中国古史上的宗教管理——世俗皇权下的神圣世界

中国古代自魏晋南北朝起逐步形成了行之有效的宗教管理体制。它包括一套系统的政府宗教管理机构,定额管理、官方登记和资格审查三项常规管理制度。这一体制是中国古代政权高于神权、各建制宗教多元并存的政教关系模式的制度化保障,有效地维护了这一政教关系模式的长期稳定。

Management of Religion in Ancient Chinese History: A Sacred World under Secular Imperial Power

In ancient China, ever since Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, an effective system for managing religion had been gradually formed. It consisted of a systematic government institution for managing religion, and a regular management system comprised of quantitative control, governmental registration and qualification censorship. Such a system was an institutional guarantee for the superiority of ancient Chinese regime over divine authority, and over a political-religious relationship pattern in which various institutionalized religions were co-existed in a multiway. It also effectively maintained a long-time stability of the political-religious relationship pattern.