This blog post is the result of Temple University\u2019s Graduate Certificate in Cultural Analytics Practicum course, for which I developed a preliminary research project on applying the method of social network analysis to the transmission of Abhidharma Buddhism in early medieval China. I am a PhD candidate at the department of Religion in Temple University with a focus on Buddhist studies. Before coming to Temple I spent several years in various Buddhist monasteries learning Buddhist philosophy. I first learned about the method of Historical Social Network Analysis from Dr. Marcus Bingenheimer. During the Practicum course this fall, with the help of Dr. Alex Wermer-Colan, I learned more about how to use Gephi to analyze the Abhidarma transmission social network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Network Data on Buddhist Monks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe dataset used in this paper is the \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism,\u201d and can be downloaded from Github<\/a>.<\/a> This dataset extracts data from nine texts, including Collection of Records from the Tripitaka (Chu sanzang jiji \u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6), Excerpts from \u2018Biographies of Famous Monks\u2019 (Mingseng zhuan chao\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284), Biographies of Nuns (Biqiuni zhuan\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3) and another six Biographies of eminent monks. With more than 18000 nodes and their connections, this network dataset covers more than 2000 years of Chinese Buddhist history. <\/p>\n\n\n\nApart from names of the person, it also contains data such as their birth\/death year, the dynasty they belong to, and most importantly, the other individuals with whom they are connected. It does not contain more detailed information such as what each monk studied or where they conducted these studies. The edge does have a weight, but according to Bingenheimer (2021, p. 236), the weights in the dataset have little analytical value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enhancing the Network Dataset<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhat I added to the dataset is the information about monks\u2019 activities related to Abhidharma. I have collected information from Biographies of eminent monks, and also individual texts such as Beishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. I added several columns to the dataset indicating whether a monk has studied a specific Abhidharma text, such as Apitan xin lun <\/em>\u963f\u6bd7\u66c7\u5fc3\u8ad6, or not. I also added another column to indicate whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\nData Visualization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe software I use to explore this network data is Gephi. This is an open source software for social network analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I first downloaded the .gephi file of \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Then I exported the csv file and added the information about Abhidharma into this data. Afterwards I import the data back to the .gephi file. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using the color panel for the nodes, I colored the data according to whether the monk has engaged in some kind of Abhidharma or not. Since most of the monks who study Abhidharma centered in the first millennium of the transmission of Buddhism, I used the \u201csquare\u201d button in the \u201coverview\u201d to select those monks in this period. The following is a display of monks in the first few centuries with those who have studied Abhidharma colored to red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/2z3-dqg5sNqRBoXqK8T6EjIuSN02hn3qgsawFzVgFfcy3HQ9TvfDHrBcLVJJPlAPbqOxsHFWqSvJPwyQJp2DzJ-PiXNoYbTMB7cy_bCmBwg7IH3c9Rif8490Mb6hLybG69wibAexty1taveqm4DU9Rs\")
Fig. 1 Featured network with monks interested in Abhidharma colored to red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBetweenness Centrality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nFrom this graph we can see that although only a small portion of the monks study Abhidharma, their relevance is rather significant. The nodes are sized according to their betweenness centrality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Mark NJ Newman states, \u201cBetweenness centrality can be regarded as a measure of the extent to which an actor has control over information flowing between others. In a network in which flow is entirely or at least mostly along geodesic paths, the betweenness of a vertex measures how much flow will pass through that particular verte.\u201d (Newman 2005, P.2). This means that relatively speaking, monks who have studied Abhidharma have more control over information flowing between other monks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Future research is needed regarding the reason why Abhidharma monks have relatively higher betweenness centrality. A possible reason is that these monks usually study both Mah\u0101y\u0101na and Abhidharma texts, and have relatively more information flowing through them due to connections with monks with different academic interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following table shows the monks that come from the Northern and Southern dynasties who have the highest betweenness centrality. It can be seen that most monks who have high centrality have studied Abhidharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/files\/2023\/12\/image-1-1024x277.png\")
