明代上川南地区的佛教与地方社会

Buddhism in the Shang Chuan Nan Region and Local Society in the Ming Dynasty

明代上川南地区毗邻乌思藏,是西番朝贡贸易的必经之地,藏传佛教与汉传佛教在这一地区并行不悖,汉藏社会由此得以整合。佛教在"善"与"义"方面调和儒家思想,僧人社会接触之广,地方适应方式之多,令儒家士大夫普遍接受佛教信仰和寺院生活,地方政府的庆贺礼仪也在佛教寺院中完成。佛教仪式帮助乡民解决"死亡"问题,地方大族依赖佛教仪式祭祀祖先、维系家族组织,通过捐献茶园田土供养寺庵僧人来树立地方权威。在明末清初动乱的武装自保中,佛教为地方社会的稳定与延续做出重要贡献。

In the Ming dynasty the Shang Chuan Nan region close to the Tibet was the only road by which foreign envoys could carry out trade and bring tributes.Lizhou,Yazhou and Diaomen were the three important tea and horse trading sites,and the tributary trade practiced there stimulated the long-distance tea trade along the upper and middle Yangtze River.During the Longqing period,the trade volume of tea reached 3 million jin per annum from 1567 to 1572,and a tributary route took shape called the“Yangtze-Grand Canal”.The collaborative relationship between the Tibetan and the Han ethnicities became intimate.Tibetan Buddhism and Han Buddhism could be practiced without conflict,Han and Tibetan society and the Chinese society were well integrated.The Buddhist monks and the Confucian scholars reconciled the Confucian ideological principles of“Shan”(goodness)and“Yi”(righteousness).The Buddhism temple offered birthday congratulations to the emperor,prayed for longevity for the emperor,prayed for the peace and stability of the state,prayed for good weather for the crops,and so on.Buddhists invited the Confucian scholars to inscribe the record of events on temple tablets,while Confucian scholars retreated within the beautiful scenery of Buddhist temples to prepare for the imperial examination.Buddhist temples also cooperated with the needs of local governments,and local officials would often retreat to Buddhist temples in times of drought to pray for rain.Buddhism and Confucianism had broad contact with society,causing Confucian scholars to come into close contact with Buddhist beliefs and lifestyle.The local government exercised the imperial court’s ceremonies and held royal celebrations in Buddhist temples.Because Buddhist rites could help villagers deal with the problem of death,the descendants of layman in order to fulfill their filial piety asked Buddhist yogi to release their ancestors from the cycle of samsara.Local families relied on Buddhist rites to sacrifice their ancestors and hold together the family clan.By means of donating tea plantations and land to Buddhist temples,the big local families set up local positions of authority.Buddhism cultivated a social atmosphere which commended charitable deeds and developed a united spirit,where local groups enjoyed authority,so that the locals of the Shang Chuan Nan region could defend themselves during a period of enormous turbulence in the late Ming.Buddhism was an important contributor to social stabilization and continuity during the late Ming’s Dynasty’s period of unrest.