Cultural identities as reflected in the literature of the Northern and Southern dynasties period th th A. D. ) (4 -6 centuries Author: WANG Mei-Hsiu Submitted in Accordance with the requirements for the degree of PhD The University of Leeds School of Modern Languages and Cultures 29 August 2007 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. The copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. i Acknowledgments This dissertation would not have been possible without the generous support have of many people since August 2000,1 am also indebted to those people who actedas mentor to me. Among those who have contributed to this dissertation, Professor W. J. F. Jenner, who is my supervisor, guided this dissertation and also inspired me to greater effort in developing my knowledge and in widening my perspective vision. He also offered me great support for my living in London in the last stage of my study. Without his support my life and career will be different. Professor Flemming Christiansen, who is my tutor and my supervisor too, encouraged me when I was worried about my upgrading in the summer of 2002. Professor Delia Davin, who is also my supervisor, concerned herself with my progress especially when I stayed in my country for my job. She has also helped me in dealing with practical matters related to my research and examination. Professor Chialing Mei, my external supervisor in National Taiwan University, has always encouraged me in my research. My family, my husband Professor An-yuan Chang and my two daughters, Yun and Wei, have always been the most important support in my study. Without their understanding and support I would not have been able to complete this long path of study. ii Abstract During the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties of China identity questions became serious in a society thrown into disorder by political, religious and ethnic problems. This thesis uses three books written in the sixth century to discuss how educatedChinese faced identity problems and how they dealt with them. The Buddhist monk Huijiao, dealt with the problems of sinifying a foreign religion. He constructed many different identities in addition to the Buddhist one for the monks in his book Gaoseng zhuan, (Lives of Eminent Monks), a collection of biographies of Buddhist monks, to bring Buddhism closer to Chinese tradition and more acceptable by Confucian standards. Through the identity construction he also made responsesto anti-Buddhist ideas. Yang Xuanzhi's Luoyang qielan ji, (Record of the Monasteries of Luoyang), deals with the identity problems of Chinese officials serving a Xianbei regime in the north and of the short-lived capital of the Northern Wei in Luoyang. Yang reconstructed a Chinese identity for the lost capital as a true heir of Chinese tradition, as were the emperors, princes and officials who lived there. He created an identity defined not by ethnicity but by culture. Yan Zhitui's Tanshi jiaxun, (Family Instruction of the Yan Clan), is a book his descendantshow which tells to construct and maintain the future identity of his family. He drew his own on own experience of recovering from repeated political catastrophes to set out an identity that would help the family to survive disordered times and maintain their status in society. iii Note on Romanization This dissertationincludes a number of namesand terms in Chinese.Where modem writers have their own preferred ways of writing their names in roman letters,,these have been followed. Otherwise, I have used the Hanyu pinyin system for Romanizing names and terms throughout this dissertation except in quotations in which I have kept their original spelling. Chinese and Japanesecharacters for the names of authors and the titles of their works can be found in the bibliography. q iv Abbreviations Used in the Text GSZ Gaoseng zhuan LYQLJ Luoyang qielanji A2 msz Mingseng zhuan P311i SGSZ Song -riAýfj faP wl, gaoseng zhuan I - sxz Shenxian zhuan [Of-I A,I XGSZ Xu gaoseng zhuan F5QU YSJX Yanshijiaxun AflfýV)ll YSJXJJ lanshijiaxunjýie ffivý 1ý XIlllItl-; z-W TSD Taish5 Shinshfi Daizc5ky6(Taish5z5k). )aRFTOJýWW" ()dOW) V Contents Acknowledgments Abstract Note on Romanization Abbreviations Used in the Text iv Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Shizu 6 The Ethnic questions 12 Buddhism 20 Chapter 2 Identity problems caused by Buddhism and solutions --- according to the Gaoseng zhuan 30 Gaoseng zhuan-Biographies of Buddhist monks 31 Huijiao-The author of Gaoseng zhuan 32 Huijiao's motivations 37 Dissatisfaction with Mingseng Zhuan 38 Influence of Sengyou 40 The tradition of historical writing and the new tide of Buddhist biographical writing 43 As a response to anti-Buddhists and a new form of identity construction 49 Sources and structure of the Gaoseng zhuan 53 The sources of Gaoseng Zhuan 53 The categories and its ranks 57 Similarities to Shenxian