012) Martial Monks in Medieval Chinese Buddhism, Journal
of Chinese Religions, 40:1, 45-163, DOI: 10.1179/jcr.2012.40.1.45

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Martial Monks in Medieval Chinese
Buddhism

NIKOLAS BROY
University of Gttingen (Germany)

1. Introduction

The great religious traditions of the world generally pay special attention to what may be
called pacifism or renunciation of violence. But for several reasons, Buddhism is thought of
as the most peaceful one among them. Particularly in comparison to the Abrahamic religions,
a supposed fundamental difference is often observed. Moreover, in terms of peaceful conduct,
Buddhism tends to be understood as diametrically opposed to Islam, which is sometimes
considered a militant religion. 1 In recent years, this supposition has become the subject of
increasing scholarly interest. Studies on Buddhism as well as on Buddhist ethics in different
countries such as ri Lanka, Tibet, Korea and Japan show not only that Buddhist norms and
Buddhist practice are unable to match the ideal of an ever peaceful religion; they moreover
indicate that violence in some cases was even perceived as a perfectly reasonable course of
action. Although this often is interpreted as a sign of moral decline, justification of violence
can also be found within Buddhist thought itself. 2
In pre-modern Korea and Japan in particular, under the strong influence of both the
Chinese world and the Buddhist tradition, primarily in its Chinese variant (Hanchuan
Fojiao ), martial engagements of Buddhist monks and their followers were nothing
unusual. On one side there were the great and powerful Buddhist monasteries of medieval

I am indebted to Christoph Kleine, Kai Filipiak, Philip Clart as well as two anonymous reviewers
for their helpful suggestions to an earlier version of this paper. Furthermore, I am grateful to Yu Zhejun
for his help with some of the Chinese translations and to Daniel O. White for correcting my English. Of
course it is needless to say that I alone am responsible for any shortcomings.
1
On a comparison of these stereotypes on the basis of religious texts, see Lhr, Militanter Islam
friedfertiger Buddhismus?
2
Important recent studies on Buddhism and violence include: Schmithausen, Aspects of the
Buddhist Attitude towards War; Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics, 239285; Hartmann,
Triffst du den Buddha, wirst du ihn tten; the special issue of the German religious studies journal
Zeitschrift fr Religionswissenschaft (no. 2, 2003) on Buddhism and Violence; Faure, Bouddhisme et
Violence, and two edited volumes: Zimmermann, ed., Buddhism and Violence; Jerryson and
Juergensmeyer, ed., Buddhist Warfare.

Journal of Chinese Religions 40 (2012) 45


46 Journal of Chinese Religions

Japan, which maintained armies to pursue their political and economical aimsa
phenomenon condemned by most contemporary and current observers. In contrast, there was
the phenomenon known as the righteous monks (Kr. isng ) in Korea, who gained
fame primarily for their participation in the armed protection of the country against the
Japanese invaders under Toyotomi Hideyoshi (15361598). 3 However, little is
known about violence in Chinese Buddhism itself. Although research conducted in recent
years has increased our understanding of the connection between Buddhism and traditional
Chinese martial arts (especially in regard to the Shaolin monastery), 4 Buddhist uprisings
in imperial China, 5 and Buddhist militancy in the twentieth century, 6 a newer overall study of
violence in Chinese Buddhism is still missing. Students interested in this topic still have to
fall back on the pioneering but aged accounts of de Groot and Demiville. 7 In a few cases that
recent Chinese scholarship has addressed it, the study is focussed on the famous martial arts
centers of Wutai and Shaolin only. 8 Moreover, A History of the Sagha Protecting the

3
On the well-known Japanese warrior monks (shei ), see: Adolphson, The Teeth and Claws
of the Buddha, and Kleine, Waffengewalt als Weisheit in Anwendung. On the Korean monk
soldiers (Kr. sngbyng or snggun ), see: Suita Kazumitsu, Rich-jidai ni okeru sgun ni
tsuite and some of the articles in Nakao Hiroshi, ed. Chsen gissh. On the doctrinal background of
martial violence in East Asian Buddhism, see Kleine, ble Mnche oder wohlttige Bodhisattvas?;
and Kleine, Evil Monks with Good Intentions? On the embroilment of Japanese Zen during the
Second World War, see: Victoria, Zen at War.
4
McFarlane, Fighting Bodhisattvas and Inner Warriors; Filipiak, Die chinesische Kampfkunst,
3292; Shahar, Epigraphy, Buddhist Historiography, and Fighting Monks; Shahar, Ming-Period
Evidence of Shaolin Martial Practice. His most recent work (2008) covers the whole history of Shaolin
in connection to martial arts: Shahar, The Shaolin Monastery.
5
See: Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, e.g. 106123 (on Buddhist uprisings in medieval
China).
6
On Buddhist militancy during the Japanese invasion of China from 1931 to 1945, see: Xue Yu,
Buddhism, War, and Nationalism, and Li Shaobing, Kang Ri zhanzheng. Even in the early years of the
Peoples Republic, some monks advocated active assistance to the Chinese volunteer army in the Korean
War. Cf. Welch, Buddhism under Mao, 272288, and Xue Yu, Buddhists in China during the Korean
War.
7
First, Jan Jacob Maria de Groots rather sketchy and occasionally erroneous article from 1891,
Militant Spirit in the Buddhist Clergy in China; second, Paul Demivilles seminal study, which is not,
however, confined to China: Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, originally published in 1957. Demivilles
unsurpassed account has also been translated into Japanese (Hayashi Nobuaki, trans., Bukky to sens)
and recently also into English (Michelle Kendall, trans., Buddhism and War). Since the English
translation was not available to me while writing this paper, I will only refer to the original French
version in the notes.
8
Ma Mingda, Wutaishan de sengbing yu wuyi; Wang Junqi, Guanyu Mingchao Jiajing
sengbing kangwo wenti de shangque; Cheng Dali and He Weiqi, Shaolin sengbing kangwo shiji kao;
Ma Aimin, Woguo lishi shang de siyuan shangwu huodong xintan. One important exception to this
limitation is Yan Yaozhong, Fojiao jiel yu Zhongguo shehui, 494505.
Martial Monks 47

State by Master Zhenhua (19081947), 9 a major Chinese work on Buddhist violence on


behalf of the state, is hardly known among scholars. Zhenhuas work must be read against the
background of the ongoing Japanese aggressions against China in the 1930s, as an attempt to
mobilize fellow Buddhists to engage in the (military) protection of the country. 10 But although
this book can hardly be accepted as an academic account, it still contains some historical
evidence, some of which has been included in the present paper.
Whereas I have dealt with collective Buddhist violence on behalf of the state in the Song
and Ming Dynasties elsewhere, 11 this study shifts the focus to medieval Chinese Buddhism
and to a wide range of martial violence, concerning not only military violence in favour of the
state, but also Buddhist militancy against it. Since these two types of collective martial
violence can be distinguished in terms of the object of violence, the historical evidence
concerning them will be dealt with separately. The historical scope roughly ranges from the
fourth to the late eighth century and thus covers the period commonly referred to as medieval
China.
After giving an overview of the commandment of pacifism in the tradition of East Asian
Buddhism as represented both in the codified norms and in other religious texts, I will make
some comments on the actual ambivalence of this precept in Mahyna Buddhism. I will
address three main lines of thought prone to be used as a source for the justification of
violence. I will further demonstrate how these and other arguments were used in the
discussion of violence both in the sagha and in Chinese society at large. It will be argued
that Buddhist violence should not be understood merely as having resulted from an alleged
(moral) decline in Chinese Buddhism; rather, it can be understood as having been justifiable
within its very system of thought. In the main part of this paper, I will present actual cases of
collective martial violence in medieval Chinese Buddhism. The first part will deal with
violence directed against the ruling authorities in Buddhist rebellions; the second part will
focus on military violence conducted in the name of these authorities against banditry and
foreign enemies. Finally, I will analyze the results of the historical survey in the concluding
remarks.

2. A Brief Introduction to Pacifism in Buddhist Norms

The prohibition of the killing of life (Skt. pra-atightd virati), otherwise also known
as ahis (non-injury), is generally acknowledged as one of the most prominent ethical

9
Zhenhua, Sengqie huguo shi. Note: The author is not to be confused with Zhenhua (born
1922), famous abbot in modern Taiwanese Buddhism and author of the popular series Canxue suotan
, translated by Denis C. Mair in: Mair, trans., In Search of the Dharma.
10
See Xue Yu, Buddhism, War, and Nationalism, chaps. 2, 3, and 4.
11
Broy, Das dharma schtzen.
48 Journal of Chinese Religions

precepts in Buddhism in general. It is not only the first and most important rule of the
Mahyna Pentalog (Skt. pacala) for the lay believers but also one of the four prjiks,
whose violation irrevocably leads not only to the immediate excommunication from the
sagha but also to the impossibility of salvation and to rebirth in hell, as an animal, or as a
hungry ghost (Skt. preta). 12 Violations of this norm include not only actual killing done by
oneself but also instructions on killing given to someone else, and even ones own thoughts
about it. 13 Most of the traditional monastic regulations also view, among other things, cutting
off any part of the body, abortion, and advising someone at a great age to commit suicide or
even predicting someones imminent death, as committing the highest offense of prjik (Ch.
boluoyi ). 14
Although the use of the traditional precepts became more and more obsolete in China, 15
the apocryphal Stra of Brahmas Net (*Brahmajla-stra, Ch. Fanwang jing ), the
mainly used set of regulations in East Asian Buddhist practice since its composition in fifth
century China, mirrors the same strict view on the prohibition of killing:

A disciple of the Buddha shall not himself kill, encourage others to kill, kill by
expedient means (fangbian ), praise killing, rejoice at witnessing killing, or kill
through incantation or deviant mantras (zhou ; Skt. *dhran, *mantra). He must
not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of killing, and shall not
intentionally kill any living creature. As a Buddha's disciple, he ought to nurture a
mind of compassion and filial piety, always devising expedient means to rescue and
protect all beings. If instead, he fails to restrain himself and kills sentient beings
without mercy, he commits a prjika (major) offense.

