DOCSLIB.ORG

Daoism and Animals

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Daoism and Animals Daoism and Animals E. N. ANDERSON AND LISA RAPHALS The Animal World ofAncient China three-legged crow in the sun, and the humanoid owl. Ancient China was a world rich in animals. The ancient Chinese knew their fauna inti­ In dramatic contrast to the devastated modern mately. The Classic ofPoetry or Shijing mentions landscape, China's biodiversity was the greatest at least ninety-three species, including twenty­ ofany temperate land. It was a land ofvast lush one mammals (one mythical), thirty-five birds forests, rich grasslands, fertile mountains, and (one mythical, the phoenix), three reptiles (plus enormous expanses of wetland-marsh, swamp, the mythical dragon), one amphibian, thirteen and river bottom. In these dwelt elephants, fish, and nineteen insects.! Here and elsewhere rhinoceri, pandas, apes, tigers, leopards, and in Chinese literature, there is a striking aware­ countless smaller forms. ness of insect life. The songs of the Shi jing re­ The earliest Chinese artifacts from the Shang flect the fresh, direct vision ofpeople who knew dynasty (traditionally 1766-II22 BCE, actually animals from daily experience. The wasp carries somewhat later) include many representations off the caterpillar to feed its young; the rats of dragons and other imaginary creatures, but nibble the grain; the spider spins her web over relatively few portrayals of real-world animals. abandoned doorways. Actual animals depicted include water buffaloes, By the Warring States period (ca. 403-221 tigers, sheep, and birds. Pigs, the most com­ BCE), China's heartland-the North China mon animal found in archaeological remains, Plain, the loess uplands west of it, and the Yang­ are conspicuously absent. In succeeding peri­ tze and Huai river valleys - had already been ods, more and more animals were portrayed, transformed by humans and biotically impov­ as were countless imaginary creatures, such as erished. Rhinos and elephants were exotic crea­ the nine-tailed fox, human-headed birds, the tures, known from trade with non-Chinese ANDERSON AND RAPHALS groups on the margins. The common animals Attributed to Sima Tan in the Historical Records Animals in Early D ofdaily experience were domestic: Horses, don­ or S'hi ji (ca. roo BeE), the term has been keys, cattle, goats, dogs, buffaloes, sheep, pigs, widely used to refer to mystical and quietistic Animals appear in chickens. Ofthese, the last four were native, the interpretations of two texts: the Dao de jing, ings. First, their pI others introduced (as domesticates-although a collection of gnomic verses still wildly popu­ obvious. They pn some had local wild forms) but known for mil­ 200 BeE, lar today. probably compiled abound medicine. Meat, Ie, lennia. Pigs, then as now, were by far the most and Zhuangzi, attributed to the fourth-century derived medicatiot important meat source. Chickens and dogs were BeE figure Zhuang Zhou. Recent archaeologi­ rioned. In the early common, but horses were a luxury for the elite cal finds and contemporary scholarship have cation that such us' and cattle were uncommon beasts of the plow. brought about a reappraisal of the term as ap­ Excessive consumF Rulers kept large game parks, in which they plied to pre-Han texts. Sima Tan's use of the with luxury and dil hun ted deer and other large animals. These were term included a number ofthinkers whose com­ the general tendenc seen by many social critics as wasteful luxuries mon ground was skepticism about active, inter­ was frequently ant that tied up good land. ventionist government. Most of them talked natural process, in Animals per se are not a distinct category in about the need to find dao- the Way. the proper The horse prob: most Chinese texts. Daoist or otherwise. More way of living, acting and governing-but so did tioned animal in eal typically, texts that talk about animals at any most other Chinese philosophers. rifled with wealth, F length use the four or five distinct categories of Another important source was the Chu ci or it was an importal beasts, birds, insects, and fish. with the occa­ a collection ofearly poems by Songs o/the South, elites. One of the r sional addition of dragons and snakes. court officials of Han and immediately pre-Han Zhuangzi attacks w The term Daoism is equally problematic, be­ times. Most of these invoke shamanistic