The Economy of Floods and Inundations in the Southern Song Capital Prefecture Lin’an (Hangzhou) on the Shore of the Zhe River Estuary and the Hangzhou Bay in Southeastern China During the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

Eschenbach, Silvia Freiin Ebner von

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-98198-3_2

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

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“…The reason might be that monastic fields in Lin'an Prefecture were assessed to be less profitable because they were located in the hills like the "hilly lands with fields" (tianshan 田山) or on coastal flats like the "paddy fields" (shuitian 水田) of Yanguan District (Yanguan xian 鹽官縣), 213 situated northeast of Lin'an in a flood-prone area. 214 Unfortunately, there is not much evidence for this in the local gazetteer as in most cases information on the specific land category is not given. 215 In order to gain more lands that were profitable, some monasteries not only relied on bestowments of fields in adjacent prefectures but also tended to appropriate land in Lin'an Prefecture by themselves.…”

Section: Almsgiving To Monasteries Versus Monastic Profit-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Buddhist Monasteries between Charity and Profit: Taking the Issue of Water Supply of Lin'an (Hangzhou) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as an Example

Eschenbach¹

2023

jcr

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The study addresses the role that Buddhist monasteries played as institutions of charity on the one hand and as economic organizations on the other in the interplay with the local elite and the administration, using the water supply activities of monasteries that agglomerated in Lin'an (Hangzhou) and around the West Lake as examples. From local gazetteers it becomes apparent that monastic water supply activities were enabled by the monasteries' proximity to the springs found in the hills and to the water infrastructure that served the lake as the city's freshwater reservoir. The aim of the study is to elucidate how monasteries offered freshwater from their springs to travelers and city residents, especially in times of drought, and accommodated elite members. The study will show in particular how monks made their expert knowledge in hydrological engineering available to infrastructure projects of Hangzhou's local administrators. Besides being charity-minded, monasteries were also profit-orientated as they were well-versed in fund-raising and received generous bestowments and donations, mostly exempt from taxation. What is more, they attempted to encroach on the West Lake for the cultivation of water plants, thus, however, impairing the city's freshwater supply from the reservoir that local administrators tried so hard to preserve.

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Section: Almsgiving To Monasteries Versus Monastic Profit-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Buddhist Monasteries between Charity and Profit: Taking the Issue of Water Supply of Lin'an (Hangzhou) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as an Example

Eschenbach¹

2023

jcr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Economy of Floods and Inundations in the Southern Song Capital Prefecture Lin’an (Hangzhou) on the Shore of the Zhe River Estuary and the Hangzhou Bay in Southeastern China During the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

Cited by 1 publication

References 10 publications

Buddhist Monasteries between Charity and Profit: Taking the Issue of Water Supply of Lin'an (Hangzhou) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as an Example

Buddhist Monasteries between Charity and Profit: Taking the Issue of Water Supply of Lin'an (Hangzhou) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as an Example

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