Religion and Chinese Society: Ancient and medieval China

Religion and Chinese Society: Ancient and medieval China PDF Author: John Lagerwey
Publisher: Chinese University Press
ISBN: 9789629961237
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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Book Description
These volumes contain a selection of twenty-one essays presented in a conference convened jointly by the Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient and the Centre for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on "Religion and Chinese Society: The Transformation of a Field and Its Implications for the Study of Chinese Culture." The collection provides as wide a coverage as possible of recent research in the history of Chinese religion and seeks to draw some tentative conclusions about the implications for the study of Chinese religion and society in general.

Religion and Chinese Society: Ancient and medieval China

Religion and Chinese Society: Ancient and medieval China PDF Author: John Lagerwey
Publisher: Chinese University Press
ISBN: 9789629961237
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 562

Get Book Here

Book Description
These volumes contain a selection of twenty-one essays presented in a conference convened jointly by the Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient and the Centre for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on "Religion and Chinese Society: The Transformation of a Field and Its Implications for the Study of Chinese Culture." The collection provides as wide a coverage as possible of recent research in the history of Chinese religion and seeks to draw some tentative conclusions about the implications for the study of Chinese religion and society in general.

Early Chinese Religion: Part One: Shang Through Han (1250 BC-220 AD) (2 Vols)

Early Chinese Religion: Part One: Shang Through Han (1250 BC-220 AD) (2 Vols) PDF Author: John Lagerwey
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004168354
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1281

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Book Description
Together, and for the first time in any language, the 24 essays gathered in these volumes provide a composite picture of the history of religion in ancient China from the emergence of writing ca. 1250 BC to the collapse of the first major imperial dynasty in 220 AD. It is a multi-faceted tale of changing gods and rituals that includes the emergence of a form of “secular humanism” that doubts the existence of the gods and the efficacy of ritual and of an imperial orthodoxy that founds its legitimacy on a distinction between licit and illicit sacrifices. Written by specialists in a variety of disciplines, the essays cover such subjects as divination and cosmology, exorcism and medicine, ethics and self-cultivation, mythology, taboos, sacrifice, shamanism, burial practices, iconography, and political philosophy. Produced under the aegis of the Centre de recherche sur les civilisations chinoise, japonaise et tibétaine (UMR 8155) and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris).

Religions of Tibet in Practice

Religions of Tibet in Practice PDF Author: Donald S. Lopez, Jr.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691188173
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 435

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Book Description
Originally published in 1997, Religions of Tibet in Practice is a landmark work--the first major anthology on the topic ever produced. This new edition--abridged to further facilitate course use--presents a stunning array of works that together offer an unparalleled view of the Tibetan religious landscape over the centuries. Organized thematically, the twenty-eight chapters are testimony to the vast scope of religious practice in the Tibetan world, past and present. Religions of Tibet in Practice remains a work of great value to scholars, students, and general readers.

Gendering Chinese Religion

Gendering Chinese Religion PDF Author: Jinhua Jia
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438453078
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
A gender-critical consideration of women and religion in Chinese traditions from medieval to modern times. Gendering Chinese Religion marks the emergence of a subfield on women, gender, and religion in China studies. Ranging from the medieval period to the present day, this volume departs from the conventional and often male-centered categorization of Chinese religions into Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religion. It makes two compelling arguments. First, Chinese women have deployed specific religious ideas and rituals to empower themselves in various social contexts. Second, gendered perceptions and representations of Chinese religions have been indispensable to the historical and contemporary construction of social and political power. The contributors use innovative ways of discovering and applying a rich variety of sources, many previously ignored by scholars. While each of the chapters in this interdisciplinary work represents a distinct perspective, together they form a coherent dialogue about the historical importance, intellectual possibilities, and methodological protocols of this new subfield.

Daily Life in Ancient China

Daily Life in Ancient China PDF Author: Muzhou Pu
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107021170
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
This book employs textual and archaeological material to reconstruct the various features of daily life in ancient China.

Making Transcendents

Making Transcendents PDF Author: Robert Ford Campany
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824833333
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
Honorable Mention, Joseph Levenson Prize (pre-1900 category), Association for Asian Studies By the middle of the third century B.C.E. in China there were individuals who sought to become transcendents (xian)—deathless, godlike beings endowed with supernormal powers. This quest for transcendence became a major form of religious expression and helped lay the foundation on which the first Daoist religion was built. Both xian and those who aspired to this exalted status in the centuries leading up to 350 C.E. have traditionally been portrayed as secretive and hermit-like figures. This groundbreaking study offers a very different view of xian-seekers in late classical and early medieval China. It suggests that transcendence did not involve a withdrawal from society but rather should be seen as a religious role situated among other social roles and conceived in contrast to them. Robert Campany argues that the much-discussed secrecy surrounding ascetic disciplines was actually one important way in which practitioners presented themselves to others. He contends, moreover, that many adepts were not socially isolated at all but were much sought after for their power to heal the sick, divine the future, and narrate their exotic experiences. The book moves from a description of the roles of xian and xian-seekers to an account of how individuals filled these roles, whether by their own agency or by others’—or, often, by both. Campany summarizes the repertoire of features that constituted xian roles and presents a detailed example of what analyses of those cultural repertoires look like. He charts the functions of a basic dialectic in the self-presentations of adepts and examines their narratives and relations with others, including family members and officials. Finally, he looks at hagiographies as attempts to persuade readers as to the identities and reputations of past individuals. His interpretation of these stories allows us to see how reputations were shaped and even co-opted—sometimes quite surprisingly—into the ranks of xian. Making Transcendents provides a nuanced discussion that draws on a sophisticated grasp of diverse theoretical sources while being thoroughly grounded in traditional Chinese hagiographical, historiographical, and scriptural texts. The picture it presents of the quest for transcendence as a social phenomenon in early medieval China is original and provocative, as is the paradigm it offers for understanding the roles of holy persons in other societies.

