latter, ordering temples to be destroyed and
priests to return to the world. But as usual the persecution was not
of long duration. Five years later Wu-Ti's son withdrew his father's
edict and in 582, the founder of the Sui dynasty, gave the population
permission to become monks. He may be said to have used Buddhism
as his basis for restoring the unity of the Empire and in his old age
he became devout. The Sui annals observe that Buddhist books had
become more numerous under this dynasty than those of the
Confucianists, and no less than three collections of the Tripitaka
were made between 594 and 616.

With the seventh century began the great T'ang dynasty (620-907).
Buddhism had now been known to the rulers of China for about 550
years. It began as a religion tolerated but still regarded as exotic
and not quite natural for the sons of Han. It had succeeded in
establishing itself as the faith of the majority among both Tartars
and Chinese. The rivalry of Taoism was only an instance of that
imitation which is the sincerest flattery. Though the opposition of
the mandarins assumed serious proportions whenever they could induce
an Emperor to share their views, yet the hostile attitude of the
Government never lasted long and was not shared by the mass of the
people. It is clear that the permissions to practise Buddhism which
invariably followed close on the prohibitions were a national relief.
Though Buddhism tended to mingle with Taoism and other indigenous
ideas, the many translations of Indian works and the increasing
intercourse between Chinese and Hindus had diffused a knowledge of its
true tenets and practice.

The T'ang dynasty witnessed a triangular war between Confucianism,
Buddhism and Taoism. As a rule Confucianism attacked the other two as
base superstitions but sometimes, as in the reign of Wu Tsung, Taoism
seized a chance of being able to annihilate Buddhism. This war
continued under the Northern Sung, though the character of Chinese
Buddhism changed, for the Contemplative School, which had considerable
affinities to Taoism, became popular at the expense of the T'ien T'ai.
After the Northern Sung (except under the foreign Mongol dynasty) we
feel that, though Buddhism was by no means dead and from time to time
flourished exceedingly, yet Confucianism had established its claim to
be the natural code and creed of the scholar and statesman. The
Chinese Court remained a strange place to the end but scholarship an