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Barrett, Timothy Hugh
Buddhism, Taoism And Confucianism In The Thought Of Li Ao. Ph.D.
1978
Yale University
Battaglia, John R.
Zen, Taoism, and American Nature Writing: Spiritualism and Philosophy
In Works By Aldo Leopold, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, and Wendell
Berry
Ph.D. 1998
University of Kansas
An examination of environmental philosophy over the past thirty
years reveals an increasing interest in the influence of Eastern
thought on current ecological attitudes. Philosophic-religious
traditions such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism assert that the universe
is ultimately beyond our ability to understand rationally and
maintain that it is not made up of separate classifiable parts
but is a whole entity, every element of which is dependent upon
every other element. They suggest that the human attitude toward
the natural world should be governed by the understanding that
humankind and nature are essentially the same thing. In A Sand
County Almanac Aldo Leopold argues for the preservation of wilderness
based on a "land ethic." Claiming that "a thing
is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability,
and beauty of the biotic community" and that it is wrong
"when it tends otherwise," he builds an argument not
just on sound scientific principles but on spiritual ones that
closely resemble the Taoist world view. Edward Abbey in Desert
Solitaire goes to the desert to "confront the bare bones
of existence" and arrives at an understanding and appreciation
of nature that emphasizes living in the present moment. His
discovery and the methods that lead to it reflect many of the
principles of Zen .In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard
sojourns in rural Virginia to find support in nature for her
orthodox Christian view of the world. She concludes that nature
provides no conclusive support for her beliefs but she does
have several epiphanic experiences that when seen in the light
of Zen suggest that ultimate understanding cannot be achieved
but that the wonder of life is to be had in the mindful living
of everyday life. In Recollected Essays, Wendell Berry determines
that in order to live well one must stay put and be watchful.
Using his experiences as a farmer and observer of nature for
support, he argues for a deliberate living of everyday life
in harmony with sound environmental principles. His conclusions
about how to live harmoniously with nature parallel many basic
tenets of Taoism.
Benn, Charles David
Taoism As Ideology In The Reign Of Emperor Hsuan-Tsung (712-755).
Ph.D. 1977 The University Of Michigan
Bolick, Neil Eugene, Jr.
The Genre of Philosophical and Religious Poetry and Intellectual
Expression In The Southern Sung
Ph.D. 1994 Indiana University
As an analytic tool to help us understand the conventions of
religious and philosophical poetry in the Southern Sung, and
to illustrate how religious concerns and religious texts influenced
poetry written during this period beyond the range normally
acknowledged, this dissertation constructs literary biographies
of three Chinese poets from the Southern Sung in the form of
a genre study. The poets are Fan Ch'eng-ta (1126-1191), one
of the "four masters" of Southern Sung poetry, a government
official who was a student of Ch'an Buddhism, Chu Hsi (1130-1200),
the central figure in the formulation of Neo-Confucian philosophy,
and Po Yuch'an (1194-1280), one of the "five patriarchs"
of Southern Sung Taoism.I propose that, through close study
of these writers, who lived during the same period and in the
same area of China, one can identify a genre of poetry in the
Southern Sung that reflects a symbiotic relationship between
poetry, religion, and philosophy. I have constructed a generic
repertoire based on close study of the poetry by these writers,
and this is employed to address four questions: (1) In what
sense can we claim that religious poetry constitutes a genre?
(2) What is its relationship to the canonical and philosophical
texts of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism? (3) What can this
genre teach us about poetic and religious expression in China?
(4) What can this genre tell us when used as a medium to compare
how the three traditions interrelate in the framework of a common
poetic form?This study illustrates that during this period in
China interest in religious issues was a generic concern for
a broad range of poetry. Within that range, poets developed
very sophisticated literary devices to engage religion in poetic
discourse. This poetry creates a semiotic level of reference
that works in complex intertextual ways not previously recognized,
where an intertextuality exists between religious poetry and
other forms of religious texts, and between religious poetry
and other forms of poetic texts.
Buettner, Lanny Steven
Science, Religion, and Ethics In The Writings of Joseph Needham
Ph.D. 1987 University of Southern California
Joseph Needham (1900-), one of the first to have recognized
the relevance of post-modern science for ethics, has developed
a system of thought which attempts to unify the various disciplines
of science, religion, philosophy, history, and art. Scientifically,
a biochemist; religiously, an Anglo-Catholic; philosophically,
an organicist; politically, a socialist; a historian of science;
and a poet and folk dancer！Needham asserts that these various
forms of experience are only unified by ethics, which he defines
as "the rules whereby men may live together in society
with the utmost harmony and the best opportunities for the development
of their talents in the common good."An Oxford scholar
and a leading socialist scientist in England from the late 1920s
through the early 1940s, Needham has written many articles on
links among science, religion, philosophy, history, and ethics,
believing that social evolution is continuous with biological
evolution and is leading to a socialist world-government, maintaining,
however, the need for a religious dimension to life dominated
by science and technology.Shunning reductionism, Needham links
science and ethics through a number of general patterns observed
at all levels of physical organization, suggesting that elements
of one level aggregate to form new levels whose organization
cannot be reduced to the rules of the lower level. Human beings
are the highest level reached yet, wherein ethics describes
the aggregation patterns needed to move to still higher levels
of social integration. The scientific community also demonstrates
and recommends a "democracy which produces experts"
as the best form of social organization.Since the 1950s, Needham's
study of the history of science in China has provided new insights
along these lines, suggesting a more organic, less mechanistic,
approach to science, and exposing him to Taoism and Neo-Confucianism,
systems which relate ethics to the natural world without the
need for supernatural revelation.Needham's organic approach
to ethics and naturalism challenges the traditional meta-ethical
typologies, which have trouble unambiguously including it in
any one type. Combining modern science, socialism, and Chinese
philosophy with the romanticist agenda, Needham's ethics are
relevant today, particularly in light of more recent scientific
discoveries.
Cahill, Suzanne Elizabeth
The Image Of The Goddess Hsi Wang Mu In Medieval Chinese Literature
Ph.D. 1982 University Of California, Berkeley
This dissertation is concerned with the retrieval, reconstruction,
and exposition of the literary image of the highest Taoist goddess
of the T'ang: Hsi Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the West. Part
One presents her Taoist image. Chapter One traces the goddess's
development as a figure in the history of Chinese religion up
to the T'ang. Chapters Two and Three consist of the study and
translation of a T'ang hagiographical account of Hsi Wang Mu
which contains the fullest exposition of the image of the goddess
as it was perceived by T'ang s. Part Two presents her image
in T'ang poetry. Chapter Four sets forth the topoi in which
the image of the Queen Mother of the West figures in T'ang poems,
and shows how her image functions in the poetic context. Chapter
Five consists of translations of T'ang poems which contain the
image of the goddess. The poems draw upon the Taoist image defined
in Part One, and at the same time exemplify the literary topoi
described in Chapter Four.To make a modern reconstruction of
the medieval literary image, we must start with language. Taoist
texts preserve examples of the image in religious language,
while T'ang poems preserve examples in literary language. The
image of the goddess in the T'ang poems represents the intersection
of religious and literary language at a particular historical
point. The image exists in scattered fragments, strewn all over
the literary and religious landscape of medieval China. This
dissertation attempts to gather the pieces together, to unify
the image and see it whole again for the first time since the
T'ang. This is both an exercise in philology and an act of imagination.Rigorous
philological analysis was a necessary first stage, to establish
the meaning of these texts precisely. It then became possible
to reconstruct credible images of the goddess in various ages
and contexts. Secondly, I have tried to show the importance
of religion, and Taoism in particular, in T'ang poetry. Finally,
I have attempted to recreate a single image, the image of the
Queen Mother of the West, for modern readers, in something approaching
her original splendor.
Chang, Hsun
Incense-Offering And Obtaining The Magical Power Of Qi: The
Mazu (Heavenly Mother) Pilgrimage In Taiwan (China)
Ph.D. 1993 University Of California, Berkeley
This study explores the Chinese concept of qi (life force) and
how qi can be obtained by participating in a temple pilgrimage.
It combines documentary and field studies to present a native's
perception of qi and its manifestation in a present day Taiwanese
pilgrimage.To me, Chinese folk religion systems are a historical
combination of shamanism and the Three Teachings (Confucianism,
Daoism, and Buddhism). The folk concept of qi should be understood
both from the view point of the Three Teachings and from the
practices of the native people of Taiwan. The study of documents
expressing the Three Teachings' ideas of qi provides a basic
knowledge of qi. The folk people's ideas of qi and how they
are related to religious factors, such as temples, incense,
gods, ghosts, ancestors, and souls indicate how qi has been
incorporated into their religious practices.The field work that
is the basis for this thesis was focused on the largest annual
pilgrimage in Taiwan: the Dajia pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is
held for the goddess, Dajia Mazu, so she can return to her mother
temple and be empowered with the spiritual qi of the mother
temple. Depending on the socioeconomic class of the pilgrims,
they have varying roles in the pilgrimage and assimilate different
s of spiritual qi. The different s of assimilated qi are then
recursively used to explain the ranked social groups of the
pilgrims. In other words, religion legitimatizes the differentiation
of social groups.The Goddess Mazu, compared to other Chinese
goddesses, is more humane and this-worldly. Believers, therefore,
ask the goddess for blessings for a better life and they base
their local community identity on her reflected blessings and
compassion. Under the embrace of the same goddess and the need
to accomplish the same goal, to arrive at the destination temple,
different social groups are reconciled and share a of felt "communitas"
during the journey. These are social groups between which there
is normally some of friction.The obtaining of spiritual qi is
not the final goal of folk beliefs, i.e., it is not an end in
itself. The ultimate concern of folk people is to acquire qi
to help them achieve a life of balance, health, wealth and prosperity.
The purpose of ritual practices and observing precepts for folk
people is to assure a successful life for them in this world.
Even though rituals or even sacred sites can change, folk people,
with their circular logic and "after the fact reasoning",
can perpetuate their belief in the efficacy of qi and continue
their lives.
Chao, Yun-Chung
The History Of Tsai-Li (Abiding Principle) Sect And Its Educational
Impact In Taiwan, 1950-1980
Ed.D. 1987 University Of Houston
Religion is one of the most important aspects of culture. It
shapes people's relationships with each other, influencing family,
school, community, economic, and political life. It finds expression
in human behavior, and in value systems. In the study of religion
and moral education a need exists to identify the faith of the
religion in relation to the cultural background of its people.
The religion of Tsai-li (Abiding Principle), since its establishment
over three hundred sixty s ago in China, functions as a part
of the social structure. It represents the unity of three religions
each contributes to the unifying principle of Tsai-li: the teaching
of the preservation of life and the attainment of longevity
is from Taoism, the cultivation of life and the achievement
of enlightenment is from Buddhism, and the teaching of the establishment
of life and the realization of one's destiny is from Confucianism.
This study sought to trace the historical development of the
establishment of the Tsai-li Sect in Taiwan from 1950-1980,
with the primary goal of analyzing and describing the Confucian
Li (Propriety) as the Li (Principle) in the ethical teaching
of Tsai-li, which is relevant to the contents of moral education.
In addition, the major rituals of the Tsai-li Sect are under
examination based on functionalist theory in the light of Tsai-li's
moral function in the Taiwanese society.The following research
questions guided the direction of the study: What are the ethical
teachings of the Tsai-li Sect which are relevant to moral education?
What do the major rituals of the Tsai-li Sect symbolize, and
what are their moral implications? What are the functions, manifest
and latent, of Tsai-li's al development and what is their effect
upon education in Taiwan during the period of 1950-1980?The
research analysis indicates that the Tsai-li's ethical teachings,
the Confucian Li (Propriety), reflect the central values either
in the school's moral education or in the Taiwanese society.
And its religious rituals and participation in national social
and political activities maintain its religious solidarity in
a well-ordered society.
Chen, Ning
Concepts of Fate In Ancient China
Ph.D. 1994 University of Pittsburgh
The purpose of this study is to shed light on the complexity
of various concepts of fate held by the educated elite in ancient
China. Since the Chinese spoke of fortune and misfortune in
either mutable or immutable terms, this study divides their
concepts of fate into five categories: amoral transcendental-immanent,
moral transcendental-immanent, amoral transcendental, moral
immanent, and amoral immanent.Not excluding other factors, this
essay places special emphasis on ideological factors responsible
for the formation of these concepts and discusses the issue
chronologically. Arguing against the view that the concept of
blind fate (the amoral transcendental) already existed in Shang
times or earlier, this study, based on the features of the Shang
faith system (the amoral transcendental-immanent) and on the
anthropological theories of religion, maintains that the Shang
system could not generate that concept that was formulated in
the late Western Chou to solve the problem of theodicy created
by the Chou notion of the Mandate of Heaven (the moral transcendental-immanent).
