being restored. The
Eastern Tsin Dynasty had been much disturbed by the struggles of rival
princes. These were brought to an end in 420 by a new dynasty known as
Liu Sung which reigned in the south some sixty years. The north
was divided among six Tartar kingdoms, which all perished before 440
except Wei. Wei then split into an Eastern and a Western kingdom which
lasted about a hundred years. In the south, the Liu Sung gave place to
three short dynasties, Ch'i, Liang and Ch'en, until at last the Sui
(589-605) united China.

The Liu Sung Emperor Wen-Ti (424-454) was a patron of Confucian
learning, but does not appear to have discouraged Buddhism. The Sung
annals record that several embassies were sent from India and Ceylon
to offer congratulations on the flourishing condition of religion in
his dominions, but they also preserve memorials from Chinese officials
asking for imperial interference to prevent the multiplication of
monasteries and the growing expenditure on superstitious ceremonies.
This marks the beginning of the desire to curb Buddhism by restrictive
legislation which the official class displayed so prominently and
persistently in subsequent centuries. A similar reaction seems to have
been felt in Wei, where the influential statesman Ts'ui Hao,[623] a
votary of Taoism, conducted an anti-Buddhist campaign. He was helped
in this crusade by the discovery of arms in a monastery at Ch'ang-an.
The monks were accused of treason and debauchery and in 446 Toba
Tao,[624] the sovereign of Wei, issued an edict ordering the
destruction of Buddhist temples and sacred books as well as the
execution of all priests. The Crown Prince, who was a Buddhist, was
able to save many lives, but no monasteries or temples were left
standing. The persecution, however, was of short duration. Toba Tao
was assassinated and almost the first act of his successor was to
re-establish Buddhism and allow his subjects to become monks. From
this period date the sculptured grottoes of Yun-Kang in northern
Shan-si which are probably the oldest specimens of Buddhist art in
China. In 471 another ruler of Wei, Toba Hung, had a gigantic image of
Buddha constructed and subsequently abdicated in order to devote
himself to Buddhist studies. His successor marks a reaction, for
he was an ardent Confucianist who changed the family name to Yuan and
tried to introduce the Chinese language and dress. But the tide of
Buddhism was too strong. It secured the favour