Table 1 Nodes that have the highest betweenness centrality<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe above image is the first few lines of the table that has nodes with the highest betweenness centrality. The nodes highlighted as red are lay people. The nodes highlighted as yellow have once studied Abhidharma. It can be seen that apart from influential patrons such as Xiao Yan and the Wu Emperor of Liang, most of the other top nodes have studied Abhidharma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ego Network<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAnother function I have tried in Gephi is the ego network measurements. This method focuses on a network from the perspective of a single user\/ego with all its 1st-degree connections. In other words, \u2018Ego Networks\u2019 focus on one node and its direct connections, revealing its immediate network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following is part of the ego network of Huiguan. I choose Huiguan since he receives relatively less attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism by modern scholars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can see that he is the next largest node after Huiyuan, who has a relatively high betweenness centrality and also studies Abhidharma. He is connected to several influential nodes, such as Kumarajiva and Huiyuan. He is also important in cross-generation knowledge transmission since he connects with both important nodes in the last generation and nodes in the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/KpZ-YMr8eMsV7_jtqFrPWZ-BomvswVLiCBfOaaKPn7o_Lk-yoZ-x1otWUjV7g_GY86F6NsenFsX952bIIDyPTE6CHw2WXwp8097a8pSEko1EZTNql8CwqzbtxYjUPH-FHzAfZAYbjhT3jFpMhzF6V2w\")
Fig. 2 Huiguan’s ego network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThis is a preliminary research project on applying the method of social network analysis to the transmission of Abhidharma Buddhism in early medieval China. Based on Dr. Bingenheimer\u2019s \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism,\u201d I have added information about whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not, as well as the specific text he studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One prominent phenomena revealed by the network is that nodes who study Abhidharma have relatively high betweenness centrality, which means that there are relatively more information flowing through them. I have also tried the function of ego network, such as the 1st degree network of Huiguan, a monk with relatively high betweenness centrality, who has not been given much attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As next steps in this research project, I will try to analyze his connections and see the role he plays in both Abhidharma transmission and the transmission of other Buddhist thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPrimary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nChu sanzang jiji <\/em>\u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6. 510 C.E. by Sengyou\u50e7\u7950 (445-518). Vol. 55, no. 2145, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Takakusu Junjir\u014d \u9ad8\u6960\u9806\u6b21\u90ce and Watanabe Kaigyoku \u6e21\u908a\u6d77\u65ed et al. (1924\u20131932). 85 vols. T\u014dky\u014d: Taish\u014d issaiky\u014d kank\u014dkai \u5927\u6b63\u4e00\u5207\u7d93\u520a\u523b\u6703 (CBETA version). <\/p>\n\n\n\nMingseng zhuan chao<\/em>\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284. 510 C.E. by Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 77, no. 1523, in Shinsan Dainihon zokuz\u014dky\u014d<\/em> \u534d\u65b0\u7e82\u5927\u65e5\u672c\u7e8c\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Kawamura K\u014dsh\u014d \u6cb3\u6751\u8003\u7167. (1975\u20131989). Printed by Kokusho kangy\u014dkai \u570b\u66f8\u520a\u884c\u6703. Originally compiled by Nakano Tatsue \u4e2d\u91ce\u9054\u6167 (1905\u20131912). Ky\u014dt\u014d: Z\u014dky\u014d shoin \u85cf\u7d93\u66f8\u9662 (CBETA version).<\/p>\n\n\n\nBiqiuni zhuan<\/em>\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3. 516 C.E. By Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 50, no. 2063, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBeishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. 806 C.E. Authored by Shenqing\u795e\u6e05. Annotated by Huibao\u6167\u5bf6. Vol. 52, no. 2113, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBingenheimer, Marcus. 2021. \u201cThe Historical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Journal of Historical network research<\/em> 5 (1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25517\/jhnr.v5i1.119.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNewman, Mark EJ. “A measure of betweenness centrality based on random walks.” Social networks<\/em> 27, no. 1 (2005): 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lu Huang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35978,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433,2,470],"tags":[182,6],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-analytics-practicum","category-grad-students","category-religion","tag-network-analysis","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8573"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8630,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions\/8630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Apart from names of the person, it also contains data such as their birth\/death year, the dynasty they belong to, and most importantly, the other individuals with whom they are connected. It does not contain more detailed information such as what each monk studied or where they conducted these studies. The edge does have a weight, but according to Bingenheimer (2021, p. 236), the weights in the dataset have little analytical value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enhancing the Network