Fangsheng Landscape: The human-animal relationship in Nanjing

Abstract

This thesis is an investigation of both human-animal relationship and a Buddhist ritual practice in modern China. Fangsheng, the Buddhist animal release, is very popular among lay Buddhists in Nanjing and other cities in China. In this thesis, I argue that the local history, environment, Internet social media, the pollution issues, and the ritual itself constitute the “landscape” for fangsheng. Within the landscape, I claim that the “pollution” should be understood as “matter out of place.” The standard of “pollution” among Buddhists does not refer to ecological knowledge, but moral orders from Buddhism. The fangsheng landscape is also the moral landscape.