The revolution of 1911 that toppled the Manchu
Dynasty and established the Republic of China brought
problems for the Buddhist Sangha. To combat these trends
arose a remarkable monk, T'ai-hsu (1898-1947) who was
able to rally his fellow religionists and to initiate
a program of reform. On the national scale he organised
a Chinese Buddhist Society in 1929.
A revival of the Idealistic School was initiated by the
publication in 1901of the Ch'eng-wei-shih-lun (Notes
on the Completion of the Idealistic Doctrine) of K'uei-chi,
long lost in China but brought back from Japan. The leader
of this revival was the layman Ou-yang Chien, and the
Institute of Inner Learning, which he organised in Naking
(Nanjing) in 1922.
Hsu Yun, Ch'an Master (1840-1959)
'Universally regarded as the most outstanding Buddhist
of the Chinese Sangha in the modern era' (Richard Hunn).
Dharma successor of all five Ch'an schools; main reformer
in Chinese Buddhism revival (1900-50).
Wong Mou-Lam translated the The Platform Sutra
into English and founded the journal Chinese Buddhism
(1898-1978) Upasaka Lu K'uan Yu (Charles Luk) Translator
and Writer on Ch'an. Born in Canton. Lived in exile in
The official formation of the Chinese Buddhist Association
by the government of the People's Republic of China on
May 30th, 1953.
The Cultural Revolution (1965-75) Buddhist temples and
monasteries were sacked and the already weakened Sangha
was further depleted. The excesses of this time have since
been regretted, however, and a more liberal policy introduced.
Ven. Cheng Yen founds Tzu Chi Compassion Relief Association
(1966) and Tzu Chi Compassion Foundation (1980).