Dataset<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhat I added to the dataset is the information about monks\u2019 activities related to Abhidharma. I have collected information from Biographies of eminent monks, and also individual texts such as Beishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. I added several columns to the dataset indicating whether a monk has studied a specific Abhidharma text, such as Apitan xin lun <\/em>\u963f\u6bd7\u66c7\u5fc3\u8ad6, or not. I also added another column to indicate whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\nData Visualization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe software I use to explore this network data is Gephi. This is an open source software for social network analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I first downloaded the .gephi file of \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Then I exported the csv file and added the information about Abhidharma into this data. Afterwards I import the data back to the .gephi file. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using the color panel for the nodes, I colored the data according to whether the monk has engaged in some kind of Abhidharma or not. Since most of the monks who study Abhidharma centered in the first millennium of the transmission of Buddhism, I used the \u201csquare\u201d button in the \u201coverview\u201d to select those monks in this period. The following is a display of monks in the first few centuries with those who have studied Abhidharma colored to red.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFig. 1 Featured network with monks interested in Abhidharma colored to red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBetweenness Centrality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nFrom this graph we can see that although only a small portion of the monks study Abhidharma, their relevance is rather significant. The nodes are sized according to their betweenness centrality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Mark NJ Newman states, \u201cBetweenness centrality can be regarded as a measure of the extent to which an actor has control over information flowing between others. In a network in which flow is entirely or at least mostly along geodesic paths, the betweenness of a vertex measures how much flow will pass through that particular verte.\u201d (Newman 2005, P.2). This means that relatively speaking, monks who have studied Abhidharma have more control over information flowing between other monks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Future research is needed regarding the reason why Abhidharma monks have relatively higher betweenness centrality. A possible reason is that these monks usually study both Mah\u0101y\u0101na and Abhidharma texts, and have relatively more information flowing through them due to connections with monks with different academic interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following table shows the monks that come from the Northern and Southern dynasties who have the highest betweenness centrality. It can be seen that most monks who have high centrality have studied Abhidharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTable 1 Nodes that have the highest betweenness centrality<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe above image is the first few lines of the table that has nodes with the highest betweenness centrality. The nodes highlighted as red are lay people. The nodes highlighted as yellow have once studied Abhidharma. It can be seen that apart from influential patrons such as Xiao Yan and the Wu Emperor of Liang, most of the other top nodes have studied Abhidharma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ego Network<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAnother function I have tried in Gephi is the ego network measurements. This method focuses on a network from the perspective of a single user\/ego with all its 1st-degree connections. In other words, \u2018Ego Networks\u2019 focus on one node and its direct connections, revealing its immediate network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following is part of the ego network of Huiguan. I choose Huiguan since he receives relatively less attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism by modern scholars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can see that he is the next largest node after Huiyuan, who has a relatively high betweenness centrality and also studies Abhidharma. He is connected to several influential nodes, such as Kumarajiva and Huiyuan. He is also important in cross-generation knowledge transmission since he connects with both important nodes in the last generation and nodes in the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFig. 2 Huiguan’s ego network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThis is a preliminary research project on applying the method of social network analysis to the transmission of Abhidharma Buddhism in early medieval China. Based on Dr. Bingenheimer\u2019s \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism,\u201d I have added information about whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not, as well as the specific text he studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One prominent phenomena revealed by the network is that nodes who study Abhidharma have relatively high betweenness centrality, which means that there are relatively more information flowing through them. I have also tried the function of ego network, such as the 1st degree network of Huiguan, a monk with relatively high betweenness centrality, who has not been given much attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As next steps in this research project, I will try to analyze his connections and see the role he plays in both Abhidharma transmission and the transmission of other Buddhist thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPrimary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nChu sanzang jiji <\/em>\u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6. 