It is also stated that the moral immanent and the amoral immanent
came into existence in the Eastern Chou as the result of ideological
conflicts.By focusing on the concepts of fate, this study opens
a new aspect of what major schools of thought agreed and disagreed
about. The following are some major findings. The concepts of
fate held by major schools of thought were related to their
views of the problem of theodicy. In Confucianism and Legalism
the discrepancy in explaining man's fate appeared on different
levels rather than on different occasions. In Taoism and early
Confucianism, there was a strong emphasis on the unpredictability
of man's fate which squared with their indifference towards
the practice of divination and the Book of Changes which became
a Confucian classic in later times.
Chen, Warner
The Emperor Liang Wu-Ti and Buddhism (China)
Ph.D. 1993 New York University
The emperor Liang Wu-ti, (464 A.D.-548 A.D.), was the most influential
monarch regarding Buddhism in the entirety of Chinese history.
With his conversion from Taoism to Buddhism, he actively used
his imperial power to convert his subjects' beliefs. Nevertheless,
the emperor encountered a major obstacle along the way of the
dissemination of Buddhism, which was the misinterpretation of
Confucianism by the Shi Dai-fu class, who were the governmental
officials identified as Confucianists.The lack of power to control
the Shi Dai-fu resulted in the continuation of corruption among
the officials and severe discrimination among social classes.The
conflict and disharmony in the two Shi Dai-fu classes, Noble
clans and Han-men, jeopardized the Liang Dynasty. They had long
since forgotten that the important ideology of Confucian political
ethics was loyalty to the monarch.After more than four decades
of peace and prosperity. Liang's empire was attacked by the
Northern Dynasty's rebel general, Hou Jin. With the onset of
this rebellion, most Shi Dai-fu maintained a wait and see attitude.
The consequence was the Liang Dynasty ended and the Emperor
Liang Wu-ti died a miserable death.
Dai, Fang
Drinking, Thinking, And Writing: Ruan Ji And The Culture Of
His Era (Neo Daoism, Yonghuai)
Ph.D. 1994 The University Of Michigan
A leading intellectual of a critical formative period in Chinese
culture, Ruan Ji (210-263) is also a controversial figure since
his time owing to ideological bias as well as the complexity
and elusiveness of his personality and writings. He deserves
a comprehensive study so that his contributions to the rise
of Neo-Daoism, the development of five-character line poetry,
and the initiation and spread of a behavioral norm for the scholar-official
class are fully assessed and appreciated. This dissertation
presents an integrated study of him, with a focus on his philosophy,
life style, and poetic works.The introduction reviews available
scholarship on him and outlines the historical and intellectual
backgrounds of his era. Outlandish as he may seem to his contemporaries,
he is nevertheless a product of new cultural trends of the time.
There are five chapters in all. The first three examine his
philosophical beliefs, political career, and life style. Just
as his rediscovery of the Zhuang Zi advanced Neo-Daoism to a
new phase, his anti-ritualistic life style under the Daoist
influence injected new elements into the values of the scholar-official
class. A critical reading of texts by and about him shows that
he, while in the center of a political storm, was actually an
onlooker of the period's factional politics.The last two chapters
establish him as both a successor to a rich tradition and founder
of a new poetic genre. Ruan Ji rebelled against the Confucian
poetic tradition with his Yonghuai poetry, which began a tradition
of private poetry and helped five-character line poetry reach
its maturity. His works demonstrate an intricate intertextual
relationship with previous works, the analysis of which reveals
some interesting modes of poetic influence.The conclusion explores
his cultural legacy. Admired and emulated, Ruan Ji became the
symbol of a life style that provided scholar-officials an alternative
code of behavior beside the dominant Confucian code. His poetry
influenced some of China's best poets, including Tao Qian (372-427)
and Li Bai (701-762).
Dean, Kenneth
Taoism And Popular Religion In Southeast China: History And
Revival
Ph.D. 1988 Stanford University
Religious observances around the principal cults of Southeast
China have revived considerably since 1979. This dissertation
examines the history and contemporary observances of three prominent
cults in Fujian. These are the cults of Baosheng Dadi, Qingshui
Zushi, and Guangze Zunwang. My purpose is first to demonstrate
the fundamental role of Taoism in the historical development
of regional cults, and then to analyze the role of the Taoist
liturgical framework in structuring current popular worship
in these cults. I argue that Taoism provided the means for liberating
cults from localistic isolation by writing scriptures for local
deities, incorporating them in a universal pantheon, and providing
a ritual framework for their worship that shows remarkable unity
across China.The Introduction describes the sources I collected
during three s of field-work in Fujian and Taiwan. These include
large quantities of unpublished epigraphy, several hundred liturgical
manuscripts, holy scriptures, temple gazetteers, oral accounts
and field notes. Methodological issues concern the ability of
Taoism to absorb and find a place for sometimes contradictory
forms of popular and elite worship while structuring the entire
communal celebration. A second issue involves the role of regional
cults in providing networks for transverse flows of communication
and mutual support across wide regions of Fujian divided by
patterns of lineage feuding in late Imperial China.Chapter One
describes the process of "Taoist enfeoffment" of a
local god, and charts the geographic spread of a cult through
"division of incense." Chapter Two discusses the role
of god processions in marking segmentary oppositions within
local society. Chapter Three discusses the elaboration of elite
rituals within popular cults and elite reinterpretations of
a god's legend. Chapter Four sketches the background of Taoist
ritual traditions in Fujian and documents current communal sacrifice
rituals.The Conclusion proposes that Taoist ritual marks social
hierarchy while maintaining social cohesion around a cult. Absorption
into the Taoist liturgical framework emancipates a cult from
localism into regional, and sometimes national, networks. The
struggle for survival of local traditions in China today demonstrates
the continuing importance of Taoism in Chinese society.
Dott, Brian Russell
Ascending Mount Tai: Social And Cultural Interactions In Eighteenth
Century China (Social Interactions)
Ph.D. 1998
University Of Pittsburgh
Dragan, Raymond Anthony
The Dragon In Early Imperial China (Imperial Age)
Ph.D. 1993
University of Toronto (Canada)
The dragon was one of the most prominent and pervasive symbols
in pre-modern China. Through a reevaluation of primary-source
material from a textual, historical, and phenomenological point
of view, this dissertation explores the meaning of dragon symbolism
within different religious traditions at the dawn of China's
imperial age.The first chapter outlines several correlations
between crocodilians and dragons and considers this hypothetical
identification with respect to of classical dragon-slayer myths.
Its findings challenge the unqualified view that in China, as
opposed to the West, the dragon was a benevolent creature rather
than a malevolent one.The dragon belonged to two groupings of
sacred animals: the Four Divine Animals and the Four Spirits.
The second chapter examines the dragon's status within these
two sets of animal symbols as a basis for determining its classification
according to the dual cosmic forces of Yin and Yang.In ancient
China, the dragon's rain-making powers were understood in terms
of Yin and Yang. Since archaic times, shamans played the main
role in summoning the dragon spirit through dance and various
coercive means.Chapter 4 explores myths which deal with the
dragon's role in matters of life and death. Dragons were said
to not only father emperors but also carry immortals up to heaven.The
River Chart myth suggested that dragons revealed sacred diagrams
to sagely sovereigns as testimony of their divine mandate. In
examining the history of the River Chart myth, Chapter 5 explores
the dragon's association with sacred symbols.During the Han
dynasty, Daoism adopted the sacred symbol as a vehicle for expressing
ideas related to the all-important concept of the Dao. By assessing
the theoretical correlations between dragon and Dao, the final
chapter in this dissertation elucidates the special significance
of the dragon in early Daoism.This thesis reveals that during
the Han dynasty, the dragon was used by Daoists as a metaphor
for their concept of the Dao. The dragon's structural characterization
as manifesting a "coincidence of opposites" (i.e.
Yin and Yang) offers one possible explanation of why the dragon
became a symbol of choice among early Daoists.
Eichman, Shawn Robb
Converging Paths: A Study Of Daoism During The Six Dynasties,
With Emphasis On The Celestial Master Movement And The Scriptures
Of Highest Clarity (China)
Ph.D. 1999
University Of Hawaii
This dissertation deals with the development of Daoism during
the Six Dynasties through an analysis of texts belonging to
the Celestial Master (tianshi) and Highest Clarity (shangqing)
movements of this period contained in the Daoist Canon (Daozang).Chapter
one provides a general outline of the establishment of Daoism
as a large-scale, organized religion during the Liu-Song dynasty
by detailing the major aspects of the Celestial Master movement
defined in the "Great Highest Scripture on the Inner Explanations
of the Three Heavens"; ( Taishang santian neijie jing)
and other related texts which attempted to reform the movement
began by Zhang Daoling in the Han dynasty into a religion which
could gain the support of the imperial court.Chapter two contains
an analysis of one of the central Highest Clarity scriptures,
the "Genuine Scripture of the Eight Unadorned"; (Basu
zhenjing). The chapter begins with a study of the two principle
texts in the Daoist Canon which represent this scripture, concluding
that they contain later modifications of the scripture which
reflect developments in the Highest Clarity scriptures after
the period of the initial revelations. The chapter then reconstructs
the contents of the original scripture based on a comparative
analysis of these two texts with other commentaries on the scripture
from the Six Dynasties. Finally, two commentaries written from
within the Celestial Master movement are studied in order to
determine some aspects of the relationship between this movement
and the Highest Clarity scriptures.Chapter three examines the
early expansion of the Shangqing scriptures through a study
of the scriptures classified under the heading of the "way
of the Great Highest" (taishang zhi dao) in a scriptural
catalogue contained in one version of the "Genuine Scripture
of the Eight Unadorned". It is proposed that the scriptures
of this category represent a new movement in the Highest Clarity
scriptures surrounding the "teachings of Jade Clarity",
in particular the "Hidden Book of Jade Clarity" (Yuqing
yinshu).Chapter four describes the further development of the
Highest Clarity scriptures during the later Six Dynasties through
a study of the "three caverns" (sandong) and "three
wonders" (sanqi) theories.
Girardot, Norman J.
The Theme Of Chaos (Hun-Tun) In Early Taoism.
Ph.D. 1974
The University Of Chicago
Grant, Beata
Buddhism And Taoism In The Poetry Of Su Shi (1036！1101)
Ph.D. 1987
Stanford University
Su Shi, generally considered to be the greatest literary figure
of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1126), was not so much scholarly
and profound in his interest in Buddhism and Taoism as he was
creative and wide-ranging. This study is primarily concerned
with tracing some of the aesthetic and metaphysical links between
the style, language, ideas and imagery of Su Shi's poetry and
Buddhism and Taoism, and showing how these links add a dimension
and complexity to Su Shi's poetry that is not always fully acknowledged.The
first chapter of the study gives a brief overview of Buddhism
and Taoism during the Northern Song, and their place in the
intellectual and artistic milieu in which Su Shi lived and wrote.Chapter
Two is a biography of Su Shi which focuses primarily on the
development of his interest in Buddhism and Taoism: family influences,
Buddhist and Taoist friends and teachers, and Buddhist and Taoist
ideas, texts and works of art that served as inspiration and
confirmation for his own poetry.The second part of this study
explores in more detail three different aspects of Su Shi's
interest in Buddhism and Taoism as reflected in his poetry:
Buddhist and Taoist art and aesthetics, the paradox of language,
and metaphysical concepts of time and space.Chapter Three shows
how Buddhist and Taoist-related paintings, sculpture and aesthetics
provided dramatic and linguistic material as well as philosophical
ideas for Su's poetry.Chapter Four is a discussion of the perennial
tension between the religious experience which transcends language
and the poetic experience which is embodied in language, and
how this tension is expressed and developed in Su Shi's poetry.Chapter
Five explores the concepts of time and space as expressed in
both the language and form of Su Shi's poetry, and how they
can be linked with very similar ideas in Buddhist and Taoist
metaphysics.The conclusion draws together these three different
aspects in a preliminary reevaluation of the significance of
Buddhism and Taoism in the light of Su Shi's overall poetic
work.
Hardy, Julia Margaret
Archaic Utopias In The Modern Imagination (Taoism, Granet Marcel,
Levi Strauss Claude, Needham Joseph, Utopian Images)
Ph.D. 1990
Duke University
This study focuses on three scholars！Marcel Granet, Claude Levi-Strauss,
and Joseph Needham！each of whom has been criticized for creating
idealized images of primitive society and religion. In the works
of these scholars Eastern or primitive religions are romanticized,
shaped as polar opposites to an equally distorted negative image
of the West. I argue that these three scholars romanticized
the East/primitive because they were discontented with the Western
self-image associated with progress and colonialism. Their scholarship
is distorted by a very personal longing for social change within
Western society
Granet, Levi-Strauss, and Needham felt themselves to be outsiders
within the West！Levi-Strauss because he was Jewish; Granet,
an atheist, a close friend and colleague of many Jews and, later,
an opponent of the Nazi regime; and Needham, because he was
sympathetic towards communism. The idealized images these scholars
created of non-western cultures reflect a longing for pre-modernity,
a nostalgia for ways of life and modes of thought opposed to
those of the modern West; this nostalgia was often projected
by them onto the religions and peoples they studied.Despite
their distortions, however, the utopian images created by Granet,
Levi-Strauss, and Needham do have value for the West; they stimulate
cultural change and creativity. The West can no longer perceive
its culture and its knowledge to be superior to those of the
other peoples of the world. As scholars, these men sought to
change the West by introducing new modes of thought and expression,
new attitudes and values based on their studies of non-western
religious thought. Granet, Levi-Strauss, and Needham challenged
Western notions of superiority over the non-west, and encouraged
the respectful and receptive study of non-western cultural and
religious traditions.
