Abstracts: N-Z
Below you can find the abstracts of the papers which will be presented at the conference (listed alphabetically by author’s last name). This page includes abstracts by authors whose last (family) names start with the letters N-Z. This list will be continually updated.
Naparstek, Michael. Re-placed Bodies: The Principle of Tishen at Work in the Daoist Kaiguang Ceremony
When discussing the meaning of Chinese religious icons, scholars of both Religion and Art History often speak of the consecration ritual known as kaiguang開 光 (“Eye-Opening Ceremony”) to note the profound change that occurs when the active quality of agency is attributed to a previously lifeless object. Although the rite continues to be widely practiced by Daoist and Buddhist masters, the process by which such a change occurs has rarely been found worthy of serious consideration. This paper reconsiders the meaning of the kaiguang ceremony through Daoist liturgical sources, with particular focus on the relationship between the process of consecration and the principle of tishen替身(replacement body). Displacing the body lies at the root of a various liturgical practices, and as such, the significance of kaiguang may extend well beyond the context of activating icons. By investigating the ways in which its liturgy articulates bringing efficacy to life in an otherwise lifeless object, this paper offers a first step in reassessing the role the kaiguang ceremony plays within the broader discourse on Chinese images and ritual.
Nikaido, Yoshihiro 二階堂 善弘. The
招寶七郎是南宋時期流行的伽藍神。原來不是佛教神，而浙江、江蘇地方的海神。《水滸傳》第七十回有“勢如招寶七郎”的記載，那時一般人都認識招寶七郎的神像，可是後來招寶七郎信仰衰落了。《西遊記雜劇》中，觀音菩薩差保護三藏法師的“十大保官”。那保官之中有“大權修利”，這個也是招寶七郎的別稱。現在日本曹洞宗佛寺本殿供招寶七郎的神像，當為伽藍神。因為鐮倉時代，許多僧侶去南宋，模仿中國的禪宗寺院。那時候，南宋“五山” 徑山寺、靈隱寺、淨慈寺、天童寺、阿育王寺等寺院供招寶七郎、祠山張大帝、感應使者和掌簿判官等伽藍神。可是現在中國大陸的伽藍神都變成關公。北宋時期渡到中國的日本僧侶成尋，拜了各地供地的伽藍神。就是東嶽大帝、平水大王、五通大帝、白鶴靈王等神明。我以前寫了招寶七郎信仰的情況，但是後來發現浙江那邊招寶七郎以外也有華光、周宣靈王等的伽藍神。這次論招寶七郎與其他伽藍神的關係，再論招寶七郎的特點。
Pang-White, Ann. Who Really Cares? The Daoist Ci and the Confucian Ren—A Comparative Analysis
This paper discusses the Daoist concept of ci in the Daodejing vis-a-vis the Confucian ren in the Analects as an entry point to explore Daoist understanding of virtue. In recent discussion on comparative ethics, extensively scholarship is devoted to the comparative study of Confucian concept of ren and feminist ethics of care, while such cross-cultural comparative study on Daoist concept of love/compassion (ci)’s intersection with the ethics of care has been lacking. The lack of interest on this subject may be due to the following reasons. Firstly, Daoism does not focus on family model or dynamics; nor does it see family necessarily as the model of other domains of human life as Confucian ethics or ethics of care have focused on. Therefore, at first sight, it does not fit the usual model of care that is familiar to the Confucian or Care-Ethics scholars. Secondly, Daoism seems to be much more individualistic than what care ethics or Confucian ethics can accommodate. Nonetheless, this paper will argue that bypassing Daoist ethics in the contemporary debate of ethics is a mistake.
Daoist philosophy provides important insight concerning the notion of receptivity and the relational and particularistic nature of virtue. In sum, Daoists do care. However, their conception of care goes beyond the Confucian ren and any other hybrid version of care ethics or even counter-opposes it so as to bring forward the true meaning of care that in a paradoxical way perhaps bears more a resemblance to care ethics than Confucian philosophy. The paper concludes with a discussion of philosophy of education as a case study to demonstrate how Daoist philosophy may have greater implications in this field than Confucian care ethics.