510 C.E. by Sengyou\u50e7\u7950 (445-518). Vol. 55, no. 2145, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Takakusu Junjir\u014d \u9ad8\u6960\u9806\u6b21\u90ce and Watanabe Kaigyoku \u6e21\u908a\u6d77\u65ed et al. (1924\u20131932). 85 vols. T\u014dky\u014d: Taish\u014d issaiky\u014d kank\u014dkai \u5927\u6b63\u4e00\u5207\u7d93\u520a\u523b\u6703 (CBETA version). <\/p>\n\n\n\nMingseng zhuan chao<\/em>\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284. 510 C.E. by Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 77, no. 1523, in Shinsan Dainihon zokuz\u014dky\u014d<\/em> \u534d\u65b0\u7e82\u5927\u65e5\u672c\u7e8c\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Kawamura K\u014dsh\u014d \u6cb3\u6751\u8003\u7167. (1975\u20131989). Printed by Kokusho kangy\u014dkai \u570b\u66f8\u520a\u884c\u6703. Originally compiled by Nakano Tatsue \u4e2d\u91ce\u9054\u6167 (1905\u20131912). Ky\u014dt\u014d: Z\u014dky\u014d shoin \u85cf\u7d93\u66f8\u9662 (CBETA version).<\/p>\n\n\n\nBiqiuni zhuan<\/em>\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3. 516 C.E. By Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 50, no. 2063, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBeishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. 806 C.E. Authored by Shenqing\u795e\u6e05. Annotated by Huibao\u6167\u5bf6. Vol. 52, no. 2113, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBingenheimer, Marcus. 2021. \u201cThe Historical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Journal of Historical network research<\/em> 5 (1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25517\/jhnr.v5i1.119.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNewman, Mark EJ. “A measure of betweenness centrality based on random walks.” Social networks<\/em> 27, no. 1 (2005): 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lu Huang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35978,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433,2,470],"tags":[182,6],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-analytics-practicum","category-grad-students","category-religion","tag-network-analysis","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8573"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8630,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions\/8630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Data Visualization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe software I use to explore this network data is Gephi. This is an open source software for social network analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I first downloaded the .gephi file of \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Then I exported the csv file and added the information about Abhidharma into this data. Afterwards I import the data back to the .gephi file. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using the color panel for the nodes, I colored the data according to whether the monk has engaged in some kind of Abhidharma or not. Since most of the monks who study Abhidharma centered in the first millennium of the transmission of Buddhism, I used the \u201csquare\u201d button in the \u201coverview\u201d to select those monks in this period. The following is a display of monks in the first few centuries with those who have studied Abhidharma colored to red.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFig. 1 Featured network with monks interested in Abhidharma colored to red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBetweenness Centrality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nFrom this graph we can see that although only a small portion of the monks study Abhidharma, their relevance is rather significant. The nodes are sized according to their betweenness centrality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Mark NJ Newman states, \u201cBetweenness centrality can be regarded as a measure of the extent to which an actor has control over information flowing between others. In a network in which flow is entirely or at least mostly along geodesic paths, the betweenness of a vertex measures how much flow will pass through that particular verte.\u201d (Newman 2005, P.2). This means that relatively speaking, monks who have studied Abhidharma have more control over information flowing between other monks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Future research is needed regarding the reason why Abhidharma monks have relatively higher betweenness centrality. A possible reason is that these monks usually study both Mah\u0101y\u0101na and Abhidharma texts, and have relatively more information flowing through them due to connections with monks with different academic interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following table shows the monks that come from the Northern and Southern dynasties who have the highest betweenness centrality. It can be seen that most monks who have high centrality have studied Abhidharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTable 1 Nodes that have the highest betweenness centrality<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe above image is the first few lines of the table that has nodes with the highest betweenness centrality. The nodes highlighted as red are lay people. The nodes highlighted as yellow have once studied Abhidharma. It can be seen that