The Souls of China

The Souls of China PDF Author: Ian Johnson
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 1101870052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
From the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist: a revelatory portrait of religion in China today, its history, the spiritual traditions of its Eastern and Western faiths, and the ways in which it is influencing China's future. Following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is now awash with new temples, churches, and mosques as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty over what it means to be Chinese, and how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality a century ago and is still searching for new guideposts. Ian Johnson lived for extended periods with underground church members, rural Daoists, and Buddhist pilgrims. He has distilled these experiences into a cycle of festivals, births, deaths, detentions, and struggle a great awakening of faith that is shaping the soul of the world s newest superpower. (With black-and-white illustrations throughout).

Christian Women in Chinese Society

Christian Women in Chinese Society PDF Author: Wai Ching Angela Wong
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9888455923
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
Christian Women in Chinese Society: The Anglican Story expands on the long-standing debates about whether Christianity is a collaborator in or a liberating force against the oppressive patriarchal culture for women in Asia. Women have played an important role in the history of Chinese Christianity, but their contributions have yet to receive due recognition, partly because of the complexities arising out of the historical tension between Western imperialism and Chinese patriarchy. Single women missionaries and missionary spouses in the nineteenth century set the early examples of what women could do to spread the Gospel, yet they might not have intended to instill the same free spirit into their Chinese converts. The education provided to Chinese women by missionaries was expected to turn them into good wives and mothers, but knowledge empowered the students, allowing them to become full participants not only in the Church but also in the wider society. Together, the Western female missionaries and the Chinese women whom they trained explored their newfound freedom and tried out their roles with the help of each other. These developments culminated in the ordination of Florence Li Tim Oi to priesthood in 1944, a singular event that fundamentally changed the history of the Anglican Communion. At the heart of this collection lies the rich experience of those women, both Chinese and Western, who devoted their lives to the propagation of Anglicanism across different regions of mainland China and Hong Kong. Contributors make the most of the sources to reconstruct their voices and present sympathetic accounts of these remarkable women’s achievements. “This inspiring volume restores women converts and missionaries to their central place in the history of Chinese Christianity. Its critical re-evaluation of the contribution of women to the Anglican church in China reconfigures our understanding of mission and of the construct of Chinese womanhood.” —Chloë Starr, Yale University “This engaging volume provides a rounded and nuanced picture of the role of women in the history of the Anglican church in China by approaching it from multiple perspectives. A must-read for those interested in Asian Christianity or the role of women in the history of the church.” —Judith Berling, Graduate Theological Union “This wide-ranging collection offers a re-appraisal of the role of women in Anglican mission in China. Careful and detailed scholarship allows women’s often painful stories to be told afresh. Like all good collections, this book serves to challenge assumptions, stimulate research, and provoke further questions.” —Mark D. Chapman, University of Oxford

Early Medieval China

Early Medieval China PDF Author: Wendy Swartz
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231531001
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 745

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Book Description
This innovative sourcebook builds a dynamic understanding of China's early medieval period (220–589) through an original selection and arrangement of literary, historical, religious, and critical texts. A tumultuous and formative era, these centuries saw the longest stretch of political fragmentation in China's imperial history, resulting in new ethnic configurations, the rise of powerful clans, and a pervasive divide between north and south. Deploying thematic categories, the editors sketch the period in a novel way for students and, by featuring many texts translated into English for the first time, recast the era for specialists. Thematic topics include regional definitions and tensions, governing mechanisms and social reality, ideas of self and other, relations with the unseen world, everyday life, and cultural concepts. Within each section, the editors and translators introduce the selected texts and provide critical commentary on their historical significance, along with suggestions for further reading and research.

Ancient China

Ancient China PDF Author: Lin Donn
Publisher: Good Year Books
ISBN: 9781596474079
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
Presenting lessons proven on the firing line, creative teacher Mr. Donn and his circus dog Maxie show how to immerse students in learning ancient history and keep them coming back for more. Sections feature well-structured plans supported by reproducibles, special lessons for the computer lab (with links and handouts), and additional lessons for substitute teachers. Topics in this unit include geography; the Shang and Zhou dynasties; Confucianism, Taoism, and legalism; the Qin dynasty; the Great Wall; the Han dynasty; daily life; the Silk Road; the T'ang dynasty; Buddhism; Chinese inventions; the Chinese calendar; ancient Chinese festivals; and a virtual visit to China. Grades 6-8. Revised Edition.