Author:
Rong Xinjiang 榮新江
Publisher:
Brill
Publication Year :
2013
Abstract:
In Eighteen Lectures on Dunhuang, Rong Xinjiang provides an accessible overview of Dunhuang studies, an academic field that emerged following the discovery of a medieval monastic library at the Mogao caves near Dunhuang. The manuscripts were hidden in a cave at the beginning of the 11th century and remained unnoticed until 1900, when a Daoist monk accidentally found them and subsequently sold most of them to foreign explorers and scholars. The availability of this unprecedented amount of first-hand material from China’s middle period provided a stimulus for a number of scholarly fields both in China and the West. Rong Xinjiang’s book provides, for the first time in English, a convenient summary of the history of Dunhuang studies and its contribution to scholarship.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Ethics in Early China: An Anthology
Editors:
Chris Fraser, Dan Robins and Timothy O'Leary
Publication Date:
2011
Publisher:
Hong Kong University Press
Abstract:
Early Chinese ethics has attracted increasing scholarly and social attention in recent years, as the virtue ethics movement in Western philosophy sparked renewed interest in Confucianism and Daoism. Meanwhile, intellectuals and social commentators throughout greater China have looked to the Chinese ethical tradition for resources to evaluate the role of traditional cultural values in the contemporary world. Publications on early Chinese ethics have tended to focus uncritical attention toward Confucianism, while neglecting Daoism, Mohism, and shared features of Chinese moral psychology. This book aims to rectify this imbalance with provocative interpretations of classical ethical theories including widely neglected views of the Mohists and newly reconstructed accounts of the "embodied virtue" tradition, which ties ethics to physical cultivation. The volume also addresses the broader question of the value of comparative philosophy generally and of studying early Chinese ethics in particular.
Chris Fraser, Dan Robins and Timothy O'Leary
Publication Date:
2011
Publisher:
Hong Kong University Press
Abstract:
Early Chinese ethics has attracted increasing scholarly and social attention in recent years, as the virtue ethics movement in Western philosophy sparked renewed interest in Confucianism and Daoism. Meanwhile, intellectuals and social commentators throughout greater China have looked to the Chinese ethical tradition for resources to evaluate the role of traditional cultural values in the contemporary world. Publications on early Chinese ethics have tended to focus uncritical attention toward Confucianism, while neglecting Daoism, Mohism, and shared features of Chinese moral psychology. This book aims to rectify this imbalance with provocative interpretations of classical ethical theories including widely neglected views of the Mohists and newly reconstructed accounts of the "embodied virtue" tradition, which ties ethics to physical cultivation. The volume also addresses the broader question of the value of comparative philosophy generally and of studying early Chinese ethics in particular.
Monday, August 19, 2013
The Five-Colored Clouds of Mount Wutai: Poems from Dunhuang
Author:
Mary Anne Cartelli
Publisher:
Brill
Publication Year:
2012
Abstract:
In The Five-Colored Clouds of Mount Wutai: Poems from Dunhuang, Mary Anne Cartelli examines a set of poems from the Dunhuang manuscripts about Mount Wutai, the most sacred mountain in Chinese Buddhism. Dating from the Tang and Five Dynasties periods, they reflect the mountain’s transformation into the home of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, and provide important literary evidence for the development of Buddhism in China. This interdisciplinary study analyzes the poems using Buddhist scriptures and pilgrimage records, as well as the contemporaneous wall-painting of Mount Wutai in Dunhuang cave 61. The poems demonstrate how the mountain was created as a sacred Buddhist space, as their motifs reflect the cosmology associated with the mountain by the Tang dynasty, and they vividly portray the experience of the pilgrim traveling through a divinely empowered landscape.