apart from influential patrons such as Xiao Yan and the Wu Emperor of Liang, most of the other top nodes have studied Abhidharma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ego Network<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAnother function I have tried in Gephi is the ego network measurements. This method focuses on a network from the perspective of a single user\/ego with all its 1st-degree connections. In other words, \u2018Ego Networks\u2019 focus on one node and its direct connections, revealing its immediate network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following is part of the ego network of Huiguan. I choose Huiguan since he receives relatively less attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism by modern scholars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can see that he is the next largest node after Huiyuan, who has a relatively high betweenness centrality and also studies Abhidharma. He is connected to several influential nodes, such as Kumarajiva and Huiyuan. He is also important in cross-generation knowledge transmission since he connects with both important nodes in the last generation and nodes in the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFig. 2 Huiguan’s ego network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThis is a preliminary research project on applying the method of social network analysis to the transmission of Abhidharma Buddhism in early medieval China. Based on Dr. Bingenheimer\u2019s \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism,\u201d I have added information about whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not, as well as the specific text he studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One prominent phenomena revealed by the network is that nodes who study Abhidharma have relatively high betweenness centrality, which means that there are relatively more information flowing through them. I have also tried the function of ego network, such as the 1st degree network of Huiguan, a monk with relatively high betweenness centrality, who has not been given much attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As next steps in this research project, I will try to analyze his connections and see the role he plays in both Abhidharma transmission and the transmission of other Buddhist thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPrimary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nChu sanzang jiji <\/em>\u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6. 510 C.E. by Sengyou\u50e7\u7950 (445-518). Vol. 55, no. 2145, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Takakusu Junjir\u014d \u9ad8\u6960\u9806\u6b21\u90ce and Watanabe Kaigyoku \u6e21\u908a\u6d77\u65ed et al. (1924\u20131932). 85 vols. T\u014dky\u014d: Taish\u014d issaiky\u014d kank\u014dkai \u5927\u6b63\u4e00\u5207\u7d93\u520a\u523b\u6703 (CBETA version). <\/p>\n\n\n\nMingseng zhuan chao<\/em>\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284. 510 C.E. by Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 77, no. 1523, in Shinsan Dainihon zokuz\u014dky\u014d<\/em> \u534d\u65b0\u7e82\u5927\u65e5\u672c\u7e8c\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Kawamura K\u014dsh\u014d \u6cb3\u6751\u8003\u7167. (1975\u20131989). Printed by Kokusho kangy\u014dkai \u570b\u66f8\u520a\u884c\u6703. Originally compiled by Nakano Tatsue \u4e2d\u91ce\u9054\u6167 (1905\u20131912). Ky\u014dt\u014d: Z\u014dky\u014d shoin \u85cf\u7d93\u66f8\u9662 (CBETA version).<\/p>\n\n\n\nBiqiuni zhuan<\/em>\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3. 516 C.E. By Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 50, no. 2063, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBeishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. 806 C.E. Authored by Shenqing\u795e\u6e05. Annotated by Huibao\u6167\u5bf6. Vol. 52, no. 2113, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBingenheimer, Marcus. 2021. \u201cThe Historical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Journal of Historical network research<\/em> 5 (1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25517\/jhnr.v5i1.119.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNewman, Mark EJ. “A measure of betweenness centrality based on random walks.” Social networks<\/em> 27, no. 1 (2005): 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lu Huang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35978,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433,2,470],"tags":[182,6],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-analytics-practicum","category-grad-students","category-religion","tag-network-analysis","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8573"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8630,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions\/8630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Betweenness Centrality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nFrom this graph we can see that although only a small portion of the monks study Abhidharma, their relevance is rather significant. The nodes are sized according to their betweenness centrality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Mark NJ Newman states, \u201cBetweenness centrality can be regarded as a measure of the extent to which an actor has control over information flowing between others. In a network in which flow is entirely or at least mostly along geodesic paths, the betweenness of a vertex measures how much flow will pass through that particular verte.