Harper, Donald John
The "Wu Shih Erh Ping Fang" Translation And Prolegomena
(China)
Ph.D. 1982
University Of California, Berkeley
This dissertation presents a critical edition and translation
of the manuscript Wu Shih Erh Ping Fang (Recipes for Fifty-two
Ailments). It is the premier document in the corpus of medical
texts discovered in Tomb Three at Ma Wang Tui (burial dated
168 B.C.) and is the oldest manuscript of medical recipes extant
in China.The text consists of nearly three hundred recipes for
the treatment of a large variety of ailments, ranging from dog
bites to hemorrhoids and abscesses. Over two hundred and fifty
medicinal substances are named in the text, which occasionally
includes details about the identification, gathering, and processing
of certain herbal drugs. Various forms of therapy are described,
including the earliest accounts of cauterization and surgical
operations.Significantly, a substantial number of recipes provide
magical cures. Incantations and exorcistic rituals are used
to expel the ailment from the patient's body. The magical recipes
reflect the shamanistic traditions of the ancient period. By
providing documentation of practices such as the Pace of Yu,
a magical dance step used by Taoists of the Six Dynasties period,
the Wu Shih Erh Ping Fang also serves to demonstrate the links
between Taoism and archaic religious traditions. In addition,
the form of incantation employed in the magical recipes can
be traced to a tradition of breath magic localized in the general
region around Ch'ang Sha, the site of the Ma Wang Tui burial,
from Han times down into the Ch'ing.The prolegomena to the translation
begin by placing the manuscript within the bibliographic framework
of old sources on Chinese medicine and pharmacology. This is
followed by an essay on the nature of the shaman-physician,
including the relation between the physician and other practitioners
of magical arts, and an introduction to the magical recipes.
Heitz, Marty Henry
Distant Origins: Inscriptions Of Life In Early Heidegger And
The "Zhuangzi" (Marting Heidegger, Taoism)
Ph.D. 1999
University Of Hawaii
Although much has been written concerning the comparison between
the philosophy of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) and various schools
of Asian thought！;particularly Daoism and Zen Buddhism！;few
if any scholars have to date undertaken such a comparison utilizing
Heidegger's early lecture courses, delivered in Freiburg between
1919 and 1923. In this dissertation I endeavor to help fill
this lacuna by examining these lecture courses in the light
of their similarities to, and differences from, the ancient
Daoist text, the Zhuangzi. My thesis is that while there are
significant, and indeed surprising, similarites between the
philosophy of the Zhuangzi and Heidegger's early philosophy
of life (especially as reflected in his lectures of 1919 and
1920), a growing rift develops between them when Heidegger begins
to develop his philosophy of being. Heidegger's early concerns
with life are gradually taken over by this concern for being,
a shift that I term his "elision of life,"
such elision coinciding with the first developments of his concept
of "ontological difference."
I contend that it is this elision of life, as I interpret it,
that ultimately separates Heidegger from the Daoism espoused
in the Zhuangzi, and indeed in such manner that Heidegger's
early philosophy of being finds no authentic counterpart in
Daoism.Although my chief concern in this dissertation is with
the period of Heidegger's thought between the s 1919 and 1922,
I extend my analysis to include a brief survey of Being and
Time, especially in light of the concept of authenticity, and
find that this elision of life not only continues but intensifies.
I suggest, then, that all of Heidegger's later thought, based
as it essentially is upon this early work, is separated from
Daoism by a profound divide, necessitating a re-appraisal of
what has so far been a quite favorable comparison between such
later thought and Chinese Daoism in particular.
Huang, Shih-shan Susan
Ph.D. 2002 Yale University
This interdisciplinary study of three Daoist paintings depicting
the pantheon of the Three Officials (or sanguan) in MFA (or
the Boston triptych) proposes a new way of viewing and thinking
about Chinese religious paintings. By addressing issues of image-making,
imperial patronage, regionalism, and religious practice, this
study seeks to show how these Daoist images have revealed various
facets of painting practices and ritual performances in the
twelfth-and-thirteenth century China.
The various chapters of this dissertation propose a sequence
for studying the Boston triptych: from the opening stage of
its production to the time when it was finished and used in
a ritual context. The exquisite quality of the triptych links
a small body of extant works previously attributed to earlier
painters or simply treated as anonymous works. Altogether, they
belong to the little studied Southern Song imperial collection
and workshop production. Stylistic analysis of the Boston triptych
and comparison with Buddhist, landscape and birds-and-flowers
paintings and prints in the metropolitan Hangzhou and provincial
Ningpo, Zhejiang suggests a date of the late twelfth to the
early thirteenth century.
The Boston triptych is a powerful visual statement that documents
the intricate intersection of image making and religious practice.
Its encyclopedic array of the deities of Heaven, Earth and Water
(tianguan, diguan, shuiguan), spirits and a human ghost suggests
that it was a set of efficacious images (ling xiang) used in
a Daoist mortuary ritual huangluzhai similar to a Buddhist shuilu
hui. Both Daoist canon and ethnographical sources have shown
that paintings like the Boston triptych were hung alongside
other painted Daoist deities in Daoist rituals, whose common
repertoire includes sending petitions to the gods, summoning
them to a ritual, warding off evil spirits and exorcising human
souls. Consider the Boston triptych in such a performative setting.
Its positioning and the style signifies the efficacious presence
of the mobile cosmic powers summoned by the Daoist practitioners
to restore the universe to a natural order governed by the Dao,
or the Way.
Hyland, Elizabeth Watts
Oracles Of The True Ones: Scroll One [Zhengao]
Ph.D. 1984
University of California, Berkeley
The introduction discusses the dynamic character of the Chinese
concept of divinity and the qualifications of the human beings
who communicated with it through the use of talismans and the
ling-bao relationship.Biographical material concerning Yang
Xi, the visionary responsible for the text, is given.The general
nature of the visionary experience of the text is outlined.
A summons arrives through dreams, wilderness retreats, or illness.
Initiation is given through the direct instruction of higher
beings or through mediumistic means and emphasizes the visionary
replacement of mortal parts of mind and body with immortal substitutes.
The power of visionary flight through the cosmos results. Music
provides motivational power for this flight. Trees, flowers,
and fruit provide protection and power, as do animals. Human
and spiritual figures act as teachers, guides, testers, and
spouses. Dangers involve battles with demons, countered by weapons
such as mirrors, bells, and knowledge of the demons' names.
Rewards include the revelation of esoteric knowledge, marriage
with a divine spouse, and access to high mystical realms.Instances
of shared symbolism between the Oracles and the earlier Chu
Ci are discussed. The general pattern of the cosmic flight is
similar in many respects, though often differing in emotional
tone.Trigrams, hexagrams, and other symbols from the Yi Jing
are used in the Oracles to organize the mundane and supermundane
realms. Key figures in the Oracles, human or divine, embody
different trigrams or hexagrams at different points in their
religious development.Lastly, the importance of the concept
of "equalization," apparently derived from Chuangzi,
is discussed. "Equalization" is the mental attitude
or state of being whereby such opposites as mortal and immortal
are united in mystical vision. "Equalization" is embodied
in the random (xiao-yao) motion of the immortals.The introduction
is followed by a translation of the first scroll of the Oracles,
together with footnotes.
Kam, Tak Sing
Manchu-Tibetan Relations In The Early Seventeenth Century: A
Reappraisal
Ph.D. 1994
Harvard University
This dissertation, which focuses on the relations of the early
Ch'ing state with Tibet, is part of a book-length project that
re-examines the rise of the Manchus against the backdrop of
seventeenth-century Inner Asia.It consists of two parts. Part
one challenges the current theory that the Manchus, who were
thought to be non-believers in Tibetan Buddhism, only patronized
the faith to win the allegiance of the Mongols. My findings
show that the Manchus were in fact polytheistic: in addition
to Tibetan Buddhism, they also followed shamanism, Taoism and
Chinese Buddhism. Their belief in the faith was sincere, as
evidenced by their translating the Mahayana sutras into Manchu,
their frequent citing from Buddhist scriptures like the Subhasitaratnanidhi
in their discourses, and their receiving the empowerment (abisekha),
a tantric ritual, from their gurus. Had the Manchus wanted to
exploit the religion to impinge upon Mongolian politics through
the Dalai Lama, it would not have happened before 1643, when
the dGe-lugs-pa emerged victorious from the sectarian struggle
that had long divided the lamaist oecumene.Part two contains
selective translations and transliterations of fourteen stele
inscriptions written in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan,
which I have used throughout Section One to support my thesis.
Katz, Paul Russell
Plague Festivals In Chekiang In Late Imperial China (Taoism)
Ph.D. 1990
Princeton University
My dissertation is about plague festivals held throughout the
province of Chekiang in late imperial China. Such festivals
were usually staged during the summer months, and culminated
in the expulsion of the demons responsible for epidemics. The
focus of the dissertation is on the different people who supported
these festivals, and their motives for doing so.I have chosen
the cult and festival of the deity Marshall Wen as the case
study for this dissertation. Marshall Wen's cult arose in Chekiang
during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and was supported
by people representing all levels of Chinese society, including
Taoist priests, scholar-officials, and merchants. While Taoist
priests appear to have been behind the founding of many of Wen's
early temples, it was the support of the later two groups which
proved critical in stimulating the cult's growth.The overriding
concern of this dissertation is to explore the influence of
social class on an individual's beliefs and practices. The evidence
assembled does indicate that class could shape belief in a deity
or participation in a festival. At the same time, however, beliefs
and practices cannot be solely classified by class due to social
mobility and the extensive interaction between people of different
classes in late imperial China.
Kim, Hye Sook
The Influence Upon Korean Painting of Taoism and Son-Buddhism
Ed.D. 1990
Columbia University Teachers College
This dissertation traces the transition of Korean painting from
the 14th Century to the present. Examined are the basic criteria
of aesthetic judgment of Tao and Son-Buddhism, on Korean art
as it evolved to the present.The dissertation is an attempt
to determine how Korean painting made its own transition in
relation to the Tao -Son-Buddhism. Within this concept two ideas
are discussed for their influence on Korean art; one is the
Taoist idea of identification, interfusion, and the unification
of Yin-Yang principle; the second is Son-Buddhism the seeking
of the non-dual mind, of nothingness in man's being.Particularly
representative of the spirit of Tao and Son-Buddhism in the
production of Korean art is a quality inherent in the art works
that reflects to the inexpressible ultimate, or that mysterious
element which man shares with nature.The study deals with the
characteristics of Korean paintings which were strongly influenced
by the Sung, Yeun, Ming, and Ching dynasty's paintings. The
influence that Chinese art had on Korean literati painting is
discussed and examined. Reference is made to illustrations accompanying
the text.After 1910, the impact of foreign influence agitated
Korean art and set in motion a trend toward Westernization.
The final chapters present the aims of the modern art movement
and the events and influences which have shaped Korean Modern！Contemporary
Art. Having absorbed foreign influences, currently most Korean
artists are engaged in working in international styles, thus,
in conclusion the current conditions of Korean contemporary
art world are examined and supported by accompanying illustrations.
Kirkland, J. Russell
An Inquiry Into The Perceived Significance of Eminent Taoists
In Medieval Chinese Society
Ph.D. 1986
Indiana University
This study seeks to contribute to the understanding of the Taoist
tradition and Chinese cultural history through an analysis of
the biographies of seven Taoists of the high T'ang dynasty (705-756
CE). The seven subjects include the ecclesiastical leaders Ssu-ma
Ch'eng-chen and Li Han-kuang; the poet Wu Yun; the high official
Ho Chih-chang; the wonder-worker Yeh Fa-shan; the recluse Wang
Hsi-i; and the pious female Taoist Huang Ling-wei. The biographical
materials examined include memorial inscriptions (and other
near-contemporary appreciations), and biographical accounts
preserved in religious texts, literary anthologies, and official
historical compilations (such as the T'ang dynastic histories).
