Religion+Post+Classical+China

=Religion In Post Classical China=


 * Buddhist Power Under the Tang Dynasty:**
 * Chan Buddhism was heavily practiced and promoted by the government
 * Empress Wu attempted to have Buddhism made a state religion
 * Effects of Buddhisms rise:
 * Daoist thought was pushed out
 * Confucianism was set aside
 * Control of empire was much easier when everybody practiced the same religion
 * The empire was more unified
 * Anti-Buddhist Backlash:
 * When the Daoist monks attempted to take away Buddhist power
 * did this by flaunting their Daoist power
 * Tried to convince the Tang government that Buddhism was a economic strain
 * Taxes could not be placed on monks or on monastery land
 * Eventually the state came to be afraid of Buddhist power, and realized the Economic strain
 * Buddhism fades in power and evens out with Daoist and Confucian thought, no particular one takes over until the rise of the Song


 * Revival of Confucian Thought Under the Song**
 * Buddhism lost it's power under the Song and Confucianism was reborn
 * Scholar Gentry class revitalized Confucian ideas
 * Contrary to Buddhist thought, the Neo-Confucians put emphasis on rank as well as title
 * Also contrary to Buddhists, Confucian thought promoted gender distinction
 * Neo-Confucians believed that good moral humans should lead
 * The Song dynasty supported no specific religion like the Tang, only supported Confucian thought