\u201d (Newman 2005, P.2). This means that relatively speaking, monks who have studied Abhidharma have more control over information flowing between other monks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Future research is needed regarding the reason why Abhidharma monks have relatively higher betweenness centrality. A possible reason is that these monks usually study both Mah\u0101y\u0101na and Abhidharma texts, and have relatively more information flowing through them due to connections with monks with different academic interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following table shows the monks that come from the Northern and Southern dynasties who have the highest betweenness centrality. It can be seen that most monks who have high centrality have studied Abhidharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTable 1 Nodes that have the highest betweenness centrality<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe above image is the first few lines of the table that has nodes with the highest betweenness centrality. The nodes highlighted as red are lay people. The nodes highlighted as yellow have once studied Abhidharma. It can be seen that apart from influential patrons such as Xiao Yan and the Wu Emperor of Liang, most of the other top nodes have studied Abhidharma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ego Network<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAnother function I have tried in Gephi is the ego network measurements. This method focuses on a network from the perspective of a single user\/ego with all its 1st-degree connections. In other words, \u2018Ego Networks\u2019 focus on one node and its direct connections, revealing its immediate network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following is part of the ego network of Huiguan. I choose Huiguan since he receives relatively less attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism by modern scholars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can see that he is the next largest node after Huiyuan, who has a relatively high betweenness centrality and also studies Abhidharma. He is connected to several influential nodes, such as Kumarajiva and Huiyuan. He is also important in cross-generation knowledge transmission since he connects with both important nodes in the last generation and nodes in the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFig. 2 Huiguan’s ego network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThis is a preliminary research project on applying the method of social network analysis to the transmission of Abhidharma Buddhism in early medieval China. Based on Dr. Bingenheimer\u2019s \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism,\u201d I have added information about whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not, as well as the specific text he studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One prominent phenomena revealed by the network is that nodes who study Abhidharma have relatively high betweenness centrality, which means that there are relatively more information flowing through them. I have also tried the function of ego network, such as the 1st degree network of Huiguan, a monk with relatively high betweenness centrality, who has not been given much attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As next steps in this research project, I will try to analyze his connections and see the role he plays in both Abhidharma transmission and the transmission of other Buddhist thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPrimary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nChu sanzang jiji <\/em>\u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6. 510 C.E. by Sengyou\u50e7\u7950 (445-518). Vol. 55, no. 2145, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Takakusu Junjir\u014d \u9ad8\u6960\u9806\u6b21\u90ce and Watanabe Kaigyoku \u6e21\u908a\u6d77\u65ed et al. (1924\u20131932). 85 vols. T\u014dky\u014d: Taish\u014d issaiky\u014d kank\u014dkai \u5927\u6b63\u4e00\u5207\u7d93\u520a\u523b\u6703 (CBETA version). <\/p>\n\n\n\nMingseng zhuan chao<\/em>\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284. 510 C.E. by Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 77, no. 1523, in Shinsan Dainihon zokuz\u014dky\u014d<\/em> \u534d\u65b0\u7e82\u5927\u65e5\u672c\u7e8c\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Kawamura K\u014dsh\u014d \u6cb3\u6751\u8003\u7167. (1975\u20131989). Printed by Kokusho kangy\u014dkai \u570b\u66f8\u520a\u884c\u6703. Originally compiled by Nakano Tatsue \u4e2d\u91ce\u9054\u6167 (1905\u20131912). Ky\u014dt\u014d: Z\u014dky\u014d shoin \u85cf\u7d93\u66f8\u9662 (CBETA version).<\/p>\n\n\n\nBiqiuni zhuan<\/em>\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3. 516 C.E. By Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 50, no. 2063, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBeishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. 806 C.E. Authored by Shenqing\u795e\u6e05. Annotated by Huibao\u6167\u5bf6. Vol. 52, no. 2113, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBingenheimer, Marcus. 2021. \u201cThe Historical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Journal of Historical network research<\/em> 5 (1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25517\/jhnr.v5i1.119.