The popularity of Tibetan Buddhism has been well established in the West for some time. Less recognized, perhaps, is the growing interest in Tibetan Buddhism not only in China but also throughout Southeast Asia in areas with substantial Chinese populations. Indeed, Tibetan Buddhist ideas have been in circulation in China for some time, at least since the Yuan dynasty. In his timely publication, Gray Tuttle offers a unique and refreshing account of the role of Tibetan Buddhism during the formative years of the modern Chinese nation.
Scholars studying the formation of the Chinese nation-state and nationalism generally stress the secular nature of this project. Alternatives proposed by Chinese intellectuals who were not persuaded by Western secular models are rarely discussed. Tuttle's book presents evidence that there was a sizable group of Chinese intellectuals who sought different options for forging Chinese nationhood and that the source of these alternatives was Buddhism...