More than two dozen biographies are translated, and numerous
other accounts are summarized.The purpose of the study was to
discover the role(s) which Taoists were perceived to play in
Chinese society, and thereby to determine why such Taoists were
regarded as significant and memorable members of society. The
research compared the treatment which the figures received during
their lifetimes with the manner in which their lives were presented
in later biographical materials. The textual analyses were designed
to circumvent the idiosyncrasies and ideological biases of individual
biographers in order to discern perspectival continuities which
reveal general cultural patterns.Taoists have long been viewed
as self-centered individuals who sought personal spiritual development
with little or no concern for others. But the present research
discloses a common assumption that Taoists espoused and embodied
values harmonious with those of society at large, particularly
the values of Confucian literati and of the imperial state itself.
Taoists were viewed as responsible members of society, whose
moral and intellectual attainments made them welcome in court
society. Because the T'ang rulers desired to be esteemed as
sage-kings who were supported by illustrious worthies, they
frequently summoned Taoists to court. Consequently, later Confucian
historians adduced such Taoists as exemplars of the ideal of
dedication to the throne. The findings of this study suggest
a need to rethink many common assumptions concerning the role
of Taoism in traditional Chinese society.
Kleeman, Terry Frederick
Wenchang And The Viper: The Creation Of A Chinese National God
(Taoism)
Ph.D. 1988
University Of California, Berkeley
The Book of Transformations is the auto-hagiography of a god
best known as Wenchang, the "god of literature." Revealed
through spirit writing in 1181, it united in one deity a local
thunder god of northern Sichuan once called simply "the
Viper" and the constellation thought to control the fates
of the scholar-official class. The present dissertation presents
a historical study of the development of the cult followed by
an annotated translation of the Book of Transformations.Chapter
one treats the earliest records of the primitive nature deity,
tracing his survival into the tenth century. Chapter two examines
the process through which Chinese nature deities like the Viper
were assigned human identities, in this case a fourth-century
hero named Zhang Ezi, then chronicles the imperial patronage
accorded this hero god. Chapter three describes how the god
of Zitong developed a specialization in foretelling the results
of the examinations and how this won him a following among the
most influential members of Chinese society. The revelations
of the twelfth century, which claimed for the god a Taoist identity
as the keeper of the Cinnamon Record of merit and demerit in
the constellation Wenchang, are the topic of chapter four. Chapter
five sketches the later history of the cult, focusing on the
expansion of the cult beyond Sichuan, the official recognition
under the Yuan, conservative rejection in the Ming, and the
final victory of the cult under the Qing, with the elevation
of the god to the rank of Confucius.The conclusion proposes
a pattern of development from primitive nature spirit to hero
god, state god, god of alized religion and, finally, popular,
universal deity, and delineates the unitary sacred realm that
informs the Book of Transformations. This sixth chapter closes
with a consideration of why the national cult to Wenchang should
have developed at the time and place it did.Chapter seven introduces
the textual history of the Book of Transformations. An appendix
traces the history of the constellation Wenchang and its worship.
Kwon, Seon-Hee Suh
Eric Voegelin And Lao Tzu: The Search For Order (Voegelin Eric,
Political Theory, China, Taoism)
Ph.D. 1991
Texas Tech University
This is a cross-cultural study by contrasting political thoughts
of Eric Voegelin and Lao Tzu. Eric Voegelin argues that his
political theory is based upon universal experiences. In the
process of developing his arguments, Voegelin uses Chinese experiences
as evidence to buttress his theory. His exposition about the
Chinese case, however, focuses mainly on the Confucian interpretation
of human existence and neglects the Taoist experiences, which
constitute an important part of the backbone of every aspect
of Chinese civilization. Accordingly, this study examines the
extent to which Voegelin's theoretical concepts can be applicable
in explaining and understanding the thought of Lao Tzu, who
represents the early Taoist thinking. For this purpose, we contrast
four major themes developed by Voegelin and Lao Tzu, respectively.
These are openness toward transcendence, human nature, knowledge,
and political society. A significant difference between Voegelin
and Lao Tzu is manifested in their interpretations about human
existence in relation to transcendent truth. Voegelin understands
human existence as a tension toward transcendence, whereas Lao
Tzu regards it as a harmony with transcendence. This divergence
also has important implications in their views of political
society, especially the recognition process of political ity
which Voegelin visualizes as a conflict one and Lao Tzu as a
harmonious one. In spite of these profound differences, Voegelin
and Lao Tzu share many fundamental experiences of human living.
Voegelin and Lao Tzu acknowledge both the finitude of human
existence and human efforts to search for the infinite divine
ground of existence, recognizing multidimensional aspects of
human life which are comprised of material and spiritual dimensions,
at every level of existence. They also arrive at the same conclusion
that true knowledge is concerned about the well-being of life
as a whole. We can find in their philosophies a common ground
of human experience, on which we can walk as human beings.
Kwong, Charles Yim-Tze
The Artistic World Of Tao Qian (365-427): The Poet And His Age
(China, Symbolism, Neo-Daoism)
Ph.D. 1989
University Of Pittsburgh
Taoism is a term with several connotations. On the one hand,
it refers to Dao-chia, a philosophy or school of philosophers
attributed to the thoughts of the two most well-known philosophers
of feudal China, Lao-zi and Zhuang-zi. On the other hand, Taoism
also refers to Dao-jiao, religious Taoism. Under this second
heading can be included a wide range of activities such as the
self-oriented practice of lian-dan (alchemy) and meditation,
and other-oriented ritual practice of exorcism and curing, and
of cosmic renewal. Regardless of the purposes of these activities,
they are all aimed at achieving the union between the Yang and
Yin, the vital sources of energy in the universe, thus gaining
eternal life and blessing from the transcendent Dao. As a major
indigenous religio-philosophical tradition of China, Taoism
has played an important role in the life of the people of China
for well over eighteen hundred s. This present study concerns
itself with the other-oriented religious Taoism, with particular
interest in the music employed during its ritual activities.The
focus of this dissertation is a specific one: the repertoire
of the music performed during the seven-day Yu-lan Pen-hui (Feeding
the hungry ghost festival). In time, I emphasize the present-day
Taoist practices and the specific seven-day period in 1987 (August
31 to September 6, or lunar 8 to 14 of the seventh month) during
which a particular ritual, Yu-lan Pen-hui, took place. In space
I emphasize those musical practices at a specific Taoist temple
in Hong Kong, the Yuen Yuen Institute, of the Quan-zhen (Perfect
Realization) sect. The objective is to collect and organize
its music repertoire into a classificatory framework that sheds
light into the working mechanism of how music is being manipulated
under ritual circumstances. Through contextualization, this
study shows that music in ritual is only one element of the
total performance. In ritual, music bridges the separation between
the two realms of interior prayer and exterior performance.
Kwong, Charles Yim-Tze
The Artistic World of Tao Qian (365-427): The Poet and His Age
(China, Symbolism, Neo-Daoism)
Ph.D. 1989
Yale University
This dissertation presents an integrated study of Tao Qian in
the context of classical (mainly pre-Qin to Six Dynasties) Chinese
poetry, thought and aesthetics. Part I charts the poet's search
for a personal and social ideal in the light of Confucianism
and Daoism, the two major philosophical traditions whose visions
of life lay down the archetypal patterns of existential quest
for any Chinese literatus with a higher sense of ideal. Moreover,
since lyrical poetry is the formalized expression of inner sentiments
and experience, these alternative visions also constitute a
macrostructure of meaning informing Tao's symbolic inscape,
which is explored in detail in Part II. It is shown that Tao's
poetry and poetics stand in fundamental unison with his ideal
in life: while variations in tone, rhythm and diction among
individual pieces of writing duly reflect different sides of
his spiritual-emotional core and the changing contours of his
inner dialectic, the entire artistic process, in crystallizing
a poetry of naturalness and simplicity, itself becomes a symbolic
parallel to the poet's quest in life for the same ideal. All
in all, as a record of his abiding sense of purpose, his renewed
resolution in remembrance of the ancient sages and his moments
of epiphanic communion with the truth of Dao in Nature, poetry
serves as a crucial source of inspiration which not only sustains
Tao in his lifelong quest, but enables him at times to attain
a spiritual-aesthetic transcendence of a shattering historical
reality.
Record
Kwong, Chunwah
Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity, and The Restructuring
of Their Public Roles In Hong Kong (1984-1998) (China, Church
and State)
Ph.D. 1999 Baylor University
This dissertation is an attempt to analyse the changes in the
public role of religion in Hong Kong society during the period
of political transition from colonial rule to incorporation
of Hong Kong into mainland China (1984-1998). The thesis of
this dissertation is that the public roles of different religions
have undergone a major restructuring during this period.Traditional
Confucianism had assumed the orthodox status of China's entire
thought and practice, going back to the Han Dynasty, 206 BCE-220
CE. Since then, Confucianism has controlled the educational
system and the Mandarin hierarchy in China. In Hong Kong, under
British rule, the Christian churches were given jurisdiction
to function within the educational and social welfare s, while
in mainland China these social roles belonged to the Confucian
hierarchy.Even before Hong Kong was incorporated into mainland
China on 1 July 1997, the public roles of the religions in Hong
Kong had already undergone a democratisation process. To provide
a broader context for understanding Hong Kong's religious culture,
an examination was made of the historical and socio-political
heritage, the Chinese religious culture, the issues of religious
freedom, and the activities of the religious groups during this
transitional period. Personal interviews with religious leaders
in Hong Kong were conducted for this study.In July 1997, different
religious groups held meetings in response to the incorporation
of Hong Kong into the People's Republic of China. Observations
and analysis of those meetings were made to ascertain the responses
of Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism to the new
socio-political trends.For Taoists, Buddhists, and Confucians,
Hong Kong's incorporation into mainland China was an opportunity
for raising their social status. Under the cultural consideration,
they gave full support for the promoting of Chinese traditional
culture in Hong Kong by Tung Cheehwa, the first Chief Executive
of post-colonial Hong Kong. Christian leaders, under a democratisation
process of the public role of religion, sought to transform
their ministry in this new socio-political functional structure
in society. For the , the prophetic ministry will be the most
viable public role for Christianity in this new situation.
Lee, Kyung Jay
Difference and Nothingness (Buddhism, Taoism)
Ph.D. 1991
State University of New York At Stony Brook
The modern age is the constructive age of self-consciousness
and self-closure. The system of closure is only possible with
the repression of difference. Postmodernism operates at the
margins of the system of closure and searches for irreducible
difference and radical otherness. Hence the characteristic of
postmodernism is de-constructive. At issue in this postmodern
spirit is what is the most forgotten "other" in Western
thinking. This is the starting point of our inquiry for a dialogue
between Western and Eastern thought. Since Western thinking
is Being-centric, its repressed difference is nothing. "Nothing"
has never been seriously thought in Western onto-theology. In
formal logic (the principle of non-contradiction), the question
of nothing is devalued as the negation of identity. Though in
dialectical logic (Hegel) negation is elevated as the highest
category of Being, difference as difference is never though
about. In theology, nothing is considered an evil to be overcome
by either God as Being (Tillich) or Christ as God's kenotic
event (Barth). With Nietzsche, ontotheology comes to an end,
and Nothing comes to the fore as nihilism. However, Nietzshe
never asked about the essence of Nothing, but thought about
Nothing nihilistically within the realm of metaphysics. With
Heidegger's deconstructive step-back from metaphysical thinking,
nothing is thought as nothing at the line of difference. Difference
itself is the crossed line of Being, the Open of a-letheia,
the between line of Being and Nothing. Heidegger's thinking
of difference as such provides a significant foundation for
the dialogue between East and West. Difference as such is the
absolute Nothingness without reification. Buddhism calls this
Sunyata that is the essence of pratityasamupada and Nagarjuna's
"middle." Also Heidegger's Being can be understood
as Lao-Tzu's Tao. Why is Heidegger's deconstructive thinking
parallel to Siniticism? What is the perceptual common ground
of their dialectic of difference? The thinking of Heidegger
and Siniticism predominately operates in what Walter Ong calls
oral/aural perception against chirographic/typographic perception.
In the oral/aural perception, nothing is not no-thing as "not-seeing"
(not-eido), but silence as "emerging-enduring-power"
(physis).
Lee, Mei-Hwa
The Interplay Of Buddhism And Taoism In "The Dream Of The
Red Chamber" And Hermann Hesse's "Demian"
Ph.D. 1996
University of South Carolina
The present dissertation studies the influence of Buddhism and
Taoism in The Dream of the Red Chamber. The interplay of both
schools in the novel is revealed in three aspects: the structure,
the hero's character, and his developmental process. In discussing
the last aspect, I compare Baoyu's inner journey with that of
Sinclair's in Hermann Hesse's novel, Demian. The comparison
unfolds from Joseph Campbell's formula of a hero's journey！departure,
initiation, and return.The first chapter gives an introduction
of Buddhism and Taoism. It stresses the role of nothingness/non-being
in the origin of being in both philosophies. The Buddhist view
of the life process！Birth, Stasis, Mutation, Extinction！governs
the structure of the novel, which presents the rise, prosperity,
change, and fall of the Jia family (Chapter 2). The Taoist "negative"
approach to life for a positive result is discovered in the
molding of the hero's character. His non-practical attitude
proves to be of great value as far as his final enlightenment
is concerned (Chapter 3).The final chapter traces Baoyu's inner
journey. It is enlightenment through the experience of love
in four stages: from Void to Form
Passion engendered from and reverted to Form
and from Form back to the Void. This process is equivalent to
the Buddhist theory of "Twelve Conditioned Geneses."
