We are currently working on 132 biographical articles. This list is ordered by date of birth.
Erik Hammerstrom is the section editor for biographical articles.
| Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Miàoshàn 妙善 | 1827-1923 | Abbess of Qīngzhēn Hermitage 清真庵 in Fújiàn 福建. |
| Yáng Wénhuì 楊文會 | 1837 - 1911 | Yáng has been called the progenitor of the modern Buddhist revival in China; he established a sūtra publishing house and school for monastics in Nánjīng 南京 |
| Xūyún 虛雲 | 1840 - 1959 | A renowned Chán master whose long life spanned the Qing, Republican, and People's Republic periods of modern Chinese history |
| Timothy Richard 李提摩太 | 1845 - 1919 | Welsh missionary who spent 40 years in China, and who studied and published on Buddhism in China |
| Gonda Raifu 權田雷斧 | 1846-1934 | A Japanese Shingon 真言 master and the teacher of several Chinese Buddhists in the 1920s |
| Nanjō Bunyū / Nanjio Bunyiu 南条文雄 | 1849 - 1927 | A priest of the Ōtani 大谷 sect of Japan's Jodō Shinshū 浄土真宗 school. He studied at Oxford with famed orientalist Max Müller, and collaborated with Yáng Wénhuì 楊文會 on a number of Buddhist projects. Chief among which was the reprinting of Buddhist texts held in Japan, but lost in China. |
| Jìchán 寄禪 | 1852 - 1912 | A famous Chán master and poet during the late Qing. He was an important person in transitional Qing-Republican Buddhism. |
| Dìxián 諦閑 | 1858 - 1932 | The 43rd patriarch of the Tiāntái 天台 lineage, he wrote and lectured widely during his lifetime |
| Yuèxiá 月霞 | 1858 - 1917 | An important teacher and Chán master of the late Qing and early Republican periods. He was associated with several early Buddhist schools, including Huáyán University 華嚴大學 |
| Guì Bóhuá 桂伯華 | 1861 - 1915 | An important networker in fin de siècle Chinese Buddhism. He was a student of Yáng Wénhuì 楊文會 and the man who convinced Ōuyáng Jiàn 歐陽漸 to study Buddhism. |
| Yìnguāng 印光 | 1861 - 1940 | Credited with reviving the Pure Land school 淨土宗 in China |
| Zōngyǎng 宗仰 | 1861 - 1921 | A Jiāngnán 江南 monk, most famously associated with revolutionary activities in Shànghǎi 上海 in the first decade of the 20th century |
| Liza Roos, Luó Jiālíng 羅迦陵 | 1864 - 1941 | The wife of prominent Shànghǎi businessman Silas Hardoon. She donated a great deal of wealth to various Buddhist activities, and she was a supporter of the monk Zōngyǎng 宗仰 |
| Hú Zǐhù 胡子笏 | 1864 - 1943 | An active lay Buddhist who was instrumental in the establishment of a number of seminaries and other Buddhist institutions during the Republican period |
| Shī Shěngzhī 施省之 | 1865 - 1945 | A government official, first as a diplomat to the U.S. during the late Qing, then in the offices of the various state-run railroads of the late Qing and Republican periods. He was very active in Shanghai lay Buddhism during the last two decades of his life |
| Tán Sìtóng 譚嗣同 | 1865 - 1898 | A reformer and intellectual of the late Qing, Tán was the author of Buddhist-inspired Rén xué 仁學 |
| Dàojiē 道階 | 1866 - 1934 | One of the first great internationals monk of the modern period |
| Wáng Yītíng 王一亭 | 1867 - 1938 | A famous painter and calligrapher of the Republican period, Wáng was also a noted industrialist and lay Buddhist |
| Zhāng Tàiyán 章太炎 | 1868 - 1936 | One of the most important Chinese thinkers of the 20th century. A scholar, and reformer of the late Qing period, from the first decade of the 20th century he turned increasingly to Buddhism |
| Cíháng 慈航 | 1869 - 1919 | A minor figure, and local charitable monk. |
| Lama Bái Pǔrén 白普仁 | A Mongolian Lama of Gelug order, and abbot of Yōnghé Temple 雍和宮 in Běijīng 北京. | |
| Ōuyáng Jiàn 歐陽漸 | 1871 - 1943 | Lay Buddhist teacher and founder of the Chinese Inner Studies Institute 支那內學院 |
