Well known Northern lay scholar of Consciousness-Only 唯識, often paired with Ōuyáng Jìngwú 歐陽竟無 as one of the greatest scholars of that philosophy during the Republican period, as represented by the phrase Nán Ōu běi Hán 南歐北韓, "In the South, Ōu(yáng), in the North, Hán."
Biography
Hán was from a literati family, and attained the xiùcái 秀才 degree at a young age. In 1902, he received the jǔrén 舉人 degree. This was about the time when the examination system was about to be ended, and Hán turned his energies to studying Buddhism. He began with the Chéng wéishì lùn 成唯識論 and the Yúqiē shīdì lùn 瑜伽師地論 (Yogācāra-bhūmi-śāstra), but could make neither ends nor tails of them.
In 1921, he formed the Dharmalakṣaṇa Research Association 法相研究會 in Běijing 北京 with Zhū Fèihuáng 朱芾煌, Hán Zhéwǔ 韓哲武, Xú Sēnyù 徐森玉, and Ráo Fēnghuáng 饒風璜. Hán eventually took up residence at at Yúnjū Temple 雲居寺 in Fángshān County 房山縣, where he practiced in sealed confinement for three years.
October 1-3, 1925, he took part in the twenty-six person Chinese Buddhist Delegation 中華佛教代表團, which represented China at the East Asian Buddhist Congress 東亞佛教大會 in Tokyo. He participated with Tàixū 太虛, Dàojiē 道階, Wáng Yītíng 王一亭 and others.
In 1927, Hán, Zhū Fèihuáng, Xú Sēnyù, and Ráo Fēnghuáng formed another group, the Study Group of the Three Times 三時學會, which was dedicated to the practice and study of Indian Buddhism, as well as the translation and printing of Buddhist scriptures. Hán lectured at the study group once every week, he also lectured on Dharmalakṣaṇa at various colleges around Běijīng.
In [[1928］], he was invited to give a lecture series on Consciousness-Only at Beijing University. There he spoke of the importance of Xuánzàng 玄奘. He also lectured at Guǎnjì Temple 廣濟寺.
Important Works
Notable Students
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