Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads

Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads PDF Author: B. J. Ter Haar
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789004110632
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Book Description
The extensive ritual and mythological lore of the Chinese Triads form the scope of the new title in Brill's monograph series Sinica Leidensia. The author evaluates the extant sources and introduces several little used Triad manuals, as well as a wealth of contextual information. Triad lore is placed in its own religious and cultural context, allowing radically new conclusions about its origins, meanings and functions. Readership: Those interested in late imperial China's social and religious history, Chinese Triads, local ritual traditions, charter myths, as well as anthropologists, Asian administrators and overseas Chinese, and martial arts practitioners.

Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads

Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads PDF Author: B. J. Ter Haar
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789004110632
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Book Description
The extensive ritual and mythological lore of the Chinese Triads form the scope of the new title in Brill's monograph series Sinica Leidensia. The author evaluates the extant sources and introduces several little used Triad manuals, as well as a wealth of contextual information. Triad lore is placed in its own religious and cultural context, allowing radically new conclusions about its origins, meanings and functions. Readership: Those interested in late imperial China's social and religious history, Chinese Triads, local ritual traditions, charter myths, as well as anthropologists, Asian administrators and overseas Chinese, and martial arts practitioners.

Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads

Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads PDF Author: Barend ter Haar
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004483047
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Book Description
The extensive ritual and mythological lore of the Chinese Triads form the scope of this new paperback title in Brill’s Scholars’ List. The author critically evaluates the extant sources and offers a wealth of contextual information. The core of the book is formed by a close reading of the initiation ritual, including the burning of incense, the altar, the enactment of a journey of life and death, and the blood covenant. Different narrative structures are also presented. These include the messianic demonological paradigm, political legitimation, and the foundation of myth. Triad lore is placed in its own religious and cultural context, allowing radically new conclusions about its origins, meanings and functions. This book is of special interest to social historians, anthropologists, and students of Chinese religious culture.

The Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads

The Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads PDF Author: Barend ter Haar
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004489665
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Book Description
The extensive ritual and mythological lore of the Chinese Triads form the scope of this new paperback in Brill’s Scholar’s List. In it the reader will find a critical evaluation of the extant sources together with a true wealth of context. The core of the book is formed by a close reading of the initiation ritual, including the burning of incense, the altar, the enactment of a journey of life and death, and the blood covenant. Different narrative structures are also presented. These include the messianic demonological paradigm, political legitimation, and the foundation of myth. Triad lore is placed in its own religious and cultural context, allowing radically new conclusions about its origins, meanings and functions. This book is of special interest to social historians, anthropologists, and students of Chinese religious culture.

Rats, Cats, Rogues, and Heroes

Rats, Cats, Rogues, and Heroes PDF Author: Robert J. Antony
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538169347
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
History has many untold stories. In Rats, Cats, Rogues, and Heroes the author provides glimpses into China’s hidden past through the native’s point of view. Rather than simply writing about ordinary people, this book is written from the perspective of ordinary people, how they told their own stories about themselves, their communities, and their pasts. The author examines historical consciousness as revealed in people’s everyday lives and as expressed through customary rituals, sociocultural conventions, language, and the complex symbolism of common human experiences. The focus is on ethnic groups and individuals who have been routinely discriminated against in mainstream society and treated by officials as rogues and criminals. They were denizens of the underworld of “rivers and lakes” (jianghu), a sociocultural category that includes bandits, sorcerers, conmen, and prostitutes. To get at their silent history the author spent decades conducting field research in rural areas of southern China, collecting rarely used unconventional sources—folklore, legends, myths, rumors, and hearsay—that reveal nuggets of new information and insights not found in the conventional sources in libraries and archives. This book challenges many commonplace assumptions about how academics write history by offering alternative possibilities for China’s past.

Encyclopedia of Chinese History

Encyclopedia of Chinese History PDF Author: Michael Dillon
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317817168
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 872

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Book Description
China has become accessible to the west in the last twenty years in a way that was not possible in the previous thirty. The number of westerners travelling to China to study, for business or for tourism has increased dramatically and there has been a corresponding increase in interest in Chinese culture, society and economy and increasing coverage of contemporary China in the media. Our understanding of China’s history has also been evolving. The study of history in the People’s Republic of China during the Mao Zedong period was strictly regulated and primary sources were rarely available to westerners or even to most Chinese historians. Now that the Chinese archives are open to researchers, there is a growing body of academic expertise on history in China that is open to western analysis and historical methods. This has in many ways changed the way that Chinese history, particularly the modern period, is viewed. The Encyclopedia of Chinese History covers the entire span of Chinese history from the period known primarily through archaeology to the present day. Treating Chinese history in the broadest sense, the Encyclopedia includes coverage of the frontier regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet that have played such an important role in the history of China Proper and will also include material on Taiwan, and on the Chinese diaspora. In A-Z format with entries written by experts in the field of Chinese Studies, the Encyclopedia will be an invaluable resource for students of Chinese history, politics and culture.

