Buddhist Culture Encyclopedia

Author: Chen Yudong, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: ★16K hardcover, published by Tianjin People's Publishing House
was introduced to China around the turn of the common era and has a history of nearly two thousand years to this day. During this long historical period, Buddhism has gone through stages of initial introduction, growth, maturity, and culmination, gradually transforming from an alien foreign culture into an indispensable part of traditional Chinese culture, exerting a profound influence on all aspects of social life. Even today, when we mention "Chinese culture," we still refer to the three schools of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism together. This book includes 5,379 entries on various aspects of Buddhist culture, divided into 17 major categories, with most of these further subdivided into smaller categories. These categories specifically include: schools, sects, organizations, institutions, terms, systems, figures, events, scriptures, writings, doctrines, principles, terminology, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Devas, ghosts and gods, rituals, festivals, customs, crafts, ritual implements, clothing, flora and fauna, literature and arts, allusions, idioms, metaphors, architecture, scenic spots, sculptures, paintings, calligraphy and inscriptions, music, opera, dance, sports, hygiene, food and accommodation, etc. The entries in this book use standardized modern Chinese. When an entry has multiple names, one is used as the main title, while others are referenced with "see." The book is accompanied by color and black-and-white illustrations. The color illustrations are compiled at the beginning, while the black-and-white illustrations are placed within the explanations of some entries. An index of Chinese character strokes is provided at the beginning of the book, and an "Chronology of Buddhist Culture" along with an "Index of Pinyin" and a "Subject Index" are appended at the end for reference and retrieval.