by Tae Hyun Kim This book offers the first complete English study and translations of two landmark Chosŏn commentaries to Daoist classics: Yi I’s Sunŏn (Purified Words) on the Laozi and Han Wŏnjin’s Changja pyŏnhae (Analytic Interpretation of the Zhuangzi).…
by Andrej Fech
This book presents the first study and translation of the ancient text Zhouxun (Instructions of the Zhou). Lost early but mentioned in the history of the Han dynasty, a copy appeared recently and was published as part of the Peking University collection. The work is unique in its claim that ancient Chinese monarchs determined their succession based solely on the abilities of their heirs, disregarding ritually sanctioned criteria, such as primogeniture and the nobility of the maternal lineage. Power transfer here combines hereditary and meritocratic factors in new and different ways. Mad Rulers and Worthy Sons provides a complete translation together with a detailed analysis of the history, structure, and contents of this important document. The book opens a new chapter in our understanding of political values and governmental procedure in early China.
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This is the first part of a complete, annotated translation of the Zhen’gao, Tao Hongjing’s (456-536) masterful compilation of the Shangqing or Higher Clarity revelations, setting the stage for the heyday of medieval Daoism. This volume presents its first part (fasc.1-4), centering around the practice of achieving “spiritual union,” a spiritual analogue to sexual intercourse, with Perfected partners. The book is the first to examine in depth the full process of this practice—from preliminary courtship to the act of union itself, the gestation of the Perfected embryo in the body of the adept, and finally the adept’s rebirth.
Contents and Introduction
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Empowered Writing explores the inherent powers of Chinese talismans, petitions, registers, and holy scriptures, presenting a systematic study of their exorcistic and apotropaic properties. The book divides into three parts: tallies, petitions, and scriptures—all inherently empowered since they originate from the very same primordial energy as Dao, the heavens, and highest gods. Tallies emerge as certificates of legitimation, used both in the imperial government and in religion. Petitions and registers, on the other hand, are writings addressed to higher ranking spirits to control demons, disease, and misfortunes. Scriptures, third, contain power even in their physical presence: entrained with superior spiritual beings, they can exorcize evil spirits and negative energies. This feature holds also true in Buddhism, where the readers of sutras can count on the support of unseen guardian buddhas and bodhisattvas. Using a vast arsenal of original sources, the book traces the unfolding and transformation of empowered writing from the Warring States period through the Six Dynasties, closely examining the different kinds of writing, their uses, and interpretation as well as relating uniquely Daoist features to imperial and Buddhist usages. The book is path-breaking in its endeavor and stunning in its depth of analyis. It is a must for all China historians and scholars of religion.
Contents and Introduction
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The Literati Path explores the life and teachings of the Ming author and alchemist Lu Xixing (1520-1601), who embodied the literati tradition of self-cultivation, learning internal alchemy from books and through spirit-writing seances with Lü Dongbin and other immortals. After presenting his biography, the book expounds the cosmological doctrines at the foundation of internal alchemy then moves on to describe just how the practice serves to overcome destiny, modeling techniques on biological gestation and creating a new being deep within. It explains major alchemical concepts as applied by Lu Xixing and systematically describes his path to immortality, all the while questioning the validity of his reputation as a sexual alchemist. Shedding fascinating new light on the religious life of Ming literati and providing a first access to a unique take on internal alchemy in late imperial China, The Literati Path to Immortality is a must for anyone interested in traditional Chinese religion and culture!
Contents and Introduction
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Declarations of the Perfected is the first complete, annotated translation of Zhen’gao, Tao Hongjing’s (456-536) masterful compilation of the Shangqing or Higher Clarity revelations, setting the stage for the heyday of medieval Daoism. The present volume presents the Declarations’ second part (fasc. 5-8), which focuses on the various difficulties that Daoist practitioners are likely to encounter in a dangerous world, and how to overcome them. It begins with instructions of a more general nature, before moving on to problems faced specifically by Xu Mi (303-376) and his family and fellow officials. This volume also sheds much light on the history of its time—the kinds of moral and philosophical issues that were being debated, as well political intrigues in the Eastern Jin court.
Contents and Introduction
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Highest Clarity (Shangqing) was a Daoist religious movement that flourished for a thousand years in medieval China. This book explores its chief religious ideas and practices through three key texts, translated into English for the first time. Together with introductory essays on the concepts of nature, vision, and revelation, the book provides an overview of a unique and fascinating religious imagination, of interest to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of humanity’s cultural heritage. It is a prime study of a major Daoist school, offering path-breaking research of this little-known aspect of medieval Chinese culture
Contents and Introduction
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This book presents unique materials on the lives and religious quests of Daoist women in medieval China. Based on Du Guangting’s (850-933) extensive record of Daoist women’s biographies, covering the entire scope of medieval Chinese society and ranging from the 3rd to the 9th centuries, the book explores the social context, ideals, and specific techniques of their practice. It also relates the stories to overall Daoist themes and contemporaneous political events, carefully analyzing both the spiritual and lifestyle choices women made in ancient China. A well-crafted work and unique in its scholarly solidity and breadth of insights, Divine Traces is a classic in the field
Contents and Introduction
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Daoism Excavated is a first detailed exploration of Daoist cosmology, philosophy, and political vision as found in recently unearthed bamboo slips and silk manuscripts. Presenting a detailed, and often carefully philological, examination ofthe Taiyi shengshui, Hengxian,Fanwu liuxing, and Huangdi sijing, as well as of various versions of the Laozi, the book provides new insights into ancient Daoist thought and its various schools and lineages. It focuses particularly on different visions of the creation and unfolding of the universe and on the application of these alternative cosmologies in political thought and practice. Revising and expanding our understanding of traditional Chinese thinking, the book makes an essential contribution to Chinese studies, philosophy, and religion.
Contents and Introduction
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Zhuangzi: Thinking through the Inner Chapters is a major contribution to the philosophical understanding of Zhuangzi as seen by the foremost representative of new Chinese scholarship. Besides giving detailed readings of all seven Inner Chapters, the book also provides historical and textual context plus an in-depth examination of key philosophical concepts. Providing new and often startling insights, it flushes out the relevance of Zhuangzi’s thought especially in relation to Confucian and Mohist teachings as well as to Chinese history and culture. A must for anyone interested in Chinese and comparative philosophy.
Contents and Introduction
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