Tracing Incense: The Affective Power of Objects by Emma Bass A thesis submitted to the Department of Cultural Studies In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (January , 2019) Copyright ©Emma Bass, 2019 Abstract Incense has been an integral part of Chinese culture since before the introduction of Buddhism in the third century B.C.E. A rise in the popularity of Buddhist practice marked an increase in the importation, production, and use of incense in China. Incense was used for everything from acting as an aid in the most mundane activities, like telling time, to accomplishing the most extraordinary activities, like helping Buddhist practitioners achieve instant enlightenment. Yet, despite incense being a seemingly integral part of Chinese history and culture the government has created a policy limiting the use of incense in Buddhist temples. “Tracing Incense: The Affective Power of Objects” asks the question: what can be gained by introducing new materialism and affect theory to religious studies research? Specifically, how can embodied, sensory observations of incense in four Buddhist temples in Shanghai enrich our understanding of contemporary Chinese Buddhism? There is scholarship discussing the role of material objects in religion, as well as scholarship introducing affect theory to religious studies but there is little to no writing that brings religious studies into conversation with both new materialism and affect theory to investigate what each theoretical model lends to the other and to the greater study of religion. To illustrate how material and affect based research can be helpful in developing the field of religious studies, I will share my observations of incense in four Buddhist temples in Shanghai that I gathered while conducting sound and smellwalks. I will analyze my data using concepts from new materialism and affect theory. I will move past my observations to think about the socio-political entanglements that incense, and Chinese Buddhism are enmeshed in. I will argue that the limitation of the use of incense in Buddhist temples in an effort to control, monitor, and reduce religious practices. “Tracing Incense: The Affective Power of Objects” will conclude by arguing that introducing new materialism and affect theory to religious studies offers new and exciting ways of learning about the complexities of lived traditions. ii Acknowledgements Generous funding for this research came from the Canada - China Scholars’ Exchange Program. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. James Miller, for giving me the chance to undertake this research project. I am grateful for your valuable insight and feedback and am truly appreciative for the opportunity you gave me to study in China. To Dr. Emily Hill, the second reader for this project, your guidance and support is greatly appreciated. To Dr. Susan Andrews, a longtime mentor, thank you for always pushing me and encouraging me to take chances. To the Mount Allison gang: Gill, Margaret, Luke and Jonathan, your friendship has made the past two degrees and everything in between so much more enjoyable. To my lovely friends at Queen’s: Natasha, Alex, Rachel, Ky, and Laura, it has been a blast going through this MA journey with you. Learning with you and from you has been a privilege. Finally, to my family, thank you for the encouragement and support. I could not have done this without you. iii Table of Contents Tracing Incense: The Affective Power of Objects ......................................................................................... i Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 Literature Review ....................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 4 Observations in Shanghai ........................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 5 Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 103 Chapter 6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 135 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................. 144 Appendix A Jing’an Temple Incense ........................................................................................................ 153 Appendix B Zhenru Temple Incense ........................................................................................................ 154 Appendix C Longhua Temple Incense ...................................................................................................... 155 Appendix D Jade Buddha Temple Incense ............................................................................................... 156 Appendix E Jing’an Temple Sensory Walking Charts ............................................................................. 157 Appendix F Zhenru Temple Sensory Walking Charts .............................................................................. 160 Appendix G Longhua Temple Sensory Walking Charts ........................................................................... 163 Appendix H Jade Buddha Temple Sensory Walking Charts .................................................................... 166 iv Chapter 1 Introduction The field of religious studies has traditionally been dominated by text-based research and has tended to emphasize official historiographies and ideologies. While essential to religious studies, this type of work tends to ignore the complexities of lived traditions. With the twenty-first century came a shift in the humanities that has emphasized the important role that objects play in cultural production, this shift has been referred to as the material turn. Scholars from across the humanities have been exploring how to begin to do research creation with both text-based sources and objects. The material turn has generated an interest in the objects, practices, places, spaces, and other material resources that shape the cultural settings of religious practices. This material shift in religious studies can be seen in the work of scholars like David Morgan and in research centres like Yale University’s Material and Visual Cultures of Religions Centre (MAVCOR). The material-based research of Morgan and MAVCOR includes examining the role of objects in the creation of the multiplicity of religious experiences that have not been documented in religious texts. Within the material turn there is an interest in gathering data from sensory experiences of objects. We can see this in Morgan’s writing when he describes learning through engaging in ‘sensory loops’ with objects (Morgan, 10). In my research I have chosen to create a dialogue between the material shift and affect theory as both fields of inquiry encourage learning through sensing. Part of this material shift in the humanities is an interdisciplinary field of study called new materialism. New materialism was spearheaded by theorists including, Karen 1 Barad and Jane Bennett. This area of study is interested in deconstructing binaries that separate humans from the environment, logic and reason from feeling, and subjects from objects. In breaking these binaries new materialist scholars are aiming to decenter the human experience and focus on learning from and about material objects. While new materialism has gained popularity within the study of religion affect theory remains on the margins. In my work I will use new materialism and affect theory to study incense in contemporary Chinese Buddhism. The material shift in religious studies has primarily discussed what material culture can tell us about human subjects and the human religious experience. I define material culture as the objects created and used by humans. These objects can either be created with a meaning and use in mind or develop significance as they become incorporated into cultural practices. Either way the cultural importance of material culture objects is always in flux, changing to reflect the developments of its cultural context. Material culture objects have the potential to provide a tangible illustration of how communities occupy and understand the world and cosmos (Jordan, 20). For example, a string of prayer beads signifies the human subject’s devotion to a god and disciplines the body to pray. To have access to the cultural meaning of the object you must be part of the cultural community. The cultural meanings of material objects are what locates the human body in relationship to both the physical and metaphysical world (Jordan, 21). For religious studies scholars interested in understanding lived practice and traditions, studying material culture objects can provide