. . . . .
. . .
. . 16

12
On ahis in early Indian Buddhism, see: Hara Minoru, Fusessh-k; Schmithausen, A Note
on the Origin of Ahis; and Shimoda Masahiro, Shoki Bukky ni okeru bryoku no mondai. For
the position of different traditional vinaya-precepts on killing, see: Hirakawa Akira, Nihyakugoj-kai no
kenky, vol. 1, 274286; Shi Zhaohui, Jiel zhi yuanli; as well as Tola and Dragonetti, Buddhism and
Justification of Violence, 8190.
13
Da zhidu lun, 154c1112.
14
See, for example: Mahsanhika-vinaya (Ch. Mohe sengqi l, 255a08c18).
15
Tso Sze-bong, The Decline of Buddhist Vinaya.
16
Fanwang jing, 1004b1620. The English translation is quoted from the Buddhist Text Translation
Society in the USA, see: http://www.ymba.org/bns/bnsframe.htm (accessed November 13 2012). Added
parentheses are mine. On the Fanwang jing and its use in Buddhist practice, see: Sat Tatsugen,
Chgoku Bukky ni okeru kairitsu no kenky, 436478.
Martial Monks 49

Just as strictly forbidden is the taking of a life in order to avenge the killing of another
even if it is ones parents or a head of state that has been killed. 17 There are also a number of
acts connected to the prohibition of killing but treated only as a slight offense (Skt. dukta,
Ch. tujiluo ) that can be reduced simply by confession to a fellow monk. For example,
it is not allowed for monks and nuns to possess weapons, or even things that could be used to
harm or kill living beings. 18 On the other hand, every monk was in possession of a knife
called astraka (Ch. jiedao ), used to cut hair or fruits. Apparently it could easily be used
for violent acts as well. So it is, for example, the ordained robber Lu Zhishen (Lu Da
) in the popular novel The Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan ), who causes severe
trouble on the famous Mt. Wutai armed with his monks staff (Skt. khakkhara, Ch. xizhang
) and the astraka and eventually gets banished. 19 The Potpourri Romance of the West
Chamber (Xixiang ji zhugongdiao ) by Dong Jieyuan (fl. 11901208)
tells a story about monks armed with knifes and staffs in order to defend themselves against
robbers. 20 In reality, the monks staff was transformed into a weapon by the monks of Shaolin
monastery. 21
In addition, a follower of Buddha acting as an ambassador should not provoke martial
conflicts or even accompany an army into war. It is said to be even worse to join enemy
armies as a traitor to ones country (guozei ). 22 A monk should also refrain from
watching people quarrelling or observe armies fighting. 23 Furthermore, the passive bearing of
physical pain resulting from violence in combination with the renunciation of self-defence is
said to be a sign of advanced religious cultivationas it implies the dissociation from the
illusion of an individual and true existence. 24 In addition, a monk is supposed to bear physical
pain in order to save others, as stressed in the famous story of the goose and the pearl (e zhu
) in the Strlakra-stra. The story tells of a monk who stops by the house of a
wealthy man to beg for food. While serving the monk, a goose comes and swallows up a pearl
the man earlier had put down on a table. After realizing the loss, the man initially suspects the

17
Fanwang jing, 1006b2126.
18
Fanwang jing, 1005c1419.
19
Shuihu zhuan, vol. 1, chaps. 36. On Lu Zhishen, see also: Shahar, The Shaolin Monastery, 43
44 and 9698.
20
Dong Jieyuan Xixiang ji, j. 2, 3739. See McFarlane, Fighting Bodhisattvas and Inner
Warriors, 197199, who provides a translation of this part.
21
Shahar, The Shaolin Monastery, chap. 4 (Staff Legends), esp. 101107; and Filipiak, Die
chinesische Kampfkunst, 5758. On the size and shape of the khakkhara, see: Hinber,
Sprachentwicklung und Kulturgeschichte, 4750; and Kieschnick, The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese
Material Culture, 113116. On the astraka see: Li Shuqi, ed., Fojiao de faqi, 134136.
22
Fanwang jing, 1005c2023.
23
Fanwang jing, 1007b1516.
24
See for example Buddhas teachings to his disciple Subhti in the Diamondstra (Skt.
Vajracchedikstra): Jingang jing, 750b1424.
50 Journal of Chinese Religions

monk of robbing him and so he enchains and tortures him in order to extract a confession. But
the monk, who is concerned about the wellbeing of the goose, doesnt say anything and
instead bears the physical violence exerted upon him. Just as the raving man, unable to exert
anything from the monk, kills the goose out of desperation, the monk discloses the secret,
whereupon the man starts to cry out and regrets his deed. 25
Although in the course of the sinicization of Buddhism the set of regulations in use was
changed from the more traditional vinaya precepts of Indian origin to monastic codes created
in China, the prohibition of killing maintained a prominent place in both the codified norms of
the sagha and the social norms expressing the societys expectations from the Buddhist
community. 26 But as Christoph Kleine had pointed out, religious norms, like secular laws, are
not an indication of the moral ethos of the ones for which these rules are made, but rather an
answer to actual deficiencies. 27 From the very beginning of Chinese Buddhism there have
always been monks and nuns violating the Buddhist code in a variety of ways, ranging from
eating meat or drinking alcohol up to thievery and sexual intercourse. 28 And as I will show in
this paper, time and time again there also have been monks willingly participating in martial
activities. I would like to begin by briefly examining discussions of violence in order to
highlight their inherent ambivalence.

3. Discussions of Buddhist Violence in the Sagha and Chinese Society

Although the brief description of ahis as represented in the religious norms illustrates
a clear condemnation of violence in the Buddhist tradition, there are numerous if scattered
statements that suggest a more ambiguous view. First, I want to focus attention on the
positions held in Buddhist scriptures. Then, I will present some arguments from Chinese
historical sources. Since the first task is certainly worthy of its own focused research, I will
primarily confine myself to summarization of previous accounts. 29
The statements qualifying the absolute character of the prohibition of killing can be
separated into three main categories: First, those that employ the concept of emptiness (Skt.
nyat, Ch. kong ), according to which nothing really exists and all phenomena arise

25
Da zhuangyan lun jing, 319a20221a18.
26
On codified and social norms in Chinese Buddhism see: Seiwert, Kodifizierte Normen, soziale
Normen und Praxis.
27
Kleine, Waffengewalt als Weisheit in Anwendung, 158159.
28
Regarding meat-eating and wine-drinking monks in medieval China, see: Kieschnick, The
Eminent Monk, 5164. Concerning meat-eating and fighting monks, see: Shahar, The Shaolin Monastery,
4251.
29
Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 292299; McFarlane, Fighting Bodhisattvas and
Inner Warriors, 189200; Kleine, ble Mnche oder wohlttige Bodhisattvas, 246255; Kleine,
Evil Monks with Good Intentions, 7393; Faure, Bouddhisme et Violence, 2542.
Martial Monks 51

from the false conception of accidentally and temporarily combined elements (Skt. skandhas,
Ch. yun ) as existence. So if nothing is real, how can there be murder, murderer, or
victim? 30 Consequently, the act of killing as performed in this state of mind does not entail
any karmic retribution and is regarded as being similar to those of natural forces putting living
beings to death. 31 Second, with the higher end in mind, the teleological construct of useful
means (Skt. upya-kaualya, Ch. fangbian ) can be used to justify even forbidden acts
as legitimate ones. For example, killing a murderer who is about to slay hundreds of innocents
is justified in order to prevent him from accumulating bad karma as well as save the possible
victims from suffering. 32 Although this interpretation still takes killing as a severe sin
necessarily resulting in rebirth in hell (Skt. naraka)it is out of his overwhelming mercy that
the Bodhisattva is willing to shoulder it for the sake of all the other sentient beingsin later
times it will be argued in a much more radical way that killing of ferocious evildoers is, in
fact, a good deed: 33

So if there is a villain and you kill him, which kind of offense should this be? Yu
Shun executed the four evildoers (sixiong ), the Duke of Zhou slew the two
traitors (erni ). This is righteousness (yi ). Moreover, when the death penalty
[against the evildoers] was executed, it was wept for them. It was also done only
after several reconsiderations. That is how killing becomes compassion. Although it
is killing, it is [actually] not killing. The dharma does not get undermined and
benevolence also not offended. The government and the Buddha-mind (foxin
)these two do not get obstructed.

30
Da zhidu lun, 164a1923 and Daban niepan jing (Skt. Mahparinirva-stra), 476b0208.
For a more detailed discussion of this issue see: Kleine, ble Mnche oder wohlttige Bodhisattvas,
250251; and Kleine, Evil Monks with Good Intentions, 8891.
31
See the Chan scripture Jueguan lun , probably dating from the eighth century, cited in:
Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 296n3.
32
Da fangbian Fo baoen jing, 161b13161c05. See also the Bodhisattvabhmi (Pusa dichi jing
), in the Yogcrabhmi-astra (Yujia shidi lun, 517b0817). On the treatment of violence in
this text, see: Fujita Kkan, Bosatsuji kaihon ni tokareru sessh ni tsuite. Even the Bodhisattva-
la-stra (Ch. Pusa jie ben )after all a set of precepts for Mahyna monksis emphatic on
this maxim (see: Pusa jie ben, 1112a0313). See also: McFarlane, Fighting Bodhisattvas and Inner
Warriors, 190199; Kleine, Evil Monks with Good Intentions, 8084; Harvey, An Introduction to
Buddhist Ethics, 135138; Tola, Buddhism and Justification of Violence, 9093; and Faure,
Bouddhisme et Violence, 2223.
33
Even some stras of Indian descent claim similar positions. For example, the Mahparinirva-
stra states that bad karma accumulated by killing an evil person (eren ) can be reduced to zero
just by repentance and fasting for three days. See: Daban niepan jing, 460b0204. Moreover, by killing
an icchantika (yichanti )a thoroughly evil person without any disposition to goodthere is no
bad karma produced at all: ibid., 460b1521.
52 Journal of Chinese Religions

. . . .
. . . . . .
. 34

This teleological argument which has come to be known as kill one so that many can live
(yisha duosheng , J. issetsu tash), has been excessively used by the taniha
faction of the Japanese True School of the Pure Land (Jdo shinsh ) and
others as early as 1883, to justify the military efforts of rising Meiji-Japan. 35
The third category of arguments centers on the conviction to defend the sagha even by
the use of violence, if necessary. A key text in this argumentation is the aforementioned
Mahparinirva-stra. Although it clearly states that it is the upright laymen that are
supposed to protect the clerics, it nevertheless emphasizes the merit brought on by this
defensive violence. 36 Closely related are attacks of guardian spirits and the like against
enemies of the Buddhist teaching. Although these are usually understood only as evil demons,
there are also cases indicating a belief in some sort of divine punishment on humans who
were found guilty of any serious crime against Buddhism. 37 For example, there is the case of
Du Kan (d. 556) in the state of the Southern Liang dynasty (502557), who wanted
to make weapons out of two Buddha statues. As he and his men were about to begin their task,
the statues came to life and made them dizzy, unable to move. When Du Kan regained
consciousness again, they were all beaten by vajra-wielding warriors (Skt. Vajrapibalin, Ch.
Jingang lishi ) and eventually died soaked in blood, their skin peeled off and their
bones exposed. This incident is said to have been well known among both clerics and lay
people. 38 Vajrapi in the appearance as Kinara (Ch. Jinnaluo ) also occupies a
central role in Shaolins martial tradition. 39 Other deities like Vairavaa (Ch. Pishamen

34
Fanwang pusa jiejing jieshu fayin, j. 3, 168c.2024.
35
Dait Satoshi, Sens wa zaiaku dearu, 1718; and Hur Nam-lin, The St Sect and Japanese
Military Imperialism in Korea, esp. 115. On the discussion about the teleological or utilitarian
nature of Buddhist ethics, cf.: Keown, The Nature of Buddhist Ethics, 165191; and Harvey, An
Introduction to Buddhist Ethics, 4951.
36
Daban niepan jing, 384a2225. See also: Kleine, ble Mnche oder wohlttige Bodhisattvas,
255; Kleine, Evil Monks with Good Intentions, 9193; Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre,
292; and Faure, Bouddhisme et Violence, 3335. On this passage see also pp. 6162 of the present paper.
For a more thorough discussion of the justification of violence in order to protect the sagha as
presented in this text, see: Kim Hosong, Bagawaddo gt to Daij nehanky, 154160.
37
On divine punishment in Japanese Buddhism, see: Rambelli, Buddhas Wrath.
38
Ji Shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, 420a1118. See also: Fayuan zhulin, 289c0108; and Xu
gaoseng zhuan, 693b27c03. A full translation of this part is given in: Chen Jinhua, Pacavrika
Assemblies in Liang Wudis Buddhist Palace Chapel, 58.
39
Shahar, The Shaolin Monastery, 3742 and 8392.
Martial Monks 53