Table of Contents:
1 Ascending and Wandering: Introduction 1 --
Sacred Mountains in Ancient China 3 --
Dunhuang and the Dunhuang Caves 8 --
Dunhuang Literature 10 --
Dunhuang and Mount Wutai 12 --
Mountains in Early Chinese Poetry 14 --
About the Book 22 --
2 The Clear and the Cold: Mount Wutai 27 --
Early Literature on Mount Wutai 27 --
Early Legends about Mount Wutai 29 --
Chinese Emperors and Mount Wutai 31 --
Mañjusri and the Chinese Buddhist Scriptures 37 --
The Mañjusri-parinirvana sutra 41 --
Mount Wutai as a Manifestation of the Buddhist Doctrine 46 --
Early Chinese Poetry on Mount Wutai 49 --
The Mount Wutai Poetry of the Dunhuang Manuscripts 53 --
3 The Hall of the Great Sage: The Songs of Mount Wutai 57 --
The Hall of the Great Sage 59 --
I Ascend the Eastern Terrace 66 --
I Ascend the Northern Terrace 71 --
I Ascend the Central Terrace 74 --
I Ascend the Western Terrace 78 --
I Ascend the Southern Terrace 82 --
4 The Land of Vaidurya: Eulogy on Mount Wutai 87 --
Eulogy on Mount Wutai 90 --
5 Inconceivable Light: Eulogy on Mount Wutai 121 --
The Pure Land School 122 --
The Pure Land Monk Fazhao 124 --
Eulogy on Mount Wulai 129 --
6 The Gold-Colored World: Eulogy on the Holy Regions of Mount Wutai 147 --
Eulogy on the True Countenance of the Great Sage 149 --
Eulogy on Samantabhadra 153 --
The Eastern Terrace 155 --
The Northern Terrace 158 --
The Central Terrace 159 --
The Western Terrace 161 --
The Southern Terrace 163 --
The Holy Region of the Vajra Grotto 165 --
The Auspicious Stupa of King Asoka 167 --
Eulogy on the Physical Body of Rahula 169 --
A Vision of Sutra Recitation by the Vajra Grotto 170 --
7 Word and Image: The Mount Wutai Wall Painting at Dunhuang 175 --
Map or Painting? 176 --
Iconography and Imagery in Cave 61 180 --
Mountain as Icon 192 --
8 Poetry as a Buddhist Matter: Conclusion 195 --
Transmission of the Vision 199 --
Literati Poets and Mount Wutai 202 --
For the Purpose of Salvation 204.
Mary Anne Cartelli
Publisher:
Brill
Publication Year:
2012
Abstract:
In The Five-Colored Clouds of Mount Wutai: Poems from Dunhuang, Mary Anne Cartelli examines a set of poems from the Dunhuang manuscripts about Mount Wutai, the most sacred mountain in Chinese Buddhism. Dating from the Tang and Five Dynasties periods, they reflect the mountain’s transformation into the home of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, and provide important literary evidence for the development of Buddhism in China. This interdisciplinary study analyzes the poems using Buddhist scriptures and pilgrimage records, as well as the contemporaneous wall-painting of Mount Wutai in Dunhuang cave 61. The poems demonstrate how the mountain was created as a sacred Buddhist space, as their motifs reflect the cosmology associated with the mountain by the Tang dynasty, and they vividly portray the experience of the pilgrim traveling through a divinely empowered landscape.