and/or the happiness and j cause of the unclear affiliations of some of the Daoistic images, and some are frankly Daoist. the misery and bad texts and practices in which animals are most The Chu ci is incredibly rich in animal and plant prevalent. Most textual accounts of animals images, mentioning at least eighty-eight animal When they live 0 come from the Six Dynasties period. While hagi­ species, many of which are imaginary. Its pages and drink the w; ographies from the Dao zang are unproblemati­ are rich with dragons, rainbow-serpents, wasps their necks and s cally Daoist, the same cannot be said for the as big as gourds, and ants as big as elephants. swing round and I Soushen and other literature dealing with Even the "real" animals are often completely un­ ji yokes on their nee anomalies, which prominently features accounts identifiable. crossbar: the hors, of animals, both "normal" and anomalous. The is the most philosophically Zhuangzi crossbar, wriggle, In this essay we focus discussion on actual challenging, and the most rich and diverse, of riage hood.3 animals or on individual instances of animals the early sources. Like other early Chinese that are described as anomalies for their kind. works, it was edited and supplemented in the Daoist texts also de This approach largely omits the many accounts Han dynasty, but it retained a solid core ofearly ures mounted on , of mythological animals (the dragon, phoenix, material-presumably by Zhuangzi himself­ and other creatures, unicorn, and the use of animals as purely that have come to be called the "inner chapters." Second, animals directional symbols. We draw on both standard The mentions approximately seventy­ Zhuangzi ancestors, as they st texts from the Warring States period and on re­ five animals, many of them mythical or uniden­ communities. Arch cently excavated archaeological texts. tifiable. Like other early Chinese writers. Zhuan­ practice back to hi! gzi (and the other authors of the material that animals mentioned has accumulated around his name) were con­ oxen, and sheep. n scious of even the smallest insects. A pig louse Early Daoism that Daoists protes becomes a symbol offoolish security, and insect apocryphal anecdot The term "Daoism" as a specific bodyofthought transformations are recorded in exquisite, if bio­ be minister ofstate, is anachronistic when applied to ancient China. logically inaccurate. detaiP self to a sacrificial 1 277 DAOISM AND ANIMALS ~torical Records Animals in Early Daoist Thought point that it is better to be a tortoise dragging erm has been its tail in the mud, free, safe, and unhonored and quietistic Animals appear in many contexts in these writ­ than to live the stiff, artificial, and highly uncer­ ~ Dao de jing, ings. First, their practical value is immediately tain life of a courtier. In some cases, straw and II wildly popu­ obvious. They provided food, clothing, and pottery models were often substituted for the )Und 200 BeE, medicine. Meat, leather, silk, wool, and animal­ real animals, thus saving the latter. "Straw dogs" fourth-century derived medications are very frequently men­ were also used as a metaphor for humans in the Ilt archaeologi­ tioned. In the early Daoist texts there is no indi­ face of Heaven, which treats humans with the ~olarship have cation that such uses were considered immoral. calm indifference of ritualists disposing of sac­ he term as ap­ Excessive consumption of meat was identified rificial straw dogs after the ceremony. m's use of the with luxury and disparaged for that reason, but Finally, animals were also used as models for ~rs whose com­ the general tendency ofanimals to eat each other how to move in powerful, natural, spontaneous, It active, inter­ was frequently and explicitly mentioned as a and healthy ways. In a section of the Zhuangzi f them talked natural process, in harmony with Dao. that probably dates from the Han dynasty, the Vay, the proper The horse probably is the most often men­ anonymous commentator is a bit sarcastic about Ilg-but so did tioned animal in early Chinese texts. It was iden­ those who "huff and puff, exhale and inhale, ... i. tified with wealth, power, and worldly glory, and do the 'bear-hang' and the 'bird-stretch.'" 