), one of the four heavenly kings (Skt. devarja, Ch. tianwang ) guarding the four
directions in a monastery, were worshiped to assure victory on the battlefield. 40
Additionally, the necessity of obedience to the monastic rules themselves was
increasingly questioned as Buddhism spread in China. Since this depreciation resulted from
multiple philosophical, cultural, and practical reasons, it will not be discussed here in detail. 41
However, it seems that a large number of monks disregarded the traditional precepts due to
their inferiority to other forms of religious practice and the existence of other paths to
salvation. Not only was the actors intention granted a higher esteem than the action itself (see
the teleological argument above), but, in addition, it was widely believed that recitation of
stras will produce much more merit than strictly keeping the rules, and that it might even
erase bad karma. In much the same sense, the bestowing of the precepts was merely
understood as a purifying ritual, which eventually resulted in esteeming ritual purity over
moral purity. 42 In some cases these rituals could even be performed individually without the
recognition of the sagha. 43
The period of the ongoing fragmentation of China after the breakdown of the Later Han
dynasty (25220) and the formation of short-lived, fragmented states also marked the
continuous rise of Buddhism in the Middle Kingdom. For several reasons, Buddhism evolved
in different directions in northern China, then under the control of the barbarian states since
the fall of the Western Jin dynasty (265316), and in southern China, where the Chinese
elite had retreated. In the south, Buddhism became part of an aristocratic and philosophically
interested elite, evolving into what has been referred to as gentry Buddhism, 44 which
strongly insisted on the autonomy of the sagha. In northern China the connections between
the foreign religion and the foreign political elite were much closer. Thus it is no wonder that
during this time of ongoing war, the famous monk Daoan (314385), who since 365
lived in northern China, declared: We are now meeting with evil times, and if we do not rely
on the ruling prince, the affairs of the religion will be hard to establish. .
. 45
Against this background it is surely no coincidence that the first documented martial
engagements of Buddhist monks date from this period, although at this time their focus seems
to have been limited only to military advice. 46 But as mentioned earlier, even these acts must

40
Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 289290.
41
See Tso Sze-bong, The Decline of Buddhist Vinaya in China.
42
Faure, Bouddhisme et Violence, 28.
43
On purifying self-ordination according to the Fanwang jing, see: Im Kyung-mi, Bonmky ni
okeru jisei jukai ni tsuite.
44
Zrcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, 8194 passim.
45
Gaoseng zhuan, 352a1112. The translation is taken from: Chen, Buddhism in China, 78.
46
For some examples of monks acting as military advisors during this period, see: Moroto Tatsuo,
TshinRys jidai ni okeru sryo no jgun, esp. 104105.
54 Journal of Chinese Religions

be considered violations of the vinaya prohibition of killing. Be that as it may, prominent


monks of this period, like Fotucheng (?348) from Kucha, his disciple Daoan, or
even Kumrajva (344413), who was widely known for his translations of Indian stras,
were all admired as military advisors.
I shall turn now to Fotucheng. After he came to Luoyang in 310, he served both the
Western Jin and the following short-lived dynasty of the Later Zhao (328352). Under
the rule of the latter, founded by Shi Le (ca. 280332), he established the foundation for
the spread of Buddhism in northern China in the fourth century. 47 It was Shi Le with whom
Fotucheng had a famous discussion regarding the absolute nature of the Buddhist prohibition
of killing. He was asked by the emperor:

Buddhas teaching is against the taking of life. I am the head of the empire, and
without capital punishment, there is no means of keeping the country quiet. I have
already violated the vows in putting living beings to death. Even though I still
worship the Buddha, how shall I obtain blessings? Tng (i.e., Fotucheng) said,
() Worship of the Buddha on the part of emperors and kings lies in their being
reverent in their persons and obedient in their hearts and in glorifying the Three
Treasures (triratna: the Buddha, the dharma and the sagha). [It lies in] not making
cruel oppressions and not killing the innocent. As to the rogues and irresponsibles
whom the civilizing influence does not reform, when they are guilty of a crime, they
must be put to death, and if they are guilty of an evil deed, they must be punished.
You should execute only those who should be executed and punish only those who
must be punished. If, cruelly and wilfully, you put the innocent to death, then, even if
you should pour out your wealth and devote yourself to the Dharma, there will be no
escaping a bad end.

. . . . .
. . .
. . . .
. . 48

Although Fotucheng condemns cruelty and random killing of innocents, he unequivocally


makes clear that the killing of criminals and evildoers is perfectly justifiable. He does not
state, however, whether or not this standard applies to laymen only. Be that as it may, there is

47
See Wright, Fo-tu-tng: A Biography, esp. 322325; and Chen, Buddhism in China, 79.
48
Gaoseng zhuan, 385a27385b06. The translation is taken from: Wright, Fo-tu-tng: A
Biography, 352.
Martial Monks 55

nothing left of the apodictic prohibition of killing as represented in the codified norms of the
pacala (which also apply to lay followers). Even the question who an evildoer is or who
deserves to die, is anything but easy to answer. It is rather subject to individual perspective
and even much more to personal interests. Since this interpretation surely has to be read
against the background of the adaptation of Buddhism to realpolitik in the turbulent and
unstable period of disunity in early medieval China, it should be looked at as a necessary
concession offered to the ruling elites if any benefit for the sagha was to be received.
However, as has to be stated, this was not a new and unique development limited to China but
can also be observed even in the earliest history of Buddhism in its motherland. 49
This shift away from an absolute condemnation of killing (on behalf of lay persons) to
the sanctioning of necessary punishment might seem slight and inconsequential. However,
only two centuries later, Yang Jian (541604), better known as Emperor Wendi of the
Sui dynasty (r. 581601), himself unifier of China and fervid devotee of Buddhism,
declared in the year of his enthronement (thus after the completion of many wars):

With the armed might of a Cakravartin king, We spread the ideals of the ultimately
enlightened one (i.e., the Buddha). With a hundred victories in a hundred battles We
promote the practice of the ten buddhist virtues (shishan ). Therefore We regard
the weapons of war as having become like the offerings of incence and flowers
presented to the Buddha, and the fields of this world as becoming forever identical
with the Buddhaland.

. . . . .
. . 50

On another occasion he stated: You, the vinaya-masters, lead the people to good. I, your
disciple, prevent the people from doing evil. Although the words differ, their meaning does
51
not. . . . For the emperor, a layman, there
is no question about the necessity of violenceand even the justice of killingas being
perfectly in line with the will of the Buddha. Centuries later but in very much the same
reasoning, the Song-monk Cijue (dates unknown) argued that military training and
warfare could in fact be part of the way of self-cultivation (xiuxing zhi lu ). 52

49
Bhikkhu Psdika, Grundvorstellungen zum Verhltnis; Gethin, Buddhist Monks, Buddhist
Kings, esp. 7178.
50
Lidai sanbao ji, 107c0608. The translation is taken from: Wright, Buddhism in Chinese History,
67 (text in parenthesis added).
51
Xu gaoseng zhuan, 610c0204.
52
Cijue chanshi quanhuaji, 109111.
56 Journal of Chinese Religions

Others used the Mahyna notion of emptiness (Skt. nyat, Ch. kong) to reduce the
prohibition of killing to absurdity. One example is the late-seventh-century monk Yuangui
, who rejoined the Chan school of Shaolin after having studied the vinaya for
several years. Once he was visited by the mountain god (yue shen ) of Mt. Song, who
wanted to scare him with his power over life and death. But Yuangui just replied:

You [claim you] can make people live or die. I was never born, so how can you kill
[me]? I see my body as not different from emptiness; [I] see my self as not different
from you. Can you harm emptiness and your own self? If you can harm emptiness
and your own self, then [you cannot harm me because] I am not born and not
extinguished. If you cannot [harm emptiness and your own self]in this case, how
would you be able to have me live or die?

. . . . .
. . . . 53

An even more drastic position is held by Feng Xi (d. 495), brother of empress
Wenming (wife of Gaozong , r. 452465) of the Northern Wei dynasty (386
534) and former General Commanding the Troops (guanjun jiangjun ), as well as an
engaged lay Buddhist. A monk once tried to convince him that the killing of oxen and humans,
which was said to have taken place in certain remote Buddhist temples, should be prohibited.
To this he sternly replied: After religious perfection all the people see is Buddha. How can
you know that you are killing humans and oxen? ? 54
The meaning of these killing practices, however, remains somewhat unclear. They may
be connected to blood rituals practiced during the reign of the enthusiastic Buddhist Empress,
Wu Zetian (r. 690705). Although the descriptions are probably distorted by the
Confucian propaganda directed against Wu Zetian, the sources state that during the
Pacavrika-assemblies (wuzhehui ) oxen were killed and their blood was used to
create paintings and write scriptures. 55 Although blood writing of stras as a means to gain
merit is not unusual in East Asian Buddhism, 56 the use of oxens blood appears somewhat out
of the ordinaryespecially in regard to the esteem these animals are granted in orthodox

53
Da Song gaoseng zhuan, 828c0508.
54
Wei shu, j. 83a, 1819.
55
ZZTJ, j. 205, 6498. On the Pacavrika see: Deeg, Origins and Development of the Buddhist
PacavrikaPart I: India and Central Asia; and Deeg, Origins and Development of the Buddhist
PacavrikaPart II: China.
56
Kieschnick, Blood Writing in Chinese Buddhism.
Martial Monks 57

Buddhism and in traditional Chinese society. 57 Both historical sources and modern scholars,
however, interpret the use of oxens blood as simply attesting to the fact that the dubious
monk Xue Huaiyi (?695), who was leading the rituals, was in fact nothing but an
impostor. 58
On the other hand, non-elite Buddhism bore a great martial potential in medieval China.
There has been a large number of distinctively Buddhist or at least Buddhist-inspired
uprisings in that age, most notably in the state of the Northern Wei. 59 Some of the actual
uprisings will be treated later in greater detail. But it is against this background that the image
of a potentially dangerous and violent religion became more and more widespread among
some members of the ruling elite in China. Although the first persecution of Buddhism in
China in the year 446 was hardly due to martial matters alone, 60 it nevertheless followed an
ominous incident. In the course of the rebellion led by the Xiongnu leader Gai Wu
in 445, Emperor Taiwu (r. 424451) of the Northern Wei dynasty led a campaign to
defeat the revolters near Changan . Taking a rest in one of the monasteries nearby, one
of his soldiers accidentally found a room full of bows, arrows, spears, and shields. The
somewhat anti-Buddhist emperor concluded that the monks were participating in the rebellion
and ordered the burning of Buddha images and the execution of the citys monks. 61 Although
this incident may have been exaggerated or even invented for purposes of anti-Buddhist
propaganda, it nevertheless proved to be part of an apparently growing fear of Buddhist
militancy.
Centuries later, the famous Tang general Gao Pian (ca. 822887) preventively
arrested and flogged the monks of a temple called Kaiyuan Fosi in Zizhong
commandery in Sichuan Province (about 50 km southeast of Chengdu ). Although
they were doing nothing more than chanting and praying at night, he obviously feared their
militant capabilities, declaring that: Monks holding rituals and singing prayers are surely no
offense. But in ten years there will be several thousands of these rebellious baldheads (tuding
, a derisive word used to address monks) in this temple. That is why I have to subdue

