The Science of Chinese Buddhism

[The Science of Chinese Buddhism] breaks new ground.... Hammerstrom's scholarship is detailed and thorough.... Recommended.

Hwansoo Ilmee Kim, Duke University:
Erik Hammerstrom masterfully reveals the ways Chinese Buddhist intellectuals of Republican China reconfigured Buddhism to make it compatible with science and modernity, as well as argued for Buddhism's superiority to them. With fascinating stories and a meticulous analysis, Hammerstrom's book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand Buddhism's makeover as the paradigm of science dawned over East Asia.

Charles B. Jones, Catholic University of America:
Hammerstrom contributes to the ongoing study of science and religion by giving us a view of their relationship from a non-Western perspective. Utilizing newly available archives of Buddhist periodicals, he shows that early twentieth-century Chinese Buddhists had different issues with science than those that routinely vex Western religions. The Science of Chinese Buddhism provides a wide field of previously unavailable data that will expand the theoretical conversation for many years to come.

Rebecca Nedostup, Brown University:
Through impeccably conducted research, Hammerstrom provides a sorely needed comprehensive history of how Chinese Buddhists shaped their own scientific epistemology.

David McMahan, Franklin & Marshall College:
Using science as an ideological marker of modernity, Hammerstrom presents an astute discussion of the ongoing relationship, rhetorical and otherwise, between various understandings of Buddhism and science.