Hongwu Restrictions on Buddhist and Daoist Clergy

Name: Hongwu Restrictions on Buddhist and Daoist Clergy
Start: 1371
End: 1380

Type Event Region China Time 1371–1380

During the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly issued policies restricting Buddhism and Daoism for fiscal, social, and ideological reasons;…

Timeline

1371–1373Nanjing · JiangsuThe Ming court codified Buddhist and Daoist regulations, stipulating the number of monks and priests, conditions for establishing temples and monasteries, and qualifications for ordination; private construction of temples was banned, bringing religious activities under strict state control to reduce the land and labor held by temples.
1373–1380Provinces of the Ming dynasty · ChinaLocal authorities investigated irregular temples and unregistered monks and priests, forcibly laicizing violators, merging privately built temples, and keeping the total number of clergy within court quotas, linked with the lijia household registration system to prevent unregistered households and escaped corvée.