• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • ABOUT CHINA
    • NEWS
    • TESTIMONIES
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • GLOSSARY
    • CHINA PERSECUTION MAP
  • FROM THE WORLD
    • NEWS
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • TESTIMONIES
  • INTERVIEWS
  • DOCUMENTS AND TRANSLATIONS
    • DOCUMENTS
    • THE TAI JI MEN CASE
    • TRANSLATIONS
  • EVENTS
  • ABOUT
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • TOPICS

Bitter Winter

A magazine on religious liberty and human rights

three friends of winter
Home / China / News China

Authorities Crack Down on Buddhists at Mount Jiuhua

12/04/2018Jiang Tao |

A memorial archway at one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism has been forcibly demolished, and the president of the Mount Jiuhua Buddhist Association has been placed under house arrest.

The memorial archway forcibly demolished
The memorial archway at the entrance of Mount Jiuhua is being forcibly demolished.

The archway of Mount Jiuhua in Chizhou city’s Qingyang county of the eastern province of Anhui was forcibly demolished on October 19. It was built in 1994 after Mr. Ji Lianghua from Hong Kong donated 380,000 RMB (over 55,000 USD) for its construction.

Sources inside the government confirmed that the president of the Mount Jiuhua Buddhist Association had been placed under house arrest at his residence in Baisui Palace, which has also been raided.

slogans are posted on the wall of Baisui Palace
Party slogans are posted on the wall of Baisui Palace.

The demolished memorial archway was at the very entrance to Mount Jiuhua. A local Buddhist monk said that its destruction had dealt a blow to Mount Jiuhua’s reputation as a sacred Buddhist site. He added that following its “sinicization” policy, the Chinese Communist Party has already hoisted a national flag at every Mount Jiuhua temple, and posters with the “core socialist values” and the new Regulations on Religious Affairs have been posted on the walls of all places of worship.

The towering national flag
The towering national flag in front of a Buddhist temple.

According to the monk, the government has now prohibited the burning of large incense sticks in temples. Each Buddhist worshipper is only allowed to burn three thin incense sticks of the smallest size, and government officials carry out inspections to ensure compliance.

Many monks have already been expelled from the temples on Mount Jiuhua, and the Dabeilou guesthouse in the area has been demolished. A Buddha statue carved in a cave has been smashed to pieces.

The Buddha statue was destroyed.
An empty cave where Buddha statue used to be.

In early October, the authorities seized incense from 40 Buddhist shops on Wuxi Street at the foot of Mount Jiuhua, and the shops were forced to close down. According to a proprietress of one of these shops, during the seizure of incense, government personnel told her that Buddhism was a xie jiao (heterodox teaching) and that the shops were forbidden from burning or selling incense anymore. Another shop owner said helplessly: “Trying to resist the central government’s instructions is like courting death.”

incense shops have been closed down
Buddhist incense shops have been closed down.

On the signboards of some local shops, every sign with the Chinese character for “Buddha/Buddhism” (Fó) has been removed or modified, resulting in a different character (fú), which means “not.”

character (Fó) has been covered
The Chinese character for “Buddha/Buddhism” (Fó) on the shop’s signboard has been covered.
character (Fó) has been removed
The Chinese character for “Buddha/Buddhism” (Fó) has been removed.
character (Fó) has been modified
The Chinese character for “Buddha/Buddhism” (Fó) has been modified into the character (fú), meaning “not.”

The crackdown against Buddhists is being carried out by the bureaus of Public Security and Urban Management. According to recent information, 17 temples in the Guichi district of Anhui’s southern city of Chizhou are facing closure or demolition.

Reported by Jiang Tao

Tagged With: Buddhism

Jiang Tao profile picture
Jiang Tao

Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.

Related articles

  • Outdoor Buddhist Statues Destroyed in Temples and Scenic Areas

    Outdoor Buddhist Statues Destroyed in Temples and Scenic Areas

  • Pakistan: Ancient Buddhist Temple Discovered  - and Vandalized

    Pakistan: Ancient Buddhist Temple Discovered - and Vandalized

  • USCIRF Charges China’s Authorized Religious Bodies as Communist Party Accomplices

    USCIRF Charges China’s Authorized Religious Bodies as Communist Party Accomplices

  • Historical Buddhist Temple Closed in Jiangxi

    Historical Buddhist Temple Closed in Jiangxi

Keep Reading

  • Chinese Buddhist Monks Compelled to Watch “Red” Movies
    Chinese Buddhist Monks Compelled to Watch “Red” Movies

    As part of their mandatory study of Communist Party history, “Party movie classes” are organized in monasteries.

  • Buddhist Statues Purged Across Sichuan Province
    Buddhist Statues Purged Across Sichuan Province

    Temples throughout this southwestern province are increasingly pressured by local authorities to conceal or even destroy their large outdoor icons.

  • Guan Yin Citta: Leader Dies, Crackdown on Buddhist Movement Continues
    Guan Yin Citta: Leader Dies, Crackdown on Buddhist Movement Continues

    In 2019, Bitter Winter revealed a secret plan to eradicate the group, whose leader died on November 10, in China. It did not succeed.

  • Buddhist, Taoist Temples and Statues Destroyed Nationwide
    Buddhist, Taoist Temples and Statues Destroyed Nationwide

    The CCP continues crackdowns on traditional Chinese places of worship and religious icons.

Primary Sidebar

Support Bitter Winter

Learn More

Follow us

Newsletter

Most Read

  • Pro-Chinese Propaganda by The World Muslim Communities Council: Uyghurs Strike Back by Gulfiye Y
  • Zhanargul Zhumatai: “Help Me, I Just Want to Leave China” by Ruth Ingram
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 1. The Aesthetic Mind by Massimo Introvigne
  • Stricter Rules on Private Tutoring Protect Ideology Rather than Parents by Wang Zhipeng
  • Japan Religious Donations Law. 4. The Return of Brainwashing by Massimo Introvigne
  • Hong Kong: Christian Scholar Peng Manyuan Released but Not Rehabilitated by Gladys Kwok
  • The Weaponization of the CCP’s “Zero COVID” Against Tibet by Marco Respinti
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 3. Art as Communication by Massimo Introvigne
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 4. Art and Illustration by Massimo Introvigne
  • L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 5. Professionals vs. Amateurs by Massimo Introvigne

CHINA PERSECUTION MAP -SEARCH NEWS BY REGION

clickable geographical map of china, with regions

Footer

Instant Exclusive News
Instant Exclusive News

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

MASSIMO INTROVIGNE

Director-in-Charge

MARCO RESPINTI

ADDRESS

CESNUR

Via Confienza 19,

10121 Turin, Italy,

Phone: 39-011-541950

E-MAIL

We welcome submission of unpublished contributions, news, and photographs. Each submission implies the authorization for us to edit and publish texts and photographs. We reserve the right to decide which submissions are suitable for publication. Please, write to INFO@BITTERWINTER.ORG Thank you.

Newsletter

Follow us

LINKS

orlir-logo hrwf-logo cesnur-logo

Copyright © 2023 · Bitter Winter · PRIVACY POLICY· COOKIE POLICY