And this pattern of departure-initiation-return is compatable
to Sinclair's in Demian. Baoyu starts from a stone in the "Great
Void, Land of Illusion," takes on human form to experience
the vanity of human passion, and returns to the Void again by
entering the Gate of Emptiness. As for Sinclair, he departs
from his dependent childhood, confronts the dark side of his
unconscious, and finally comes to terms with himself by returning
to the collective unconscious！his "Demian." By responding
to the call to self-realization, both heroes become themselves.
Lin, Fu-Shih
Chinese Shamans and Shamanism In The Chiang-Nan Area During
The Six Dynasties Period (3rd-6th Century A.D.)
Ph.D. 1994
Princeton University
This is a study of Chinese shamans and shamanism in the Chiang-nan
area during the Six Dynasties period (3rd-6th centuries A.D.).
As defined in Chapter Two, Chinese shamans, known as wu, were
persons of both sexes who served as intermediaries between humans
and spirits. Most of them were of humble origin, poor, and not
well-educated. Chapter Three focuses on shamanistic rituals.
I divide them into three types: rites of communication, of exchange
or contract, and of antagonism. I also describe the general
features of the ritual performance. In Chapter Four I examine
the beliefs related to shamanistic practices. Their fundamental
idea was that there is a spirit-world that interacts closely
with the human world and is accessible to humans, especially
the shaman. This spirit-world was composed of six categories
of spirits, and was conceived of as a disunited empire with
several co-existing kingdoms, each kingdom having its own lord,
hierarchical bureaucracy, and social structure.In Chapter Five
I explore the shaman's social functions. With shamanistic techniques,
especially possession, shamans helped people to resolve various
life-crises. Hence they attracted a great number of followers
who belonged to all social strata and were present in every
segment of society. However, as Chapter Six shows, frequently
they were attacked and criticized by Taoists, Buddhists, literati
officials, and even emperors. Finally, I conclude that the basic
features of Chinese shamanism did not change dramatically during
the Six Dynasties. But their relationship with state power and
their social functions changed, and their monopoly of unofficial
religion was broken by Taoism and Buddhism. At any rate, shamanism
stayed alive in this period.
Loo, Andrew
The Chinese Sages As Communicative Actors
Ph.D. 1994
University of Hawaii
This dissertation is based on Jurgen Habermas's theory of communicative
action. Habermas uses communicative action as his main notion
for distinguishing among four types of social actions: teleological,
normatively regulated, dramaturgical and communicative action.
The main characteristics of communicative action are: (1) the
interaction of at least two subjects capable of speech and action,
(2) who try to reach an understanding about the interpretation
of what constitutes the action situation, and (3) who try to
coordinate their actions by way of agreement, or "consensus."Our
main task is to apply the lessons learned about communicative
action to two pre-Han Chinese traditions in the context of "words-deeds."
I will emphasize the prominence of li, ritual action in the
Confucian tradition, and te, potency, and tzu-jan, spontaneity
in the Taoist tradition.I shall inter-relate the Confucian li,
t'i, cheng-ming, and tao and similarly wu-wei, wu-chih, wu-yu,
t' and tao for the Taoists and show how they form an "integrated"
concept cluster. This will bring about a rapprochement between
the Confucian and Taoist as a "fusion of horizons."
We can take our stance between the two traditions to give us
a better perspective to discover the shift in paradigm from
a more yang to a more yin tradition. Correlatively, the main
thrust of Taoism is a criticism of the Confucian ideology of
the "tao of moral suasion."In general, the Confucian
and Taoist sages are expert hermeneutic practitioners. They
can explicate the relation between words and deeds, which abound
in the Analects and in Mencius. They also can interpret the
polarity between knowledge and action, which, in the Taoist
case, becomes the "discarding of knowledge" (wu-chih),
and wu-wei, of acting in a non-interfering way.We would also
stress the side of "communicative receptivity," which
builds upon the "passive" and "active" aspects
of communicative action. In this regard, the Taoist concepts
wu-wei, wu-chih, wu-yu, emphasize the non-contending, non-competitive
aspects of our communicative receptivities. We will advance
a concept of Chinese "sweet reasonableness" instead
of the Western stress on "rationality." The clue to
this reasonableness is the paradigm exemplified in Chuang-tzu's
"goblet rationality," which is a metaphorical-evocative
method of creating new and startling meanings, values, and significances.i
Luo, Ming Hui
The Taoist Ritual Music Study of Yunnan Jian-Chuan Bai People
(Chinese Text)
Ph.D. 1998 Chinese University of Hong Kong (People's Republic
of China)
The Taoist Ritual Music among Chinese minorities is an important
research area, which deserves intensive exploration. Based on
the author's field study, sufficient first-hand data are provided
to analyze the Bai minority ritual music. Systematic research
was conducted on the related aspect such as the ritual based
on which this type of music was evolved, and its geographic
and humanistic environment. The topics under examination include:
the propagation and influence of the Taoist, the relationship
between Taoism and the inherent worship practiced by Bai minority,
the participants and venues in which this type of music is practiced,
the application and procedure of Tract, Jian-chuan Taoist ritual,
the presentation style and characteristics of the ritual music
of Jian-chuan Bai minority music, the geological feature of
the music type and its relationship with Jian-chuan folk music,
its relationship with Long Hu Shan Tian Shi Dao, and, issues
concerning Dong-Jing music. The analysis of this study contributes
to literature on the Taoist ritual music among Chinese minorities.
Ma, Xiao-Hong
The First Taoist Pantheon: T'ao Hung-Ching (456-536 Ce) and
His "Chen-Ling-Wei-Yeh-T'u" (China, Fifth Century,
Deities)
Ph.D. 1998
Temple University
The first Taoist pantheon, Chen-ling-wei-yeh-t'u (Table of the
Hierarchy of the Real Transcendents), was composed by Tao Hung-ching,
a famous Taoist scholar and master in the fifth century. T'ao's
literary erudition, his knowledge of early Taoist tradition,
and his interest in other traditions makes his composition of
the pantheon tremendously meaningful for the growth of Taoist
religion. The pantheon contains seven ranks on which over six
hundred deities were distributed. The investigation of the structure
of the pantheon and the origins of major divine beings shows
that the Taoist ideas of divinity were mostly a continuation
of ancient Chinese spirit cults and religious ideas, namely,
ancient worship of heavenly beings, ideas of immortality, and
belief in the postmortem life. Furthermore, Taoist theology
found in the pantheon also derived from the ancient mythological
narratives and the traditional ideas of cosmology and cosmogony.
A certain kind of Chinese mythological euhemerism gave rise
to the major divine beings and became the basic source for the
Taoist divinities. Moreover, various ancient Chinese cosmologies
are clearly related to the basic structure of the pantheon.
The origin of the major deities in the pantheon shows that the
spirit cults in Han times, which were transmitted by the traditions
of Fang-shih (Magicians) and Wu (Shamans), entered into the
mainstream of Taoist cults of divinity. The investigation of
the social context of the pantheon and the social roles of the
divine figures shows that it was the social upheavals and the
Buddhist challenge during the second and fourth century that
promoted the configuration of Taoist religion and its divine
world. The composition of the pantheon suggests that the Taoist
tradition can be traced back to a time even before Lao Tzu's
teachings. In this sense, Taoism represents a continuation of
the pre-Han Chinese intellectual and religious heritage in general.
Miller, James
The Economy Of Cosmic Power: A Theory Of Religious Transaction
And A Comparative Study Of Shangqing Daoism And The Christian
Religion Of Augustine Of Hippo
Ph.D. 2000
Boston University
This dissertation develops a theory called "The Economy
of Cosmic Power." The theory argues that religious practices
may be understood as transactions of power that take place between
religious practitioners and the cosmological contexts in which
they are embedded. This theory is necessary in order to understand
the practices of the religious movement known as Shangqing ("Highest
Clarity") Daoism that began in southern China towards the
end of the fourth century C.E. This theory makes it possible
to establish a comparison between Shangqing Daoism and other
religious traditions on the topic of religious action and proposes
the hypothesis that religious action may legitimately be understood
in this cosmological framework. In order to test the hypothesis,
Shangqing Daoism is compared with the Christian religion of
Augustine
Chapter 1 locates the dissertation in the context of Durkheim's
theory of religious action. Chapter 2 explains the concept of
dao as the matrix of cosmic power which generates and structures
the diversity of human life. It then explains the notion of
cosmic power (de) as the possibility of interactive communication
between human beings and their destiny (ming), the celestial
constellation of cosmic forces which determines the configuration
of human lives. From this unfolds the theory that religious
practices are transactions that take place between people and
this cosmic matrix in such an economy of cosmic power..
The theory is then developed in four stages, each of which provides
an opportunity for four comparative studies: (1) the Shangqing
view of the body and Augustine¨s rejection of Manichaeism; (2)
the Shangqing view of death and Augustine¨s battle with the
Donatists; (3) the Shangqing visualization of body gods and
Augustine¨s Confessions; (4) the Shangqing transformation of
sexual practices and Augustine¨s debate with Julian of Eclanum.
The conclusion assesses the significance of the dissertation
for the comparative study of religion and points to areas for
future study.
An Appendix contains partial translations of the Huangting neijing
jing and the Jiuzhen zhongjing.
Molloy, Stephen
A Critique of Interpretations of Max Weber's "Confucianism
and Taoism" and An Explication Based On Sociological and
Sinological Contexts
Ph.D. 1989
University of Leeds (United Kingdom)
The thesis presents an analysis and re-interpretation of Max
Weber's essay on Chinese religions and society, "Konfuzianismus
und Taoismus" (KuT). It aims at an explication and clarification
of the text through reference to its sinological context, and
its sociological context in Weber's series of essays on the
economic ethics of the world religions. In particular, it attempts
to demonstrate the inappropriateness of reading the essay as
an "idealist" or "culturalist" explanation
of the absence of modern rational capitalism from traditional
China.Part One (chs. 1-3) identifies the essay's lack of an
explicit and integral analytical structure as a key problem
of interpretation, and reconstructs the one originally advanced
by Weber in his general introduction to the essays on the "Economic
Ethics of the World Religions". This identifies the three
problematics of KuT as: (1) a configurational comparison of
Confucianism, Taoism, and Puritanism as forms of practical rationalism;
(2) a causal analysis of the historical development of the distinctive
characteristics of Chinese religions, with particular reference
to the dialectical influence of material and ideal interests;
(3) a consequential analysis of the significance of Chinese
religions for the formation of economic mentalities, and the
non-development of a rational capitalist economy.Parts Two and
Three (chs. 4-12) analyse and reconstruct the text in relation
to these three problematics. Part Four (chs. 13-14) reappraises
Weber's conclusions in the light of the foregoing and considers
the extent to which KuT advances Weber's theses on the relative
autonomy of religious doctrines and their practical and economic
ethics.The overall conclusion is that Weber found the al complex
of non-religious phenomena in China to be unfavourable to the
development of capitalism, but this has itself to be explained
as a product of the historical interaction between political
organisation and religious traditions which underpinned fundamentally
the specific course of both Western and Chinese social and economic
history.
Nickerson, Peter Samuel
Taoism, Death, and Bureaucracy In Early Medieval China
Ph.D. 1996
University of California, Berkeley
The dissertation analyzes the bureaucratization of religious
organization, ritual, and cosmology in early Taoism. It emphasizes
the way that process shaped Taoism's relations with popular
religious traditions. Early Taoists used bureaucratic forms
in their attempts to subordinate their popular religious competitors.
In so doing, however, they not only distanced themselves from,
but also tied themselves to, their competition. The study ranges
chronologically between the first and tenth centuries A.D.,
but concentrates on southeastern China during the late fourth
through early sixth centuries. The focus is on the three principal
early Taoist lineages: Celestial Master (T'ien shih), Shang-ch'ing,
and (to a lesser ) Ling-pao.Chapter 1 examines Lu Hsiu-ching's
(406-477) account of early Taoist history and Taoist church
organization. Chapters 2-4 discuss mortuary and related rituals:
the use in funerals of written documents in the form of official
governmental communications, and the ritual of "petitioning
celestial officials" that was used to combat "sepulchral
plaints"！lawsuits brought in the magistracies of the underworld
that could afflict the living kin of the accused with illness.
Despite the Taoists' bureaucratization of ritual and the afterlife,
their innovations built on, rather than supplanted, archaic
shamano-exorcistic traditions. Bureaucratization did not necessitate
a thorough break with the past.Chapters 5-7 focus on interactions
between medieval Taoists and popular ritualists. Early Taoists
were prohibited from practicing the mantic arts or patronizing
their practitioners, such as spirit mediums and geomancers.