Table of Contents:
1 Ascending and Wandering: Introduction 1 --
Sacred Mountains in Ancient China 3 --
Dunhuang and the Dunhuang Caves 8 --
Dunhuang Literature 10 --
Dunhuang and Mount Wutai 12 --
Mountains in Early Chinese Poetry 14 --
About the Book 22 --
2 The Clear and the Cold: Mount Wutai 27 --
Early Literature on Mount Wutai 27 --
Early Legends about Mount Wutai 29 --
Chinese Emperors and Mount Wutai 31 --
Mañjusri and the Chinese Buddhist Scriptures 37 --
The Mañjusri-parinirvana sutra 41 --
Mount Wutai as a Manifestation of the Buddhist Doctrine 46 --
Early Chinese Poetry on Mount Wutai 49 --
The Mount Wutai Poetry of the Dunhuang Manuscripts 53 --
3 The Hall of the Great Sage: The Songs of Mount Wutai 57 --
The Hall of the Great Sage 59 --
I Ascend the Eastern Terrace 66 --
I Ascend the Northern Terrace 71 --
I Ascend the Central Terrace 74 --
I Ascend the Western Terrace 78 --
I Ascend the Southern Terrace 82 --
4 The Land of Vaidurya: Eulogy on Mount Wutai 87 --
Eulogy on Mount Wutai 90 --
5 Inconceivable Light: Eulogy on Mount Wutai 121 --
The Pure Land School 122 --
The Pure Land Monk Fazhao 124 --
Eulogy on Mount Wulai 129 --
6 The Gold-Colored World: Eulogy on the Holy Regions of Mount Wutai 147 --
Eulogy on the True Countenance of the Great Sage 149 --
Eulogy on Samantabhadra 153 --
The Eastern Terrace 155 --
The Northern Terrace 158 --
The Central Terrace 159 --
The Western Terrace 161 --
The Southern Terrace 163 --
The Holy Region of the Vajra Grotto 165 --
The Auspicious Stupa of King Asoka 167 --
Eulogy on the Physical Body of Rahula 169 --
A Vision of Sutra Recitation by the Vajra Grotto 170 --
7 Word and Image: The Mount Wutai Wall Painting at Dunhuang 175 --
Map or Painting? 176 --
Iconography and Imagery in Cave 61 180 --
Mountain as Icon 192 --
8 Poetry as a Buddhist Matter: Conclusion 195 --
Transmission of the Vision 199 --
Literati Poets and Mount Wutai 202 --
For the Purpose of Salvation 204.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
The Pheasant Cap Master and the End of History-Linking Religion to Philosophy in Early China 鶡冠子
Author:
Marnix Wells
Publisher:
Three Pines Press
Publication Year:
2013
Abstract:
Following a catastrophic defeat at Changping in 260 BCE, and the reported immolation of close to half a million Zhao soldiers by Qin, a mysterious figure appeared on the stage of history. He was called Heguanzi, the ‘Pheasant Cap’ master and appeared incognito. Seemingly a political refugee, this Daoist Demosthenes in outspoken jeremiads warned against a looming danger of total collapse and Zhao’s imminent annexation by the ruthless kingdom of Qin.
Pheasant Cap’s writings, long neglected and misunderstood, combine a potent mix of religion, metaphysics, philosophy, politics and strategy to unroll a vibrant picture of life and death in perhaps the most climactic period of Chinese history. Against the totalitarian system of Qin, he offers an alternative vision of meritocracy and inclusiveness to unite a fractured world. Marnix Wells offers readers the first full translation and analysis in any language.
Marnix Wells
Publisher:
Three Pines Press
Publication Year:
2013
Abstract:
Following a catastrophic defeat at Changping in 260 BCE, and the reported immolation of close to half a million Zhao soldiers by Qin, a mysterious figure appeared on the stage of history. He was called Heguanzi, the ‘Pheasant Cap’ master and appeared incognito. Seemingly a political refugee, this Daoist Demosthenes in outspoken jeremiads warned against a looming danger of total collapse and Zhao’s imminent annexation by the ruthless kingdom of Qin.
