The historical contribution of Wuchang Buddhist College
武昌佛学院的历史贡献

摘要

武昌佛学院由太虚大师于1922年创办，是中国近现代第一所制度化、现代化的高等佛学教育学府，被誉为“佛教黄埔”，是近代新佛教运动的核心策源地，对中国佛教现代化转型与世界佛教交流具有里程碑意义。其一，学院革新传统僧教育模式，打破宗派壁垒，实行僧俗兼收、中西兼学的现代教学体系，系统培育大批僧才，如法尊、法舫、慈航和大醒等佛门中坚力量，其毕业生遍布全国、主持各地佛学院建设，奠定了中国现代佛教教育的基本格局。其二，学院以太虚大师人间佛教思想为核心，积极开展佛教思想革新，摒弃旧式山林隐逸、迷信化积弊，倡导入世利生、契理契机的现代佛教理念，推动传统佛教向生活化、社会化、时代化转型，为近现代人间佛教思潮的确立与普及奠定理论与实践基础。其三，武昌佛学院突破地域弘法局限，以建设世界佛学苑、推动国际佛化交流为目标，积极拓展海内外弘法版图，促进汉传佛教与东南亚、南洋及世界佛教体系的联通对话，极大推动了中国佛教的国际化传播，重塑了近现代中国佛教的世界地位。总体而言，武昌佛学院从僧才培育、思想革新和国际弘法三个维度，完成了中国佛教的现代转型，是近代佛教复兴与中国佛教现代化、世界化进程中的中兴力量。

Abstract

Founded by Master Taixu in 1922, Wuchang Buddhist College is China’s first institutionalized and modern institution of higher Buddhist learning in modern times. Hailed as the “Huangpu Academy of Buddhism”, it stood as the core cradle of the Modern New Buddhist Movement, marking a milestone in the modern transformation of Chinese Buddhism and global Buddhist exchanges. First, the college revolutionized the traditional monastic education model by dismantling sectarian divides. It adopted a modern curriculum open to both monastics and lay practitioners, integrating Chinese and Western learning. It systematically cultivated a cohort of eminent Buddhist elites including Masters Fazun, Fafang, Cihang and Daxing. Its alumni spread nationwide and presided over the construction of Buddhist colleges across the country, laying the foundational framework for modern Buddhist education in China. Second, centered on Master Taixu’s ideology of Humanistic Buddhism, the college spearheaded the innovation of Buddhist thought. It discarded the outdated flaws of reclusive mountain monasticism and superstitious customs, advocating a contemporary Buddhist philosophy of worldly engagement and compassionate altruism that aligns with timeless truths and present realities. It drove the transformation of traditional Buddhism toward a life-oriented, socialized and contemporary faith, laying both theoretical and practical groundwork for the formation and popularization of modern Humanistic Buddhism. Third, Wuchang Buddhist College transcended regional limitations of Dharma propagation. Aiming to establish a World Buddhist Institute and advance international Buddhist dialogue, it actively expanded its Dharma outreach at home and abroad. It facilitated communication between Han Buddhism and Buddhist traditions of Southeast Asia, the Nanyang archipelago and the broader world, greatly boosting the international dissemination of Chinese Buddhism and reshaping its standing on the global Buddhist stage of the modern era. In summary, Wuchang Buddhist College facilitated the modernization of Chinese Buddhism through three pivotal dimensions: nurturing Buddhist talents, renovating Buddhist ideology and carrying out international Dharma propagation. It stands as a revitalizing force behind the revival, modernization and globalization of Buddhism in early modern China.