57
Goossaert, Linterdit du buf en Chine, chaps. 3, 4, and 5.
58
See, for example: Chaoye qianzai, j. 5, 269b.04. See also: Chen Jinhua, Pacavrika
Assemblies in Liang Wudis Buddhist Palace Chapel, 9095. On Xue Huaiyi see also pp. 7172 of this
paper.
59
The seminal study on this topic is: Tsukamoto Zenry, Shina Bukkyshi kenky, 241291. More
recent examples include: Sat Chisui, Hokugi Bukkyshi ronk, 173198; and Seiwert, Popular
Religious Movements, 106123.
60
Buddhism also seems to have nurtured the ambitions of rival ethnic groups under Northern Wei
rule. See Liu Shufen, Ethnicity and the Suppression of Buddhism in Fifth-Century North China, esp.
1320.
61
Weishu, j. 114, 30333034. For a translation see: Hurvitz, Wei Shou: Treatise on Buddhism and
Taoism, 64.
58 Journal of Chinese Religions

them. . .
Later the prophesized scenario was, in fact, realized: The people of this area shaved their hair,
took up arms and used the monastery as a camp. They called themselves big and little
baldheads (dakun xiaokun ). 62 Whether or not there really were monks involved in
this uprising remains unclear. Nevertheless, as argued with regard to the incident involving
Emperor Taiwu and the allegedly stashed weapons, the generals fear indicates certain
collective experiences regarding martial monks.
With regard to the unstable period of transition from Sui (581618) to Tang (618
907), several cases of martial monks are documented in the sourcesfighting either for or
against the newly established dynasty. Probably the best known example of more or less
patriotic monks are the ones of Shaolin, who supported the future emperor Li Shimin
(600649) on his campaign against the former Sui general, Wang Shichong (d.
621). Since this case has been studied in depth by many researchers, it will not be dealt with
in the present paper. 63 On the other hand, there also had been a large number of clergymen
rising against the Tang. 64 It is surely in this context that the anti-Buddhist astrologer Fu Yi
(555639) presented several memorials to the Tang emperor Gaozu (r. 618627)
between 621 and 624, in order to convince him to banish all Buddhist monks. From his point
of view, it was not only their political and economical power but also their martial potential
which constituted a severe threat to the ruling dynasty:

In the smaller monasteries there live one hundred monks, and two hundred in the
bigger ones. If you lead them armed, five monasteries already constitute one
battalion (l ). If you count together the number of all monasteries, they have more
troops than six armies (jun ). If they attack us, it will be a great disaster for the
people, the state, and the ruling family.

. . . . .
. 65

62
Beimeng suoyan, j. 3, 14a.0207.
63
Shahar, Epigraphy, Buddhist Historiography, and Fighting Monks; and Shahar, The Shaolin
Monastery, 2237. See also: Filipiak, Die chinesische Kampfkunst, 3740; and Tonami Mamoru, The
Shaolin Monastery Stele on Mount Song.
64
See, for example: Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 116122; and Demiville, Le
Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 275276.
65
Guang hongming ji, 134c0507. On Fu Yis anti-Buddhism, see: Wright, Fu I and the Rejection
of Buddhism.
Martial Monks 59

4.1. Cases of Buddhist or Buddhist-Inspired Uprisings

Of course, every rebellion necessarily incites violencewhether initiated by or against


the ruling authorities. In the following discussion, however, I will address only those which
may allow the most illuminating view on how and why some Buddhist monks intentionally
used violence against the state or its representatives.

The case of Faqing (515)


The most impressive case is that of the monk Faqing , which took place during the
reign of the Northern Wei dynasty in 515 in Jizhou (in the southern part of todays Hebei
Province). Since Faqing called himself Mahyna (dacheng ), this uprising came
to be known as the rebellion of the Mahyna bandits (dacheng zei ). It is
considered to be the greatest religious uprising in the fifth and sixth centuries; it numbered
about fifty thousand followers, 66 and forced the government to mobilize an army of a hundred
thousand soldiers to put it down. Since it has been discussed by many scholars in great
detail, 67 I will confine myself to some brief related statements.
The rebellion of the Mahyna bandits is said to have been extremely violent.
Insurgents killed not only the magistrate of Fucheng (about 80 km northeast of Jizhou),
but also devastated the district of Bohai (on the costal region of modern day Hebei
Province) and killed many officials. Moreover, their wrath seems to have been explicitly
directed against some forms of official Buddhism. It is said that everywhere they slaughtered
and destroyed monasteries and cloisters and butchered the monks and nuns, and burned the
sacred scriptures and images . 68 This kind of fierce
fanaticism is probably the most explicit case of violent Buddhism in the whole of Chinese
history. Of course, the main body of Faqings followers surely were no monks at all. But their
willingness to kill is closely connected to the teachings of Faqing, for he promoted killing as a
way to gain religious merit. He proclaimed that someone who has killed one man will become
a Bodhisattva of the first stage (yi zhu pusa ), while killing ten men will make one a
Bodhisattva of the tenth stage (shi zhu pusa ). 69 According to this teaching, more
killing means more religious progress. This is without doubt the most extreme turn the
Buddhist prohibition of killing could ever take. Although it seems to be a unique event in the
history of (orthodox) Buddhism, this is not the case in the larger context of Chinese

66
Bei Qi shu, j. 21, 301.
67
Tsukamoto, Shina Bukkyshi kenky, 241291; Sat, Hokugi Bukkyshi ronk, 173198; and
Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 111114. The latter includes a translation of the whole entry
about this rebellion in the Weishu, j. 19A, 445446 .
68
Weishu, j. 19A, 445. The translation is taken from: Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 111.
69
Weishu, j. 19A, 445; and Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 111.
60 Journal of Chinese Religions

religions. 70 And yet as pointed out earlier, the connection between religious salvation and the
frequent use of violence is anything but common to the Buddhist tradition. If we look at the
concept of the ten stages (shizhu or shidi , Skt. daabhmi), which obviously was
referred to by Faqing, we will hardly find anything legitimizing violence. 71 Originally, the ten
stages refer to the different stages of religious cultivation before attaining the highest form of
wisdom (praj).
If we want to search for the reasons for Faqings bloody mission, I would suggest that the
situation of Buddhism in the Northern Wei, as well as millenarian and apocalyptical beliefs
that flourished at that time, would make an excellent starting point. Some scholars interpret
the large number of Buddhist uprisings during the reign of the Northern Wei as part of an
ongoing conflict between the ruling elite of the proto-mongol Taba and their Han-Chinese
subordinates. 72 In addition, the official clerics, who represented a very small but very
powerful part of the Buddhist community, 73 were also closely connected to the political elite
and thus perhaps perceived by the rebels as part of the enemy government. Since previous
uprisings too were directed against official monks, we can assume a certain milieu of popular
Buddhism which was in explicit opposition to the state-run sagha. In this milieu,

70
At the end of the eleventh century, a religious group called vegetarian demon-worshippers
(chicai shimo ) by the authorities promoted killing as a way to save people from the world of
suffering and misery. Those who could kill many were said to obtain Buddhahood. See: Jilei bian
, by Zhuang Jiyu (about 10901150), quoted in Shuofu, vol. 2, j. 6, 16b0811. A full
translation of this passage is given in: Shih, Some Chinese Rebel Ideologies, 174178, and Lieu,
Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China, 278279. On the chicai shimo, see:
Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 189193, and Chikusa Masaaki, Chgoku Bukky shakai-shi
kenky, 199227. Some scholars interpret their bloodlust as having been influenced by Manichaen
concepts of the spiritual self as being caged in the body, which led to a desire to release this real self
from its bodily prison. See: Rui Chuanming, Gudai duren xinyang zhi yuanyuan tantao. A contrary
view is held by: Lieu, Manichaeism in the later Roman Empire and Medieval China, 283. In the year
1130, a certain Zhong Xiang (d. 1130) from Wuling in the northern part of modern Hunan
Province, proclaimed killing to be a form of execution of the real dharma. He and his followers
took up arms and killed countless scholars and officials as well as Buddhist monks and Daoist priests.
See: Sanchao beimeng huibian, j. 137, 263b1416. See also: Shek, Sectarian Eschatology and
Violence, 105.
71
For example, in Kumrajvas translation of the Daabhmika-stra (Shizhu jing )
popular in Faqings times, we are told that even to achieve the second stage one have to stop killing,
give up all hatred, and leave weapons and war behind. See: Shizhu jing, 504b2226. Similar wording is
also found in the famous Flower Ornament Scripture (Skt. Avatasakastra; Ch. Da fangguang Fo
huayan jing ), the oldest Chinese translation by Buddhabhadra (359429).
See Da fangguang Fo huayan jing, 548c2124.
72
Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 272.
73
According to Chen, Buddhism in China, 242244, the medieval Chinese sagha can be
separated into three strata: First, official monks; second, privately ordained and sponsored monks; third,
a large number of low-educated monks living and working among the populace. Quantitatively speaking,
the third group was the biggest by far, but the first and second groups were in control of the community.
Martial Monks 61

eschatological and apocalyptic beliefs about the imminent arrival of future Buddha Maitreya
(Ch. Milefo ), who will bring a change to the desolate situation of the present,
flourished vividly and inspired many of the uprisings. 74 Moreover, numerous natural disasters
such as floods, droughts, plagues, and earthquakes that occurred in the years 511 to 514 in
Jizhou and other regions, caused famine, poverty, and death for thousands of people, thus
doubtlessly contributing to the popularity of eschatological teachings and to the swelling
number of Faqings followers. 75 Against this background, Faqing proclaimed that the new
Buddha has come to eradicate the old demons (mo , Skt. mra). .
The symbol of demon used here is not to be taken as referring to mythological creatures as
in orthodox teachings but rather as a reference to real humans, 76 the Taba elite as well as the
clerics affiliated with them. In the belief of the popular Buddhist milieu, the eschatological
period prior to the arrival of the saviour is characterized by a corrupt and perverted sagha
infiltrated by demons (mra). 77 And as the popular Mahparinirva-stra states, it is the
duty of every upright lay follower to protect the true teaching (zhengfa ) against its
enemies:

For that reason (of measureless gain of merit for protecting the dharma), son of a
good family, the dharma-protecting laymen should take up swords and staffs to
defend the dharma-upholding monks. If there are some who received the five
precepts (i.e., obey the prohibition of killing and thus do not protect the dharma),
they are not called people of the Great Vehicle (dacheng ren ). But those

74
Regarding these popular beliefs, see Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 123145. For some
notes on their apparent violent character, see: Zrcher, Eschatology and Messianism in Early Chinese
Buddhism, 53. On eschatological beliefs in orthodox Buddhism, see: Deeg, Das Ende des Dharma und
die Ankunft des Maitreya.
75
Sat, Hokugi Bukkyshi ronk, 178187. On pp. 199204, Sat presents a list of all locatable
natural disasters in the years 412 to 519 based on the Weishu.
76
Similar cases support this assumption. For example, by the end of the Song dynasty, monks in
modern day Jiangxi Province took up arms in order to fight the approaching Mongol army carrying
flags with the slogan subdue the demons (xiangmo ). See Broy, Das dharma schtzen, 210. The
identification of foreigners with demons (mo) resembles the hostile naming of Western foreigners as
devils from overseas (yang guizi ) and the Japanese as Japanese devils (Riben guizi
) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In both cases, symbols usually depicting evil superhuman
beings such as ghosts and demons, are applied to humans, especially non-Chinese. Even in its earliest
occurrence, the character gui (also part of the character mo ) was used to depict foreigners, as in
guifang (meaning foreign land), which appears in the oracle bone inscriptions of the second
millennium BC. See Shen Chien-shih, An Essay on the Primitive Meaning of the Character , esp.
1719. Interestingly, in Korea as well, monks fighting against Jurchen invaders in 1104 were organized
into an army subduing the demons (Kr. hangmagun ). See Kory sa, vol. 2, chap. 81, 640b16
641a01.
77
This is said even in the orthodox Foshuo fa miejin jing, 1118c.171119a.21.
62 Journal of Chinese Religions

who have not received these and thus protect the true dharma are called [people of
the] Great Vehicle (dacheng ).