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNewman, Mark EJ. “A measure of betweenness centrality based on random walks.” Social networks<\/em> 27, no. 1 (2005): 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lu Huang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35978,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433,2,470],"tags":[182,6],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-analytics-practicum","category-grad-students","category-religion","tag-network-analysis","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8573"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8630,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions\/8630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The above image is the first few lines of the table that has nodes with the highest betweenness centrality. The nodes highlighted as red are lay people. The nodes highlighted as yellow have once studied Abhidharma. It can be seen that apart from influential patrons such as Xiao Yan and the Wu Emperor of Liang, most of the other top nodes have studied Abhidharma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ego Network<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAnother function I have tried in Gephi is the ego network measurements. This method focuses on a network from the perspective of a single user\/ego with all its 1st-degree connections. In other words, \u2018Ego Networks\u2019 focus on one node and its direct connections, revealing its immediate network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following is part of the ego network of Huiguan. I choose Huiguan since he receives relatively less attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism by modern scholars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can see that he is the next largest node after Huiyuan, who has a relatively high betweenness centrality and also studies Abhidharma. He is connected to several influential nodes, such as Kumarajiva and Huiyuan. He is also important in cross-generation knowledge transmission since he connects with both important nodes in the last generation and nodes in the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFig. 2 Huiguan’s ego network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThis is a preliminary research project on applying the method of social network analysis to the transmission of Abhidharma Buddhism in early medieval China. Based on Dr. Bingenheimer\u2019s \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism,\u201d I have added information about whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not, as well as the specific text he studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One prominent phenomena revealed by the network is that nodes who study Abhidharma have relatively high betweenness centrality, which means that there are relatively more information flowing through them. I have also tried the function of ego network, such as the 1st degree network of Huiguan, a monk with relatively high betweenness centrality, who has not been given much attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As next steps in this research project, I will try to analyze his connections and see the role he plays in both Abhidharma transmission and the transmission of other Buddhist thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPrimary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nChu sanzang jiji <\/em>\u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6. 510 C.E. by Sengyou\u50e7\u7950 (445-518). Vol. 55, no. 2145, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Takakusu Junjir\u014d \u9ad8\u6960\u9806\u6b21\u90ce and Watanabe Kaigyoku \u6e21\u908a\u6d77\u65ed et al. (1924\u20131932). 85 vols. T\u014dky\u014d: Taish\u014d issaiky\u014d kank\u014dkai \u5927\u6b63\u4e00\u5207\u7d93\u520a\u523b\u6703 (CBETA version). <\/p>\n\n\n\nMingseng zhuan chao<\/em>\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284. 510 C.E. by Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 77, no. 1523, in Shinsan Dainihon zokuz\u014dky\u014d<\/em> \u534d\u65b0\u7e82\u5927\u65e5\u672c\u7e8c\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Kawamura K\u014dsh\u014d \u6cb3\u6751\u8003\u7167. (1975\u20131989). Printed by Kokusho kangy\u014dkai \u570b\u66f8\u520a\u884c\u6703. Originally compiled by Nakano Tatsue \u4e2d\u91ce\u9054\u6167 (1905\u20131912). Ky\u014dt\u014d: Z\u014dky\u014d shoin \u85cf\u7d93\u66f8\u9662 (CBETA version).<\/p>\n\n\n\nBiqiuni zhuan<\/em>\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3. 516 C.E. By Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 50, no. 2063, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBeishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. 806 C.E. Authored by Shenqing\u795e\u6e05. Annotated by Huibao\u6167\u5bf6. Vol. 52, no. 2113, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBingenheimer, Marcus. 2021. \u201cThe Historical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Journal of Historical network research<\/em> 5 (1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25517\/jhnr.v5i1.119.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNewman, Mark EJ. “A measure of betweenness centrality based on random walks.” Social networks<\/em> 27, no. 1 (2005): 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lu Huang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35978,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433,2,470],"tags":[182,6],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-analytics-practicum","category-grad-students","category-religion","tag-network-analysis","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8573"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8630,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions\/8630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThis is a preliminary research project on applying the method of social network analysis to the transmission of Abhidharma Buddhism in early medieval China. Based on Dr. Bingenheimer\u2019s \u201cHistorical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism,\u201d I have added information about whether a monk has studied Abhidharma or not, as well as the specific text he studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One prominent phenomena revealed by the network is that nodes who study Abhidharma have relatively high betweenness centrality, which means that there are relatively more information flowing through them. I have also tried the function of ego network, such as the 1st degree network of Huiguan, a monk with relatively high betweenness centrality, who has not been given much attention in traditional historiography of early medieval Chinese Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As next steps in this research project, I will try to analyze his connections and see the role he plays in both Abhidharma transmission and the transmission of other Buddhist thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPrimary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nChu sanzang jiji <\/em>\u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6. 