| Jiǎng Wéiqiáo 蔣維喬 | 1873 - 1958 | An important educator, politician, and lay Buddhist of the Republican period |
| Yīngcí 應慈 | 1873 - 1965 | A Chán Master and seminary organizer of the Republican period. He lectured widely on Huáyán thought from the 1930s to the 1950s, and led several ordinations in the 1950s. |
| Zhū Zǐqiáo 朱子橋 | 1874 - 1941 | A career solider and lay Buddhist, he was responsible for a great many works of Buddhist restoration in China's Northwest in the 1920s and 1930s |
| Dīng Fúbǎo 丁福保 | 1874 - 1952 | Writer and publisher, best known for his Great Dictionary of Buddhism 佛學大辭典 published in 1922, a translation of Bukkyō daijiten 仏教大辞典 by Oda Tokunō 織田徳能 |
| Wáng Xiǎoxú 王小徐 | 1875 - 1948 | One of China's great early modern scientists, Wáng was a founding member of Academia Sinica and, as a lay Buddhist, wrote several of the most influential works on Buddhism and science in the Republican period |
| Tánxū 倓虛 | 1875 - 1963 | A patriarch of the Tiāntái 天臺 school from northeast China who restored half a dozen temples (mostly in the northeast), and also helped establish 13 Buddhist seminaries during his life |
| Shǐ Yīrú 史一如 | 1876 - 1925 | A scholar of Buddhist Logic, translator of works of Japanese Buddhology, and early confederate of Tàixū 太虛. He taught at the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary 武昌佛學院 during its first year |
| Wáng Hóngyuàn 王弘願 | 1876 - 1937 | A lay Buddhist of the Republican period, and an important, but highly controversial, proponent of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism |
| Karl Ludvig Reichelt, Ài Xiāngdé 艾香德 | 1877 - 1952 | A Protestant missionary from Norway who worked in China from 1903 to his death in 1952. He was acquainted with many important Chinese Buddhists and his sympathetic attitude toward Buddhism is well known |
| Zhū Fèihuáng 朱芾煌 | 1877 - 1955? | Zhū is best known for his Dictionary of Dharmalakṣaṇa 法相辭典 (1939) |
| Cízhōu 慈舟 | 1877 - 1958 | A student of Yuèxiá 月霞, Cízhōu lectured extensively on the Huáyán Sūtra 華嚴經 from the late 1920s into the 1940s |
| Xú Wèirú 徐蔚如 | 1878 - 1937 | He ran two major Buddhist presses in Běijīng and Tiānjīn in the 1920s and 1930s. His presses and his own lectures and scholarship focused on Huáyán 華嚴 materials. |
| Yuányīng 圓瑛 | 1878 - 1953 | A towering figure of Republican Buddhism, and a critic of Tàixū's more radical suggestions for reform. He was president of the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教會 from 1928 to 1937. He was also the abbot of a number of important temples in the Jiāngnán 江南 region. |
| Hóngyī 弘一 | 1880 - 1942 | An educated and literate leader of the New Culture movement, who turned his back on modernity to become a monk |
| Méi Guāngxī 梅光羲 | 1880 - 1947 | A major scholar of Consciousness-Only 唯識, he provided financial backing both to the Jinling Scriptural Press 金陵刻經處 and the Chinese Inner Studies Institute 支那內學院 |
| Zhāng Huàshēng 張化聲 | 1880 - 19?? | Teacher at the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary 武昌佛學院 and a colleague of Tàixū 太虛 |
| Wáng Sēnfǔ 王森甫 | 1881 - 1934 | A successful businessman and lay Buddhist, Wáng provided material support for Tàixū's 太虛 activities in Wǔchāng 武昌 in the early 1920s and was a founding member of the Buddhist Right Faith Society 佛教正信會 |
| Fàn Gǔnóng 范古農 | 1881 - 1951 | A highly influential editor of Buddhist books and periodicals in the Republic |
| Láiguǒ 來果 | 1881 - 1953 | In his 35-year stint as as abbot, he was responsible for turning Gāomín Temple 高旻寺 into one of the preeminent centers for Chán practice in the early 20th century. |
| Lǚ Bìchéng 呂碧城 | 1883 - 1943 | Probably the most famous Chinese Buddhist woman of the Republican period, Lǚ was a poet, journalist, and lay Buddhist |
