A Reinterpretation on Han Yu’s an Opposition to Buddhism

Han Yu(韓愈) is a writer who caused the ancient writing movement as one of the eight writer of Tangsong. He tried to revive Confucianism by giving a presentation the way on the sentence in the days when Buddhism and Taoism were prevalent. So he was evaluated as a person who revived Neo-Confucianism and suggested the direction in which study abroad should proceed. In his time, Buddhism and Taoism had a golden age, but social problems also appeared. In particular, economic problems have affected national finances, temples have become more splendid than palaces, and the state has been unable to secure labor and finances. Han Yu explains the importance of Confucianism in the form of a sentence and explains the legitimacy of Confucianism. In fact, there was also a situation of the times that Buddhism's damage should be eliminated at the national level. The Tang Dynasty was already experiencing turbulence both inside and outside the country. However, there is a limit to his theory of Buddhism, and his criticism of Buddhism is an extension of the problem raised by the introduction of Buddhism. His criticism of Buddhism has been refuted in politics, economy, society, culture, ethics, and history, but his criticism of Buddhism and revival of Confucianism have a strong declarative meaning and show limitations in approaching social problems. The Tang Dynasty was already experiencing turbulence both inside and outside the country. Han Yu was a person who lived between An Lushan’s Rebellion and Huangchao’s rebellion, and the problems that appeared at that time cannot be limited to Buddhism.