Hong Yi

Hong Yi (23 October 1880 – 13 October 1942; , also romanized Hong-it ), or Yan Yin was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the Nanshan Vinaya school. He was also an artist, and a musician. Born Li Shutong (李叔同 and 李漱筒), he was known by the names Wen Tao, Guang Hou, and Shu Tong, but was most commonly known by his Buddhist name, Hong Yi (Hokkien Hong-it).

Master Hongyi was a highly influential figure in both the modern Chinese cultural movement and the Buddhist revival during the Republic of China period. Initially renowned for his diverse artistic talents in poetry, music, painting, and calligraphy, he underwent a significant transformation, ordaining as a Buddhist monk in 1918 at Hupao Temple in Hangzhou. From that point until his death in 1942, he dedicated his life to the study and dissemination of Chinese Buddhism. He is widely recognized as one of the four eminent monks of the Republic of China, alongside Masters Taixu, Yinguang, and Xuyun. Within the Chinese Buddhist tradition, Master Hongyi is primarily known and respected as the eleventh patriarch of the Nanshan Vinaya school, a title reflecting his critical role in revitalizing the Vinaya tradition in modern China.

In 1898 Li moved to Shanghai and joined the "Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Association", and the "Shanghai Scholarly Society" while he was attending the Nanyang Public School (later became Jiaotong University). In 1905 Li went to Japan to study at Tokyo School of Fine Art in Ueno Park where he specialized in Western painting and music, and met a lover by the name of Yukiko who was to become his concubine.

In 1910 Li returned to China and was appointed to Tianjin's Beiyang Advanced Industry School. The next year he was appointed as a music teacher in a girls' school in Shanghai. He went to Hangzhou in 1912 and became a lecturer in the Zhejiang Secondary Normal College (now Hangzhou Normal University). He taught not only Western painting and music but also art history. By 1915 Jiang Qian hired him as a teacher at Nanjing Higher Normal School (renamed in 1949 to Nanjing University), where he taught painting and music. He also taught at Zhejiang Secondary Normal School (浙江兩級師範學堂), the predecessor of the famous Hangzhou High School.

During these later years, Li's reputation grew, as he became the first Chinese educator to use nude models in his painting classes, not to mention as the first teacher of Western music in China. Some of the students, like Singapore artist Chen Wen Hsi (陳文希) whom he personally groomed, went on to become accomplished masters of the arts in their later days. Li Shutong himself was also an accomplished composer and lyricist. Many of his compositions are still remembered and performed today.

In 1916 Li became a Buddhist. After spending another year in spiritual retreat, Li chose to be ordained as a monk, and thus began a holistic life dedicated to propagating Buddhism and its code of conduct.

Vinaya Master Hongyi devoted the most time and effort to the study and promotion of the Nanshan Vinaya school. He viewed the revival of Nanshan Vinaya as his primary mission. His efforts included the collation, editing, annotation, and revision of key Vinaya scriptures and commentaries, providing essential textual resources for future generations of practitioners and scholars. Initially, Master Hongyi had an interest in the Sarvāstivādin Vinaya, even quoting its explanations to correct Nanshan viewpoints in early drafts of his work. However, influenced partly by the lay Buddhist Xu Weiru and recognizing the historical foundation and suitability of the Four-Division Vinaya within Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, he made a vow in 1931 to specialize solely in the Nanshan Vinaya and promote it. He saw the Four-Division Vinaya as well-suited to the capabilities of Chinese monastics and capable of being explained based on Mahayana teachings.

A special 130th anniversary celebration of Master Hong Yi showcasing his calligraphy and painting works took place in 2010 in Shanghai, partly sponsored by the Pinghu Municipal Government, and attended by a granddaughter of Hong Yi.

Important works Publications The Chart of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya Bhikkhu Precepts The Guide to the Nanshan Vinaya for Lay Buddhists (Chinese: 南山律在家備覽)

Collections Happy Stones Li Shutong's Seals

Articles How to Paint (Chinese: 圖畫修得法) An Introduction to Watercolors (Chinese: 水彩畫法說略)

Lyrics Song: Song Bie Ge (Farewell Song) (Chinese: 送别歌)

Music Song: Childhood memories (Chinese: 憶兒時) Song: Song of Spring Sightseeing (Chinese: 春游曲) Song: Song of Three Jewels (Buddhist Refuge), Taixu lyrics (Chinese: :zh:三寶歌)