. . . .
78
. .

In the last sentence, the character ren (meaning people) is omitted, a practice not
unusual in premodern Chinese written language. In this case, however, the last sentence could
also be understood as referring to the defenders themselves as the Great Vehicle, and as we
have seen, this is exactly the title Faqing took to himself. In an earlier part of the text, the
Buddha also suggests that it is absolutely unproblematic to disobey the five precepts and even
neglect dignity and cultivation if the dharma is to be protected. Moreover, he even claims that
in the past he himself protected the teaching (through the use of violence) and therefore
gained the unchanging and indestructible diamond-body of the Buddha (jingang shen ,
Skt. vajrakya)an indication of religious merit. 79 Although there is no definite proof
available, it is very tempting to assume that Faqings millenarian anti-clericalism has been
influenced by the calling to armed protection of the true teaching as presented in the
Mahparinirva-stra.

The rebellion of Gao Tancheng (619)


Another Buddhist rebellion that appears to have been driven by the same beliefs is that of
the monk Gao Tancheng from Huairong (about 125 km northeast of modern
Beijing ), which took place during the chaotic period of transition from Sui to Tang at the
beginning of 619. 80 With a following of five thousand Buddhist monks, he attacked a
vegetarian feast organized by the county magistrate. They killed both the magistrate and the
commander of the garrison. Gao Tancheng called himself Emperor of the Great Vehicle
(dacheng huangdi ) and established the nun Jingxuan as Empress Yaodhar
(Yeshu huanghou ). 81 The newly founded era he called Wheel of the dharma

78
Daban niepan jing, 384a2225. For slightly different translations of this passage, cf. Kleine,
ble Mnche oder wohlttige Bodhisattvas, 255; and Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 292.
79
Daban niepan jing,383b2024. See also: Kim Hosong, Bagawaddo gt to Daij nehanky,
157.
80
The twelfth month of the first year of Wude falls on January 619. On other Buddhist
rebellions during the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, see Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 116
121; and Kegasawa Yasunori, Zui-matsu Mirokuky no ran o meguru ikksatsu.
81
Others sources render her name as Yeshu huanghou . See, for example, Jiu Tangshu,
j. 55, 2256. Since the character xie can also be pronounced ye, I take the title as referring to
Yaodhar (Ch. Yeshutuoluo ). She was the wife of the historical Buddha and became a nun
five years after his enlightenment. See the entry Yashudara in: BKDJT 4897b4898a.
Martial Monks 63

(falun , Skt. dharmacakra). He also appointed the warlord Gao Kaidao (d. 624)
to be King of Qi . But after several months, Kaidao killed Gao Tancheng and took over
his followers. 82
The extraordinary number of five thousand monks participating in the armed rebellion is
noteworthy. As in the case of Faqings rebellion one century earlier, we can assume the same
hostile attitude towards some forms of official Buddhism. To arrange vegetarian feasts or
assemblies (zhaihui ) was a very popular Buddhist practice among both the elite and the
populace in medieval China. 83 Since in this case it was organized by the county magistrate, it
was obviously connected to official Buddhism. But unlike the Mahyna uprising, Gao
Tanchengs political ambitions were much more obviousespecially in light of the general
turmoil of that period. Nevertheless, the acceptance of the title Great Vehicle strongly
echoes Faqings revolt and is maybe also connected to the aim of defending the true teaching.
Moreover, the use of the era-name Wheel of the dharma can be interpreted as pointing to
the new turning of the wheel (zhuan falun , Skt. dharmacakra-pravartana) and thus
to the instauration of the Buddhist law. 84 It might also be interpreted as Gaos implicit claim
to embody the ideal Buddhist ruler of the world, known in Chinese as the wheel-turning
king ([zhuan] falun wang [] ).

Buddhist uprisings under the Tang


The rule of the prosperous and expansive Tang dynasty correlates with a decrease in
distinctly Buddhist rebellions. This time came to be known as the most flourishing period in
the history of Chinese Buddhism. But for several reasons, the state suffered a gradual
decrease in both power and finances during the eighth century. The high expenditures brought
by Buddhism as well as the extraordinary large number of hundreds of thousands of monks
and nuns exempt from taxes and compulsory labour, caused serious financial problems for the
state and finally led to the third and last persecution of Buddhism in Chinese history, from
842 to 845. As a Japanese source dating from the fourteenth century suggests, the monks of
the famous Mt. Wutai in modern day Shanxi Province took up arms and resisted the
approaching official troops. This account is given in the Heike monogatari , an
epical story about the struggles between the two clans of Taira and Minamoto over
power in twelfth-century Japan. There we read about an attack of the Taira on Onjji
(also known as Miidera ) located east of Kyto , which allegedly happened in

82
ZZTJ, j. 186, 58335834. See also: Seiwert, Popular Religious Movements, 120121.
83
On zhaihui in medieval Chinese Buddhism, see Kamata Shigeo, Zui T no Bukky (ge), 6480.
84
Not without reason, the historical Buddhas first sermon has come to be known as the Stra on
Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma (Skt. Dharmacakrapravartana-stra). In much the same way,
after decades of actual antireligious policy and the turmoil of the cultural revolution, Li Hongzhi ,
founder of the Falun Gong , titled his magnum opus, Turning the Wheel (Zhuan falun ).
64 Journal of Chinese Religions

1180. In a letter sent to the monks of Kfukuji in Nara , they ask for help by
pointing to historical analogies:

A long time ago, when the emperor of the era Huichang (841846) of the Tang
dynasty ordered his troops to completely exterminate the Buddhist teaching, the
monks of Mt. Qingliang fought and repelled them.

. 85

The name Qingliang is a usual synonym for Wutai. But since the Heike monogatari is not
a historical source in the proper sense but rather an epic mixture of fact and fiction, we should
be careful of overly hasty conclusions. Moreover, Chinese sources do not explicitly refer to
this incident. They only report on an official letter written by Chancellor Li Deyu
(787850) and sent to military commissioner Zhang Zhongwu . Pointing to monks
from Wutai who apparently tried to escape to Youzhou (the area around modern day
Beijing), he assured the commissioner: If the monks of Wutai behave like generals, they
cannot surpass the generals of Youzhou. If they behave like soldiers, they also cannot surpass
the soldiers of Youzhou. . Thereupon,
Zhang Zhongwu gave strict orders to soldiers guarding a pass: If there are roving monks
trying to get through, kill them. . 86 Although there are no descriptions of
actual fighting given in this account, it does strongly indicate some kind of violent revolt by
the monks of Mt. Wutai. Since the lore of this incident spread over great geographical and
temporal distances and came to be known centuries later in Japan, Wutai likely was famous as
a center of martial practice. Moreover, during the war of the Song (9601279) against the
Jin (11151234) in 1126, monks from Wutai heavily engaged in actual battles against the
Jurchen enemies. 87 In an account on monastic martial arts in the sixteenth century, military

85
ei-shosha Engybon Heike monogatari, chap. 4, 292. The characters and used in
this version of the text, which dates from the ei period (13941428), have been changed to and
in modern editions. The original transcription was probably unknown to the writers, so they
used homonymous characters: and are pronounced esh, and are
pronounced seiryzan. On the role of several monasteries and monks in the Genpei War (1180
1185), see: Adolphson, The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha, 4649.
86
ZZTJ, j. 248, 80188019. See also: Cheng Dali, Wutaishan seng zai Tangdai ji yi wu wenming.
87
Cf. Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 280281; Ma Mingda, Wutaishan de sengbing;
and Broy, Das dharma schtzen, 208209. On the contrary, after falling under Jurchen rule, the
monastery continued to function as a normal religious center even though the general vicinity was
embroiled by uprisings against the Jin. See: Gimello, Wu-t'ai Shan during the Early Chin
Dynasty, esp. 510511.
Martial Monks 65

strategist Zheng Ruozeng (15081580) listed the martial arts of Wutai as being
inferior only to Shaolin and Funiu . 88
Prior to the aforementioned event, there was an eighty-year-old monk called Yuanjing
(or , ca. 735-815) from Songyuesi of Mt. Song (in central Henan ),
who was arrested in 815 as being the leader of a criminal gang. Along with Li Shidao
(d. 819), Governor of Zizhou and Qingzhou (about 70 km west of Jinan in
modern day Shandong Province), he gathered several thousand men and planned to raid
the city of Luocheng (Luoyang). While Li Shidao supposably was in serious opposition
to emperor Xianzongs (r. 806820) plans to regain the power lost decades before to the
military commissioners (jiedushi ) in the course of the revolt of An Lushan in
755, Yuanjings motivation seems to have been simply criminal in nature. When their coup
was revealed, they escaped to Mt. Song (where Shaolin is located), but were finally
captured. 89 Yuanjing is also said to have been an extraordinarily brave general under rebel
leader Shi Siming (703761), who led An Lushans army after the latters death in
757.
After his arrest, Yuanjing was condemned to have his feet broken, but even the most
powerful soldiers could not really hurt him. Yuanjing swore at them and said: You rats! You
call yourselves the brave (jianer ), but cannot even break a mans feet!
. So he did it by himself. Right before the death sentence was about to
be carried out, he declared: My coup has failed. Now I wont be able to see the blood
floating in Luoyang. . 90

4.2. Cases of Militarily Engaged Monks

There are also several cases of militarily engaged monks documented in the sources
both of monks initiating fighting and monks recruited and paid by the authorities. In what
follows, I will present some of these cases to illustrate how and why Buddhist clerics took up
arms against robbers and foreign enemies.
In 417, the erudite monk Sengdao (362457) led hundreds of his disciples to save
Liu Yizhen (?-424), son of the future founding emperor of the Liu-Song Dynasty
(420479), Liu Yu (363422), from a certain death. The only twelve-year-old Liu

88
Jiangnan jingle, 463a.0912. See also: Filipiak, Die chinesische Kampfkunst, 87; and Shahar,
Ming-Period Evidence of Shaolin Martial Practice, 384. Funiu refers to a Buddhist center on Mt.
Funiu located in western Henan Province, southwest of Shaolin. It seems to have been quite famous for
martial arts in Ming times. On Wutai, Funiu, and Emei martial arts, see also: Shahar, The Shaolin
Monastery, 7680.
89
Jiu Tangshu, j. 124, 35383539, and j. 145, 3949; and Xin Tangshu, j. 213, 5992.
90
Xin Tangshu, j. 213, 5993.
66 Journal of Chinese Religions

