Admission requirements
This course may serve as an introduction to Buddhism in Chinese history. Students do not need any prior academic background in the topic. Genuine interest in Chinese Buddhism and Chinese thought as well as alternate modes of thinking would make the learning experience most fruitful.
BA Chinastudies students can only follow this course if they don't go on exchange in block 4.
Description
The Spread of Buddhism in China
This course traces the history of Buddhist proselytization in pre‐modern China by focusing on the narrative strategies in Buddhist scriptures imported from India and Central Asia as well as Buddhist literature by Chinese authors, including their commentaries on Confucian and Daoist texts. Students will come to appreciate how proselytization and assimilation of Buddhist thought facilitated each other and how Buddhist narratives contributed to the birth of oral and performing literature in China. This course approaches the spread of Buddhism in Chinese culture mainly through close readings of primary sources in translation including imported Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist apocrypha produced in China, commentaries on Confucian classics by Chinese monks, Buddhist-inspired Daoist scriptures as well as performing literature called “transformation texts”. These sources will be combined with secondary readings. We will examine how Buddhism was missionized and assimilated, and how it was given new expressions in various arenas of Chinese intellectual and cultural life over the long course of Chinese history.
Course objectives
Students will develop abilities in close reading of primary sources in translation from Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in Chinese culture, and with a comparative perspective in mind, they will also sharpen their critical eye in textual analysis. While students will learn how Buddhism proselytized itself and became assimilated, they will become familiar with Chinese intellectual history which is primarily consituted by the three traditions.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
The course will be evaluated on a combination of a final paper and engaged, informed and regular class participation, including short assignments.
Weighing
Short assignments: 10%
Class Participation: 30%
Final Paper: 60%
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
Weekly short assignments will be accepted on a pass/no credit basis and have no resit. A re-sit for the participation component is not possible.
There is a two-deadline policy for the final paper; for those who miss this first deadline, this means they have failed on the first attempt. Those who fail on the first attempt—whether by not submitting a paper by the first deadline, or by submitting an inadequate paper—will have one more (second and last) chance to submit their paper by the second deadline.
It is recommended that students use the first deadline as a draft deadline to receive feedback and implement it for the second deadline.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Reading list TBA. As far as possible, freely available materials will be assigned.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Herta Mohr
Remarks
None.