5 As s the or Chu ci it was an important source of energy for the all of us know who have any acquaintance with early poems by elites. One of the most striking passages in the Chinese martial arts and sexual yoga, the ways !iately pre-Han Zhuangzi attacks worldly power by contrasting of the bear are still with us, along with the ways Ilanistic and/or the happiness and freedom of wild horses with of the monkey, the crane, the snake, and many rankly Daoist. the misery and bad behavior of captive ones: other animals whose motions offer salutary ex­ limal and plant amples of how to move. :y-eight animal When they live out on the plains they eat grass inary. Its pages and drink the water, when pleased they cross ;erpents, wasps their necks and stroke each other, when angry What Animals Did g as elephants. swing round and kick at each other.... Ifyou put completely un­ yokes on their necks and hold them level with a Animals were not viewed simply as useful things. crossbar, the horses will know how to smash the They had varying degrees of spiritual or numi­ )hilosophically crossbar, wriggle out of the yokes, butt the car­ nous power.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Anth Rozoo Logy
    Anth rozoo logy TIlE NE\V SCIENCE OF HU\IAN-ANIi\IAL I N I ER ACTIONS Our failure to study our relationships with other animals has occurred for many reasons.. .. Much of it can be boiled down to two rather unattractive human qualities: arrogance and ignorance. —CLIFTON FLYNN The thirty-minute drive from the Kansas City airport to the conference hotel was much more interesting than the three-hour flight from North Carolina. I had flow n in for the annual meeting of the International Soci— ety of Anthro7oologv. I found myself sharing a ride with a woman named Layla Esposito, a social psychologist who tells me she recentk completed her Phi) dissertation on bullying among middle school children. Puziled. I ask her wh she was attending a meeting on the relationships between people and animals. She tells me that she is a program director at the i\a tional Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She is at the conference to let researchers know about a new federal grant program that will fund research on the effects that animals ha’e on human health and well-being. The money is coming from the National Institutes of Health SOME WE LOVE, SOME WE HATE, SOME WE EAT ANTHROZOOLOGY (NIH) and Mars, the corporate giant that makes Snickers for me and human-animal interactions is that for many’ of Tempting Tuna Treats for my cat, Tilly. NIFI is particularly interested them the topic seems triv ial. This attitude is wrong-headed, Understanding the psychology in the impact of pets on children: Is pet therapy an effective treatment lying our under attitudes and behaviors toward for autism? other species is ‘What role does oxytocin (the so-called love hormone) play in several reasons.
    [Show full text]
  • How Scary Are the Mental Health Risks of Vegetarianism? Harold Herzog, Animal Studies Repository
    The Animal Studies Repository From the SelectedWorks of Harold Herzog, Ph.D. December 15, 2015 How Scary Are the Mental Health Risks of Vegetarianism? Harold Herzog, Animal Studies Repository Available at: https://works.bepress.com/harold-herzog/84/ Hal Herzog, Ph.D., Animals and Us How Scary Are the Mental Health Risks of Vegetarianism? How strong is the link between vegetarianism and mental illness? Posted Dec 15, 2015 A headline in Women’s Health Magazine recently caught my attention: “The Scary Mental Health Risks of Going Meatless.” The headline made it sound like replacing the bacon and prime rib in your diet with tofu and seitan will make you mentally ill. I have previously written about the link between vegetarianism and eating disorders. But I’ve never argued that giving up animal flesh causes emotional problems, so I decided to check out the major study the headline was based on. What I found illustrates why you should not get your science news from flashy headlines and the problem of link-think in anthrozoology (the study of human-animal relationships). The claim that going veg can make you crazy was based on a 2012 study which appeared in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The research team, led by German psychologist Johannes Michalak, reanalyzed data from a 2002 epidemiological study that examined the physical and mental health of a large randomly selected sample of German adults. A few studies have linked vegetarianism to poor mental health and one study found vegetarians were psychologically better off than meat eaters.