Yizhen had been assigned to defend the Guanzhong area in modern day Shaanxi
Province, while his father conducted a campaign against Changan. At this time, he was
attacked by the fierce Helian Bobo (381425), chieftain and founder of Xia
(407431), one of the so-called Sixteen Barbarian Kingdoms in the north, located in modern
day Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces. Yizhens army was completely annihilated, so the
young leader tried to escape the battlefield, but was chased by mounted troops. As they were
about to catch up with him, Sengdao and his disciples obstructed their path. Sengdao then
forcefully proclaimed: Duke Liu has entrusted this child to me. Right now, I surely have to
die to escort him. But you definitely will meet trouble if you keep on chasing him!
. . . The troops were so frightened by
Sengdaos words that they immediately retreated without having accomplished their goals.
Liu Yu was deeply impressed by Sengdaos braveness and consequently made all of his clans
children his apprentices. He also built Dongshan Temple in Shouchun (modern
day Anhui Province), where he explained Buddhist scriptures to thousands of
disciples. 91 Conducting the campaign against Changan to defeat the Later Qin Dynasty
(384417), Liu Yu furthermore requested another monk, called Huiyan (363443), to
accompany him. Although trying to refuse the order by pointing to his status outside the
mundane world, he finally complied with Liu Yus wish. But unfortunately nothing is said
about his role in the battle. 92
In late 454, Liu Yixuan (415454), younger brother of the third Liu-Song
emperor Wendi (r. 424454) and Prince of Nanqiao (in northern Anhui
Province), initiated a revolt against the newly enthroned emperor, Xiaowudi (r. 454
465). Apparently, he too did not want to miss out on the aid of Buddhist monks for his
mission. Thus, he tried to convince the Indian monk Guabhadra (394468),
famous as a scriptural translator in Liu-Song times, to accompany the troops. But in this case
too, the monk had to be coerced to do so. Another monk, called Huiqu , held a Buddhist
service (shehui ) before the final battle on Mt. Liang (about 70 km west of the
capital Jiankang , modern-day Nanjing ) on behalf of Yixuans troops. Despite these
efforts, the rebels suffered a crushing defeat in that battle. Furthermore, as Buddhist rituals
were held to support Yixuans soldiers in the battle, it is even more surprising that the two
monks were rehabilitated by Xiaowudi after his victory, although both of them participated in
a revolt against him. Apparently they were able to convince the emperor that they had
remained loyal to him. 93

91
Gaoseng zhuan, 371b0617.
92
Gaoseng zhuan, 367b2224. See also: Moroto, TshinRys jidai ni okeru sryu no jgun,
106107.
93
For Guabhadras case, see: Gaoseng zhuan, 344b19c08 as well as the translation: Shih,
Biographies des Moines minents, 151153. For Huiqu, see: Gaoseng zhuan, 416a1417. On both cases,
Martial Monks 67

Although this paper primarily deals with violence among Buddhist clerics, it should be
noted that pacifism is a precept that applies to ordained monks and laymen alike in Mahyna
Buddhism. However, in much the same way as monks violated this norm, laymen were also
no exception to this phenomenon. To illustrate, the case of Lu Fahe , an ascetic layman
living in todays Hubei area during the sixth century, will be briefly discussed here. 94
Although a layman, he is said to have dressed, eaten, and lived like a monk (shamen , Skt.
ramaa). Moreover, he always called himself pindao (literally, poor in the Way), a
humble designation commonly used by Buddhist and Daoist clerics to address themselves. 95
When Hou Jing (503552), a general from the Northern Wei who defected to the
Southern Liang in 547, finally turned against them, Fahe wanted to participate in military
resistance. 96 To a certain Zhu Yuanying he declared: I [pindao] want to attack Hou
Jing together with the benefactors of the dharma [tanyue ]. 97 But Yuanying asked him:
Hou Jing is doing that for the sake of his country. You, Master, said to attack him, but why?
Then Fahe sternly replied: Just because of that.
. . 98 When Renyue
(dates unkown), one of Hou Jings military leaders, was on his advance to Jiangling
county in the south of modern-day Hubei Province, Fahe went to Xiangdong (a
commandery west of todays Hengyang City in central Hunan Province) and
asked Prince Xiao Yi (508554) for permission to fight him back. 99 After it had been
granted, he gathered eight hundred of his disciples on the ford of the Yangzi, apparently all of
them members of non-Han ethnic groups (zhuman ). On the day of their departure,
General Hu Sengyou (ca. 492555) and about one thousand of his men followed Fahe.

see Moroto, TshinRys jidai ni okeru sryu no jgun, 107110.


94
His biography is given in: Bei Qi shu, j. 32, 427431, and Beishi, j. 89, 29412945. Although
these and other accounts treat him more like some kind of magical artist, later he was also included in
the Shenseng zhuan, 973b16974c. On the other hand, the sources state that he was able to predict his
own death and finally even disappeared from his coffin, both abilities commonly attributed to Daoist
immortals. For a more detailed study of his figure, including an annotated Japanese translation of the Bei
Qi shu version of his biography, see: Miyakawa Hisayuki, Ry-Hokusei koji Riku Hwa.
95
Pindao is one of many translations of the Sanskrit term ramaa, and thus, in its widest sense, it
is pointing to a religious practitioner that undergoes some kind of ascetic conduct for the achievement of
religious goals. In China it was usually used as a way of self-designation by clerics and sometimes even
prescribed as such by law. See: Luo Zhufeng, ed. Hanyu dacidian, vol. 10, 118a.
96
For a detailed description of the background and course of Hou Jings rebellion, which started in
548, see: Yoshikawa Tadao, K Kei no ran shimatsuki, 386. For Hou Jings attack in 551, see: Ibid.,
7980. On Hou Jing, see also: Pearce, Who, and What, Was Hou Jing?
97
Tanyue is a transcription of the Sanskrit term dnapati, which refers to a sponsor of Buddhism.
See: BKDJT 3497c3498a.
98
Bei Qi shu, j. 32, 427; Beishi, j. 89, 2941.
99
Xiao Yi, the prince of Xiangdong, was the seventh son of Emperor Wudi. He ascended the throne
in 553.
68 Journal of Chinese Religions

Standing on the battleship, he was very pleased about the countless number of soldiers. Since
the gods venerated in the temples and shrines (shenci ) of Jiangling did not prove
effective anymore, the people believed that even they accompanied the troops to the
battlefield. When the two armies encountered each other in Chishahu (south of
Huarong County in northern Hunan), Fahe proposed to wait one more day, so the
bandits could be crushed without sacrificing even one soldier. On the next day the wind
direction was against them, but Fahe waved his commanders flag and the wind direction
changed. When his soldiers began running on the water headed for Ren Yues troops, panic
broke out and all of the men in the latter camp jumped into the water and died. 100 Ren Yue
managed to escape but was finally captured due to Fahes foresight.
Two years later, in 553, Fahe was requested to defend the strategic point of Wu Gorge
at the Yangzi River, located between todays Sichuan and Hubei Provinces as a part of the
modern Three Gorges region. On this occasion, the campaign was supposed to be launched
against the troops of Xiao Ji (508553), Prince of Wuling Xiao Yis younger
brother and a pretender to the Liang thronewho established his own realm in modern day
Sichuan. After arriving at Wu Gorge, Fahe dammed the Yangzi and thus prevented
reinforcements from entering. The same day, he and his men annihilated the enemy troops. 101
In the ninth month of the very same year he was appointed Regional Inspector (cishi ) of
Yingzhou , south of modern Wuhan in Hubei. 102 However, despite his abilities in
warfare tactics, he still defended the prohibition of the killing of animals. 103 Moreover, acting
as Regional Inspector, he was known for not enforcing punishments and for making use of the
Buddhist teaching to educate (jiaohua ) the people. 104
When the aforementioned anti-Buddhist Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei planned to
attack the small state of the Northern Liang (401439) in 438 to fulfil his dream of
unifying northern China, he decreed to defrock all monks younger than fifty years old in order
to deploy them as soldiers. 105 Since Buddhist monks were exempted from military service, the
sagha bore a great military potential unemployed by the statea fact well understood by not
only Tai Wudi but many rulers in medieval China. 106 When the crucial battle of Liangs
capital Liangzhou (modern-day Wuwei City in central Gansu Province) took
place in the following year, countless monks were engaged in the defence of the city
although it seems that they have been coerced to do so. After the crushing defeat of the

100
The Beishi version (j. 89, 2942) does not state their death.
101
Bei Qi shu, j. 32, 428; Beishi, j. 89, 2942.
102
ZZTJ, j. 165, 5105.
103
Bei Qi shu, j. 32, 429; Beishi, j. 89, 2943.
104
ZZTJ, j. 165, 5105.
105
ZZTJ, j. 123, 3867.
106
For more cases, see Yan Yaozhong, Fojiao jiel yu Zhongguo shehui, 497498.
Martial Monks 69

Northern Liang, a death penalty for more than three thousand monks was only averted
through Kou Qianzhis (365448) personal intervention. 107 Although the well-known
Daoist reformer and the emperors close master convinced Emperor Taiwu that the use of
military violence (wu ) is necessary if he wants to become the True Lord of Universal
Harmony (taiping zhenjun ), 108 to kill thousands of monks probably seemed even
for Kou Qianzhi to be over the top. 109 The resistance of Liangzhous monks against the
Northern Wei can surely be traced back to the close relationship the sagha had with the
ruling elite in most of the Northern Dynasties. Their fate was therefore inevitably tied to that
of the state. 110
The ongoing sinicization of the Taba aristocracy in the state of Northern Wei gradually
led to their alienation from the common people who maintained a nomadic way of life. As a
consequence of intensifying conflicts, war broke out in 523 and lasted until 534. During a
punitive expedition led by Emperor Xiaowu (r. 532534) in the last year of the war, a
monk called Huizhen , serving as Chief Buddhist Deacon (duweina , Skt.
karmadna), accompanied an army counting about a hundred thousand men. Moreover, he is
said to have carried the imperial seal on his back and the sword of a thousand oxen (qian
niu dao ) in his hand. 111 A deacon filled the third highest position in the hierarchy of
the Office for the Clarification of Buddhist Profundities (Zhaoxuan si ). 112 Thus,
Huizhen must have been a member of the Buddhist establishment of his time. The rather odd
name of his sword of a thousand oxen is derived from a tale recorded in the Zhuangzi
and simply refers to a very sharp knife. 113 Apparently, Huizhen even used this knife to kill a
hundred oxen for food. 114 But whether he participated in actual fighting or not is not stated in
the sources.
Sometimes Buddhist monks were also generously paid by the authorities to become
soldiers. One case occurred in 570 in Northern Zhou (557581), when Gao Jie (?
577), Prince of Rencheng , and Gao Xiaoheng (?577), Prince of Guangning
(both coming from the neighbouring state of Northern Qi , 550577), entrenched in

107
Xu gaoseng zhuan, 646c0714.
108
Weishu, j. 114, 3053.
109
On Kou Qianzhis position in Northern Wei, see: Mather, Kou Chien-chih and the Taoist
Theocracy at the Northern Wei Court, 425451.
110
Chen, Some Factors Responsible for the Anti-Buddhist Persecution, 266268.
111
Beishi, j. 5, 173. See also: ZZTJ, j. 156, 4851.
112
On the administrational system of Buddhism during the Northern Wei rule see: Moroto Tatsuo,
Chgoku Bukky seido shi no kenky, 5867.
113
Zhuangzi jinzhu jinyi, vol. 1, 96 (chap. 3, Yangshengzhu ). It is said that a certain cook
was very proud of his knife, which he used for nineteen years cutting up thousands of oxen and was still
as sharp as it was on the first day.
114
Beishi, j. 5, 173.
70 Journal of Chinese Religions

