UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara The Aesthetics of Non-Discrimination: Chinese Poetics and Social Critique in Huihong's Night Chats from Chilly Hut (c. 1121) A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies by Sarah Jane Babcock Committee in charge: Professor Ronald C. Egan, Chair Professor Xiaorong Li Professor Hsiao-jung Yu December 2020 The dissertation of Sarah Jane Babcock is approved. __________________________________________________ Xiaorong Li __________________________________________________ Hsiao-jung Yu __________________________________________________ Ronald C. Egan, Committee Chair December 2020 The Aesthetics of Non-Discrimination: Chinese Poetics and Social Critique in Huihong's Night Chats from Chilly Hut (c. 1121) Copyright © 2020 By Sarah Jane Babcock iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the organizations that provided generous funding for my doctorial research: The China Scholarship Council for funding a semester of research at Sichuan University, The Center for Chinese Studies at the National Central Library for the Research Grant for Foreign Scholars in Chinese Studies, and Dharma Drum Mountain for providing affordable housing for dissertation writing on their beautiful campus at Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts. I would also like to thank UCSB for the generous Graduate Opportunity Fellowship and the department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies obtaining Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants and other scholarships for my graduate studies. To begin a doctoral program requires the involvement of several people. But it takes a village to complete a dissertation. I have received guidance and support from numerous teachers, colleagues, staff, friends, and family members throughout my graduate studies, and each person provided something essential to help me realize the goal of completing this Ph.D. I am deeply indebted to my doctoral advisor, Ronald C. Egan. His expertise, experience, and integrity have guided me through all the various stages of the doctoral degree. It was Prof. Egan who first introduced Night Chats from Chilly Hut to me as a possible research focus, and he encouraged me to continue even when anyone else in their right mind would have given up on me. I will never forget the hours of delightful one-on-one close reading sessions we had together at UCSB. He ensured that I had the funding and the time to pursue language study and research in some of the best programs in Asia. After his move to Stanford University, Prof. Egan continued to provide timely help long beyond the call of duty. His subtle corrections and probing questions over the years have been integral to my completing this project and inspiring me to develop as a scholar. Any oversights and inaccuracies that remain in my work are undeniably my own. I would also like to thank the other two members of my committee, Xiaorong Li and Hsiao- jung Yu, as well as several faculty members in the department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies who have assisted me during my degree. Prof. Li, who kindly joined my committee after my field exams, gave me broad questions to consider that were crucial in helping frame my project, and she provided invaluable feedback on my chapter drafts and translations. Prof. Yu supervised my sub-field in Chinese language pedagogy, going out of her way to ensure that I had up-to-date training. Her dedication to students will always be an inspiration. I am also grateful to Xiao-bin Ji, a brilliant but humble scholar of Chinese history, for supervising my subfield in Song dynasty history. Additionally, I am appreciative of Thomas Mazanec, who provided a range of support, from commenting on paper abstracts to giving citation advice, not to mention the crucial role that his research on Tang poet- monks played in providing context for my research. To Katherine Saltzman-Li, I offer heartfelt gratitude for her timely intervention during a period of academic isolation and the guidance she has provided during the last years of my degree, done out of the kindness of her heart. v I benefited from Zhou Yukai’s extensive study of the interaction between Tang-Song literature and Chan Buddhism and his specialized interest in Huihong. I was fortunate to spend six months taking classes and tutorials offered by Prof. Zhou at Sichuan University. He patiently listened and responded to all my questions, from clarifications about the odd circumstances of Huihong’s ordination to cryptic allusions in Night Chats. His graduate students later told me that he had given me the nickname “Study-fiend” 學霸子. There are many other scholars who have