| The Panchen Lama 班禪 | 1883 - 1937 | The ninth Panchen Lama, Thubten Choekyi Nyima |
| Qū Yìngguāng 屈映光 | 1883 - 1973 | A prominent minister of the Republican era, he held many posts including that of governor of Shāndōng 山東 in 1919. He was initiated into esoteric Buddhism in 1929 |
| Sū Mànshū 蘇曼殊 | 1884 - 1918 | An important artist and writer of the late Qing and early Republican periods. Mànshū was also a sometimes monk, and one of the first Chinese Sanskritists of the modern period |
| Hán Qīngjìng 韓清淨 | 1884 - 1949 | A 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 |
| Kōngyě 空也 | 1885 - 1946 | An important monk, based primarily in Nányuè 南嶽, one of the first teachers at the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary |
| Wáng Xiāngliù 王驤陸 | 1885 - 1958 | Second patriarch of the Seal-Mind School 印心宗 of Esoteric Buddhism, after Dàyú 大愚, the school's founder and first patriarch |
| Xióng Shílì 熊十力 | 1885 - 1968 | Author of the controversial Xīn wéishì lùn 新唯識論 (A New Treatise on Consciousness-Only), Xióng was a philosopher and revolutionary of the late Qing and Republican periods |
| Rénshān 仁山 | 1887 - 1951 | A noted monastic educator of the Republican period. He was a confederate of Tàixū 太虛, with whom he instigated the "Invasion of Jīnshān" 大鬧金山 |
| Dài Jìtáo 戴季陶 | 1890 - 1949 | A politician and ideologue who supported Buddhist activities under the rubric of "National Salvation" (jiùguó 救國) |
| Huáng Chànhuá 黃懺華 | 1890? - 1977 | Best known for his history of Chinese Buddhism 中國佛教史 published in 1940, based on that of Jiǎng Wéiqiáo 蔣維喬 published in 1929, which was in turn based on 支那仏教史綱 by Sakaino Satoru 境野哲 published in 1907 |
| Wáng Ēnyáng 王恩洋 | 1890 - 1949 | A student and professor of Buddhist philosophy, especially Dharmalakṣaṇa and Consciousness-Only 法相唯識 |
| Tàixū 太虛 | 1890 - 1947 | One of the most influential Chinese Buddhist figures of the modern era, a reformer who established seminaries and Buddhist periodicals, such as his long-running Hǎicháo yīn 海潮音 |
| Táng Dàyuán 唐大圓 | 1890? - 1941 | A colleague of Tàixū 太虛, a noted lay teacher of monks, and scholar of Consciousness-Only 唯識 thought |
| Shànyīn 善因 | 1890? - 19?? | He and Kōngyě 空也 were Tàixū’s 太虛 early right-hand men. Shànyīn was particularly interested in Consciousness-Only 唯識 and Madhyamaka thought. |
| Yù Huìguān 玉慧觀 | 1891 - 1933 | A Korean-born Chinese businessman, politician, and lay Buddhist |
| Huìjué 會覺 | 1892 - 1971 | One of Tàixū's leading disciples, and a teacher of monks |
| Dàyǒng 大勇 | 1893 - 1929 | A Hàn 漢 monk who was famous for teaching Japanese Esoteric Buddhism 東密, as well as leading a group to Tibet to study Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism 西密 |
| Tāng Yòngtóng 湯用彤 | 1893 - 1964 | An influential Chinese scholar of Buddhist history who was active primarily in the first half of the 20th century. His works are still widely consulted by scholars the world over |
| Chísōng 持松 | 1894 - 1972 | A famed teacher of Esoteric Buddhism |
| Cíháng 慈航 | 1895 - 1954 | A monk active in Southeast Asia in the 1930s and 1940s, and then in Taiwan. His mummified "meat body" 肉身 was the first made in Taiwan, and is still on display today. |
| Chángxǐng 常惺 | 1896 - 1939 | A prominent teacher, associated with several important early seminaries, as well as the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教會 of 1929 |
| Lǚ Chéng 呂澂 | 1896 - 1989 | A student of Ōuyáng Jiàn 歐陽漸, headed his Chinese Inner Studies Institute 支那內學院, and remained a prominent figure in Chinese Buddhism after 1949. |
| Fēng Zǐkǎi 豐子愷 | 1898 - 1975 | An important artist and illustrator of the Republican period. He was also an active lay Buddhist. |
| Dàxǐng 大醒 | 1899 - 1952 | A student of Tàixū 太虛 and leader of the Minnan Buddhist Seminary 武昌佛學院 |