Pawle, Reggie. The Application of Daoism to Client Concerns in Psychotherapy
This paper examines how the psychology of Daoism can be relevant for the practice of psychotherapy in a cross-cultural context (Roland, 1988). The focus is on particular concerns that draw a diversity of people to seek psychotherapy. These include anger management, identity and particularly boundary issues, anxiety, relationship issues, negative habits, and cognitive disorders. Specific techniques from the Daoist tradition will be briefly introduced regarding ways of utilizing them in working with these concerns. These will include working with attention, body and breath practices, use of the will, working polarities according to yin and yang , and working with a person’s life energy (sense of aliveness).
Phillips, Scott. Cracking the Code: Taijiquan as Enlightenment Theater
This paper presents three interrelated ideas using historic, experiential and visual contextualization: 1) Image mime within the Chen Style Taijiquan Form (taolu) can be understood as a form of theater presenting the story of Zhang Sanfeng becoming an immortal (xian). 2) Taijiquan as the integration of embodied theatricality with deity visualization as daily ritual and alchemy. 3) Framing violence as a transgressive path to becoming an immortal.
Porat, Roy. Different Layers of Ineffability in the Zhuangzi
It has been suggested several times in the past that Zhuangzi’s unique literary style – the extensive use of fables, humor, analogies, paradoxes, and generally the avoidance of direct clear-cut statements – is at least partially influenced by a certain attitude towards language, which can roughly be portrayed as a sort of ‘mistrust’. That is to say, the various examples scattered around the text for the futility of language to convey the true nature of reality – a notion which has almost become a ‘trademark’ of philosophical Daoism – may act in support of that claim.
However, I suggest that a careful reading of the text would reveal that these examples actually seem less as versions of the same single ‘Laozian’ idea, but rather as the manifestations of several distinct models of language-worlds correspondence, which seem to be rooted in some very different and even conflicting worldviews. In my paper I will present a general typology of the problem of language as depicted in the different parts of the texts, and discuss the possible, separate motivations for ‘abandoning’ conventional linguistic use. Specifically, I will address the unique model of language presented in the Qiwulun, which, as I would like to claim, was largely overlooked.
Reich, Aaron. Beyond Performance: An Illustrated Ritual of Investiture in Late Imperial Daoism
Illustrated scriptures and documents of the Daoist tradition often help to shape our understanding of rituals past. One such artwork is currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, a rare handscroll dating from the Ming period which the museum curators have titled “Investiture of a Daoist Deity”; its content features both text and images. Pictorially, it opens on the far right to a vivid scene of the Jade Emperor’s court, designated both by its multicolored skies, as well as the lofty Daoist deities residing there in attendance. To the left of this celestial realm, an altar marks the threshold into the terrestrial, where a long procession leads the viewer back to one final figure who appears slightly larger than all the others. The accompanying text explains that he is none other than Li Zhong, a laudable local deity who deserves an official place in the Daoist pantheon, as could only be decided by the Celestial Master at Mount Longhu, the very recipient of this illustrated certificate.
Several aspects of this scroll prompt the questions which fuel my presentation. What has determined the particular deities who appear in the scroll, and what does their arrangement reveal about this version of the pantheon? And perhaps more importantly, what does this scroll tell us about role of local cults in the construction of an “official” pantheon, and how common were such “illustrated investiture scrolls” in late imperial times? In response to the last of these inquiries, I argue that “Investiture of a Daoist Deity” may well represent only one of an entire genre of “illustrated investiture scrolls” to have circulated as early as the Song period. Thus, the tradition of the “illustrated investiture scroll” represents one way local communities could shape larger Daoist institutions.
Rinaldini, Michael. Daoism as a Modern-day Practice
As a qigong teacher, 22nd-generation Longmen Daoist priest (ordained in 2003), and founder of the American Dragon Gate Lineage, I have had many years of experience with Daoist practice, as documented in my recent book, A Daoist Practice Journal: Come Laugh With Me. The book consists of journal entries that cover topics like zuowang meditation, reciting Daoist scriptures, qigong, drinking tea, the value of silence and solitude, and Daoist, Buddhist and Catholic mysticism, and the essence of being a Daoist. On its basis I will discuss my practices as a modern-day Western Daoist in this presentation.