Xindu (in modern day Hebei Province) with over ten thousand soldiers. Emperor Wu
(r. 561578) of the Northern Zhou assigned Yuwen Xian (544578), Prince of
Qiyang , to deal with this threat. After attempts of appeasement failed, Yuwen Xian
recruited several thousand monks (shamen ) as soldiers by paying them with gold and
silk. 115 Likewise, some extraordinary monks were honoured by the highest authorities. When
An Lushans troops besieged the area of the capital Xijing (present day Xian ) in
the winter of 755/756, the people of Maweiyi (about 80 km west of Xijing) requested
the local officials to deploy troops and fight the rebels. The monk Daoping from nearby
Jincheng also advocated a military offensive. Appointed Great General of the Imperial
Insignia (Jinwu dajiangjun )a title usually applied to imperial
bodyguards 116he led the troops to defeat the rebels. After having completed his military task,
however, he resigned. Nevertheless, the newly enthroned emperor Suzong (r. 756761)
was highly impressed by Daopings deeds, so he decreed the monasteries Chongfusi
and Xingqingsi to be Daopings new residence. Moreover, Daoping was presented
with the purple robe (ziyi ) as well as gold and silksan honour usually given only to
erudite monks. 117 The year of the beginning of An Lushans rebellion also marked the
widespread training in archery and horse-riding in several Buddhist temples. But most likely
because he feared their militant potential, Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712756) was truly
118
displeased with these occurrences.
One form of threat that led Buddhist monks quite frequently to arm themselves was that
of invasions by non-Chinese tribes, or states, in the north. During the Song and Ming
dynasties, military resistance against Jurchen, Mongols, and Manchus was quite common in
the Buddhist community. 119 Similar cases have also been recorded in medieval times. In 622,
monks from Mayi (about 130 km southeast of modern day Datong , in northern
Shanxi) joined local militias to defend themselves against repeated raids by the Xianyun ,
a northern non-Chinese ethnic group. It is said that about two thousand chosen monks were
120
organized into two garrisons.
Two years later, the monk Faya (dates unkown) tried to convince Emperor Gaozu to
organize a thousand strong and courageous monks from the capital in order to supply more
soldiers against the Xianyun. Gaozu apparently was pleased by Fayas proposal and so the
monks gathered and underwent military training. On this occasion, however, resistance inside

115
Zhoushu, j. 12, 193.
116
See the entry on jinwu wei in Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles, 186 (# 1166).
117
Seng shi le 248c2227. On the high esteem granted to wearers of the purple robe from the
seventh to the eleventh century, see: Kieschnick, The Impact of Buddhism, 100104.
118
Da Song gaoseng zhuan, 806a1819.
119
See Broy, Das dharma schtzen; Yan Yaozhong, Fojiao jiel yu Zhongguo shehui, 499500.
120
Xu gaoseng zhuan, 583b1619.
Martial Monks 71

the sagha against the martial engagement of monks was headed by the twenty-one-year-old
monk Zhishi (604?). He sent a letter to Faya, arguing that it should be his duty as a
Buddhist monk in the final period of the semblance dharma (xiangji ) to sprinkle the
emperors heart with the Buddhist teachings and bless sentient beings with mercy and
kindness. But Faya, more angry than convinced, prepared his troops and set off. This very day,
however, Zhishi joined in the monks army and tried to draw the monk-soldiers to his side.
Their actions, he declared, are nothing but demonic affairs (moshi ) and would harm
the Great Wheel of the dharma (dafalun ). Deeply touched by Zhishis words, the
monks started to cry out in tears. After catching and knocking down Faya, Zhishi assured
them that he is just subduing the demon (xiangmo ) to let the false and the correct
have their own grounds (xiezheng youju ). Emperor Gaozu, however, was not
pleased at all about this incident and decreed to defrock Zhishi. The members of the monk
army, on the other hand, returned to their monasteries. 121 Another source by Daoxuan,
however, states that this incident occurred a couple of years earlier. Moreover, the campaign
of the rowdy monks (dingfei sengtu ) is said to have been directed against Xue Ju
(d. 618), former military commander under the Sui and, since his rebellion against them
in 617, emperor of his own Western Qin dynasty in modern-day Gansu Province. 122
Let us return to the aforementioned monk Xue Huaiyiboth Wu Zetians supposed lover
and an embodiment of a somewhat dubious sagha during her reign. 123 After getting
acquainted with Princess Qianjin (one of Emperor Gaozongs [r. 650683]
daughters), he made his way into the imperial palace and eventually built up close ties with
Gaozongs first wife, later Empress Wu. In order to allow his uncastrated presence, she had
him ordained and finally installed him as abbot of the legendary Baimasi , near
Luoyang, in about 685. Until his death Xue Huaiyi recruited about a thousand strong and
illiterate men and ordained them as monks. 124 Well known for their rowdy manners, they are
said to have battered simple pedestrians as well as Daoist priests, whose hair they cut. 125
When Fengsi Xu , 126 Censor of the Right Tribunal (youtai yushi ), 127 tried to
impeach them, Huaiyi ordered his gang to beat him up, almost killing him.

121
Xu gaoseng zhuan, 634c25635a22.
122
Ji gujin Fo Dao lunheng, 383a1417. On Xue Ju, see: Zheng Tianting and Tan Qixiang, eds.,
Zhongguo lishi dacidian, 3220.
123
His biography is given in: Jiu Tangshu, j. 183, 47414743. On Buddhism during Wu Zetians
reign, see: Deeg, Der religise Synkretismus der chinesischen Kaiserin Wu Zetian. For general
background for that period, see: Guisso, The Reigns of the Empress Wu, Chung-tsung and Jui-tsung
(684712), esp. 290321.
124
Xin Tangshu, j. 76, 3483.
125
ZZTJ, j. 203, 64366437.
126
Usually, Feng would be understood as a surname and Sixu as a personal name. But since in the
following sentence he is just called Xu, I take Fengsi as his family name. According to the
72 Journal of Chinese Religions

Because of the biases of later court historians, however, almost everything written about
the empress and her collaborators is pervaded with serious distortions and must thus be
treated with a degree of reservation. As Chen Jinhua has pointed out, it is hard to believe that
a fake monk, lunatic, and sexual functionary of the empress as Xue Huaiyi is depicted in most
of the sources, could have been accepted as abbot of a great monastery like Baimasi or
appointed to serious tasks of national defence. 128 Initially, he was appointed General in Chief
of one military unit in the capital. 129 In the course of repeated raids by the Turks, who gained
considerable power after Kutlugh (Ch. Gudulu , d. 694) had founded the second Turk
empire in 682, 130 Huaiyi participated in several campaigns against them. In the ninth lunar
month of 689 he was appointed Commander in Chief (da zongguan ) to lead an army
of two hundred thousand men against Kutlugh himself in Xinpingdao (about 70 km
northwest of modern day Xian). 131 The following year, he headed an army to defeat Turkish
intruders and subsequently was appointed Great Bulwark-General of the State (fuguo
dajiangjun ). 132 In 692 he was appointed again but had to pass the appointment
over. Two years later Huaiyi was supposed to attack Qapaghan Khaghan (Ch. Mochuo ),
brother and successor of Kutlugh. In the third month of that year, however, Qapaghan
retreated, and the army was never mobilized. Moreover, while discussing the matter with
another general, a brawl almost erupted. 133 The reason for the cancelling of Huaiyis military
tasks is probably due to his gradual loss of favour with Wu Zetian. According to the sources,
he was eventually murdered at her command but nevertheless cremated in Baimasi. In any
case, even when the accusations of Chinese historiography against Huaiyi are taken into

conventions of premodern Chinese written language, the full name of a person is only cited at its first
occurrence, after which he is only called by his personal name.
127
According to Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles, 587 (#8082), the traditionally unified
Censorate (Yushitai ) was divided into left and right units during Wu Zetians reign. The right one
was responsible for maintaining disciplinary surveillance over units of territorial administration and
observing local conditions throughout the empire.
128
Chen Jinhua, The Statues and Monks of Shengshan Monastery, esp. 158159.
129
Hucker does not list the designation given in the sources (zuowei wei dajiangjun ).
He only has entries on Left Guard (zuowei ), which refers to a military unit in the dynastic capital
(A Dictionary of Official Titles, 526 #7015), and General-in-chief (dajiangjun ), who is in
command of armies (A Dictionary of Official Titles, 464 #5897). Yu Lunian, ed., Zhongguo guanzhi
dacidian, 999, has an entry on General of the Left Guard (zuowei jiangjun ), according to
which it refers to the commander of the troops guarding the capital. On the other hand, the ZZTJ, j. 204,
6463, states that Huaiyi was appointed General in Chief of the Right Guard (you wei dajiangjun
). In either case, he was in command of one of the armies defending the capital.
130
See Findley, The Turks in World History, 4043.
131
ZZTJ, j. 204, 6460.
132
Jiu Tangshu, j. 183, 4742.
133
Jiu Tangshu, j. 183, 4742, and ZZTJ, j. 205, 64936494.
Martial Monks 73

account, it is still noteworthy that a Buddhist monk and abbot of a renowned monastery was
appointed several times to lead ten thousands of soldiers into battle.
As some of the manuscripts discovered in Dunhuang indicate, several Buddhist
monks were part of the military administration or even engaged in actual fighting during the
early period of the Army for the Return to Allegiance (guiyijun ) period (8481036)
in the Dunhuang region. After the Tang were forced to withdraw a large number of military
contingents in the course of the An Lushan rebellion, the Tibetan Kingdom took the
opportunity to advance northwards. Finally they established their own rule over Dunhuang in
786 and for the first time since the great conquest by the Han dynasty (206 BCE220 CE),
these territories were lost to the Chinese empire. In 848, landowner Zhang Yichao
(799872) initiated an uprising that finally led to the re-establishment of Chinese reign over
Dunhuang. In 851 the recapture was completed and Zhang was officially appointed Military
Commander (jiedushi) of the guiyijun. 134 Some of the manuscripts indicate a participation of
Buddhist monks in the military recapturing of the Dunhuang region. The most noteworthy is a
list of members of seven company units (dui ) counting altogether 170 soldiers. Among
them were sixteen monks, some of them recorded by their secular name, others by their
religious name. 135 According to Feng Peihong , who has discussed this and other
documents in greater detail, it can be dated to 861 and was probably intended for Zhang
Yichao himself. 136 Since the number of names given in each company ranges only from 19 to
29, and according to Tang convention a dui-unit had to consist of fifty men, this register can
be interpreted as a list of survivors of war. Feng suggests that they participated in the battle of
Liangzhou, which was finally recaptured in 861. 137 Although no conclusive documentation for
this assumption is available yet, the proportion of monks numbering about 10 percent of the
(surviving) soldiers perfectly reflects the proportion of 10 percent of monks and nuns in the
overall population of the Liangzhou region. 138

5. Conclusion

It has been stated that under the rule of entirely different political and social conditions in
the Northern and Southern Dynasties during the centuries of disunity, Buddhism, and thus the