A Stairway to Heaven: Daoist Self-Cultivation in Early Modern China

A Stairway to Heaven: Daoist Self-Cultivation in Early Modern China PDF Author: Paul van Enckevort
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004707743
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
By the eleventh century, communities of religious practitioners in China had developed a theory and practice of meditative self-cultivation that combined the so-called Three Teachings. By the seventeenth century, Wu Shouyang created a synthesis of the various lineages of this “inner alchemy,” combining it with elements from Buddhism and Confucianism. By the late nineteenth century, his writings had become bestsellers in the genre and his became the standard account of this tradition. This first book-length English-language study of Wu Shouyang’s life and works introduces his remarkable life and formulates answers to fundamental questions about this important tradition.

Heterodoxy in Late Imperial China

Heterodoxy in Late Imperial China PDF Author: Kwang-Ching Liu
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824825386
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
Ten international academics explore heterodoxy dissent challenging the beliefs and meanings of the established norm in late Imperial China. In this process, they trace the origins of the cultural and intellectual protests to aspects of Daoism and Buddhism in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)

The Three Stages of Initiatic Spirituality

The Three Stages of Initiatic Spirituality PDF Author: Angel Millar
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620559331
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
A detailed guide to the three successive initiatic archetypes: Craftsman, Warrior, and Magician • Investigates the symbolism, rituals, and metaphysical aspects of each initiatic archetype, from the alchemy and shamanism of the craftsman, to the subtle energy work of the warrior, to the sex magic practices and Higher Self work of the magician • Shares meditations, practices, and transformational techniques for each archetype • Investigates the similarities between contemporary Western occultism, from Crowley to Chaos Magic, and the “positive thinking” mind metaphysics movement Exploring the craftsman, warrior, and magician archetypes--three vocations that echo the traditional tripartite division of society--Angel Millar reveals how these archetypes represent the three successive stages of spiritual growth in an individual’s life. He shows how they provide structure for the initiatory process to develop one’s mental, physical, and spiritual potential. As craftsman, the individual experiences “mnemonic” initiation: the cultivation of memory as well as language. As warrior, “somatic” initiation: development of the physical body and cultivation of the spirit body. And as magician, “gnostic” initiation: cultivation of the self and manifestation of the Higher Self. Investigating the metaphysical aspects of each archetype, the author explores their symbolism, spiritual practices, and rituals. Examining the craftsman archetype, he looks at metallurgy, alchemy, and the “Craft” of Freemasonry, as well as the ancient role of blacksmith as shaman. He explores the idea of God as a “Creator” or “Craftsman,” especially in relation to ancient Greek philosophy, Islamic neoplatonism, and the Kabbalah. Examining the warrior archetype, he reveals how the way of the warrior was affected by religion and mysticism, such as how the Persian martial art of Zoorkhaneh was profoundly shaped by Sufism and why the Buddhist Shaolin temple became synonymous with Kung Fu. The author places special emphasis on the cultivation of subtle energy as practiced in martial arts, especially in relation to Taoist inner alchemy. Examining the magician archetype, he reveals how each individual has two “selves”--a lower self and a Higher Self--and explores the union of opposites studied by the magician, such as in the tantric arts and sacred sex magic. Sharing meditations, practices, and processes associated with each archetype, as well as techniques for transforming one’s consciousness, he also investigates similarities between contemporary Western occultism, from Crowley to Chaos Magic, and the “positive thinking” mind metaphysics movement. Structured to parallel the three archetypal stages of the initiatic process, this comprehensive guide offers a literary initiation through three degrees of esoteric knowledge.

China's Borderlands under the Qing, 1644–1912

China's Borderlands under the Qing, 1644–1912 PDF Author: Daniel McMahon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000343456
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
This book explores new directions in the study of China’s borderlands. In addition to assessing the influential perspectives of other historians, it engages innovative approaches in the author’s own research. These studies probe regional accommodations, the intersections of borderland management, martial fortification, and imperial culture, as well as the role of governmental discourse in defining and preserving restive boundary regions. As the issue of China’s management of its borderlands grows more pressing, the work presents key information and insights into how that nation’s contested fringes have been governed in the past.

The Religious Question in Modern China

The Religious Question in Modern China PDF Author: Vincent Goossaert
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226304183
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
Recent events—from strife in Tibet and the rapid growth of Christianity in China to the spectacular expansion of Chinese Buddhist organizations around the globe—vividly demonstrate that one cannot understand the modern Chinese world without attending closely to the question of religion. The Religious Question in Modern China highlights parallels and contrasts between historical events, political regimes, and cultural movements to explore how religion has challenged and responded to secular Chinese modernity, from 1898 to the present. Vincent Goossaert and David A. Palmer piece together the puzzle of religion in China not by looking separately at different religions in different contexts, but by writing a unified story of how religion has shaped, and in turn been shaped by, modern Chinese society. From Chinese medicine and the martial arts to communal temple cults and revivalist redemptive societies, the authors demonstrate that from the nineteenth century onward, as the Chinese state shifted, the religious landscape consistently resurfaced in a bewildering variety of old and new forms. The Religious Question in Modern China integrates historical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives in a comprehensive overview of China’s religious history that is certain to become an indispensible reference for specialists and students alike.