    [Show full text]
  • Laozi Zhongjing)
    A Study of the Central Scripture of Laozi (Laozi zhongjing) Alexandre Iliouchine A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts, Department of East Asian Studies McGill University January 2011 Copyright Alexandre Iliouchine © 2011 ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements......................................................................................... v Abstract/Résumé............................................................................................. vii Conventions and Abbreviations.................................................................... viii Introduction..................................................................................................... 1 On the Word ―Daoist‖............................................................................. 1 A Brief Introduction to the Central Scripture of Laozi........................... 3 Key Terms and Concepts: Jing, Qi, Shen and Xian................................ 5 The State of the Field.............................................................................. 9 The Aim of This Study............................................................................ 13 Chapter 1: Versions, Layers, Dates............................................................... 14 1.1 Versions............................................................................................. 15 1.1.1 The Transmitted Versions..................................................... 16 1.1.2 The Dunhuang Version........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Mirror, Moon, and Memory in Eighth-Century China: from Dragon Pond to Lunar Palace
    EUGENE Y. WANG Mirror, Moon, and Memory in Eighth-Century China: From Dragon Pond to Lunar Palace Why the Flight-to-the-Moon The Bard’s one-time felicitous phrasing of a shrewd observation has by now fossilized into a commonplace: that one may “hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.”1 Likewise deeply rooted in Chinese discourse, the same analogy has endured since antiquity.2 As a commonplace, it is true and does not merit renewed attention. When presented with a physical mirror from the past that does register its time, however, we realize that the mirroring or showing promised by such a wisdom is not something we can take for granted. The mirror does not show its time, at least not in a straightforward way. It in fact veils, disfi gures, and ultimately sublimates the historical reality it purports to refl ect. A case in point is the scene on an eighth-century Chinese mirror (fi g. 1). It shows, at the bottom, a dragon strutting or prancing over a pond. A pair of birds, each holding a knot of ribbon in its beak, fl ies toward a small sphere at the top. Inside the circle is a tree fl anked by a hare on the left and a toad on the right. So, what is the design all about? A quick iconographic exposition seems to be in order. To begin, the small sphere refers to the moon.
    [Show full text]
  • The Alchemical Body in Daoism
    The Alchemical Body in Daoism FABRIZIO PREGADIO Abstract This paper surveys some of the main features of the view of the human body in Daoist internal alchemy (neidan 內丹). The first sections discuss three different terms that refer to the body; cosmological, political, theological, natural, and al- chemical metaphors used to describe it; and the use of the body as a support for the system of correspondences that tie the human being to the cosmos. On this background, the development of internal alchemy closely relates to the earlier Daoist meditation practices on the inner gods. The figure of the Red Child (the innermost deity of the human being), in particular, bears close analogies to the “embryo” that alchemists generate through their practices. The final sections are concerned with the two main alchemical charts of the human body and with the use of the Buddhist concept of “dharma-body,” which some masters describe as the true immortal body. It is virtually impossible to distinguish the Daoist understanding of the body from its understanding of the human being, and this point consti- tutes on its own a central aspect of the Daoist way of seeing. For a Daoist, knowledge of the anatomic forms and the physiological workings of the body, or any of its parts and organs, is virtually irrelevant. The physical body performs another function: it serves to support different sets of metaphors that express the relation of the whole person to the Dao, the ultimate principle to which the person owes its existence. These metaphors may be cosmological (the body as a microcosm), political (the body as an administrative system), theological (the body as the residence of inner gods), natural (the body as a “landscape”), and alchemical (the body as a laboratory for compounding the elixir), to name the most important ones.