134
Rong Xinjiang, Guiyijun shi yanjiu, 6278 (on Zhang Yichaos reign), and 148168 (on the
establishment and development of the guiyijun).
135
The manuscript P. 3249 is reprinted under the title Jiang Liu Guangyan deng duixia mingbu
in Dunhuang shehui jingji wenxian zhenji shilu, edited by Tang Gengou and Lu
Hongji, vol. 4, 521522.
136
Feng Peihong, P. 3249 bei Junji canjuan yu Guiyijun chuqi de sengbing wuzhuang.
137
Feng Peihong, P. 3249 bei Junji canjuan yu Guiyijun chuqi de sengbing wuzhuang, 143144.
138
Feng Peihong, P. 3249 bei Junji canjuan yu Guiyijun chuqi de sengbing wuzhuang, 146.
74 Journal of Chinese Religions

entire way of dealing with power and the military in the Buddhist community, evolved in
different directions. Whereas the southern gentry Buddhism strongly insisted on the
autonomy of the sagha, the connections between the foreign religion and the foreign
political elite were much closer in the north. Thus it is no wonder that most of the cases of
martially engaged Buddhist monks can be found in the latter. 139 On the other hand, monks
trying to insist on Buddhist pacifism were primarily found in the south.
The most important factor reducing the military influence of the sagha and hampering
the emergence of monastic armies like in Japan was the dominant position of the state. As
early as the fourth century in both the northern and southern part of China, different
administrative institutions had been established to maintain control of the growing Buddhist
community. 140 Their actual size and power differed in both regions and throughout the
centuries until the Tang era, when administrative supervision intensified, the overall number
of monks and nuns was limited, ordination of clerics became confined to official departments,
entrance examinations were held, and certificates for these were finally issued starting in 724,
to increase the integrity of the sagha. 141 Moreover, in Tang times administrative functions
have been carried out by civil officersa further measure strengthening governmental
dominance. Even though these efforts were later counteracted by the sale of certificates, it was
during the Tang dynasty that the overall number of martial monks decreased. In this era,
sagha matters were also subject to a set of secular regulations especially created for dealing
with religious communities. These laws, unfortunately no longer extant and now known as
Daosengge (Regulations for Daoist priests and Buddhist monks), strictly prohibited
not only the study and reading of military literature, but also the act of killing itself. They also
made clear that offenders will be punished according to secular law and not (only) on the
basis of Buddhist regulations. While the latter simply demand the offender to be expelled
from the order and claim he would gain a bad religious outcome, secular law demands
everyone found guilty of murder to be executed. 142
Although in Japan, too, there existed several sets of secular regulations for dealing with
clerics on the basis of the Tang model, Buddhist institutions had far greater territorial and
judicial immunity. This is true especially for the larger temples in the period from the tenth to

139
Moroto, TshinRys jidai ni okeru sryu no jgun.
140
See Mou Zhongjian and Zhang Jian, Zhongguo zongjiao tongshi, vol. 1, 403410.
141
Zrcher, Buddhismus in China: Die Grenzen der Innovation, esp. 223228.
142
Moroto, Chgoku Bukky seido-shi no kenky, 24, 192195. On the Daosengge, see also: Zheng
Xianwen, Tangdai daosengge yanjiu. Since the articles on killing are scattered throughout the Tang
Code (Tangl , compiled in 635) in connection to several other matters such as the circumstances of
the action, the intention of the actor, rank and connection of the people involved, etc., their general
character is hard to grasp in one single footnote. For some examples, see: Johnson, trans., The Tang
Code, vol. 2, 247270 (articles 252265 on plotting murder), 331333 (article 306 on intentional
killing in an array), and 383384 (article 339 on accidentally killing).
Martial Monks 75

the sixteenth century, which is known not only for its politically and economically dominant
Buddhist instituions but also as the peak of institutionalized monastic violence in Japanese
history. 143 Even when asked to hand over criminals supposedly hiding in a monastery, the
clerics often refused to do so. And in fact, there was little the secular authorities could do
about it. 144 The victory of secular rule over this extraordinary state of power was finally and
ruthlessly achieved by Oda Nobunaga (15341584) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi
(15361598) at the end of the sixteenth century, and judicially enshrined in the
legislation of the early Edo government (16031867). 145 These years mark the end of
monastic troops in Japanese historya clear sign to the importance of governmental
dominance as a factor in restraining monastic power.
Evaluating the Japanese case alongside the situation in China, the indication is that the
frequency of martial violence among Buddhist clerics was inversely proportional to the actual
military and political power of the state. When the state was not able to claim its power over
the country and thus could not handle banditry, rebellions, or enemy invasions, the sagha,
like all the other members of Chinese society, were left to take care of themselves. Thus, it
must be kept in mind that in times of military weakness of the state, not only monks engaged
in defensive violence, but many forms of volunteer militias (yijun ) did so as well.
Furthermore, a less powerful state also raised the odds for successful rebellions and thus gave
rise to various uprisings.
Although the scarcity of source materials makes it impossible to make any assumptions
with regard to weaponry, combat training, and military tactics employed by the martial monks
in medieval China, the lack of information can be interpreted as resulting from the ubiquity of
cases: historiographers might have not seen the need to report them because they perceived
them as perfectly ordinary. The majority of these monks most likely did not have any military
training or experience in actual fighting and their methods did not differ significantly from
other volunteer militias or rebel groups. This suggests that Buddhism in medieval China was
not as peaceful as its common modern image would lead one to believe, and yet not more
militant than other sectors of Chinese society at that time. Only the numerous Buddhist and
Buddhist-inspired uprisings during the Northern Wei rule are an important exception and
indicate widespread social strife.
Much the same problem of scarcity of information exists concerning the identity and
social status of the monks involved. Although most of the sources treat the mostly nameless
monks as shamen and seng , some doubts about their actual status as fully
ordained monks should be raised, especially since some people just pretended to be monks in

143
On the relationship between the state and Buddhism in this period, see: Kleine, Wie die zwei
Flgel eines Vogels, esp. 189194.
144
Adolphson, The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha, 77.
145
Nosco, Keeping the Faith, esp. 136.
76 Journal of Chinese Religions

order to enjoy advantages like exemption from taxes, corve, and military service. Medieval
Chinese history provides a number of examples of these fake monks (weilan seng ),
who did not receive proper ordination. Instead they were ordained under sometimes dubious
conditions. These practices of private ordination (sidu ) of Buddhist clerics without
governmental control and approval were quite common until their final abolition by the Tang
government. 146
Although the prohibition of killing as a major precept for Buddhist clerics was widely
accepted in Chinese society, the ruling authorities did not condemn per se the use of violence
by monks. On the contrary, they even occasionally recruited and paid members of the
Buddhist clergy for military services. This attitude can definitely be traced back to the diverse
motivations and aims behind the use of violence. Thus it stands to reason that, from the
governmental perspective, violence against the state results in costs, whereas violence on
behalf of it produces benefits. When collective monastic violence helped protect or restore the
local or national order in the face of banditry or enemy invasions, the state or its
representatives frequently showed their gratitude through social and economic resources like
titles, privileges, estates, or, in some cases, even monetary aid to individual monks or whole
monastic institutions. Even though this symbiotic relationship did not give rise to the
formation and maintenance of monastic armies as in Japan, it certainly contributed to the
development of monastic martial arts in such famous centers like Shaolin and Wutai.
However, unlike some Chinese scholars celebration of the martial engagement of heroic
monks (yiseng ) fighting banditry and enemy armies as acts of deep patriotism, most of
the cases discussed here should be interpreted rather as primarily resulting from a very basic
need for self-defence. In most of the cases recorded in the sources, military engagement was a
reaction to threats directed at the monks in their own environment. It thus was primarily
confined to local areas. Only the renowned gongfu monks of Shaolin participated in
actual warfare against the Japanese Pirates (wokou ) in the mid-sixteenth century, far
away from their monastery in the coastal region of modern-day Jiangsu and Shanghai
provinces. 147 Of course, patriotism (as an end of supposedly higher value) and the basic

146
On some cases of fake monks in medieval China, see: L Simian, L Simian du shi zhaji, vol.
2, 980981. On private ordination and fake monks in Tang times, see: Michibata Rysh, Tdai
Bukky shi no kenky, 100114.
147
Shahar, Ming-Period Evidence of Shaolin Martial Practice, 380390. See also Shahar, The
Shaolin Monastery, 6873; Filipiak, Die chinesische Kampfkunst, 4551; Wang Junqi, Guanyu
Mingchao jiajing sengbing kangwo wenti de shangque; Cheng Dali and He Weiqi, Shaolin sengbing
kangwo shiji kao; Broy, Das dharma schtzen, 214217. There still is some doubt about the actual
background of the monks labelled Shaolin in the sources. Thus it is probable that a large number of
them was not from Shaolin itself but in fact was recruited at the locales. However, at least the leading
monks seem to have been from Shaolin. On this issue, see: Cheng Dali and Zhang Zhuo, Kangwo
sengbing: Shaolin si seng? Shaolin pai seng?
Martial Monks 77

need for self-defence (as an end of supposedly lower value) do not necessarily contradict
each other. However, as there were no recruitments made on a larger scale to form monastic
armies until the sixteenth century and again in the twentieth century, the military engagement
of most of the monks can be understood as an act of self-defence in times of social unrest and
military threats.
As this paper tried to demonstrate, Chinese Buddhism does not match the ideal of an
ever-peaceful religion. However, even though varying numbers of monks, at times ranging in
the tens of thousands, occasionally engaged in some kind of militant activities, it nonetheless
must be emphasized that we should not lapse into a distorted view of what appears to be
Buddhist militancy during certain periods of Chinese history. There have always been
monks strictly obeying and defending the prohibition of killing as well, some of whom even
resisted the demand of state or military officials to join military actions. 148 In some cases,
their insistence even led to a limitation of the execution of criminals and the slaughter of
animals required for ritual sacrifices. 149
Nevertheless, Buddhism contributed in many other ways to the protection of the state:
Deities like Vairavaa were worshiped to assure victory on the battlefield. 150 In pursuit of
similar aims, Buddhist monks were ordered to recite the Scripture for Humane Kings
(Renwangjing ) or to perform similar ritual tasks. 151 Miraculous stories also include
Buddhist deities like Guanyin, whose appearance was perceived as an omen for a good
outcome in military campaigns. 152
The occasional participation in warfare or militant uprisings by members of the Buddhist
clergy certainly was not particularly important in the military history of medieval China. Its
significance, however, can be found in other aspects: First, the cases discussed in this paper
established patterns evident in later Buddhist dealings with violence. Starting from here,
Buddhist violence usually appeared in terms of uprisings against, or support of the state or
local order. Unlike in Japan, however, monastic militancy never emerged as violence between
religious institutions. Second, the previously discussed examples occasioned the emergence of
doctrinal argumentation which could be and was used to justify violence. Third, they

148
See Tso Sze-bong (Cao Shibang), Seng shi suo zai Zhongguo shamen jianshou jiegui huo
Tianzhu chuantong de gezhong shili, esp. 325329 and 333335. See also Moroto, TshinRys
jidai ni okeru sryu no jgun, 106110; Moroto, Chgoku Bukky seido-shi no kenky, 502503; and
Yan Yaozhong, Fojiao jiel yu Zhongguo shehui, 503504.
149
See for example: Taiping yulan, j. 655, 2926a. See also: Moroto, Chgoku Bukky seido-shi no
kenky, 494, 498.
150
Demiville, Le Bouddhisme et la Guerre, 289290.
151
Jiu Tangshu, j. 11, 280; j. 116, 3417; Xin Tangshu, j. 145, 4716. On the Renwangjing, see:
Orzech, Politics and Transcendent Wisdom. On ritual support of military campaigns during the Tang
dynasty, see Yan Yaozhong, Fojiao jiel yu Zhongguo shehui, 502.
152
Moroto, Chgoku Bukky seido-shi no kenky, 493.
78 Journal of Chinese Religions

demonstrate that even with the persistent rejection of violence in most Buddhist discourses,
the history of Buddhism in China is punctuated with violence of various sorts.

Abbreviations

BKDJT Mochizuki Shink, ed., Mochizuki Bukky daijiten


SKQS Siku quanshu
SSZZK Shinsan Dainippon zokuzky
T Taish shinsh daizky
ZZTJ Zizhi tongjian

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