Abstract: (English Version) <\/strong>
\nBased on textual sources and interviews, this study recounts the religious experiences of Master Jinghai (1919\u20132019) of Dalin Chan Temple in Jiangsu. Born into extreme poverty and ordained at a small rural temple at an early age, Jinghai later entered a Buddhist academy, which enabled him to rise into the ranks of the monastic elite. After 1950, he was compelled to return to lay life; he reentered the sangha in 1982 and, in 1989, left Tianning Temple to devote himself to the reconstruction of Dalin Temple in Wujin. At Dalin Temple, he not only rebuilt the monastery and gathered a community of devotees, but also worked to establish the Wujin Buddhist Academy, gradually transforming Dalin into a local center of Buddhist activity.<\/p>\nJinghai\u2019s life journey mirrors the broader political and religious transformations that unfolded across China over the past century, while also revealing several key mechanisms behind the reform and reconstruction of modern Chinese Buddhism. On the one hand, the emergence of Buddhist academies in the first half of the twentieth century profoundly reshaped social mobility within the sangha. It was precisely through this new institutional pathway that Jinghai escaped the fate of remaining an obscure monk in a small rural temple and, through the transitional status of a \u201cstudent-monk,\u201d ultimately became a Dharma teacher in major monastic centers. On the other hand, the process of reconstruction that Jinghai oversaw at Dalin Temple illustrates the remarkable capacity of Buddhist tradition to absorb and repurpose local traditions. For instance, local Daoist heritages such as the cults of the \u201cWhite Dragon\u201d and \u201cDragon Mother\u201d were not only reaffirmed but were transformed into proofs of Buddhist merit and accomplishment.<\/p>\n
Overall, Master Jinghai\u2019s Buddhist career may be divided into two phases. His early life was marked by efforts to find his place within various institutional frameworks of modern Buddhism; his later life\u2014beginning with his voluntary departure from the renowned Tianning Temple in 1989\u2014integrated his earlier experiences into a strategic blueprint for rebuilding Dalin Temple. In this sense, Jinghai\u2019s personal narrative shares the same underlying motif as the revival of Buddhism in mainland China after the 1980s: a return to, or rearticulation of, certain institutional models and aspirations originating in the first half of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n
Profile\uff1a(Chinese Version)<\/strong>
\n\u6c72\u5586\uff0c\u6cd5\u56fd\u56fd\u7acb\u4e1c\u65b9\u8bed\u8a00\u6587\u660e\u5b66\u9662\uff08Inalco\uff09\u793e\u4f1a\u5b66\u6559\u6388\u3001\u4e1c\u8bed-\u5723\u4e25\u8fd1\u73b0\u4ee3\u6c49\u4f20\u4f5b\u6559\u8bb2\u5e2d\u6559\u6388\u3001\u6cd5\u56fd\u591a\u5b66\u79d1\u4f5b\u6559\u7814\u7a76\u4e2d\u5fc3\uff08CEIB\uff09\u4e3b\u4efb\u3002\u4ed6\u7684\u4e3b\u8981\u7814\u7a76\u9886\u57df\u5305\u62ec\u8fd1\u4f5b\u6559\u73b0\u4ee3\u6027\u3001\u5b97\u6559\u5168\u7403\u5316\u3001\u5b97\u6559\u793e\u4f1a\u5b66\u7406\u8bba\u4e0e\u6cd5\u56fd\u6c49\u5b66\u53f2\u3002\u8457\u4f5c\u5305\u62ec\u300a\u5b97\u6559\u3001\u73b0\u4ee3\u6027\u4e0e\u65f6\u95f4\u6027\uff1a\u5f53\u4ee3\u7985\u5b97\u7684\u793e\u4f1a\u5b66\u300b (Religion, modernit\u00e9 et temporalit\u00e9: une sociologie du bouddhisme chan contemporain, CNRS Editions, 2016)\uff0c\u4e3b\u7f16\u6709\u300a\u4e8c\u5341\u4e16\u7eaa\u4e2d\u56fd\u4f5b\u6559\u7684\u4e24\u6b21\u590d\u5174\u300b\uff08\u4e0eDaniela Campo\u3001\u738b\u542f\u5143\u5408\u7f16\uff0c\u590d\u65e6\u5927\u5b66\u51fa\u7248\u793e\uff0c2016\uff09\u3001\u300a\u5f97\u9053\u4e0e\u6210\u5723\u2014\u2014\u73b0\u4ee3\u4e2d\u56fd\u5b97\u6559\u6743\u5a01\u7684\u5efa\u6784\u300b(Making Saints in Modern China , co-edited with David Ownby and Vincent Goossaert, Oxford University Press, 2017)\u3001\u300a\u6539\u9769\u5f00\u653e\u65f6\u4ee3\u7684\u4e2d\u56fd\u4f5b\u6559\u300b(Buddhism after Mao: Negotiations, Continuities, and Reinventions, co-edited with Gareth Fisher and Andr\u00e9 Lalibert\u00e9, University of Hawai\u2018i Press, 2019)\u3001\u300a\u73b0\u4ee3\u4e16\u754c\u7684\u601d\u60f3\u8005\u2014\u2014\u9f50\u7f8e\u5c14\u7814\u7a76\u8f91\u9009\u300b\uff08\u4e0e\u4efb\u5f3a\u5408\u7f16\uff0c\u5546\u52a1\u5370\u4e66\u9986\uff0c2021\uff09\u3001\u300a\u65b0\u65f6\u4ee3\u4e2d\u56fd\u7684\u4f5b\u6559\u5b17\u53d8\u2014\u2014\u56fd\u5bb6\u3001\u6587\u5316\u4e0e\u5b97\u6559\u4e4b\u95f4\u300b\uff08Metamorphosis of Buddhism in China\u2019s New Era: Between State, Culture, and Religion, co-edited with David L.Wank and Ashiwa Yoshiko, Bloomsbury Academic, 2025\uff09\u7b49\u3002<\/p>\n(English Version)<\/strong>
