Social Sciences in China, 2018

Vol. 39, No. 2, 2018

The New Spiritual Elements and Artistic Exploration of Chinese Buddhist Literature during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression

(Abstract)

Tan Guilin

Modern Chinese Buddhist literature of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression is a unique literary phenomenon written in a unique era. Thematically, it combines the modern Buddhist consciousness of citizenship and the traditional spirit of the Way of the Bodhisattva. In terms of individual life experience, it responds to the spirit of the times through the conscious and innovative use of Buddhist conceptions introduced in a modern manner; in terms of identifying a social role, its artistic practice consciously and actively answers the call of China’s wartime cultural strategy; and in terms of artistic production, it vigorously promotes modernization of expression and popular participation. These new elements and tendencies offer a perspective that cannot be overlooked if we are to gain an in-depth and comprehensive appreciation and evaluation of the role of wartime Buddhist literature in China’s national war of resistance.

Keywords: Buddhism, the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, citizenship consciousness, life experience, popular participation in writing, vernacular style