However, virtually from the beginning there began a process
of assimilation of those same prohibited popular traditions
and even de facto collaboration between Taoist priests and mantic
practitioners. Medieval Taoists in effect recognized that there
was a necessary, if subordinate, place in ritual for the immediate
access to the supernatural the mantic arts provided. Analogously,
Taoists first termed the gods of popular religion demons (kuei),
then allowed them to redeem themselves through diligent service
to the Tao (chap. 8). Early Taoism was "pre-adapted"
for the relationship of complementarity and cooperation with
popular religion that has been observed in more recent times.
Peng, Jin-Tang
Earthly Spirituality: An Historical Study of Neo-Daoism and
Tao Yuan-Ming's Works (China, Shi Literati)
Ph.D. 1996
University of Massachusetts
Social breakdown and the failure of Han Confucianism in the
middle of third century A.D. China turned the Shi literati to
Daoism for inspiration to construct an authentic way of life.
The subsequent one hundred and fifty s were a cultural process
of dissonant cacophony, in which the synthesis of the two ideologies
finally had to give way to Buddhism. The process, what is called
the Neo-Daoist Movement, is to date still in demand of an interdisciplinary,
vigorously historical, study.This writing traces a dialectical
cultural and mental development by examining the Shi-literati's
life and works, including philosophy and literature, and their
often exaggerated behavior in everyday life. It reveals that,
in ning for a life of transcendence, the Shi also wanted to
maintain their worldly engagement, and subsequently constructed
a paradoxical world view that provided them a spiritual space
in a time of social turmoil. By investigating the Shi's cosmology,
and their sense of community and self-definition, the present
study elucidates the possibilities, as well as the limits, of
what they constructed as the authentic life.The possibilities
and limits can be seen most clearly in the works of Tao Yuan-mind,
a great poet who lived at the ending period of the era. Living
the life of a farmer, Tao Yuan-mind roughed through life's hardship
by taking a spiritual stance that was congenial to both Confucianism
and Daoism. In its own way, Tao's poetry brought out what Neo-Daoism
should have come to but never did. Precisely because of this
nature, Tao's works were historical while transcending the times.
In this detailed study of an individual writer and Neo-Daoism,
we complete the spiritual-mapping of the era.
Raikes, Leon Allen
Sufism, Taoism, And Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Cross-Cultural Perspective
On The Rhetoric Of The Place Between
Ph.D. 1995
Michigan State University
Conceiving of the tensions between the rhetorics of the east
and west metaphorically helps us to confront both the felt gulf
between language and learning and the conventionality of our
theory. The gulf between language and life is related to s,
cultural diversity, creativity, and search for the truth. The
place between is between active, logical categories of intelligence
and receptive, sensual categories of feeling
it has a prophetic intelligence which becomes real only in finding
a language for it.The rhetoric and pedagogies of Sufism, Taoism,
and Ralph Waldo Emerson reveal a theory of the place between
capable both of conforming and challenging modern western theories
of language and learning. The experience of the place between
arrests time, instills a special kind of Zen stupidity, disdains
discursiveness, and animates all religion. The language of the
place between involves the speaker/writer more than the audience
in a purposive disturbance of conventional thinking. Tentative
and questioning, the rhetoric of the place between celebrates
constant unsettling.The rhetoric of Sufism explores beyond reasoning
the home of the active imagination, a real place between. The
language of this place is indirect, impersonal, dependent on
surprise and symbol. An initiate brought beyond words through
words transcends the self, understands received culture as dead
culture, is creatively stimulated to doubt. The Sufi practices
prayer as a reshaping of reality. Sufism creates for modern
westerners key practical pedagogical imperatives.Similarily,
language in Zen practice enables transcendence of conditioning,
favors spontaneity over discursiveness, aims at clarity by avoiding
direct affirmation, and cures scholastics of dependence on explanations.A
key guide into eastern rhetorical insights for westerners is
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Favoring not instruction but provocation,
his rhetorical strategy gives clear answers only to take them
away. This assimilation of eastern influences helps him to focus
less on either logic or self expression and more on taking himself
out of time into the metaphorical place between.
Richey, Jeffrey L.
MAGICAL POWER AND MORAL LAW IN EARLY CHINESE THOUGHT
Ph.D. 2000
Graduate Theological Union/UC-Berkeley, 2000
Previous studies of early Chinese thought have labored under
a number of misleading assumptions: (1) early Chinese thought
is divisible into "Confucian" (Rujia) and "Daoist"
(Daojia) categories, each exclusive of the other; (2) early
Chinese texts are the composition of single authors from discrete
historical periods; (3) early Chinese ideas are best understood
as "philosophical" rather than "religious"
in character. Working with groundbreaking new research on the
historical development of early Chinese thought, this dissertation
argues against these three assumptions. It highlights features
of thought, vocabulary, and practice common to both early "Confucians"
and "Daoists," suggesting that these terms imply an
anachronistic separation between ancient Chinese spiritual lineages.
It adopts the increasingly-accepted "accretional development
theory" of representative early Chinese texts such as the
Laozi [Lao-tzu or Tao Te Ching], Lunyu [Analects], Mengzi [Mencius],
and Zhuangzi [Chuang-tzu], presenting evidence in favor of extensive
and highly heterogeneous redaction histories for these works.
Finally, by tracing the parallel development of these texts
across the Warring States and early imperial eras (ca. 479-150
BCE), it demonstrates that early Chinese thought is best understood
as combining an interest in "magical" cosmology and
causality with a commitment to "moral" psychology
and agency. Thus, theoretical models from the study of philosophy
(e.g., the natural law ethics of Josef Fuchs, S.J.) and religion
(e.g., Poo Mu-chou's notion of the "extrahuman") help
to make sense of the many historical, literary, and thematic
connections between the "Confucian" and "Daoist"
traditions. Furthermore, the use of joint disciplinary perspectives
from philosophy and religious studies allows for meaningful
comparisons between functionally-similar systems of thought
and practice in other cultures, such as contemporary Christian
ethics and traditional African magical practices.
Shao, Ping
Monkey and Chinese Scriptural Tradition: A Rereading of The
Novel Xiyou Ji (Ming, Buddhism, Taoism, Sixteenth Century)
Ph.D. 1997
Washington University
This study is a Taoist reading based on evidence inherent in
the text of Xiyou ji, a sixteenth-century Chinese novel that
has been regarded consistently since its publication as a religious
treatise. That Monkey is treated as a religious practitioner,
a human who assumes simian qualities for symbolic purposes rather
than an ape that somehow becomes religious constitutes the most
important departure of this endeavor from the critical consensus
of today. The main argument is that Monkey embodies a unified
Taoist vision what he receives from Subhuti, but only Tripitaka
is able to fully practice, is a Taoist theory that has incorporated
the Chan conception of instantaneous enlightenment. This syncretic
religion is also manifest in the issue of male chastity which
this study treats in great detail. There is evidence to suggest
that Subhuti's transmission coheres consistently with the two-stage
theory expounded by Zhang Boduan, an eleventh-century Taoist
reformer.Based on this unified religion, the study further argues
that Monkey is the only character in the novel. It proposes,
for the first time in Xiyou ji criticism, that Monkey becomes
Tripitaka following his reincarnation, and that the other characters
are merely the manifestations of Tripitaka's physical and spiritual
qualities. That Monkey undergoes reincarnation is also the basis
of a new demonology which this study proposes.In chapter 2,
this study explores the intertextual implications of the Chinese
brush motif in the context of the theories expounded by critics
such as T. S. Eliot. The point that emerges is meant as a solution
to the confusion with regard to the . It is a major theme in
Xiyou ji criticism that he knew little about religion, for the
Buddhism as we find it in his work got all mixed up with Taoism.
This study argues that the Buddhist legend is simply a framework
of religious symbolism that he used skillfully to embody a Taoist
belief, and that Zhang Boduan's syncretic theory constitutes
the basis of his syncretic religion. This study has also uncovered
a number of subtle religious allusions for the first time in
Xiyou ji criticism.
Shaw, Stephen John
The Dynamic Interplay Between Silence and Language In Heidegger
and Taoism (Heidegger, Martin, Comparative Metaphysics)
Ph.D. 1995
State University of New York At Buffalo
One of the more obvious themes in Martin Heidegger's philosophy
is his strongly metaphysical and ontological treatment of language.
He, more than anybody else, weds the metaphysical to the linguistic.
Thus, language (logos) is shown to be the voice of Being calling
out such that Dasein will heed it and allow Being to come to
light through language. This dissertation, however, exhibits
Stille, the voice of Seyn, as the a-causal primordial condition
for logos, the voice of Sein.Traditional comparative philosophical
studies concerning Heidegger have mentioned superficial links
with Taoism, but have not conclusively demonstrated (1) how
the two metaphysical systems have parity, if in fact they do,
and (2) if the Taoist 'side' shares this link between language
and metaphysics.This dissertation touches on both. I claim the
yin-yang Tao dynamic finds (minimal) parity in Heidegger, and
furthermore that the traditional view concerning the Taoist
view of language is wrong. Specifically, in the Chuang Tzu I
claim the bridge between language and metaphysics is achieved
with chih yen and wang ming.There are, though, obvious differences,
and these will be illuminated, for knowledge of limitations
is also knowledge of foundations. It is hoped that this groundwork
exploration of the primordiality for Heidegger and Taoism and
the link with language allows for further discussion. The most
important difference lies in the fact that while Being is essentially
language, or logos, Tao has no such identity. The similarity
lies in the transparency of language.In addition to exploring
the strengths of the contact points between Heidegger and Taoism,
this dissertation examines both philosophies in novel ways.
(1) I claim that for Heidegger, his use of Seyn is not synonymous
with Sein as is traditionally held. (2) I establish the unity
of the yin-yang dynamic！it is not, as traditionally held, separable
into two elements. (3) I show the traditional belief in the
supposed antipathy Taoism has towards language to be incorrect.
Suh, Jung-Hyung
Taoist Impact On Hua-Yen Buddhism: A Study of The Formation
of Hua-Yen Worldview
Ph.D. 1997
The University of Wisconsin - Madison
The ultimate purpose of this study is to place the position
that Chinese Hua-yen Buddhism assumes in the history of the
Mahayana Buddhist thought. Hua-yen typically shows a bilateral
aspect of a cultural phenomenon; it is often acclaimed as being
a culmination of Chinese Buddhism on one hand, and is also criticized
for its secession from original teaching of the historical Buddha
on the other. Given the Buddhist terminology, a cause (hetu),
which is Buddhism taught by the Buddha, Sakyamuni, through interaction
with conditions (pratyaya), which are the cultural settings
of India and China, gave birth to an effect (phala), which is
Hua-yen.India is the cradle of Buddhism and produced the Avatamsaka-Sutra
(Hua-yen ching), while China provided Buddhism with the exuberant
Classics, one of which is Taoism, handed down from pre-Han dynasties.
If either one of these factors is ignored, the peculiarities
of Hua-yen thought would not expose themselves to us. The ,
therefore, bearing in mind the Indian Buddhist traditions, such
as the doctrines reserved in the Agama, Madhyamika and the Yogacara
scriptures, mainly focuses on the Taoist impact on the Hua-yen
philosophy.of Taoist philosophical branches or sectarian movements,
Neo-Taoism founded by Wang Pi and Kuo Hsiang exerted critical
influences on Chinese thinkers to come, irrespective of their
fields of philosophy: first, through so-called Ch'ing-t'an (the
Pure Discourse) movement, which dominated the intellectual environment
of mediaeval China for nearly 400 s in the Wei-Chin Nan-Pei
dynasties (A.D. 214-589), Neo-Taoism centered a social circle
where three major Chinese thoughts, Taoism, Confucianism and
Buddhism, interacted under relatively free circumstances; second,
through Hsuan-hsueh (the Profound Learning) consisting of one
Confucianist and two Taoist Classics, it established and completed
Chinese metaphysics which served the backbone of Chinese philosophical
thought.This is the cultural milieu that Hua-yen sprouted, grew,
and bore fruit. More specifically, the paradigm of Hua-yen doctrine
embodied in Li-shih (Noumenon and Phenomena), t'i-yung (Substance
and Function), etc. were imported from the Taoist worldview
and penetrated the fabric of Hua-yen ontology.
Tang, Yiming
The Voices of Wei-Jin Scholars: A Study of 'Qingtan' (China,
Taoism, Buddhism, Conversationalists)
Ph.D. 1991
Columbia University
This dissertation, a study of the form, content and development
of qingtan or "pure conversation" from the late Han
through the Six Dynasties, focuses mainly on the Wei-Jin period
(A.D. 220-420). It begins with a bibliographical introduction
to modern scholarship on qingtan and its principal historical
source, the Shishuo Xinyu, and closes with an appended article
in Chinese where the present explores the traditional and modern
meanings of qingtan, qingyi and other cognate terms. Part I
of the dissertation proper describes in Chapter One the cultivation
of qingtan as a social art and intellectual exercise, and lists
in Chapter Two the themes of such conversations. Topics derived
from the key Taoist texts, the Book of Changes, the School of
Names, and Buddhist sutras are given especial attention. Part
II devotes three chapters to the historical development of qingtan.
