Buddhist Culture in the Greater Hangzhou Region (Jiangnan) and Its Dispersion throughout East Asia

The Special Issue looks at East Asian Buddhism from a regional perspective, centering Hangzhou as capital of the Jiangnan region. It is in an effort to formulate a history of East Asian Buddhism as a transregional phenomenon from a thoroughly East Asian perspective. Buddhist Studies incorporates East Asia in meaningful ways but has tended toward Indo-centrism for much of its history. The Hangzhou and Jiangnan region became prominent and noteworthy for its promotion of Buddhism, especially during the Wuyue kingdom (907–978) in the Five Dynasties period (907–959). As the capital of China during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), Hangzhou was the focal point for developments that transformed the East Asian Buddhist landscape. From the Hangzhou/Jiangnan region, new forms of Buddhism, as well as re-energized versions of old forms, spread throughout East Asia, especially to Japan and Korea, creating unique forms of East Asian Buddhism which remain viable in the present day. Hangzhou and the Jiangnan region became a new homeland for East Asian Buddhism, serving as the impetus for Buddhist cultural creativity and imagination. One of the features of this Special Issue is its regional and inter-regional approach to Chinese and East Asian Buddhism, focusing on prominent local developments and figures as being instrumental for the development of Buddhist cultural artifacts, both material and religious. While the focus is on Buddhism, the Special Issue also features others developments, such as literature, architecture, economics, and international trade.