Enlightenment in Dispute is the first comprehensive study of the revival of Chan Buddhism in seventeenth-century China. Focusing on the evolution of a series of controversies about Chan enlightenment, Jiang Wu describes the process by which Chan reemerged as the most prominent Buddhist establishment of the time. He investigates the development of Chan Buddhism in the seventeenth century, focusing on controversies involving issues such as correct practice and lines of lineage. In this way, he shows how the Chan revival reshaped Chinese Buddhism in late imperial China. Situating these controversies alongside major events of the fateful Ming-Qing transition, Wu shows how the rise and fall of Chan Buddhism was conditioned by social changes in the seventeenth century.

Jiang Wu is Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona.

Conventions and Explanatory Notes Chronology Introduction Part I: The Context of Seventeenth-Century China 1. Reenvisioning Buddhism in the Late Ming 2. The Literati and Chan Buddhism 3. The Rise of Chan Buddhism Part II: The Principle of Chan 4. Clashes among Enlightened Minds 5. The Divergence of Interpretation 6. The Yongzheng Emperor and Imperial Intervention Part III: Lineage Matters 7. The Debate about Tianhuang Daowu and Tianwang Daowu in the Late Ming 8. The Lawsuit about Feiyin Tongrong's Wudeng yantong in the Early Qing 9. The Aftermath Part IV: Critical Analysis 10. Explaining the Rise and Fall of Chan Buddhism 11. The Pattern of Buddhist Revival in the Past Concluding Remarks Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Glossary Abbreviations of Dictionaries and Collections Notes Bibliography Index