\nJi Zhe is a Professor of Sociology and the holder of the Inalco-Sheng Yen Chair for the Studies of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Buddhism at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco), as well as the Director of the Centre d\u2019\u00c9tudes Interdisciplinaires sur le Bouddhisme (CEIB). His primary research areas include Buddhist modernity, the globalization of religion, sociological theories of religion, and the history of French sinology. His publications include Religion, modernit\u00e9 et temporalit\u00e9: une sociologie du bouddhisme chan contemporain (CNRS Editions, 2016); and he has served as editor or co-editor of \u4e8c\u5341\u4e16\u7eaa\u4e2d\u56fd\u4f5b\u6559\u7684\u4e24\u6b21\u590d\u5174 (co-edited with Daniela Campo and Wang Qiyuan, Fudan University Press, 2016); Making Saints in Modern China (co-edited with David Ownby and Vincent Goossaert, Oxford University Press, 2017); Buddhism after Mao: Negotiations, Continuities, and Reinventions (co-edited with Gareth Fisher and Andr\u00e9 Lalibert\u00e9, University of Hawai\u2018i Press, 2019); \u73b0\u4ee3\u4e16\u754c\u7684\u601d\u60f3\u8005\u2014\u2014\u9f50\u7f8e\u5c14\u7814\u7a76\u8f91\u9009 (co-edited with Ren Qiang, The Commercial Press, 2021); and Metamorphosis of Buddhism in China\u2019s New Era: Between State, Culture, and Religion (co-edited with David L. Wank and Ashiwa Yoshiko, Bloomsbury Academic, 2025), among others.<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"lecture-%e9%be%8d%e5%b1%85%e4%bd%9b%e5%9c%b0%ef%bc%9a%e4%b8%80%e4%bd%8d%e7%99%be%e6%ad%b2%e5%83%a7%e4%ba%ba%e7%9a%84%e5%ae%97%e6%95%99%e6%ad%b7%e7%a8%8b-dragon-dwelling-in-a-buddhist-land-the-reli","image":false,"all_day":false,"start_date":"2025-12-18 10:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2025","month":"12","day":"18","hour":"10","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2025-12-18 12:00:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2025","month":"12","day":"18","hour":"12","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"2025-12-18 08:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2025","month":"12","day":"18","hour":"08","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2025-12-18 10:00:00","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2025","month":"12","day":"18","hour":"10","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"UTC+2","timezone_abbr":"UTC+2","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"\u20ac","currency_code":"USD","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":32369,"author":"10","status":"publish","date":"2020-05-22 12:48:42","date_utc":"2020-05-22 10:48:42","modified":"2020-05-22 12:48:42","modified_utc":"2020-05-22 10:48:42","url":"https:\/\/www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/venue\/online\/","venue":"Online","slug":"online","json_ld":{"@type":"Place","name":"Online","description":"","url":"https:\/\/www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/venue\/online\/","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress"},"telephone":"","sameAs":""},"show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"global_id":"www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/en\/?id=32369","global_id_lineage":["www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/en\/?id=32369"]},"organizer":[{"id":35283,"author":"10","status":"publish","date":"2023-07-13 15:18:58","date_utc":"2023-07-13 13:18:58","modified":"2023-07-13 15:18:58","modified_utc":"2023-07-13 13:18:58","url":"https:\/\/www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/organizer\/department-of-east-asian-studies\/","organizer":"Department of East Asian Studies","slug":"department-of-east-asian-studies","json_ld":{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of East Asian Studies","description":"","url":"","telephone":"","email":"","sameAs":""},"global_id":"www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/en\/?id=35283","global_id_lineage":["www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/en\/?id=35283"]}],"custom_fields":[],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Lecture: \u9f8d\u5c45\u4f5b\u5730\uff1a\u4e00\u4f4d\u767e\u6b72\u50e7\u4eba\u7684\u5b97\u6559\u6b77\u7a0b\/ Dragon Dwelling in a Buddhist Land: The Religious Journey of a Centenarian Monk","description":"<p>Titel: \u9f8d\u5c45\u4f5b\u5730\uff1a\u4e00\u4f4d\u767e\u6b72\u50e7\u4eba\u7684\u5b97\u6559\u6b77\u7a0b\/ Dragon Dwelling in a Buddhist Land: The Religious Journey of a Centenarian Monk Time\uff1a18. December 2025 CET 10:00\u201312:00 Online Speech via ZooM Register in advance for this meeting: […]<\/p>\\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/en\/events\/lecture-%e9%be%8d%e5%b1%85%e4%bd%9b%e5%9c%b0%ef%bc%9a%e4%b8%80%e4%bd%8d%e7%99%be%e6%ad%b2%e5%83%a7%e4%ba%ba%e7%9a%84%e5%ae%97%e6%95%99%e6%ad%b7%e7%a8%8b-dragon-dwelling-in-a-buddhist-land-the-reli\/","eventAttendanceMode":"https:\/\/schema.org\/OfflineEventAttendanceMode","eventStatus":"https:\/\/schema.org\/EventScheduled","startDate":"2025-12-18T10:00:00+02:00","endDate":"2025-12-18T12:00:00+02:00","location":{"@type":"Place","name":"Online","description":"","url":"https:\/\/www.sinologie-goettingen.de\/venue\/online\/","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress"},"telephone":"","sameAs":""},"organizer":{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of East Asian Studies","description":"","url":"","telephone":"","email":"","sameAs":""},"performer":"Organization"}}