Chapter Three establishes the linkage between the articulate
scholars suffering persecution during the last s of the Eastern
Han and the incipient movement toward qingtan. The careers of
such conversationalists as Xun Can, He Yan, Xiahou Xuan, Wang
Bi, and Zhong Hui are cited in the same chapter as evidence
for the first flowering of qingtan in the Wei dynasty. Chapter
Four goes on to describe its temporary withering during the
first s of the Eastern Jin and its second flowering during a
later period distinguished by such conversationalists as Wang
Yan, Pei Wei, and Guo Xiang. Chapter Five emphasizes the key
role of the statesman Wang Dao for the preservation of qingtan
during the early s of the Eastern Jin, and the contributions
of such scholars as Yin Hao, Liu Tan, Wang Meng, Zhi Dun and
Sun Sheng during a third flowering of this art. After noting
the further enrichment of qingtan by Buddhist monks, the chapter
concludes with a brief account of its decline in the subsequent
Southern Dynasties.
Teeter, David M.
Simplicity In Lao Tzu And Thoreau
Ph.D. 1987
California Institute Of Integral Studies
This study makes the case that Walden is a Taoist work by comparing
it thematically and symbolically to the philosophy of Lao Tzu's
Tao Te Ching, while at the same time paying some attention to
the conditions of genesis of the two books. In generating a
hermeneutical space wherein each text uncovers and focuses the
spiritual integrity of the other, relevancy to the contemporary
dilemmas facing humankind is broached. The discussion is ultimately
rooted in the plurivocal Chaos (hun-tun) mythology of ancient
China that found reexpression in philosophic Taoism.In placing
this discussion within the comparative tradition, the effort
speaks through the hermeneutical interest to the tensions that
arise through the generation of such discourse: in facing the
problem of cultural discontinuity the comparatist faces a modern
version of the loss of Unitary reality of concern to both Lao
Tzu and Thoreau. In a discussion that turns on these problems,
this writing conceived as a hermeneutical conversation draws
heavily upon the insights of Lao Tzean and Thoreauvian criticism,
as well as from a variety of academic disciplines that touch
upon the points that link the books, including philosophy, anthropology,
psychology, history, sociology and theology. It is proposed
that "simplicity" is the term that best represents
the primary link between Lao Tzu and Thoreau and the range of
discourses that open a discussion wherein they can best speak
to each other and to present human needs.The primary parallel
between Lao Tzean and Thoreauvian simplicity involves the concept
of returning to the cosmological and ontological wild center,
from which follows the tendency of the two figures to speak
of being in the world in a similar way. This primary resemblance
ramifies into their views on work, compassion, society, spiritual
practice and even manifests in their writing styles.
Tu, Chung-Min
The World of Becoming: A Deleuzian Explication of The Middle
Way In Chinese Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism (Gilles Deleuze)
Ph.D. 1997
University of Georgia
This dissertation is written under two presuppositions: First,
there is a single vision that grounds all three philosophical
schools of Chinese thought: the Middle Way. Second, this mystical
vision in Chinese philosophy deeply echoes the concept of the
Middle in Deleuzian philosophy and thus, can be explicated through
a comparison of these two systems. The two Chinese characters
signifying the concept of the Middle Way are Zhong Dao. "Zhong"
can be translated into English as "Middle," "Between,"
"Inside," or "Centrality" whereas "Dao"
as "Path," "Way," "Course," or
"Process." In comparison with Deleuzian concepts such
as the Body Without Organs, Desiring Machines, the Fold, etc.,
the variation of meanings implied in the concept of the Middle
Way in Chinese philosophy will be explained in terms of concepts
such as Tian (Heaven) in Confucianism, Tao (The Way) in Taoism,
and Kong (Devoidness) in Buddhism.
Vercammen, Dany
Neijia Wushu De Inwendige School Der Chinese Vechtkunsten: De
Teksten Met Historische En Filosofische Achtergronden En De
Relatie Met Qigong [Neijia Wushu, The Internal School of Chinese
Martial Arts: The Texts With Historical and Philosophical Backgrounds
and The Relationship With Qigong]
Ph.D. 1990
Rijksuniversiteit Te Gent (Belgium)
Weller, Robert Paul
Unity And Diversity In Chinese Religious Ideology
Ph.D. 1981
The Johns Hopkins University
This thesis looks at religion in Chinese society as a whole,
rather than concentrating exclusively on folk beliefs or on
one of the established elite traditions. To what extent can
more than one religion be said to exist? How is religion used
and interpreted in different situations?I begin by looking at
the various social uses of religion, exemplified in the relations
between temples and local communities, and in the annual cycle
of feasts and festivals. At this level, religion legitimates
and reinforces both the central government and local solidarity.
Thus religion has significant implications for the dual importance
of, and conflict between, local power and central power in Chinese
history. I then continue the analysis of the social organization
of religion by examining the political, aesthetic, and psychological
effects of a single ritual！the ghost-feeding ceremony (Pho To)！as
understood by adherents of the popular religion.I also analyze
the ghost-feeding ceremony from the point of view of the Buddhist
and Taoist priests who perform it, to show how these highly
structured systems are less dependent on context for their meaning
than is the popular religion. Highly refined ideologies of this
type are relatively amenable to structural analysis because
they are consciously pushed to be coherent and context-free
systems. Even highly structured systems of belief, however,
perform pragmatic and creative functions through ritual.I discuss
the existence of more than one religious ideology in Taiwan.
I argue that religion and divination convey different messages
about kinship, community, and political ties to ordinary people,
members of the elite, Buddhists, and Taoists. For the elite
there are two systems！the passive, personified gods and the
active, forces of geomancy. For Buddhism, Taoism, or the popular
tradition, there is only one system！personified gods who are
active forces rather than passive models. Simultaneously, there
is a continuum between structured systems like geomancy or the
orthodox religious traditions, and the relatively unstructured
popular beliefs. The various ideologies thus occupy characteristic
places in three continua: structure/non-structure, /personified,
and passive/active.Finally, I discuss how theories of ideology
relate to religion in Taiwan. I suggest that these theories
are too mechanistic, and that a more flexible, historical approach
is necessary.
Wiles, Susan Margaret Mackie
Gone With The Yin: The Position Of Women In Early Superior Clarity
(Shangqing) Daoism (Superior Clarity Daoism, China)
Ph.D. 1988
University Of Sydney (Australia)
Compiled at the turn of the fifth century AD by the young but
retired Chinese scholar-official Tao Hongjing, Declarations
of the Perfected (Zhengao) provided much biographical information
on early Superior Clarity (Shangqing) Daoism in China. This
thesis examines the divine and mortal female figures portrayed
in Declarations of the Perfected in order to discern their role
and function.Declarations of the Perfected was compiled at a
time when the adherents of religious Daoism were seeking political
and social respectability, as well as attempting to combat the
influence of the foreign religion of Buddhism among the Chinese
educated class. A prerequisite for raising the social status
of Daoism was that women, who had been an integral part of early
religious Daoism, should conform to the Confucian ideal and
no longer appear to play an active role in religion.Part One
of this thesis traces the historical background of religious
Daoism. The functions of the female wu in early Chinese religion
are also described in order to show the fundamental similarity
of her activities to those of later practitioners of religious
Daoism.Part Two analyses the presentation of women in major
Daoist movements up to and including Superior Clarity Daoism.
It is apparent from this analysis that the activities of the
female divinities of Declarations of the Perfected had much
in common with those of early Chinese wu.Female wu were a major
component of the religion of southern China
these women and their writings were transformed in the male
imagination into female divinities who dictated sacred scriptures
to mortal males. This is the reason there were so many female
divinities and so few mortal women in Declarations of the Perfected.
Many of these female divinities were recorded in texts of later
periods, where the wu aspects of their writings (dictations)
were ignored while their divine (scriptural) aspect was emphasised.
Wu, Qing-Yun
Transformations of Female Rule: Feminist Utopias In Chinese
and English Literature
Ph.D. 1991
The Pennsylvania State University
This comparative study of feminist utopias in Chinese and English
literature examines the theme of female rule, including its
critiques of patriarchy and its future visions for women, in
two prefeminist utopias: Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene
(1596) and Luo Maodeng's Sanbao's Expedition to the Western
Ocean (1597), as well as in six feminist utopias: Florence Dixie's
Gloriana-Or, The Revolution of 1900 (1890), Charlotte Perkins
Gilman's Herland (1915), and Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed
(1974), in British and American literatures
and Chen Duansheng's The Destiny of the Next Life (1796), Li
Ruzhen's The Destiny of the Flowers in the Mirror (1828), and
Bai Hua's The Remote Country of Women (1988), in Chinese literature.The
Introduction surveys the development of feminist utopias in
both East and West and provides information concerning the Chinese
utopian tradition, patriarchal oppression, and feminism. Chapter
I examines Spenser and Luo's symbolic employment of women to
promote their general utopian impulse and their negation of
women's rule to consolidate patriarchal rule. Chapter II discusses
Chen and Dixie's politics of competing with men and their visions
of a society that is reformed by a woman prime minister. Chapter
III compares and contrasts Li and Gilman's ways of asserting
women's collective strength and their politics of separating
themselves from the present world. Chapter IV examines Bai's
matrilineal utopia and Le Guin's anarchist utopia in relation
to the female principle and Daoism, and discusses how these
writers use female values to create visions of humanity's future.Together,
the four chapters hypothesize that the politics of female rule,
as expressed in Chinese and English literature since the end
of the sixteenth century, undergoes three significant transformations:
from the negation of rule by women to rule by women in man's
guise from rule by individual women to collective female rule
and from idealized matrilineality to anarchism by the female
principle.
Wu, Shiu-Ching
An Alternative Concept Oo The Subject Reconstructed From The
Tao of Complexity
Ph.D. 1996
Temple University
In this project, I suggest that the rapprochement of Taoism
in the ancient China and Complexity Theory recently developed
in the West can provide us proper insight into the alternative
concept of the human person, which is different from the centeredness
of the modern subject. The alternative, I suggest, shares great
sympathy with the critique of the modern subject discussed in
the works of Heidegger, Foucault, Habermas, and Bourdieu. And
yet, from the vantage point of a new worldview dubbed as the
Tao of Complexity, I argue that the alternative concept of the
subject is the synthesis of viewing each of their one-sided
and different constructions of the human person as a consistent
whole.The Tao of Complexity, I conclude, is (1) that the world
we live in is a complex of interacting elements (levels), and
yet, is spontaneous self-organizational from simpler rules
(2) the world is a temporary invariant structure sensitive to
small disturbances occurring inside or outside the system, and
is constantly subject to evolutionary mutation, bifurcation,
and transformation
(3) the motor of change in the world is the clash of contradictory
principles and elements
and lastly, (4) the spontaneous evolution of the world is 'virtuous'
in the sense that the Tao lets things be (differentiation, division,
etc.,) without manipulation.In parallel to the four aspects
of the Tao of Complexity, I also construct the new concept of
the subject, that is, (1) the subject is decentered without
being inactive; (2) the subject is intersubjective without being
ideal; (3) the subject is strategic without being manipulative;
and lastly, (4) the subject is critical without being absolute.Taking
'the scientific Tao' and the 'virtue' of the sciences of Complexity
together, I conclude that the new subject is neither fully independent
(individualism), nor is it completely subjected to the conditions
of existence (structuralism). As a result, the solution to collective
evil(s) cannot be given in terms of the subject understood as
independent or subjected.
Xu, Ping
Thinking/Writing/Thinging: Heidegger, The Fenollosa-Pound Encounter,
and The Question of Chinese Traditional Writing
Ph.D. 1997
State University of New York At Binghamton
This dissertation explores a distinctive way of thinking by
looking into the tripartite theme of thinking/writing/thinging
that is at the very center of Heidegger's philosophy, Fenollosa/Pound's
poetics, and the Chinese literary and philosophical tradition
associated with Taoism. The focus of the dissertation is therefore
on Heidegger's articulation of thinking in terms of Being, thinging
and poetizing, Fenollosa/Pound's interpretation of the Chinese
written language in its peculiar relation to the thing and genuine
thinking, and the Chinese literary and philosophical tradition
that consistently dwells on the relationship among thinking,
writing and thinging. The dissertation thus starts with Heidegger's
rediscovery of "physis" in its relation to truth,
poetry, thinking, language as well as the "thing,"
trying to set up a framework for the entire project, where the
tripartite theme occupies the center stage. The then moves on
to Fenollosa/Pound's "graphic poetics" by way of investigating
the genesis of the "ideogrammic method," intending
to shift the controversy surrounding their interpretation of
the Chinese written language to a different level where the
interpretation is evaluated not in reference to the linguistic
"facts" about the language but to the essential relationship
among thinking, writing and thinging, and to show the differences
between "ideogrammic thinking" that Fenollosa and
Pound have tried to define and the Western traditional thinking
largely informed by what Heidegger calls "the grammatical
view of language." Finally, the notion of "ziran"
is explored as it is embodied in philosophical Taoism as well
as in classical Chinese literary theory, with the attempt to
show the significant similarities between "physis"
and "ziran," and what is fundamental in the Chinese
literary and philosophical tradition. The distictive way of
thinking is therefore what Derrida calls "the necessary
decentering" that defies the scientific way of thinking
by questioning logic, grammar, knowledge and metaphysics characteristic
of what is commonly called thinking.
