Western Crossover: A Sketchbook of Love

Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei’s persecution of Buddhism, known as the “Taiwu Suppression of Buddhism,” was a major religious event during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Its main causes were the conflict between political authority and Buddhist influence, economic tensions, and the emperor’s personal religious leanings. These can be summed up in three points:

1. Political and military threats: Buddhism grew rapidly in the early Northern Wei, and the number of monks and nuns soared. They enjoyed exemptions from taxes, corvée labor, and military service, and the large numbers of able-bodied young people entering the clergy depleted the state’s supply of soldiers and labor. Some monasteries also occupied vast amounts of land and property, sheltered refugees, and even took part in local power struggles, threatening the foundations of centralized rule in Northern Wei.

2. Conflicts over economic interests: Buddhist monasteries amassed enormous wealth through donations from followers and the acquisition of land, yet paid no taxes to the state. At a time when Northern Wei needed to concentrate resources to repel invasions by the Rouran in the north and consolidate its rule, this severely damaged state revenues and worsened the gap between rich and poor as well as class tensions.

3. Personal beliefs and the influence of powerful officials: Emperor Taiwu himself favored Taoism, particularly under the influence of the Taoist Kou Qianzhi, and later even converted to Taoism. He already felt cultural and religious antipathy toward Buddhism. In addition, the influential official Cui Hao, who favored Taoism and opposed Buddhism, repeatedly urged the emperor to act, arguing that Buddhism “wastes the people’s strength and misleads their minds.” This ultimately prompted Emperor Taiwu to issue an edict suppressing Buddhism in the seventh year of the Tai Ping Zhen Jun era (446). Monasteries were forcibly demolished, scriptures and statues burned, and monks and nuns ordered to return to secular life. It was the first major campaign in Chinese history known as the “Three Wu and One Zong Suppressions of Buddhism.”