Tang Dynasty Dbq

Buddhism is known to be the oldest religion to ever exist in China. It gained most of its popularity in the East Asian countries of Korea, Japan, and India where it began to decline in China. The acceptance of Buddhism altered where it was first seen as a method to establish order, and then was recognized by the Tangy Dynasty to be a threat against their rule. The fall of the Han Dynasty did not prevent the spread of Buddhism in China. In fact, the Dynasty's collapse actually furthered the influence of Buddhism. After the fall of the Han Dynasty, people lived without ingenuity and they became very dejected. The Chinese (mainly peasants) sought Buddhism as a new source of hope for them. The peasants saw Buddhism as a chance for them to
Faxian wrote, “That they should go to India and seek for the disciplinary rules. [...] They passed through [...] and reached the emporium of Chang-yih. [...] There they found the country was so much disturbed that traveling on the roads was impossible for them” (Doc 3). He is saying that he felt bad for the people who were hurt and they went to India to find who dealt them these punishments. When they got there, they saw how troubled the country really was. This shows that Buddhism threatened the Tang Dynasty’s rule because the spread of Buddhism lead to the corruption of the minds of Chinese population. Following constant routines (Buddhists following the commandments) can actually harm people. A girl in China asked her teacher why she was receiving bad grades in school even though she studied a lot, and her teacher said that it was because she killed somebody in her previous life. People get sucked into these philosophies that they begin to believe that their present state is affected by their past lives. Also, along with the corruption of the minds of the Chinese, the Buddha was deemed by the people of the Tang Dynasty to be unfit for a position in the palace. Han Yu saw Buddhism as evil. He wrote that, “The Buddha's manner of dress did not conform to our laws; he understood neither the duties that bind sovereign and subject, nor the affections of father and son” (Doc 5). He is saying that the Buddha did not follow the rules of dress which were different for each social class. Instead, the Buddha wore a robe. This angered the Tang Dynasty. They did not like that the Buddha was not following the rules of dress that had been placed since the rule of the Qin Dynasty. Han Yu did not think that the Buddha understood the necessities of being a ruler. He then said, “If the Buddha were still alive today [...] he would [...] be escorted to the borders of the nation,