Yang, Xiao-Xun
Studies On Taoist Ritual Music "Du Jie" As Practised
Among The Yao Nationality At Shicai Village, Yunnan Province,
China (Chinese Text, Rites of Passage, Ethnomusicology)
Ph.D. 1998
Chinese University of Hong Kong (People's Republic of China)
The main subject of research of this dissertation is the Taoist
Du Fie ritual and the ritual music of the Yao nationality, the
Landian Branch of Yao who reside in the Shicai village at Dongpo
township, Funing country, within the Wenshan Autonomous District
Yunnan Province of China.This dissertation explores the historical
ties between the Taoism of Han Nationality and the two Schools
of Taoism, Shi and Dao as practiced amongst the people of Yao
Nationality.The did field-work observations and described the
entire process of the Taoist ritual amongst the Yao people,
the environment within which the ritual was formed, and the
use of music during the ritual.After analyzing the Taoist ritual
music, the concludes that there exist two different types of
music in ritual which is related to rites of passage, namely,
the Ran (Simple) Singing style and the Fu (repetitive) Singing
style. Comparison between these singing styles and the folk
songs and Taoist music of Han Nationality have been made. The
found that the Ran singing style have various connections (or
resemblance) with the folk songs and Taoist music of Han Nationality
over certain regions of China. Such links (or resemblance) may
stem from the close ties between the forms and contents of Taoism
of the Han and Yao peoples. Throughout its long historic development,
Taoism among the Yan people has adopted the form and content
of the Taoist ritual and music of Han people. The Yao people
have integrated their ethnic musical culture and belief into
their religious activities and ritual music. As a result, the
two different types of music have co-existed in Yao people's
Taoist music.
Yao, Tao-Chung
A New Taoist Sect In North China During The Twelfth And Thirteenth
Centuries: Ch'uan-Chen
Ph.D. 1980
The University Of Arizona
During the second half of the twelfth century, a new Taoist
sect called Ch'uan-chen (Total Perfection) emerged in North
China, then ruled by the Jurchen. This new Taoist sect, with
its simple and realistic syncretic doctrine and special privileges
granted to it by the Mongol ruler, attracted numerous followers
at a time of great social and political disorder and dominated
the religious scene for more than a century.The founder of this
sect, Wang Che (1113-1170), was an unsuccessful scholar who
claimed to have experienced a revelation at the age of forty-eight.
He consequently left his home in Shensi and travelled to Shantung
where he founded several religious associations and gathered
about himself a coterie of seven disciples who were later known
as the "Seven Disciples of the Ch'uan-chen Sect,"
and who contributed to the expansion of the sect.Ch'uan-chen
was in many aspects different from the orthodox Taoist sect
of the times, the Heavenly Master sect. The doctrine it preached
included tenets and practices borrowed from several different
Taoist sects, many of which differed from those of the Heavenly
Master sect. Because Wang Che had studied the Confucian classics
and Buddhist sutras as well as the Taoist canon, he especially
stressed those Taoist tenets which were also compatible with
Confucian and Buddhist beliefs. He argued that the three doctrines
were originally one.The syncretic nature of Ch'uan-chen teachings
has sometimes caused scholars to conclude that it was not actually
a Taoist sect. However, although Ch'uan-chen doctrine was eclectic
in nature, it was nevertheless fundamentally Taoist. Most Confucian
and Buddhist elements in Ch'uan-chen teachings had already been
assimilated into the Taoist religion before the sect came into
being. Moreover, it shared a common goal with other Taoist sects,
that is, the search for immortality. In this regard, Wang Che
taught that immortality was to be attained through cultivating
the "inner elixir." While the "outer elixir"
school used nostrums made of metals and chemicals to be taken
orally, the "inner elixir" regimen merely involved
spiritual self-cultivation, believing all the necessary ingredients
were present within the self. Ch'uan-chen also represented therefore
a major stage in the development of the "inner elixir"
school.Through the efforts of Wang Che's seven talented disciples,
Ch'uan-chen Taoism spread over north China, capturing a large
popular following and even attracting the attention of several
emperors. Chinggis Khan summoned Ch'iu Ch'u-chi, the best known
disciple of Wang Che, to his court for advice on methods of
attaining immortality. Although Ch'iu Ch'u-chi had no panaceas
to offer, the Khan held him in high esteem and granted special
privileges to the Ch'uan-chen clergy. This imperial favoritism
further enhanced the popularity of the sect.The Ch'uan-chen
sect started to decline toward the end of the Yuan dynasty for
a number of reasons. The bureaucratization of the sect, the
disappearance of its early spirit and its losing a series of
debates to the Buddhists, all damaged its popular image. Although
the Ch'uan-chen sect today no longer occupies an important place
in Chinese life, it had a glorious past and had made contributions
to Chinese society as well as to Taoist religion itself. During
its heyday, it provided a sanctuary for the suffering masses
during an era of great social and political instability, and
it played a key role in preserving the Chinese cultural tradition
for posterity. Also, the Ch'uan-chen was the only sect of overshadow
the orthodox Taoist sect throughout the history of religious
Taoism.
Yoshida, Mayumi
Politics Of Virtue: Political And Personal Facets Of The "Neixun"
(Empress Renxiao, Domesticity, Elite, Women, Conduct)
Ph.D. 1998
University Of California, Berkeley
The Neixun (Instructions for the Inner Quarters ) by Empress
Renxiao, consort of the Yongle Emperor, was published in 1407
and became one of the standard texts for educating elite women.
Unlike other texts of domestic instruction, however, the Neixun
clearly reflects the concept of merit accumulation and cosmic
retribution, demonstrating the 's debt to the tradition of shanshu,
a late-imperial genre of didactic writing that incorporated
teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. In the Neixun,
Renxiao ostensibly advocates good deeds as a means whereby a
wife, by accumulating blessings from Heaven, can contribute
to the prosperity of her husband's household.But publication
of the Neixun and another text attributed to Renxiao en d Quanshan
shu (A Book on Promoting Good Deeds) took place during the formative
stage of the Yongle era, when emperor Zhu Di was preoccupied
with rectifying his image as an usurper. Imperial publication
of didactic texts was one means of accomplishing this. In an
unique way, the Neixun contributed to this wider agenda of self-serving
propaganda, by means of which Zhu Di hoped to reform his image
and establish the Yongle regime as one of moral legitimacy.This
dissertation compares the Neixun with the Quanshan shu, as well
as with the Weishan yinzhi (Doing Good Deeds and Receiving Secretly
Determine Reward) and the Shengxue xinfa (Method of the Mind
in Sagely Learnings), didactic texts attributed to Zhu Di, in
order to expose the political and ideological motives behind
what has always been assumed to be a simple didactic text of
prescriptive domesticity for elite women.
Yu, Shiyi
Reading The Chuang-Tzu In The T'ang Dynasty: The Commentary
of Ch'eng Hsuan-Ying (Fl. 631-652) (China, Taoism, Buddhism)
Ph.D. 1998
University of Colorado At Boulder
To a great extent, Ch'eng Hsuan-ying (fl. 631-652) was writing
in the tradition of Kuo Hsiang, but the culture that had formed
in the Liang-Ch'en and which continued until Ch'eng's day mixed
Buddhism and Taoism, and sanctioned ambition for power and fame,
good taste for literature and fashion, quest for knowledge,
and love for debates. This all found its way into his commentary
on the Chuang-tzu.A concentration on hsuan (mystery) and hsu
(void) is found in Ch'eng's reading of the Chuang-tzu. The "mystery,"
as manifested in his commentary, mainly refers to the "double
mystery" (ch'ung-hsuan), a term more associated with the
Lao-tzu and its commentators in the medieval period. In spite
of this, the "double mystery" he uses in interpreting
the Chuang-tzu is differently oriented. Even though, as in his
remarks on the Lao-tzu, the "double mystery" is used
by Ch'eng in the sense of the Way, emphasis is given to the
specific procedures this concept suggests for reaching the realm
of the Way and the transcendental character of the latter. The
complexity of Ch'eng's expression, however, reveals itself,
on the one hand, in that his awareness of the importance of
the procedures seems to have been suggested by his engagement
with certain Buddhist concepts, of which the "Four Propositions"
is crucial and, on the other hand, once Ch'eng applies to the
Chuang-tzu the logic of the "Four Propositions," he
always finds that the Chuang-tzu itself has already！and often
better！elaborated the very idea of the "Four Propositions."Ch'eng
Hsuan-ying sees the "void" as a very important concept
in the Chuang-tzu, interpreting it mainly in terms of the Taoist
practices he finds in the book. For him, to be void is to "forget,"
to shut down one's senses and the heart, the world, body, and
spirit, so as to be one with the Way.Ch'eng Hsuan-ying has sometimes
been criticized for employing Buddhist ideas in his commentary
on the Chuang-tzu, such that the text may have been misinterpreted.
A close study shows, however, that he is trying to make use
of the Chuang-tzu in arguing in defense of medieval Taoism on
certain heated issues in the Buddhist/Taoist debates of his
time. ( shortened by UMI.)
Zhang , Xianglong
Heidegger And Taoism (Horizontal Thinking, China, Lao Tzu, Chuang
Tzu)
Ph.D. 1992
State University Of New York At Buffalo
The main thesis of this dissertation is that there is an intrinsic
connection between Heidegger and Taoism, which may be called
"the horizontal-regional way of thinking". This is
a middle way extending "between and beyond" the conceptual
and the perceptual, and through "pure images" or "techne",
being essentially involved into an ontological horizon or region.
The nature of this region is what Heidegger calls "appropriation"
(Ereignis) that is comparable to Chinese "Tao" and
ancient Greek "logos". It signifies the primordially
mirror-playing and reciprocal belonging, through which opponents
are opened to each other and thus win their "ek-sistential"
ownership. In the text of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu (Lao-Chuang),
Tao is neither a law nor an isolated nothingness, but must be
understood as the appropriational region of ch'i！the topological
regioning and mingling of yin and yang.One crucial source in
which Heidegger achieves this horizontal thinking is found in
his interpretations of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and Husserl's
works on phenomenology. Thus, it can be seen that this non-conceptual
thinking is relevant to the deepest concern of western philosophy.
This ontological regioning is also the unbroken thread running
through all of Heidegger's writings and is manifested in his
techne-cal (artistic) usage of language. Nevertheless, it is
trans-formed and relies on various images (from "time"
to "poetic Saying") in the different stages of his
career. Similarly, the s of Lao-Chuang found it necessary to
be occupied by the "images without objects", in order
to express the regional sense of Tao. It just makes no sense
to assert that Taoism in its ultimate understanding of Tao discards
language acts as a whole. Actually, by the time of Lao-Chuang's
composition, "tao" had derived the meanings of "opening"
(dredging) and especially "saying" from its original
meaning of "way". Heidegger's guess, out of the calling
of pure thinking, that Tao as the topological Way giving all
ways is the origin of "the thoughtful Saying" is anticipatorily
accurate. His long-lasting interest in Taoism is profoundly
built on thinking itself rather than on any incidental reason.
Zhang, Ellen Ying
The Play Of Negativity: An Exploration Of An Apophatic Discourse
In Daoist Philosophy And Negative Theology
Ph.D. 1995
Rice University
This dissertation is an attempt to bring Daoist philosophy and
negative theology into conversation. The comparative project
itself by no means suggests an identification of the Daoist
"Dao" with the Christian "God," nor does
it argue for a contrast between a "non-logocentric China"
with a "logocentric West." However divergent China
and the West may be the notion of "Dao" in Daoist
philosophy and the notion of "God" in negative theology,
share what I call a "gesture of negativity." My project
then is a comparative study of a philosophical/theological discourse
which deals with the problem of ineffability. I propose that
the apophatic gesture is inevitably paradoxical when speech
is deployed in order to surpass itself. I compare the notions
of wang and wuwei in Daoism with the notion of Gelassenheit
in negative theology, and the Daoist wu with Derrida's denegation.
I argue that the play of negativity does not suggest the rejection
of meanings as such rather like many other discourses, it participates
in creation, construction, and destruction of meaning within
particular philosophical and theological configurations.
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