The Confluence of Karma and Hygiene: Vegetarianism with Renewed Meanings for Modern Chinese Buddhism

Abstract:This article provides a comprehensive account of the transformation of Buddhist vegetarian discourse in the Republican era (1912–1949) through the lens of a set of Buddhist periodicals influenced by prominent figures, including Taixu 太虛 (1890–1947), Yinguang 印光 (1862–1940), and Dixian 諦閒 (1858–1932). Having combed through relevant articles printed in these journals, I argue that Buddhist vegetarianism is infused with modern scientific language, particularly the Western biomedical concept of “hygiene,” while it also retains the underlying reasoning of karmic retribution and Buddhist ethical arguments. Within a modern context, these authors proffered different yet not antagonistic reasoning to renew and legitimate the practice of vegetarianism. I further examine the case of Lü Bicheng 呂碧城 (1883–1943) to demonstrate the potential fusion of diverse rationales regarding the vegetarian discourse under the broader international social and cultural order. Thus, the Republican Buddhists’ endeavors resulted in a repertoire of rhetoric and arguments about vegetarianism, imbuing the practice with multilayered meanings ready for appropriation by later generations.摘要:摘要: 從與名僧,例如太虛（1890–1947）、印光（1862–1940）、諦閒（1858–1932）關係密切的佛教期刊的視角切入，本文提供了一個對於民國年間（1912–1949）佛教素食主義範式變遷的全面論述。通過細讀佛教期刊上相關的文獻，本文認為佛教素食主義被注入了一套現代科學的話語，尤為顯著的是西方生物醫學上「衛生」的概念，同時佛教的果報等其他宗教倫理上的論證仍然被保留。這些佛教期刊的作者，在現代的語境下，為延續與合理化素食主義的實踐提供了不同，但並非對立的闡釋。本文進一步以呂碧城（1883–1943）為例，來展示在更廣闊的國際社會與文化秩序下，對於素食主義範式不同的闡述的潛在融合的可能性。因此，通過民國佛教徒的努力，形成了一套對於素食主義的論證，其多層的語義與修辭形式有助於後世佛教徒的參考與借鑒。