The Buddha Party

How the People's Republic of China Works to Define and Control Tibetan Buddhism

Inbunden, Engelska, 2016

819 kr

Beställningsvara. Skickas inom 5-8 vardagar. Fri frakt för medlemmar vid köp för minst 249 kr.

The Buddha Party tells the story of how the People's Republic of China employs propaganda to define Tibetan Buddhist belief and sway opinion within the country and abroad. The narrative they create is at odds with historical facts and deliberately misleading, but, John Powers argues, it is widely believed by Han Chinese. Most of China's leaders appear to deeply believe the official line regarding Tibet, which resonates with Han notions of themselves as China's most advanced nationality and as a benevolent race that liberates and culturally uplifts minority peoples. This in turn profoundly affects how the leadership interacts with their counterparts in other countries. Powers's study focuses in particular on the government's "patriotic education" campaign-an initiative that forces monks and nuns to participate in propaganda sessions and repeat official dogma. Powers contextualizes this within a larger campaign to transform China's religions into "patriotic" systems that endorse Communist Party policies. This book offers a powerful, comprehensive examination of this ongoing phenomenon, how it works and how Tibetans resist it.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2016-10-20
Mått236 x 155 x 35 mm
Vikt635 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor392
FörlagOUP USA
ISBN9780199358151

Tillhör följande kategorier

Buddhism inom Filosofi och religion
Asiens historia inom Historia och arkeologi

John Powers is Professor of Asian Studies in the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University. He specializes in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan history and is the author of 17 books and more than 80 articles. His books include A Bull of A Man: Images of Masculinity, Sex, and the Body in Indian Buddhism (2009) and Historical Dictionary of Tibet (with David Templeman; 2012).

The Buddha Party is an excellent book that will be essential reading for students of contemporary Tibet. It is a handy and accessible classroom resource for courses on contemporary China that address the PRC's ethnic policies and the status of the country's ethnic nationalities. The book focuses on Tibetans, but it is highly relevant for understanding Chinese nationalism and the narratives that underpin the Chinese Dream -- Xi Jinping's vision for the great rejuvenation of China. It will also be helpful to those wishing to gain a greater understanding of current events in Xinjiang, where Islam is being similarly targeted as a threat to national integration and China's return to world power status.