Madhyamaka Thought in China

The history of the Madhyamaka, one of the two main Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophical traditions, began around the second century A.D. with the appearance of the writings of Nāgārjuna and Nāgārjuna's followers. Several of these writings were transmitted to China in the first decade of the fifth century, and had exerted a considerable influence on the development of Chinese Buddhist thought. This book examines the three stages of development of Chinese Madhyamaka, focussing attention on the different ways the representative figures of each stage applied basic Madhyamaka principles to deal with the central Buddhist doctrinal issues of their age.
The chief aim of this book is to locate an ideological nucleus and to trace a general pattern of transformation, referring to which the precise significance of the key theoretical elements and the exact relationship between the main doctrinal aspects of a broad Buddhist intellectual trend can be clearly demonstrated and accurately defined.

Ming-Wood Liu is Lecturer of Chinese Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. He has published extensively on Chinese Buddhist thought in western and Chinese journals, such as the T'oung Pao, Philosophy East and West and Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.

'This is an exceptionally fine work of scholarship in the history of ideas. Liu...has written a masterly study of Chinese Madhyamaka... Most highly recommended for all librairies with holdings on Asian thought.'
F.J. Hoffman, Choice, 1995.
'...Liu's book is a very useful introduction to a stream of Buddhist thought in China, which he has shown to be of more interest than is sometimes allowed.'
Tilmann Vetter, T'oung Pao, 1998.
'The author's well-balanced knowledge of Buddhism and various philosophical traditions in China makes his work a success in the field of Buddhist studies and Chinese Buddhist thought…In every way, this book is highly recommended.'
Jikido Takasaki, Journal of Oriental Studies, 1996.