Interaction Patterns of Buddhist Elites in Contemporary China - CBElites
Abstract
This project will be coordinated by researchers in France and Germany, in a configuration designed to take advantage of cross-cutting international networks, in order to facilitate the systematic study of Buddhist institutionalization processes - at the confluence of network examination and conceptual issues in contemporary China. By delimiting our study to a fifty-year period, this project intends to follow the evolution of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China, in the wake of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and the relaxation of religious policy in 1978.
Dates and duration
04/2025 - 03/2028 (36 months)
Scientific coordination and team
Zhe JI (IFRAE, Inalco), scientific coordinator on the French side
Carsten KRAUSE (Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, University of Hamburg)
Amandine PÉRONNET (IFRAE, Inalco), postdoctoral fellow
Objectives
- Institutions: Document and analyze the organizational mechanisms of the institutionalization of Buddhism under the leadership of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) and its branches.
- Social networks: reconstruct the paths of monastic elites and map their networks, highlighting the circulation of resources and identifying poles of influence at national and local levels.
- Conceptual histories: examining the discourses and publications of Buddhist elites, showing how their conceptions of Buddhism adapt to changing political and social contexts.
Methodology
The project is based on a combination of quantitative, qualitative and ethnographic methods. The quantitative approach draws on publicly available online sources, such as lists of ordination ceremonies published by official Buddhist associations or government bodies. Additional biographical and institutional information on Buddhist elites will also be collected online. The qualitative approach mobilizes document analysis, including speeches by religious or political leaders and official directives from Buddhist associations and government bodies, generally available online or in Buddhist journals. Finally, ethnographic data will be collected during fieldwork in China, including semi-structured interviews, direct observations and in situ document collection.
Expected results
- Strengthening knowledge and documentation on Chinese Buddhist elites since the emergence from Maoism, at a pivotal moment marked by the transition to a new generation of religious leaders.
- Constitution and valorization of unpublished data on the trajectories, networks and discursive productions of these elites, disseminated through scientific presentations, open-access publications and a dedicated website.
- Theoretical and analytical advances on the category of Chinese Buddhist elites, particularly concerning their discourses, modes of institutional organization and patterns of social and political interaction.
- Scientific, pedagogical and societal impact, including the structuring of a Franco-German network, the training of young researchers and the provision of expertise on religions in contemporary China.
Deliverables
- Scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals
- Publication of a collective work
- Creation of a website with resources for the scientific community (directory of researchers, bibliography on contemporary Buddhism)
- Contributions and papers at international conferences
Key words
Chinese Studies, Religious Studies, contemporary Buddhism in China, Buddhist elites, religious institutionalization, social and religious networks, state-religion relations, discourse and legitimation, post-Maoism, mixed methodologies
References
Ji, Z., Fisher, G., Laliberté, A. (eds.). 2019. Buddhism after Mao
Krause, C. (ed.). 2024. "Buddhist Concepts in Contemporary China". RRCS
Péronnet, A. 2026. "Education as a Guarantee: Chinese Buddhist Nuns in the Post-Mao Era". Buddhism, Law & Society
Cid, A., Krause, C., Péronnet, A. (eds.). 2026. "Mapping Networks of Modern Chinese Buddhism". RRCS
Funding agency
Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) & the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - French-German call for projects in the humanities and social sciences - FRAL 2024
