From Monastic Rescue Units to“Monk Brigades”: A Study on the Salvation Practices of Chinese Buddhism during the Full-Scale War of Resistance

Abstract

During the All-Out War of Resistance, the Chinese Buddhist community transformed its longstanding tradition of loving both nation and religion into concrete actions to save the country. Drawing on masters’ collected works, chronologies, and memoirs, this study examines several historical episodes: the battlefield medical relief provided by the Shanghai Monastic Rescue Teams; the armed and propaganda activities of the monastics at Mount Wutai and Mount Nanyue; the overseas publicity mission led by Master Taixu; and the nation-protection and disaster-relief ceremonies presided over successively by Masters Yinguang and Xuyun. It maps the practical forms and underlying rationale of Buddhist engagement across four dimensions—field medical relief, armed resistance, international advocacy, and spiritual mobilization. This research argues that these practices constituted an organic component of the nationwide resistance, reshaped societal perceptions of Buddhism, deepened the Buddhist community’s national and ethnic identification, and offer historical lessons for contemporarily advancing the sinicization of religion and strengthening the consciousness of the Chinese nation’s community.