The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History

The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History PDF Author: B. J. ter Haar
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824822187
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Impressive.... A scholarly tour de force, drawing upon dozens of primary sources (histories, gazetteers, canonical records, memorials, and essays) and secondary studies in Chinese, Japanese, English, and French." --Journal of Chinese Religions "A thought-provoking and revisionist study ... in Chinese popular religious history" --China Review International "Extremely well written ... well-reasoned and potentially influential" --Sacred Mountain Press, Quarterly Review, March 2004

The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History

The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History PDF Author: B. J. ter Haar
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824822187
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Impressive.... A scholarly tour de force, drawing upon dozens of primary sources (histories, gazetteers, canonical records, memorials, and essays) and secondary studies in Chinese, Japanese, English, and French." --Journal of Chinese Religions "A thought-provoking and revisionist study ... in Chinese popular religious history" --China Review International "Extremely well written ... well-reasoned and potentially influential" --Sacred Mountain Press, Quarterly Review, March 2004

The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History

The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History PDF Author: Barend ter Haar
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004488065
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 359

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book provides a new hypothesis for understanding the real nature of the term White Lotus Teachings. The author argues that there are actually two different phenomena covered by similar terms: from c. 1130 until 1400, a real lay Buddhist movement existed, which can be called the White Lotus movement. It enjoyed the respect of contemporary literati and religious elites. The movement used the autonym White Lotus Society, which came to be prohibited in the early Ming and was discarded as a result. After 1525, the name reappeared in the form White Lotus Teachings, but now only as a derogatory label, used by officials and literati rather than by believers themselves. As a result of this hypothesis, the history of the "White Lotus Teachings" changes from one of religious groups and magicians into one of elite ideology and religious persecution. The book is therefore important both for historians and anthropologists of Chinese religion and society, and for comparative historians interested in the ideological and social construction of "heterodoxy".

The White Lotus Society

The White Lotus Society PDF Author: Ji Zhang
Publisher: Royal Collection of Imperi
ISBN: 9781487801748
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Handscroll; Ink on paper; 755cm(width)*22cm(height) The painting recounts the story of Master Huiyuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty establishing the White Lotus Society in the Donglin Temple at Mount Lu. The White Lotus Society was a social organization that originated from the doctrines of ancient Chinese religion. The teachings of the Society included paying respect to the Buddha, chanting scriptures, and pursuing the afterlife in the Buddhist Pure Land in the west. Because the white lotus serves as a symbol of the Buddhist Nirvana, and there is a lotus pond at the Donglin Temple, the society was named for the white lotus growing there. In painting the figures, Zhang adopted the classical line drawing style, which produced lively images. In painting the rocks, he first outlined the basic composition with ink then applied texture strokes, reflecting a perfect balance between dark and light and presenting the depth of the gorge, the serenity of the path, and the steepness of the rocks. In painting the trees, he used thick brushes for the trunks and thin brushes for the branches and leaves, in a style known as "falcon talons." By applying such techniques, the trees are rendered vigorous yet graceful.

Practicing Scripture

Practicing Scripture PDF Author: Barend ter Haar
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 082484792X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314

Get Book Here

Book Description
Practicing Scripture is an original and detailed history of one of the most successful religious movements of late imperial China, the Non-Action Teachings, or Wuweijiao, from its beginnings in the late sixteenth century in the prefectures of southern Zhejiang to the middle of the twentieth century, when communist repression dealt it a crippling blow. Uncovering important data on its beliefs and practices, Barend ter Haar paints a wholly new picture of the group, which, despite its Daoist-sounding name, was a deeply devout lay Buddhist movement whose adherents rejected the worship of statues and ancestors while venerating the writings of Patriarch Luo (fl. early sixteenth century), a soldier-turned-lay-Buddhist. The texts, written in vernacular Chinese and known as the Five Books in Six Volumes, mix personal experiences, religious views, and a wealth of quotations from the Buddhist canon. Ter Haar convincingly demonstrates that the Non-Action Teachings was not messianic or millenarian in orientation and had nothing to do with other new religious groups and networks traditionally labelled as White Lotus Teachings. It combined Chan and Pure Land practices with a strong self-identity and vegetarianism and actively insisted on the right of free practice. Members of the movement created a foundation myth in which Ming (1368–1644) emperor Zhengde bestowed the right upon their mythical forefather. In addition, they produced an imperial proclamation whereby Emperor Kangxi of the Qing (1645–1911) granted the group similar privileges. Thanks to its expert handling of a great number and variety of extant sources, Practicing Scripture depicts one of the few lay movements in traditional China that can be understood in some depth, both in terms of its religious content and history and its social environment. The work will be welcomed by China specialists in religious and Buddhist studies and social history.

