Cultural Zen Forest

Author: Xu Guiling / Situ Shangji
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Hongfu Temple in Guizhou is a renowned Buddhist monastery in southwestern China, holding significant value for Buddhist cultural research and development. This book employs theories and methods from cultural anthropology and cultural geography, based on field research, to elucidate the historical vicissitudes of Hongfu Temple against the backdrop of Guizhou's Buddhist history. It explores the natural, socio-cultural, and environmental conditions of its establishment and development, the architectural layout of the temple, its cultural ecological landscape, functional divisions, and management systems. The book also examines the evolution of economic activities from ancient temple lands to the current focus on religious tourism, as well as the economic and cultural exchanges and interactions between monastic and lay communities. It demonstrates the social and cultural significance of Buddhist monasteries in contemporary conditions. This book serves as a reference for practitioners in fields such as religion, philosophy, anthropology, history, geography, culture, sociology, demography, and tourism.