assisted me through my graduate studies. I met Jason Protass and Christopher Byrne at an Association of Asian Studies conference and felt for the first time I had found “my people.” Prof. Protass has since offered invaluable advice as I explore issues around the poet-monk, and it was an offhanded question from him that drove my research for one of my chapters. I would also like to thank the scholars associated with the Western Branch American Oriental Society who raised questions or provided feedback on portions of my research, including Stephen West, Michael Fuller, Alexei Ditter, Michael Nylan, Yunshuang Zhang, and Xiao Rao. Friends have provided invaluable support during the dissertation writing process. Beloved English teacher David Fell used a balanced combination of critique and encouragement to help me hone my writing skills and focus my arguments. I still have much to learn from “Dr. D.,” but his reliable guidance was essential in helping me better express and organize what I wished to communicate. Dear friend Cheryl Howard has been a constant support and enthusiastic listener through all of my educational endeavors. Silvia Madrid, who I met on the website Phinished.org, became my virtual writing companion and accountability buddy. I want to express my gratitude for the Dharma Realm Buddhist University community of teachers, staff, and students. They provided crucial support and encouragement over the past few years. In particular, thank you to Shari Epstein for her enthusiasm, timely advice, and homegrown vegetables. To Lauren Bausch for her kind offerings of proof reading, hot picnic lunches, and words of wisdom. And to all my dharma friends and colleagues who have provided support seen and unseen, including Rev. Heng Sure, Bhikshuni Heng Yin, Snjezana Akpinar, Martin Verhoeven, Douglas Powers, Terri and Alan Nicholson, Stacy Chen, Franklyn Wu, and Sean Kerr. As the Buddha told Ānanda, good comradeship is not half of the spiritual life; it is the entire spiritual life. I wish to thank my parents, Elizabeth and Jon Babcock, for the love and support that each has given me throughout this process. My mother has cheered me on at every stage and reminded me to stay true to my values. My father, an independent scholar of Chinese and Buddhism himself, nurtured my interest in Chinese language and inspired me with his extensive philological and semantic treasure hunts. I’ve come to see this approach as indispensable in unveiling the intricacies and beauty of a Chinese classical poem. Finally, I am deeply grateful to my loving husband and best friend, Dr. Stephen Wilcox, for his constant support and unfailing confidence in me. As the person who nudged me towards the doctorate door in the beginning, who listened to many meandering soliloquies along the way, and who remained by my side until the last word was written, I dedicate this dissertation to you. vi VITA OF SARAH JANE BABCOCK December 2020 EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language, University of California, Berkeley, May 2003. Master of Arts in Asian Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, March 2009. Doctor of Philosophy in East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, December 2020. PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT Fall 2010-Present Teaching Fellow, Dharma Realm Buddhist University, Ukiah, California. Spring 2018: Teaching Associate, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara. 2007-2008; 2011-2013: Teaching Assistant, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara. PUBLICATIONS “My Hometown Grows Up.” A translation of “Guxiang zhangda le” 故鄉長大了 by Lin Yang-min 林央敏 (b. 1955). Journal of Taiwan Literature: English Translation Series 21 (July 2007): 95-104. “Jade Belt and Monk’s Robe: Literary Exchanges Between Poet Su Shi and Chan Master Foyin of the Song Dynasty.” Unpublished thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Asian Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2009. 137 pp. SELECTED CONFERENCE PAPERS “Transcending Taboo: Promoting the Poet-Monk through Anecdotes,” presented at the meeting of the Western Branch American Oriental Society. Hosted online by University of Hong Kong and University of Colorado, Boulder, Nov. 2020. v “Night Chats with a Maverick Monk: Exploring Huihong’s Miscellany In a Biographical Context” [冷齋撥爐聞夜語：從傳記角度解讀釋惠洪筆記創作]. Presentation in Chinese at the Center for Chinese Studies, Taiwan National Library, Taipei, 2015. “Teaching the Nuances of Chinese Optative Verbs to English Speaking Learners: Integrating Sociocultural Pragmatics.” Presentation at the 6th University of California Language Consortium, San Diego, 2012. “Lame Mr. Liu, Uncle Yuancai, and a Barefoot Monk: