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Representing Buddhism in British Media and Popular Culture, 1875-1895

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Representing Buddhism in British Media and Popular Culture, 1875-1895 Representing Buddhism in British Media and Popular Culture, 1875-1895 Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München vorgelegt von Emily Rose Eiben aus Cleveland, Ohio, USA am 10. Oktober 2016 2 Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Michael von Brück Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Robert Yelle Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 08.02.2017 3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 11 1.2 A New Direction: Mass Media and Popular Representation ....................................... 20 1.3 Scope & Context: England on the Cusp of Modernity, 1875-1895 ............................. 23 1.4 Victorian Mass Media: Understanding the Sources .................................................... 29 1.5 Structure and Contents of the Dissertation .................................................................. 37 2 Colonial Buddhism I: The Prince of Wales in Ceylon (1875) ................................ 41 2.1 A Banquet in the Caves of Elephants .......................................................................... 46 2.2 The Buddha's Tooth and the Perahera ......................................................................... 51 2.3 Buddhism Through the Eyes of the Prince of Wales ................................................... 53 2.4 Repercussions: The Crown as Colonial Caretaker of Buddhism? ............................... 63 2.5 Epilogue: A Trendy Tooth........................................................................................... 70 3 Popular Apologetics: The Light of Asia (1879) ...................................................... 76 3.1 The Light of Asia: A Sleeper Hit ................................................................................. 77 3.2 From the Ivory Tower to Mudie's Lending Library .................................................... 84 3.3 Creating a Classic: The Role of the Mass Media ........................................................ 95 3.4 Colonial Contexts ........................................................................................................ 98 3.5 Edwin Arnold and the Victorian Cult of Popularity .................................................. 108 3.6 Siddhartha Takes to the British Stage (1891, 1894) .................................................. 116 3.7 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 124 4 Performing Buddhism in the Metropole (1884-1886) .......................................... 126 4.1 Buddhist Trickery: Barnum's Sacred White Elephant (1884) ................................... 127 4.2 Exhibitions and Native Villages (1885-1886) ........................................................... 141 4.3 1885 - The Japanese Village in Hyde Park................................................................ 142 4.4 1886 - Hagenbeck's Ceylonese Village ..................................................................... 149 4.5 1886 - The Colonial and Indian Exhibition ............................................................... 156 4.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 164 5 Colonial Buddhism II: Burmese Buddhism (1885/1886) .................................... 169 5.1 Burma: The Unknown Colony .................................................................................. 170 5.2 Colonial and Missionary Representations of Burmese Buddhism ............................ 172 5.3 Popular Media and Burmese Buddhism .................................................................... 178 5.4 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 213 6 Chatter About Nirvana: Pop Culture Discourse On Buddhism ............................ 216 6.1 A Matter of Class ...................................................................................................... 217 4 6.2 What's Funny about Buddhism? ....................................................................... 221 6.3 Ladies and Gentlemen ............................................................................................... 231 6.4 Buddhas for Sale: Idols or Knickknacks? (1884) ...................................................... 243 6.5 The Birthday Buddha (1890) ..................................................................................... 246 6.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 252 7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 255 7.1 The Dominance of Mass Media ................................................................................ 257 7.2 New Authorities on Buddhism .................................................................................. 259 7.3 Buddhism Through Colonialist Eyes ......................................................................... 261 7.4 Commercialization / Commodification ..................................................................... 263 7.5 Concluding Thoughts ................................................................................................ 265 8 Bibliography.......................................................................................................... 267 8.1 Primary Sources ........................................................................................................ 267 8.2 Secondary Sources .................................................................................................... 268 8.3 Newspapers, Magazines, and Journals Cited............................................................. 278 8.4 A Very Short Note on Databases and Method .......................................................... 279 5 Table of Illustrations Figure 1 "The Prince of Wales Dining in the Caves of Elephanta, Bombay." The Graphic, December 11, 1875............................................................................................................49 Figure 2 "The Prince of Wales Lunching in the Caves of Elephanta." The Illustrated London News, December 11, 1875.................................................................................................50 Figure 3 "The Buddhist Priests Exhibiting Buddha’s Tooth to the Prince." The Graphic, January 8, 1876 ................................................................................................................. 54 Figure 4 "The Devils' Dance at the Private Perehara before the Prince, Kandy." The Graphic, January 8, 1876 . ............................................................................................................... 54 Figure 5 Shrine and casket. The Graphic, January 8, 1876 ...................................................... 55 Figure 6 Buddha's tooth relic. The Graphic, January 8, 1876 .................................................. 55 Figure 7 Buddhist priest. The Graphic, January 8, 1876 .......................................................... 55 Figure 8 Maligawa Buddhist Temple, Kandy. The Graphic, March 18, 1882 ......................... 73 Figure 9 Advertisement for The Light of Asia. The Athenaeum, November 24, 1883. .............. 81 Figure 10 Advertisement for The Light of Asia. Publishers' Circular, December 7, 1885. ..... 82 Figure 11 "Back Numbers: Sir Edwin Arnold." Moonshine, December 31, 1892 .................. 116 Figure 12 Sarah Bernhardt in Izeyl. Photo, Library of Congress, 1895 .................................. 121 Figure 13 "A Titled Elephant" The Graphic, January 24, 1874 .............................................. 129 Figure 14 "A White Elephant at Last!" The Penny Illustrated Paper, January 19, 1884 ........ 132 Figure 15 "Arrival of the 'White Elephant' from Burma." Illustrated London News, January 26, 1884.. ............................................................................................................................... 132 Figure 16 "The Burmese 'Priests' and Mr. Barnum's Elephant at the Zoological Gardens." The Graphic, February 2, 1884 .............................................................................................. 133 Figure 17 "'Priests' of the Burmese 'White Elephant' at the Zoological Gardens" Illustrated London News, February 2, 1884 ................................................................................ 133 Figure 18 "To the Zoo! To the Zoo!" Judy, December 16, 1885 ............................................. 140 Figure 19 Advertisements for the Japanese Village. Reynolds's Newspaper, January 4, 1885 ......................................................................................................................................... 143 Figure 20 Advertisement for the Japanese Village. The Pall Mall Gazette, January 14, 1886. ......................................................................................................................................... 143 Figure 21 "Afternoon Tea at the Japanese Villagw." The Graphic, March 13, 1885 .............. 144 Figure 22 "A Place of Worship." The Illustrated London News, February 21, 1885 .............. 148 Figure 23 "The New Japanese Village at Knightsbridge." The Illustrated Sporting
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