| Chén Yuánbái 陳元白 | 18?? - 19?? | A prominent lay Buddhist in the Wǔhàn 武漢 area, who helped establish the Wǔchāng Buddhist Seminary 武昌佛學院 |
| Mǎnzhì 滿智 | 18?? - 19?? | One of Tàixū's right-hand monks from the mid 1920s and to mid 1930s, and the founding president of the Sino-Tibetan Institute 漢藏教理院 in Sìchuān 四川 |
| The Living Buddha of Jīnshān 金山活佛 | 18?? - 1935 | A famous meditation master and ascetic who was known for his miraculous powers. Active from the early 1920s to his death. |
| Táiyuán 台源 | 18?? - 1941 | A monk from northeastern China who was active in Běijīng 北京 in the 1920s. He turned to Esoteric Buddhism near the end of his life |
| Bǎojìng 寶靜 | 1899 - 1940 | A well-traveled lecturer, patriarch of the Tiāntái School, and Dìxián's 諦閑 main disciple and dharma heir |
| Zhōu Shújiā 周叔迦 | 1899 - 1970 | An important scholar and teacher of Consciousness-Only thought during the Republican period, and a founding member of the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教協會 |
| Dàyú 大愚 | dates unknown | Founder of an immensely popular lineage of Esoteric Buddhism in Republican China |
| Mànshūjiēdì 曼殊揭諦 | dates unknown | A half-Japanese monk and teacher of esoteric Buddhism active in the 1920s and 1930s |
| Chéng Zháiān 程宅安 | dates unknown | A lay acārya of Eastern Esoteric Buddhism 東密, and author of the important Republican-era esoteric text 密宗要義 |
| Yóu Zhìbiǎo 尤智表 | 1901 - 19?? | A Harvard-trained engineer and a lay Buddhist. He was the author of two important books on science and Buddhism, which were published in the 1940s |
| Zhīfēng 芝峰 (also written 芝峯) | 1901 - 19?? | A monk and educator during the Republican period, closely allied with Tàixū until they had a falling out |
| Miàoshàn 妙善 | 1901 - ???? | The founder of Yuánguāng Temple 圓光寺 in Xīnzhú County 新竹縣, Táiwān 台灣 |
| Xiǎnyìn 顯蔭 | 1902 - 1925 | The first Chinese monk of the 20th century to study Japanese Esoteric Buddhism 東密 |
| Fǎzūn 法尊 | 1902 - 1980 | A prominent teacher of esoteric Buddhism, and longtime principal of the Sino-Tibetan Institute 漢藏教理院 in Chóngqìng 重慶 |
| Zēng Pǔxìn 曾普信 | 1902 - 1977 | A Taiwanese Sōtō priest |
| Jǐng Chāngjí 景昌極 | 1903 - 1982 | An educator and a student of Ōuyáng Jiàn |
| Fǎfǎng 法舫 | 1904 - 1951 | A close disciple of Tàixū 太虛, and was involved with many of the Buddhist seminaries and organizations associated with him |
| Dùhuán 度寰 | 1905 - 1988 | A monk, student of esoteric Buddhism, and doctor of Chinese medicine. He was a living link in the Chinese Buddhist tradition through the Cultural Revolution |
| Lǐ Yuányīn 李元音 | 1905 - 2000 | Third patriarch of the Seal-Mind School 印心宗 |
| Jùzàn 巨贊 | 1908 - 1984 | A Buddhist teacher who participated in the War of Resistance and worked closely with the Communist government after the founding of the PRC |
| Shì Dōngchū 釋東初 | 1908 - 1977 | A prolific monk of the Cáodòng branch 曹洞派 of the Chán school 禪宗 who wrote and published many key works on modern Chinese Buddhism |
| Yú Déyuán 虞德元 | 1909 - 1989 | A lay teacher and researcher of Buddhism |
| Miàoshàn 妙善 | 1909 - 2000 | A living link in the Chinese Buddhist tradition through the Cultural Revolution, he was the driving force behind much of the Buddhist reconstruction that occurred on Pǔtuó shān 普陀山 in the 1980s and 1990s. |
| Míngshān 茗山 | 1914 - 2001 | Head of the Jiaoshan Buddhist Seminary 焦山佛學院 from 1947 |
| Fúshàn 福善 | 1915 - 1947 | Chief editor for the magazine Human Awakening 人間覺 |
| Cízhōu 慈舟 | 1915 - 2003 | Late abbot of Lóngchāng Temple 隆昌寺 on Mt. Bǎohuá 寶華山, and a living link in the Chinese vianaya tradition from before to after the Cultural Revolution |
| Dān Péigēn 單培根 | 1917 - 1995 | A student of consciousness-only and Chinese medicine |