Report_1 Daoism and its related architectural forms A literary study from the meaning of Daoism to the ritual life of Daoism and its architectural forms Vivian Song 4510372
[email protected] Irene Cieraad Research Seminar AR3AI055 03.2017 !2/!15 Keywords: Daoism, ritual life, yang and yang, wuwei, equality, meditation, architectural forms. Abstract: Daoism, like Christianity, is one of the most influential religious in Eastern culture. The founder of Daoism, Laotzu, is believed to have lived 500-600 years before the birth of Christ. Daoism began as a philosophy, but evolved into a religious belief system around 440 AD. It contains many philosophies which are alien to the western culture. For instance, the thinking of ‘yin and yang’, the ‘wu wei’ attitude, and the meaning of ‘oneness’…The philosophies and spirits of Daoism decide the typologies of the Daoist temples and buildings. For instance, the equality of the rooms, the layouts of the temples…Also, they shape the ritual life of the followers. As one of the most crucial religion in Eastern culture, it also influenced the renewal and meditation of Christianity after the Protestant Reformation in 17th century. The motivation of the thesis is issuing an idea that converting the Roosenberg Abbey into a study center of Daoism. Thus, It is intriguing to understand the philosophies of Daoism and its spirit rules. The relations between the Daoist temples and Daoist ritual sequences are also referred. In this way, it is very helpful to manage the design of the new program for the Roosenberg Abbey. Also, it is possible to compare Dom Hans van der Laan’s architectural languages with the Daoist buildings, by which way I could find some aspects in common.