The relationship between emperors and monks in the northwest region in the Sixteen Kingdoms period : theoretical model and data visualization = Wu Hu shi liu guo shi dai xi bei zheng quan zhi jun zhu yu seng ren guan xi yan jiu : sha lou li lun mo xing ji shi liao shi xiang hua

Abstract

The Sixteen Kingdoms was a period of political disintegration in medieval China. Foreign rulers of Wu Hu (“Five Barbarian Tribes”) captured the northern China during the 3rd – 5th centuries and established independent states through continuous military actions. This thesis aims at studying the relationship between the emperors and Buddhist monks in the Northwest empires in the Sixteen Kingdoms Period, including the Former Liang (320-376), the Western Qin (385-400; 409-431), the Later Liang (386-403), the Northern Liang (397-439) and the Xia (407-431), by developing a theoretical model called “Hourglass Model”.

The model provides a holistic framework for investigating not only the emperors’ changing attitudes towards Buddhism but also the dissemination of the Dharma by monks. In addition, the concept of “data visualization” is implemented to re-interpret various historical sources. The complex interaction among imperial clans and Buddhist practitioners is further analyzed with computer-aided historical research methods.

This thesis hopes to reveal the inspiring nature of the political religion in China’s early medieval age and expand the scope of Chinese Studies by rethinking about foreign rulers and Buddhist monks’ roles in reshaping and vitalizing the Chinese civilization. Moreover, this study develops alternative approaches to the research on the history of Chinese Buddhism, and attempts to shed new lights on theories and research methodology.