The Huichang Persecution primarily targeted which religious institution?

• A. Confucian academies
• B. Christian churches
• C. Buddhist monasteries
• D. Daoist temples

Answer: (C)

During the Huichang era in the Tang dynasty, the government launched a crackdown that was directed mainly at Buddhism. Buddhist monasteries held vast lands and enjoyed numerous tax exemptions, giving them substantial economic and social influence. The state argued that these powerful monastic estates drained resources and challenged imperial authority, so it moved to suppress the monasteries, seize temple wealth, and force monks to return to secular life. While there were broader pressures against religious institutions, the focus of Huichang was the Buddhist establishment—monasteries and their clergy—rather than Confucian academies or Christian churches, which did not play the same dominant role in this period.