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against their own laws and protested vigorously against Japanese interference, but to no avail.
These developments frightened the Chinese Government, which proceeded to cancel the authorization for its local officials to confiscate monastic property. The wave of affiliation with the Honganji died down. In any case, however, it had been limited to the area of the Treaty ports. Japan had tried to claim the same missionary rights elsewhere, invoking the "most favoured nation" clause, but without success. It failed again in 1915 when the fifth group of its Twenty-one Demands (including parity with Western missionaries) was rejected.
Indeed, during the whole first twenty-five years of the Republican period, its missionary work in China was said to have been "hindered by conditions” - a phrase that may allude to growing anti-Japanese feeling as well as to civil wars. Very few new temples were established. Therefore Tokyo turned its attention to the possibilities for ecumenical cooperation. In 1923-1924 the Japanese Foreign Ministry took an interest in the Buddhist conferences held at Lu Shan under the auspices of T'ai-hsü. In 1924 it arranged for Japanese delegates to be present and to offer their country as the venue for a similar conference the next year. Accordingly, the East Asian Buddhist Conference was held in Tokyo November 1-3, 1925. Twenty-one Chinese delegates attended, unofficially led by T'ai-hsü. The only other delegations were from Korea and Formosa with three members each. T'ai-hsü pointed out that whereas the Chinese excelled at religious cultivation, the Japanese excelled in organizing propaganda and community service. Thus the Buddhists of the two countries had complementary talents. A Sino-Japanese liaison committee was set up to put these talents to work, with Wang I-t'ing as the Chinese representative, and resolutions were passed to carry on work in the fields of education and social welfare. Also included in the conference was a symposium on Buddhist doctrine at which T'ai-hsü gave papers on the doctrine of alaya-vijnana and the secularization of Japanese Buddhism. Plans were made to hold the next East Asian Buddhist Conference in Peking--plans that never materialized.
After the meeting the Chinese delegates were given an eighteen-day V.I.P. tour. Everywhere local government officials entertained
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against their own laws and protested vigorously against Japanese interference, but to no avail.
These developments frightened the Chinese Government, which proceeded to cancel the authorization for its local officials to confiscate monastic property. The wave of affiliation with the Honganji died down. In any case, however, it had been limited to the area of the Treaty ports. Japan had tried to claim the same missionary rights elsewhere, invoking the "most favoured nation" clause, but without success. It failed again in 1915 when the fifth group of its Twenty-one Demands (including parity with Western missionaries) was rejected.
Indeed, during the whole first twenty-five years of the Re- publican period, its missionary work in China was said to have been "hindered by conditions” - a phrase that may allude to growing anti-Japanese feeling as well as to civil wars. Very few new temples were established." Therefore Tokyo turned its attention to the possibilities for ecumenical cooperation. In 1923- 1924 the Japanese Foreign Ministry took an interest in the Buddhist conferences held at Lu Shan under the auspices of T'ai-hsü. In 1924 it arranged for Japanese delegates to be present and to offer their country as the venue for a similar conference the next year. Accordingly, the East Asian Buddhist Conference was held in Tokyo November 1-3, 1925. Twenty-one Chinese delegates attended, unofficially led by Tai-hsü. The only other delegations were from Korea and Formosa with three members each. T'ai-hsü pointed out that whereas the Chinese excelled at religious cultivation, the Japanese excelled in organizing pro- paganda and community service. Thus the Buddhists of the two countries had complementary talents. A Sino-Japanese liaison committee was set up to put these talents to work, with Wang I-t'ing as the Chinese representative, and resolutions were passed to carry on work in the fields of education and social welfare. Also included in the conference was a symposium on Buddhist doctrine at which T'ai-hsü gave papers on the doctrine of alaya- vijnana and the secularization of Japanese Buddhism, Plans were made to hold the next East Asian Buddhist Conference in Peking-- plans that never materialized.
After the meeting the Chinese delegates were given an eighteen- day V.I.P. tour. Everywhere local government officials entertained
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