zhuan 61 The structural model of Gaoseng Zhuan biographies 63 The identities Huijiao constructed for monks 73 Miracle worker and imperial adviser 74 Philanthropist, ascetic and hermit 80 Scholar and mingshi 89 Other problems 96 vi Chapter 3 The Luoyang qielan ji and identities recreated by Yang Xuanzhi 99 The book and the author's purpose in writing 99 The author of Luoyang qielanji-Yang Xuanzhi 102 The circumstances of writing Luoyang qielan ji 105 The identities Yang Xuanzhi created for Northern Wei Luoyang 107 Physical identity and the Yongning Monastery 108 Historical identity 113 Making connections between Northern Wei Luoyang and earlier Han Chinese history 113 The way Yang Xuanzhi talked about the history of Northern Wei Luoyang 117 Emperor Xiao wen di of the Northern Wei 117 Avoiding talking about Northern Wei history before the move to Luoyang 119 The way Yang Xuanzhi talked about the history of the last years of the Northern Wei and the final crisis of Luoyang. 122 Religious identity --- A Buddhist city 128 An international city 137 A Han Chinese city 145 Emphasizing Northern Wei Luoyang's Han Chinese characteristics 145 Indicating the differences between people in Northern Wei Luoyang and some other non-Chinese people 150 Indicating the differences between Han Chinese culture in Northern Wei Luoyang and Han Chinese culture in the South 154 Chapter 4 Yanshijiaxun and Yan Zhitui 165 Yanshi Narun --- A family instruction and a book for creating identity 165 The author of Yanshijiaxun --- Yan Zhitui and his life 167 Yan Zhitui's problems of identity 172 The identities Yan Zhitui reconstructed for himself and his family 174 vii Family identity 174 Education of children 175 Keeping good relationship between brothers 178 Maintaining good relation between brothers 170 Care in marriage and remarriage 179 Good managementof the family 181 Official identity 184 The Necessity of constructing an identity as an official 184 Practical and safe official identity 186 Some official identities should be avoided 188 Identity as scholars and gentlemen 193 The importance of study 193 Scholar as an occupation 195 Advice on study 196 Avoiding the influence of Daoism 201 Proper writing and pronunciation 202 Good customsand manners 205 Other skills and abilities of the gentleman scholar 207 Religious identity as lay Buddhists 214 Yan Zhitui's skeptical attitude toward Daoism 214 Practical medical Daoism 216 Lay Buddhists 217 The modified Confucian 222 Chapter 5 Conclusion 229 Appendix: A comparative list of biographies in Gaosengzhuan and Mingseng zhuan 234 Bibliography 252 i Chapter 1 Introduction This thesis is a study of identity as reflected in three books that were completed in medieval China in the sixth century. They are all concerned with the time from the fourth to the sixth centuries, the period in Chinese history usually called Northern and Southern dynasties. After the collapse of Eastern Han rule, new questions of identity appeared in the Chinese world. For nearly four centuries it was politically divided and unstable. Large parts of China were ruled by non-Chinese conquerors. In troubled times many people moved away from their homelands. Buddhism,, a religion of foreign origin, challenged the ideological supremacy of Confucian and other Chinese traditions. From then till the reunification by Yang Jian (%, M, 541-604), the founder of the Sui (Pfj, 581-618) dynasty, in 589, a long period of unrest and disorder, Chinese people not only faced various serious struggles for physical survival but also experienced great changes in traditional values and rearrangements of social status. These changes were affected by political, religious and geographical factors. And they all posed serious questions of identity. The problem of identity that educated Chinese faced in this period were many and difficult. Instead of one dynasty ruling the whole China world that commanded the political loyalty of all of them for centuries there were many regimes, mostly short-lived, that only ruled parts of China. Political loyalty involved hard choices. There were also problems of ethnic identity and loyalty when from the early fourth century onwards north China was ruled by many non-Chinese dynasties. What ý111f 2 problems did this create for their Chinese subjects?In a politically divided China local identity became more significant, especially when there was much population movement. Local identity could also be problematic: did you identify with where you lived or with the place which your family had left? As the new and foreign religion of Buddhism becamedominant in China how did this affect people's sense of cultural identity? Could one be a good Buddhist and an adherentof traditional Chinese cultural values? The question of identity of educated Chinese in the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties was complex and not just an individual experience.