Three Disasters of Wu

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The Three Disasters of Wu (Chinese language: 三武之禍; pinyin Sān Wǔ Zhīhuò) were three major persecutions against Buddhism in Chinese history. They were named as such because the posthumous names or temple names of all three emperors who carried out the persecutions had the character Wu (武) in them.

The first Disaster of Wu started in 446, when Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, a devout Taoist who followed the Northern Celestial Masters, was fighting the Xiongnu rebel Gai Wu (蓋吳). During the campaign, weapons were located in Buddhist temples, and he therefore believed that Buddhists were against him. With encouragement from his also devoutly Taoist prime minister Cui Hao, Emperor Taiwu ordered Buddhism abolished under penalty of death, and slaughtered the Buddhists in the Guanzhong region, the center of Gai's rebellion. The ban against Buddhism was relaxed in Emperor Taiwu's later years, and formally ended after his grandson Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei, a Buddhist, took the throne in 452.

The second Disaster of Wu started in 574, when Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou banned both Buddhism and Taoism, ordering the monks of both religions to return to civilian life, to add to the military manpower supply and the economy. Compared to the first Disaster of Wu, the second was relatively bloodless. When it officially ended was difficult to gauge, but it was probably over by the time that his son Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou took the throne in 578.

The third Disaster of Wu started in 845, when Emperor Wuzong of Tang, a devout Taoist, ordered that Buddhist temples and statues be destroyed and their properties confiscated to state treasury. The ban was not a complete ban; two Buddhist temples were permitted in both the main capital Chang'an and the subsidiary capital Luoyang, and the large municipalities and each circuit were each allowed to maintain one temple with no more than 20 monks. More than 4,600 temples were destroyed empirewide, and more than 260,000 monks and nuns were forced to return to civilian life. The disaster affected not only Buddhism, but also Nestorian Christianity and Zoroastrianism. It appeared to end after Emperor Wuzong was succeeded by his uncle Emperor Xuānzong of Tang in 846.