近代日本佛學學者對中國佛教史分期的商榷

Discussion on the Periodization of Chinese Buddhism History by Modern Japanese Scholars of Buddhism

中國佛教史的發展歷程，向來以朝代的特色而分為六朝、隋唐、宋元及明清四個時期，若以各時期的特色，大致又判定六朝為發展階段，隋唐為宗派佛教發展興盛之時，宋元則呈現保守之勢，而明清則是呈現衰頹的趨勢。對於中國佛教史的分期初始於日本明治時期，日本佛教學者以宗派佛教觀點來判定興盛與衰頹，這種論點也影響了中國的佛教研究者，亦即以隋唐為盛，宋元為保守或衰頹，幾乎是共通的看法。中國佛教發展的各階段皆有其特色，六朝是義學論疏發展時期，隋唐的興盛則是很明顯，但宋元是東亞佛教國際交流最盛之時，影響日本佛教最深遠的禪宗即是自南宋傳入，影響至今仍然未見衰減，而明清則是三教合一的趨勢。每時期各有其發展特色，以興盛衰頹來論中國佛史，嚴重地失於偏頗。

The developmental history of Chinese Buddhism has always been divided into four periods: the Six Dynasties, the Sui Tang Dynasties, the Song Yuan Dynasties, and the Ming Qing Dynasties. According to the characteristics of each period, it is classified as follows:, the Six Dynasties as a developmental stage, the Sui Tang Dynasties as a prosperous period of sectarian Buddhism, the Song Yuan Dynasties as a conservative time, and the Ming Qing Dynasties as a deterioration and decline period. The Japanese scholars of Buddhism determine whether a period is of prosperity or decline by the perspective of sectarian Buddhism. These points of view also influence the Chinese researchers of Buddhism. For example, both the Sui Tang Dynasties and the Song Yuan Dynasties are considered as conservative or decline periods in China. Alternatively, the various developmental stages of Chinese Buddhism have their own characteristics: the Six Dynasties was the developmental period for the Yi School. The prosperity was evident in the Sui Tang Dynasties. However, the Song Yuan Dynasties embraced the most international exchanges in East Asia. The most far-reaching Zen religion that affected Japanese Buddhism was exported from the Southern Song Dynasty. Until now, their impact has not yet seen attenuated. In addition, the trend of the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism was observed in Ming Qing Dynasties. Because of the developmental feature in a period, it can be seriously biased to characterize the period of Chinese Buddhism by judging if a time period is in a state of prosperity or decline.