    [Show full text]
  • Lovesickness” in Late Chos Ǒn Literature
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Reinterpreting “Lovesickness” in Late Chos ǒn Literature A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Janet Yoon-sun Lee 2014 © Copyright by Janet Yoon-sun Lee 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Reinterpreting “Lovesickness” in Late Chos ǒn Literature By Janet Yoon-sun Lee Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Peter H. Lee, Chair My dissertation concerns the development of the literary motif of “lovesickness” (sangsa py ǒng ) in late Chos ǒn narratives. More specifically, it examines the correlation between the expression of feelings and the corporeal symptoms of lovesickness as represented in Chos ǒn romance narratives and medical texts, respectively, of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As the convergence of literary and medical discourse, lovesickness serves as a site to define both the psychological and physical experiences of love, implying the correlation between mind and body in the non-Western tradition. The analysis itself is re-categorized into the discussions of the feeling and the body. In the discussion of the feeling, it will be argued that the feeling of longing not only occupies an important position in literature, but also is gendered and structured in lyrics and narratives of the seventeenth century. In addressing the rubric of feelings of “longing,” this part seeks the ii theoretical grounds of how the intense experience of longing is converted to language of love and to bodily symptoms to constitute the knowledge of lovesickness. The second part concerns the representation of lovesick characters in Korean romance, particularly concerning the body politics of the Chos ŏn society.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Anthrozoology?
    WHAT IS ANTHROZOOLOGY? This lesson plan was developed from an anthrozoological perspective. Anthrozoology is a study that focuses on the many and varied ways in which humans perceive, engage, compete and co-exist with non-human animals. In order to understand our complex relationship with animals we humans share space with, anthrozoology takes an inter- disciplinary approach to human-animal interactions by gathering information from anthropology, sociology, human geography, ethnozoology, biology, psychology, law, philosophy and veterinary medicine, behavioural science and history. If you are interested in learning more about anthrozoology and how it adds to our understanding of human-animal interactions, the following book is a good starting point: Humans and Other Animals Cross-Cultural Perspective on Human-Animal Interactions by Samantha Hurn. LESSON PLAN FOR ELEPHANATICS (for grade 10 to grade 12 students) General questions about animals and how the students think about animals in general: 1. Is a human an animal? 2. Are insects, fish, rodents or reptiles animals – if not what are they? 3. What do you think culture is? 4. How does culture effect our relationship with animals? Questions about elephants: 1. A sentient being is something that feels and expresses emotions. Do you think elephants are sentient beings? 2. What characteristics would you expect an elephant to display? 3. List the ways elephants interact with humans. 4. With each interaction between humans and animals, list the pros and cons of that interaction for elephants and humans. How Elephants interact with Pros for Cons for Humans Elephants Elephants Pros for Humans Cons for Humans Tourism: tourist ride on elephants Hunting as a trophy and/or ivory Zoos Circus Logging 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Macdonald 4310.Pdf
    Macdonald, Alastair Ewan (2016) Reimagining the vernacular story : textual roles, didacticism, and entertainment in Erpai. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/23804 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this PhD Thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This PhD Thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this PhD Thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the PhD Thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full PhD Thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD PhD Thesis, pagination. Reimagining the Vernacular Story: Textual Roles, Didacticism, and Entertainment in Erpai Alastair Ewan Macdonald 548934 Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2016 Department of China and Inner Asia SOAS, University of London 1 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination.
    [Show full text]
  • The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Wai Kit Wicky Tse University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Tse, Wai Kit Wicky, "Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier" (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 589. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Abstract As a frontier region of the Qin-Han (221BCE-220CE) empire, the northwest was a new territory to the Chinese realm. Until the Later Han (25-220CE) times, some portions of the northwestern region had only been part of imperial soil for one hundred years. Its coalescence into the Chinese empire was a product of long-term expansion and conquest, which arguably defined the egionr 's military nature. Furthermore, in the harsh natural environment of the region, only tough people could survive, and unsurprisingly, the region fostered vigorous warriors. Mixed culture and multi-ethnicity featured prominently in this highly militarized frontier society, which contrasted sharply with the imperial center that promoted unified cultural values and stood in the way of a greater degree of transregional integration. As this project shows, it was the northwesterners who went through a process of political peripheralization during the Later Han times played a harbinger role of the disintegration of the empire and eventually led to the breakdown of the early imperial system in Chinese history.
