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The Convent: Social Life

The general level of education among the subjects of the biographies suggests an upper-class origin for many of them, and for some the biography explicitly states that the women had received their education at home, such as Tao-ch'iung (no. 17), of whom it is written, "When she was a little more than ten years old she was already well educated in the classics and history, and after her full admission to the monastic assembly she became learned in the Buddhist writings as well. . . ."

Another indication of upper-class background is that frequently the woman's family name and original place of residence, and at times even the official positions of male ancestors, are known. The woman's easy concourse with high government officials, nobility, and members of the royal family, including the emperors themselves, also suggests that they were moving among their own kind. Very frequently ladies of high social standing visited the nuns or were visited by them. Those who could afford it often held a vegetarian feast in honor of the nun. This contrasts vividly with the Kao seng chuan, wherein the origin of the monks is very frequently unknown. ²⁹ Many boys of obscure background are to be found reaping honors and fame that they could scarcely have imagined, thanks to the preservation of the record of their lives.

The influence of the teaching and preaching nuns spread the word of the Buddha far and wide (no. 35), their sincerity bringing forth a response from hundreds. One nun often wept as she implored her listeners to take up the religion of the Buddha (no. 4). Nuns who dared to chastise laymen in a public place (no. 4) were honored. This indicates that nuns taught and preached effectively. Some nuns were so famous that the world came to them to hear the word (no. 61).

Eight major convents in the capital account for over half the biographies, and the lineages can be traced through several generations. Pao-ch'ang probably knew some of the women in person, or he had access to very recent records and memories because of his own presence in the capital.

With famous nuns as the subjects of the biographies, we are not able to find a picture of an ordinary nun living an ordinary life in the convent, without noble visitors, without doing anything to bring attention to herelf. This is a pity because our picture of the religious heroines becomes the image we remember, and we forget that for every famous nun there was an unknown number of unknown nuns of ordinary standing. We cannot see them.

<Previous Section>	Introduction TOC 1. The Chin Dynasty (265-317 / 317-420) 2. The Sung Dynasty (420-479) 3. The Ch'i Dynasty (479-502) 4. The Liang Dynasty (502-557)		<Next Section>

Published by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia