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International Workshop "Religion and Economy in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea)"

Date: March 16-19, 1998.

Venue: Heinrich-Fabri-Institut, Blaubeuren (Germany)

Names of initiators and organising institutions

- Prof. Dr. Dieter Eikemeier and Dr. Song-Jong Paik, Seminar für Sinologie und Koreanistik, Universität Tübingen, Germany

- Prof. Dr. Viktoria Eschbach-Szabo and Dr. Gerhard Leinss, Seminar für Japanologie, Universität Tübingen, Germany

- Prof. Dr. Hans Ulrich Vogel and Dr. Stephan Peter Bumbacher , Seminar für Sinologie und Koreanistik, Universität Tübingen, Germany

Title of the workshop and introduction of its topics

The title and general subject of this workshop is "Religion and Economy in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea)". The workshop will aim at exploring the complex mutual influences, both past and present, between religion and economy in the three East Asian regions of China, Japan, and Korea.

On the one hand, a theoretical framework shall be provided by scholars of the history of religions specializing in theoretical aspects of the function of religion within society and in comparative religious studies. On the other hand - based on the theoretical framework to be established beforehand - both religious and economic organisations and activities as well as patterns of thought shall be investigated in a comparative way, for different historical periods, and in different regions of East Asia.

During the workshop, five special topics shall be addressed:

- Introduction: Theory of the function of religion

- Religious aspects of economic organizations in East Asia

- Economic aspects of religious organizations in East Asia

- Structures of longue durée in economic-religious thought and actions in East Asia

- Sacrifice and its economic-religious meaning in East Asia.

- Introduction: Theory of the function of religion:

Scholars specialising in theoretical aspects of the function of religion - particularly with regard to economic aspects of religion - and in comparative history of religions are asked to present papers on this topic. Distribution of these papers quite in advance and the positioning of this panel at the beginning of the workshop shall guarantee that a substantial degree of theoretical reflexion will find its way into the other contributions to this workshop. Tübingen University has a special department concentrating on vergleichende Religionsgeschichte [comparative history of religion]. Furthermore, this department has established a research group specialising in the field of the economy of religion.The results published so far, however, were obtained mainly in a Western context.

- Religious aspects of economic organizations in East Asia:

Economic organisations like guilds of merchants, artisans, shop-keepers, and native bankers are permeated by religious life. In this panel, religious thought, worship, rites, activities and their social, economic, political, and cultural functions shall be explored. The evaluation of the religious aspects of economic organizations is, for instance, a hotly debated issue in present-day PRC historiography. Moreover, the concept of "superscribing symbols", as it was recently adopted in Western studies on Chinese religion, may be fruitfully addressed in this panel. Finally, a special subject would be the religious thought and activities of East Asian merchants in contrast with the protestant ethics as attributed to specific groups of Western merchants by Max Weber.

- Economic aspects of religious organizations in East Asia:

This panel will address economic thought and activities of religious organisations, like monasteries, temples, sects, and neighborhood cult associations. How these religious organizations financed their religious activities by means of donations and returns from land holdings as well as through commercial and financial ventures will be discussed. In how far economic thought was part and parcel of religious practice will be addressed as well. Gernet's and Twitchett's works on economic aspects of Chinese Buddhist monasteries in the fifth to tenth centuries may serve as important starting points. As religious organizations engaged in economic activities and, therefore, were of fiscal importance for the government (both as tax-payers or as being exempt from paying taxes), their relations to the state have to be elucidated.

- Structures of longue durée in economic-religious thought and actions in East Asia:

Central issue of this panel is the question whether structures of longue durée exist in the areas where there were connections between economy and religion. If indications of such structures can be found, it has to be clarified whether they are reflecting real conditions or whether they are simply labels or elements used for the construction of an "orthodox" tradition. However, not only structures of longue durée but also developments and changes have to be identified. Such developments and changes are often indicative of corresponding developments and changes in the social, economic, political, and cultural realms. RICHARD VON GLAHN's article (1991) on the god of wealth may provide an interesting starting point.

- Sacrifice and its economic-religious meaning in East Asia:

Sacrifice as a subject of research appears to be a bit out of fashion. It has never been much a theme in East Asian studies anyway, where the term has been used interchangeably with almost any other term understood as meaning devotion or the making of donations to the divine. Particularly by equating sacrifice with ritual, the dramatic character of events and actions which require a lot of moral fibre to sustain them has been missed. Sacrifice does so because it has to do with the partition of all sorts of material goods, occasionally even with the abandonment of life. Instead of glorifying sacrifice and making it the mysterious affair it is not, it warrants the effort to probe into the more down-to-earth meaning it may have been having in East Asia as much as it has been having it elsewhere in the world.

Scientific objectives

The scientific objectives of this workshop are, first, to enhance and systematize case studies concerning the relationship between religion and economy - both in thought and activities - in East Asia's past and present. Second, comparative approaches focussing on the region of East Asia as a whole are envisaged. And last, but not least, a sound theoretical foundation based on results obtained in the social sciences and in the field of comparative history of religions shall be provided, thus forming the theoretical basis for the case studies as well as for East-Western comparative approaches.

Contact: Stephan Peter Bumbacher

Sinologisches Seminar

Universitaet Tuebingen

Wilhelmstrasse 133

D-72074 Tuebingen

Germany

e-mail: stephan-peter.bumbacher@uni-tuebingen.de

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