LAUSR

ABSTRACT Buddhist education in China went through a fervent period of growth and significant changes during the 1920s and 1930s. Focusing on the pedagogical goals and agenda of the Wuchang Buddhist Studies Academy (Wuchang foxueyuan 武昌佛學院), this essay is a study of the convergence of identity and institution in this specific historical context. It begins with an institutional history of the academy, focusing specifically on the years between its founding in 1922 and Taixu’s departure in 1924. Despite its short life, the Wuchang Academy occupies a special place in the imagination of modern Chinese Buddhist identity. In the second part, I argue that the Wuchang Academy marked the emergence of a collective identity, the student-monks, which had a long-lasting impact on the practice of modern Chinese Buddhism.