A Work and Its Shapers the Most High Scripture of the Rectifying Methods
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ASU Digital Repository A Work and its Shapers The Most High Scripture of the Rectifying Methods of the Three Heavens in Early Medieval China by Timothy Charles Swanger A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved January 2019 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee Stephen Bokenkamp, Chair Robert Ford Campany Huaiyu Chen Young Oh Stephen West ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2019 ABSTRACT Religions, following Max Müller, have often been seen by scholars in religious studies as uniform collections of beliefs and practices encoded in stable “sacred books” that direct the conduct of religious actors. These texts were the chief focus of academic students of religion through much of the 20th century, and this approach remains strong in the 21st. However, a growing chorus of dissidents has begun to focus on the lived experience of practitioners and the material objects that structure that experience, and some textual scholars have begun extending this materialist framework to the study of texts. This dissertation is a contribution in that vein from the field of Daoist studies. Now split between two separate texts, the Most High Scripture of the Rectifying Methods of the Three Heavens began as a 4th-century collection of apocalyptic predictions and apotropaic devices designed to deliver a select group of Chinese literati to the heavens of Highest Clarity. Later editors during the early medieval period (ca. 220-589 CE) took one of two paths: for their own reasons, they altered the Rectifying Methods to emphasize either the world’s end or its continuation. Detailed study of these alterations and their contexts shows how individuals and groups used and modified the Rectifying Methods in in ways that challenge the conventional relationship between religious text and religious actor. ii To my mother, my first teacher “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.” – Ecclesiastes 1:4 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Surely by now the myth of the individual author is dead and buried. But for the record: I didn’t do this alone. First thanks go to my lovely and supportive family. Robert Swanger, Elaine Goble Dandridge, and Libby Swanger provided a wonderful home for a budding nerd to grow up in. Mom, I’m sorry you didn’t make it to the home stretch. I was really looking forward to your keen critical eye and attentive ear as I embarked on this project, but life had other plans. I’d also like to thank my committee. Stephen Bokenkamp, Robert Campany, Huaiyu Chen, Young Oh, and Stephen West have borne my endless questions over the years with patience and good cheer. Professor Campany deserves special thanks, as it was his influence (as well as that of the departed John McRae) that got me started studying the religions of China as an undergraduate. So does Stephen Bokenkamp. His compassion and forbearance made for an excellent mentor, and his strict attention to matters philological and sinological taught me that the smallest of unturned stones can yield fascinating secrets. The Yad Hanadiv Foundation and Tel Aviv University generously funded a portion of my work, and introduced me to some lovely new friends along the way (hi, Noa!). My support network includes professors from my undergraduate and graduate years: Nancy Levene and Pierce Salguero have been of particular help. I have also relied on some very good friends, past and present: Stephanie Bilinsky, David Walsh, Sammit Khandeparkar, JooSil Kim, Seth Clippard, Paul Amato, Jennifer Bussio, Yang Wu, Wenbo Chang, Ye Han, and many others were wonderful classmates and companions through the trials and tribulations of graduate school. My idiot cats have provided endless amusement, annoyance, and distraction; Fluffins (RIP!) iv helped me study for comps. But surely the most important person in my life over the course of this project has been Marci Baranski. Without her emotional and financial support, it wouldn’t have been possible. More importantly, she has proven an excellent partner, and the perfect person for me to love and grow with over the past six years. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................xi CHAPTER 1 RELIGIOUS STUDIES AND TEXTUALITY...........................................................1 The Tools at Hand.....................................................................................................1 Work, Text, Version, Voice, Author.........................................................................18 Writing and the Work of Creation...........................................................................27 The Shangqing Revelations.....................................................................................32 The Shangqing Revelations: Material and Social History.................................34 The Shangqing Revelations and the “Rectifying Methods”..............................35 Different Versions, Different Voices..................................................................38 The “Rectifying Methods” and the Study of Religion(s)........................................39 2 THE “RECTIFYING METHODS” AND CHANGE OVER TIME.........................42 Tales Retold.............................................................................................................42 The Secret Revelation of John............................................................................42 The Saint who Never Was..................................................................................49 Partial Works, Partial Memories........................................................................56 A Summary of the “Rectifying Methods”...............................................................59 Cosmology..........................................................................................................62 The Creation of Humanity and Nonhuman People............................................67 vi CHAPTER Page The Six Heavens and the Coming Apocalypse........................................................69 Hymns and Transmission Ceremony..................................................................74 Codes for Transmission of the Zhongwen Linglu and Yinyang Linglu.............76 Instructions for the Use of the Santian Zhengfa and Zhongwen Linglu............77 Instructions for the Use of the Zhongshu Zhenlu...............................................78 Citations from the “Siji minkge”........................................................................84 Amulets and Their Transmission........................................................................86 The Daoist Canon and the History of the “Rectifying Methods”...........................88 Previous scholarship on the “Rectifying Methods”................................................90 Ozaki Masaharu..................................................................................................91 Isabelle Robinet..................................................................................................93 Kobayashi Masayoshi.........................................................................................96 Ōfuchi Ninji........................................................................................................99 Wang Haoyue...................................................................................................100 Works and their authors.........................................................................................106 3 THE “RECTIFYING METHODS” AND THE SHANGQING REVELATIONS..108 The Sociohistorical Fabric....................................................................................109 The Shangqing Eschaton and Methods to Escape It.............................................117 An Early Example............................................................................................117 The End Has No End........................................................................................118 The Three Heavens and the Six Heavens.........................................................121 vii CHAPTER Page The Celestial Lists............................................................................................127 Meditation Exercises........................................................................................128 Protective Spells...............................................................................................130 Talismans..........................................................................................................131 The Shangqing Version.........................................................................................134 4 PROPHECY AND THE PEN: THE “RECTIFYING METHODS” AND THE RISE OF THE LIU-SONG................................................................................................135 The Sociohistorical Fabric....................................................................................135 The Liu-Song and Political Prophecy...................................................................138 The Shangqing Version: A Step Forward.............................................................146 5 A LORD OF SPACE AND TIME: THE “SECRET ESSENTIALS” AND THE