Pheasant Cap’s writings, long neglected and misunderstood, combine a potent mix of religion, metaphysics, philosophy, politics and strategy to unroll a vibrant picture of life and death in perhaps the most climactic period of Chinese history. Against the totalitarian system of Qin, he offers an alternative vision of meritocracy and inclusiveness to unite a fractured world. Marnix Wells offers readers the first full translation and analysis in any language.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Qin: the Eternal Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors
Editors:
Maria Khayutina , Bernisches Historisches Museum
Publication Year:
2013
Publisher:
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Table of Content:
I China in the First Millenium BC and the Rise of Qin
Chapter 1: The Zhou Dynasty and the Birth of the Son of Heaven (Edward
Shaughnessy)
Chapter 2: Qin: From Principality to Kingdom to Empire (Yuri Pines)
Chapter 3: Tombs of the Principality of Qin: Elites and Commoners (Alain
Thote)
Catalogue I
II The Qin Empire and the Tomb Complex of the First Emperor
Chapter 4: King Zheng of Qin, the First Emperor of China (Yuri Pines)
Chapter 5: The Qin Empire
Qin Government: Structures, Principles and Practices (Charles Sanft)
The Standardization of Writing (Ch¹en Chao-jung)
Chapter 6: The World To Go: the Last Resting Place of the First Emperor
The Discovery of a Century: the Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of
China (Cao Wei)
The Tomb Complex and Its Hidden Secrets (Armin Selbitschka)
Chapter 7: Warriors, Officials and Entertainers
The Terracotta Men and Their Roles (Armin Selbitschka)
The Production Techniques, Conservation and Restoration of the Terracotta
Figures (Catharina Blänsdorf and Linda Zachmann)
Catalogue II
III After the First Emperor
Chapter 8: The Qin and Han Empires and Their Heritage (Michael Loewe)
Chapter 9: Qin Shi Huangdi and His Terracotta Warriors in the 21st Century
Staging Qin Shi Huangdi: the First Emperor on Stage and Screen (Anna
Stecher)
The First Emperor and His Army in Imagery and Sculpture (Maria Khayutina)
Catalogue III
Maria Khayutina , Bernisches Historisches Museum
Publication Year:
2013
Publisher:
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Table of Content:
I China in the First Millenium BC and the Rise of Qin
Chapter 1: The Zhou Dynasty and the Birth of the Son of Heaven (Edward
Shaughnessy)
Chapter 2: Qin: From Principality to Kingdom to Empire (Yuri Pines)
Chapter 3: Tombs of the Principality of Qin: Elites and Commoners (Alain
Thote)
Catalogue I
II The Qin Empire and the Tomb Complex of the First Emperor
Chapter 4: King Zheng of Qin, the First Emperor of China (Yuri Pines)
Chapter 5: The Qin Empire
Qin Government: Structures, Principles and Practices (Charles Sanft)
The Standardization of Writing (Ch¹en Chao-jung)
Chapter 6: The World To Go: the Last Resting Place of the First Emperor
The Discovery of a Century: the Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of
China (Cao Wei)
The Tomb Complex and Its Hidden Secrets (Armin Selbitschka)
Chapter 7: Warriors, Officials and Entertainers
The Terracotta Men and Their Roles (Armin Selbitschka)
The Production Techniques, Conservation and Restoration of the Terracotta
Figures (Catharina Blänsdorf and Linda Zachmann)
Catalogue II
III After the First Emperor
Chapter 8: The Qin and Han Empires and Their Heritage (Michael Loewe)
Chapter 9: Qin Shi Huangdi and His Terracotta Warriors in the 21st Century
Staging Qin Shi Huangdi: the First Emperor on Stage and Screen (Anna
Stecher)
The First Emperor and His Army in Imagery and Sculpture (Maria Khayutina)
Catalogue III
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Quest for Ecstatic Morality in Early China 郭店楚簡 "性自命出"
Author:
Kenneth W. Holloway
Publisher:
Oxford University Press, USA
Publication Year:
2013
Abstract:
Kenneth W. Holloway
Publisher:
Oxford University Press, USA
Publication Year:
2013
Abstract:
There is an intense love of freedom evident in the "Xing zi mingchu," a text last seen when it was buried in a Chinese tomb in 300 B.C.E. It tells us that both joy and sadness are the ecstatic zenith of what the text terms "qing." Combining emotions into qing allows them to serve as a stepping stone to the Dao, the transcendent source of morality for the world. There is a process one must follow to prepare qing: it must be beautified by learning from the classics written by ancient sages. What is absent from the process is any indication that the emotions themselves need to be suppressed or regulated, as is found in most other texts from this time.
The Confucian principles of humanity and righteousness are not rejected, but they are seen as needing our qing and the Dao. Holloway argues that the Dao here is the same Dao of Laozi's Daode jing. As a missing link between what came to be called Confucianism and Daoism, the "Xing zi mingchu" is changing the way we look at the history of religion in early China.
The Confucian principles of humanity and righteousness are not rejected, but they are seen as needing our qing and the Dao. Holloway argues that the Dao here is the same Dao of Laozi's Daode jing. As a missing link between what came to be called Confucianism and Daoism, the "Xing zi mingchu" is changing the way we look at the history of religion in early China.
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