Encyclopedia of Chinese History

Encyclopedia of Chinese History PDF Author: Michael Dillon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131781715X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 1223

Get Book Here

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.

Zhipan’s Account of the History of Buddhism in China

Zhipan’s Account of the History of Buddhism in China PDF Author: Thomas Jülch
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004680454
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 357

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Fozu tongji by Zhipan (ca. 1220–1275) is a key text of Chinese Buddhist historiography. The core of the work is formed by the “Fayun tongsai zhi,” an annalistic history of Buddhism in China, which extends through Fozu tongji, juan 34–48. Thomas Jülch now presents a translation of the “Fayun tongsai zhi” in three volumes. This third volume covers the annalistic display concerning the Song dynasty. Offering elaborate annotations, Jülch succeeds in clarifying the backgrounds to the historiographic contents, which Zhipan presents in highly essentialized style. Regarding the historical matters addressed in the material translated for the present volume, the Fozu tongji is often the earliest source. In several cases, inaccuracies in Zhipan’s account can however still be discerned, and Jülch succeeds in employing other sources to reveal and correct those errors.

Conflict and Accommodation in Early Modern East Asia

Conflict and Accommodation in Early Modern East Asia PDF Author: Leonard Blussé
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004483373
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330

Get Book Here

Book Description
This collection of essays written by his former students and colleagues represent the many foci of interest that Erik Zürcher has shared with them during his tenure as professor at Leiden University. They include discussions of Confucian philosophy, Buddhist and Christian polemics, the spread of Jesuit literature and anti-Christian attitudes among the literati, Ming aphorisms, the Chinese pictorial of skulls and skeletons, the Ch'ien-lung Emperor's eightieth birthday celebrations, Sino-Korean relations, and the "little traditions" in Chinese historical development, secret societies and kongsi. The book demonstrates how Zürcher inspired a wide range of interests in problems of Chinese history from heterodoxy, to local development, to hsiao-shuo traditions, but always in the highest traditions of philological scholarship.

Christian Heretics in Late Imperial China

Christian Heretics in Late Imperial China PDF Author: Lars Peter Laamann
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134429975
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 165

Get Book Here

Book Description
Following the prohibition of missionary activity after 1724, China's Christians were effectively cut off from all foreign theological guidance. The ensuing isolation forced China's Christian communities to become self-reliant in perpetuating the basic principles of their faith. Left to their own devices, the missionary seed developed into a panoply of indigenous traditions, with Christian ancestry as the common denominator. Christianity thus underwent the same process of inculturation as previous religious traditions in China, such as Buddhism and Judaism. As the guardian of orthodox morality, the prosecuting state sought to exercise all-pervading control over popular thoughts and social functions. Filling the gap within the discourse of Christianity in China and also as part of the wider analysis of religion in late Imperial China, this study presents the campaigns against Christians during this period as part and parcel of the campaign against 'heresy' and 'heretical' movements in general.

Text and Context in the Modern History of Chinese Religions

Text and Context in the Modern History of Chinese Religions PDF Author: Philip Clart
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004424164
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Get Book Here

Book Description
Text and Context in the Modern History of Chinese Religions is an edited volume (Philip Clart, David Ownby, and Wang Chien-ch’uan) offering essays on the modern history of redemptive societies in China and Vietnam, with a particular focus on their textual production.

The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism

The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism PDF Author: Francesca Tarocco
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136754393
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description
Buddhism in China during the late Qing and Republican period remained a powerful cultural and religious force. Francesca Tarocco is a rising star in this field and offers an innovative high-quality piece of work that presents a new perspective on the influence of Buddhism on Chinese culture. Drawing on scarcely analyzed historical and archive sources, including photographs and musical scores, Tarocco adeptly argues that Chinese Buddhism played a more vital role in shaping Chinese culture than previously assumed. This enlightening study fills a significant gap in the field of Chinese Buddhist history. Focusing on the cultural side of Buddhism, it adds breadth and balance to studies in Buddhism as a whole, appealing to professionals and academics with an interest in Buddhism and Chinese Buddhist history.