Ritchie, Jennifer Lundin. Three Interpretations of the Zhuangzi
This paper explores ways that various approaches to “religious studies” are—and are not—useful to the interpretation of the Zhuangzi, a Warring States text (ca. 475-221 BCE). I examine and apply approaches which have radically differing techniques, purposes, and conclusions about the cause, purpose, meaning, and even the basic definition of what is commonly labelled “religion.” The application of these approaches dramatically alters the interpretation of the text, resulting in three different and distinct interpretations, including a fairly typical “spiritual” reading, a brand new interpretation which locates the Zhongheng jia (School of Diplomacy) as central to the Inner Chapters, as well as an interpretation that refines the use the metaphor of ming, basing it in the embodied experience of light and verticality. While indicating how each approach enhances the reading of Chapter One the Zhuangzi, I also elucidate several grave problems that each of these approaches brings to the inquiry, as well as to the study of so-called “religious texts” in general. Furthermore, the fundamental disagreements among these approaches have led to schism in religious studies, which further complicates the question of how to study religious texts, or what qualifies as a religious text. With these problems in mind, I finally suggest a tentative path out of this quandary.
Saltveit, Mark. Authenticity, Exoticism, or Privilege? A Critique of Modern Western Daoism
In the United States, Daoist thought and practice have received avid interest from both scholars and the public, but there is a large gulf between the groups. To the general public, Zhuangzi is a footnote, Stephen Mitchell’s inexplicably popular rendering of the Daode jing is the primary text, and the dramatic scholarly discoveries of recent decades are unknown. At the same time, academics can be a bit cloistered, dismissive of Western practitioners, and parochial to their discipline’s biases. And both groups are prone to exoticizing Daoist thought and practice as a ritual performance of ancient Chinese culture.
The heated debate over Western “appropriation” of Daoism, while problematic, raised important issues of academic and cultural exploitation, popular charlatanism and hokum, and the exoticization of Chinese culture. This paper will suggest a path to a more fruitful and balanced approach that could invigorate the scholarly discourse as well as deepening the public’s understanding.
Sat Hon. The Oracle, the Brush, and the Sword: The Practical Application of Daoist Alchemy
The oracle, Yijing (Book of Changes) is the foundation for all wisdom disciplines in China. The 64 hexagrams express the subtle flow of destiny and describe the development of life within the individual, the human collective and finally the Earth. The brush represents the art of sacred calligraphy, or talisman writing (fu), where a single stroke is endowed with a spiritual force. Some have equated it with Druid Runes. In its essence, fu is the formless trace left behind by the movement of the sword. The sword of no-mind is a cultivation of razor sharp focus. We use the sword to cut away delusion, fantasy, obsession and our darkest demons and emerge victorious. Akin to the Zoroastrian rites of ripping apart the Ox of Darkness in order to bring light into the universe as well as into individuals, the human collect
Scarin, Jacopo. One Institution and Many Identities: The Tongbai gong (桐柏宮) after the Fall of the Qing Dynasty
This paper focuses on the development of the Tongbai gong 桐柏宮 (Nanzong zuting 南宗祖庭) on
Serran-Pagan, Cristobal. The Coincidence of Opposites in Thomas Merton and Zhuangzi: When the No-thing Says It All
Paradoxes are important in the mystical language of Merton and Zhuangzi. Both contemplatives understood the need of using mystical paradoxes when referring to Ultimate Reality. They both acknowledge the limitations of human language in their quest to express the Ineffable Godhead or the Dao. The only thing a mystic can say after becoming one with Ultimate Reality is that they cannot fully know or even describe the mystery of the universe. Yet these two mystics have written some of the most beautiful mystical poetry on the No-thing and the All. Merton and Zhuangzi knew from experience that paradoxes are a prime instrument humans have at hand in their quest of pointing to the Way.
Shiga, Ichiko. Formation of a New Daoist Community in 19th-c. Lingnan Area: Sacred Places, Networks, and Eschatology
This presentation is intended as an investigation into the local religious arenas in 19th Lingnan area lying across Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. During the late Qing, Lingnan saw the rise of various new religious movements, among which were the spirit-writing cult movements, a remarkable phenomena that I will focus on here. The newly established spirit-writing organizations hierarchically and functionally coexisted with existing institutions and specialists, such as Daoist monasteries and more local Daoist priests. They were affected mutually each other, although they were sometimes competitive and in conflict. Since the 19th century, with the increase of Cantonese immigration, some of these new religious organizations spread abroad, forming close ties between mainland China and overseas Chinese communities. Finally, through the process of interaction among them, a new Daoist community sharing a common identity and sense of mission was created. I would like to investigate into the features of spirit writing movements in Lingnan, focusing on their locations, networks and eschatological ideas. In addition, I would like to consider interrelationships and interactions among new spirit-writing organizations, including their connections with overseas Chinese communities, as well as the process of how the idea of salvation rapidly spread throughout Lingnan, by considering scriptures and revelations with eschatological contents.
