21st century monks
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Fast facts: Chinese Buddhism
China is experiencing a "golden development phase," stated the 2010 Religion Blue Paper released by the State Administration for Religious Affairs.
"Chinese Buddhism faces serious challenges in this commercialized society," said Ji Huazhan, author of the article and a researcher into Chinese Buddhism at the Institute of World Religions in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing.
"Under current religious policies, all religions face equal opportunities to develop."
Buddhism employs three language systems in China, distinguishable by geographical location, the translation carrier and the relevant ethnic group.
From south to north, there is the Theravada Buddhism of the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan then the Han Chinese Buddhism of most parts of the Chinese mainland and finally Tibetan Buddhism that reaches through Qinghai Province across Inner Mongolia. Theravada Buddhism is also referred to as "Lesser Vehicle," while the latter two schools are Mahayana, or "Greater Vehicle."
There is no reliable number for Buddhists in China. Counting the number of practicing Buddhists is a fiendishly tricky task, Ji explained.
To begin with, there are different definitions: Some say holders of a conversion certificate, others the visitors to a temple. "Some believers will convert several times in different temples and some temples don't keep a registry," he said. "It makes the collection of valuable data all the more difficult."
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