    [Show full text]
  • The Daoist Tradition Also Available from Bloomsbury
    The Daoist Tradition Also available from Bloomsbury Chinese Religion, Xinzhong Yao and Yanxia Zhao Confucius: A Guide for the Perplexed, Yong Huang The Daoist Tradition An Introduction LOUIS KOMJATHY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 175 Fifth Avenue London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10010 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com First published 2013 © Louis Komjathy, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Louis Komjathy has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury Academic or the author. Permissions Cover: Kate Townsend Ch. 10: Chart 10: Livia Kohn Ch. 11: Chart 11: Harold Roth Ch. 13: Fig. 20: Michael Saso Ch. 15: Fig. 22: Wu’s Healing Art Ch. 16: Fig. 25: British Taoist Association British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 9781472508942 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Komjathy, Louis, 1971- The Daoist tradition : an introduction / Louis Komjathy. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4411-1669-7 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-1-4411-6873-3 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-4411-9645-3 (epub) 1.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Reconstruction of the Shenxian Zhuan 
    On the reconstruction of the Shenxian zhuan . School of Oriental and African Studies The Shenxian zhuan is a biographical (or hagiographical) collection of great importance to our understanding of the formation of the Taoist religion in the early centuries of the Common Era. A text of this name was put together by Ge Hong (283–343), but it has long been suspected that the best-known version currently available was actually confected for commercial rather than academic purposes in the sixteenth century from quotations in other sources, and that the direct tradition of the text has been lost. The careful reconstitution of a reliable version of the original work—or at least of an ancient version—has been the goal of a number of scholars, and the appearance of such a work of scholarship in the form of a translation, as part of what will doubtless prove to be a standard reference series for Taoist texts in English, certainly gives full occasion for congratulating not only the author, Robert Ford Campany, but also the series editor and indeed the press that has made the publication of this typographically complex and lengthy monograph possible.1 There is indeed much to admire here, right from the ‘Foreword’ by the series editor, Stephen R. Bokenkamp, which provides (on p. xxii) a stout defence of academic translation against those, including tenure and promotion committees, who see it as ‘just a skill, like taking dictation’.2 This publication does, however, give an unrivalled opportunity for assessing how much we have learned concerning the reconstitution of lost texts from the period of disunion following the collapse of China's first period of imperial unity, and it is on this question of how to go about the work of reconstitution that the following remarks will concentrate.
    [Show full text]
  • Painting Outside the Lines: How Daoism Shaped
    PAINTING OUTSIDE THE LINES: HOW DAOISM SHAPED CONCEPTIONS OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE IN MEDIEVAL CHINA, 800–1200 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN RELIGION (ASIAN) AUGUST 2012 By Aaron Reich Thesis Committee: Poul Andersen, Chairperson James Frankel Kate Lingley Acknowledgements Though the work on this thesis was largely carried out between 2010–2012, my interest in the religious aspects of Chinese painting began several years prior. In the fall of 2007, my mentor Professor Poul Andersen introduced me to his research into the inspirational relationship between Daoist ritual and religious painting in the case of Wu Daozi, the most esteemed Tang dynasty painter of religious art. Taken by a newfound fascination with this topic, I began to explore the pioneering translations of Chinese painting texts for a graduate seminar on ritual theory, and in them I found a world of potential material ripe for analysis within the framework of religious studies. I devoted the following two years to intensive Chinese language study in Taiwan, where I had the fortuitous opportunity to make frequent visits to view the paintings on exhibit at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Once I had acquired the ability to work through primary sources, I returned to Honolulu to continue my study of literary Chinese and begin my exploration into the texts that ultimately led to the central discoveries within this thesis. This work would not have been possible without the sincere care and unwavering support of the many individuals who helped me bring it to fruition.
    [Show full text]