Modern Chinese Religions at the Intersections

Recent studies suggest that evangelism beyond social networks is more important for spreading religion in China than previously thought. Drawing upon neglected English- and Chinese-language sources and the author’s own interviews, this paper aims to enhance our understanding of how outreach to strangers in China occurs by examining the methods used by Hare Krishnas since 1977. It argues that the proselytization strategies employed by members of unofficial religions, like the Hare Krishnas, often differ significantly from those utilized by practitioners of state-sanctioned ones. While the latter rely on “strategies of attraction”—techniques designed to lure individuals to sacred sites where they can be engaged legally, the former actively seek out potential converts in secular spaces and at sites belonging to other religious institutions. It is difficult to generalize about religion in China as a whole, but comparing official and unofficial religions shows promise for making discussions more manageable and productive.

This project follows Chinese Buddhists who traveled to Japan studying Esoteric Buddhism from 1910 to the 1930s, returning to China spreading their teachings among monastics and laity. It will start with Gui Bohua’s (桂伯華 1861-1915) turn to Esoteric Buddhism to deal with the death of his family and then consider a series of monks and laypersons who sought ought initiation at the Shingon headquarters of Koyasan 高野山. These Buddhists sought not only to study a lost part of Chinese Buddhism but also to develop a potential alternative to western modernity. They spread Esoteric Buddhism throughout the Chinese Buddhist landscape while simultaneously improving Sino-Japanese relations during the spread of Japanese colonies throughout the Sinosphere. Finally, a case study of Taixu’s 太虚 Wuchang Buddhist Studies Academy *foxueyuan* 武昌佛学院 highlights its lay community’s shift from academic to Esoteric Buddhism.