510 C.E. by Sengyou\u50e7\u7950 (445-518). Vol. 55, no. 2145, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Takakusu Junjir\u014d \u9ad8\u6960\u9806\u6b21\u90ce and Watanabe Kaigyoku \u6e21\u908a\u6d77\u65ed et al. (1924\u20131932). 85 vols. T\u014dky\u014d: Taish\u014d issaiky\u014d kank\u014dkai \u5927\u6b63\u4e00\u5207\u7d93\u520a\u523b\u6703 (CBETA version). <\/p>\n\n\n\nMingseng zhuan chao<\/em>\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284. 510 C.E. by Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 77, no. 1523, in Shinsan Dainihon zokuz\u014dky\u014d<\/em> \u534d\u65b0\u7e82\u5927\u65e5\u672c\u7e8c\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Kawamura K\u014dsh\u014d \u6cb3\u6751\u8003\u7167. (1975\u20131989). Printed by Kokusho kangy\u014dkai \u570b\u66f8\u520a\u884c\u6703. Originally compiled by Nakano Tatsue \u4e2d\u91ce\u9054\u6167 (1905\u20131912). Ky\u014dt\u014d: Z\u014dky\u014d shoin \u85cf\u7d93\u66f8\u9662 (CBETA version).<\/p>\n\n\n\nBiqiuni zhuan<\/em>\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3. 516 C.E. By Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 50, no. 2063, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBeishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. 806 C.E. Authored by Shenqing\u795e\u6e05. Annotated by Huibao\u6167\u5bf6. Vol. 52, no. 2113, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBingenheimer, Marcus. 2021. \u201cThe Historical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Journal of Historical network research<\/em> 5 (1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25517\/jhnr.v5i1.119.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNewman, Mark EJ. “A measure of betweenness centrality based on random walks.” Social networks<\/em> 27, no. 1 (2005): 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lu Huang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35978,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433,2,470],"tags":[182,6],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-analytics-practicum","category-grad-students","category-religion","tag-network-analysis","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8573"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8630,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions\/8630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Primary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chu sanzang jiji <\/em>\u51fa\u4e09\u85cf\u8a18\u96c6. 510 C.E. by Sengyou\u50e7\u7950 (445-518). Vol. 55, no. 2145, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Takakusu Junjir\u014d \u9ad8\u6960\u9806\u6b21\u90ce and Watanabe Kaigyoku \u6e21\u908a\u6d77\u65ed et al. (1924\u20131932). 85 vols. T\u014dky\u014d: Taish\u014d issaiky\u014d kank\u014dkai \u5927\u6b63\u4e00\u5207\u7d93\u520a\u523b\u6703 (CBETA version). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mingseng zhuan chao<\/em>\u540d\u50e7\u50b3\u6284. 510 C.E. by Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 77, no. 1523, in Shinsan Dainihon zokuz\u014dky\u014d<\/em> \u534d\u65b0\u7e82\u5927\u65e5\u672c\u7e8c\u85cf\u7d93. Edited by Kawamura K\u014dsh\u014d \u6cb3\u6751\u8003\u7167. (1975\u20131989). Printed by Kokusho kangy\u014dkai \u570b\u66f8\u520a\u884c\u6703. Originally compiled by Nakano Tatsue \u4e2d\u91ce\u9054\u6167 (1905\u20131912). Ky\u014dt\u014d: Z\u014dky\u014d shoin \u85cf\u7d93\u66f8\u9662 (CBETA version).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biqiuni zhuan<\/em>\u6bd4\u4e18\u5c3c\u50b3. 516 C.E. By Baochang\u5bf6\u5531 (502-557). Vol. 50, no. 2063, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beishan lu <\/em>\u5317\u5c71\u9304. 806 C.E. Authored by Shenqing\u795e\u6e05. Annotated by Huibao\u6167\u5bf6. Vol. 52, no. 2113, in Taish\u014d shinsh\u016b daiz\u014dky\u014d <\/em>\u5927\u6b63\u65b0\u4fee\u5927\u85cf\u7d93. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bingenheimer, Marcus. 2021. \u201cThe Historical Social Network of Chinese Buddhism.\u201d Journal of Historical network research<\/em> 5 (1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25517\/jhnr.v5i1.119.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newman, Mark EJ. “A measure of betweenness centrality based on random walks.” Social networks<\/em> 27, no. 1 (2005): 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Lu Huang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35978,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433,2,470],"tags":[182,6],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-analytics-practicum","category-grad-students","category-religion","tag-network-analysis","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8573"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8630,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8573\/revisions\/8630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}