Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China
"Jiang Wu's groundbreaking work Enlightenment in Dispute goes a long way toward augmenting our understanding of Buddhism in the Qing dynasty, and will quickly become an indispensable classic in Buddhist studies."------Charles B. Jones, China Review International: Vol. 18, No. 4, 2011: 545-549."This book opens up new venues for thinking about Chinese Buddhism in late imperial times and will also be highly useful to scholars of Chinese sociointellectual history."---Jimmy Yu, Religious Studies Review , VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2 (JUNE 2009), p. 146."Enlightenment in Dispute stands as an invaluable resource for further scholarly exploration of seventeenth-century Buddhist traditions."------ Jennifer Eichman, Journal of Chinese Religions, vol. 37 (2009): 144-147."Drawing on a wide range of Buddhist and historical sources, including the Jiaxing Buddhist canon, monastic gazetteers, Chan recorded sayings and lamp records, rare sources from the Manpukuji archive in Japan, as well as Dharma transmission records from the Shanghai Library, Wu successfully highlights the robust activities, dialogues and disputes among the various Chan communities in the seventeenth century." Jack Meng-Tat Chia, Journal of Buddhist Ethics,Volume 18, 2011: 189-193."Jiang Wu's Enlightenment in Dispute succeeds in its bold claim that the revival of Chan Buddhism deserves to be seen as playing a significant role in 17th-century Chinese history. Among Wu's many important findings are his specific tracing of Chan in late Ming thought and factionalism, thesignificance of Chan 'textual spirituality' in the intellectual questing of the time, the surprising use of the law in the adjudication of disputed Dharma transmissions, the intersections of Chan with Ming loyalist sentiments and actions, and the central part played by Yongzheng (first as prince andthen as emperor) in defining Chan doctrinal legitimacy and ultimately his own enlightenment. The book is a valuable addition to our studies of China's turbulent and formative 'long seventeenth century.'" --Jonathan Spence, author of The Search for Modern China and Return to Dragon Mountain"Truly a work of merit for the history of religious and intellectual thought, practice, and sociopolitics in later imperial China, this book by Jiang Wu is a very welcome addition to scholarship on the changes in Chinese learned culture from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth century. It is carefully composed to offer access for readers on several levels, from the relative newcomer to Chan Buddhism to the seasoned sinologist. Those who specialize in the late Ming and early Qing period will find that Enlightenment in Dispute completes our picture of the late-Ming 'Buddhist revival' by extending its canvas to include maturation and decline. Wu's book also makes an essential addition to our current knowledge of Buddhism in seventeenth-century elite social life, and it forms a fascinating complement to our understanding of 'fundamentalist' trends in contemporaneous Confucian thought and ritual practice." --Lynn Struve, Professor in the Department of History, Indiana University