RT Article
T1 Taking Welch and The Practice of Chinese Buddhism into the 21st century
JF Studies in Chinese Religions
VO 3
IS 3
SP 258
OP 280
A1 Nichols, Brian J.
LA English
PB Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
YR 2017
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1839038209
AB The first volume of Welch’s trilogy, The Practice of Chinese Buddhism, 1900-1950 provides a detailed and wide-ranging account of monastic Buddhism in China before its radical disruption during the Maoist period. Welch based his work on interviews with monks living in exile. Over the past couple of decades it has become possible for researchers to conduct research onsite at monasteries in mainland China, thus opening ethnographic avenues of inquiry unavailable to Welch. This article examines Welch’s approach and findings to determine their continued relevance and shortcomings; lacunae will be identified as well as points of strength so that readers may come away from his work with an appreciation of its limitations and a basis for further research.
K1 Buddhist monasticism
K1 Holmes Welch
K1 The Practice of Chinese Buddhism
K1 hereditary temples
K1 Women
DO 10.1080/23729988.2017.1392195