Smid, Robert. Finding the Point of Rest on the Potter’s Wheel of Heaven: A Comparative Method Drawn from the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi
More often than not, comparative philosophy falls into the familiar ruts of identifying points of similarity and difference among diverse traditions, typically with the aim of learning something more about, improving, or commending one or more of those traditions. This practice is so common that, for many, it is considered the default method of comparative philosophy. This paper seeks to challenge that association by providing an alternative framework for comparison that avoids the aforementioned ruts. It does so through a constructive appropriation of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi, which provides a significantly different account of how diverse traditions relate to one another that broadens the scope of what comparative philosophy can be.
Stoloff, Adrian. “For he who listens with his ears, the learning is in his skin”: Determining the Textual History of the Received Wenzi and its relation to the Huainanzi from its parallels in the Manuscript Wenzi
The text known as the Wenzi (文子) has a long and winding history that for people in different times and places held different meanings. The text claims to be from the words of a 6th century BCE Master Wen, and in 742 CE it was canonized as one of four Daoist classics. However, its heyday was short-lived: starting in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) scholars dubbed it a forgery that copied from an Eastern Han text, the Huainanzi (淮南子). The Wenzi largely held its status as a forgery all the way into the modern era. In 1973, a manuscript entitled Wenzi was found in a Han tomb, re-igniting a millennium-old debate about the authenticity of the text. For the sake of simplicity, then, it can be said that there are two Wenzi texts: the received version, which exists in various editions (the earliest of which consists of a scroll dating from 751 CE found at Dunhuang 敦煌); and the manuscript Wenzi that was found in a Han tomb dating from 55 BCE in Dingzhou (定州), Hebei Province (河北省). Whether the received Wenzi is an authentic text that has a direct lineage to the manuscript Wenzi is a subject of ongoing discussion.
In this paper I shall examine section one of chapter five of the Wenzi. I shall argue, first, that the received Wenzi is a composite text made from heavily edited passages of the manuscript Wenzi and of the Huainanzi. Second, I shall argue that not only is the Huainanzi not derived from the manuscript Wenzi, but even the received Wenzi is not a direct descendent of the manuscript Wenzi. Rather, it is my contention that the manuscript Wenzi is a text in an incomplete stage of edition.
Valmisa, Mercedes. Control, Fate, and Adaptation in Zhuangzi and Qiongda yishi
When discussing changes, and especially those we have no control over, including the unpredictable vagaries of fate (ming)—many texts respond with the notion of Adaptation: one needs to adapt to changes, go along with them, and even avail oneself of the new opportunities they bring about. This is the kind of response we find in several chapters of the Zhuangzi. However, the Qiongda yishi manuscript from Guodian presents a different approach: one should turn to one’s inner self, make sure one is doing the right thing and disregard the outcomes of one’s actions. These are two different answers to the problem of how to (re)gain control over things that are not under our control in early China. One answer is by means of Adaptation (turn outwards), the other by means of self-vigilance shen qi du (turn inwards). These two different kind of discourses are attested in other texts too; for instance, the Xici zhuan would pair with the Zhuangzi, whereas the Zhongyong and Wuxing would pair with the Qiongda yishi.
Wang, Qian王倩. The Directional Pattern of Han Stone Carvings of Queen Mother of the West 论汉画像石中西王母 图像方位模式
When we study the images of Xiwangmu, or Queen Mother of the West in Han stone carvings, we should not look at them using us observers but the building which houses the carved stone as the point of reference. This is due to the fact that when Xiwangmu appears together with Dongwanggong, or King Father of the East, in Han stone carvings, the goddess is always at Dongwanggong’s right side or on the right side of the building and that when Xiwangmu appears alone without Dongwanggong present in the picture, the carved stone is always on the right side of the building or structure. Since the name of Xiwangmu itself indicates the direction of west, the directional pattern of Han stone carvings of Xiwangmu manifests itself as east at the left and west at the right. While the directional pattern of Han stone carvings of Xiwangmu is just in opposition to the modern cartographical principle, it is in perfect agreement with ancient Chinese cosmology embodied in mythological accounts of the world and the universe that are recorded in such Chinese classics as the Huainanzi, the Shanhai jing, the Chuci, etc.
观 察汉画像石中西王母图像不应将观察者作为参照物，而应将西王母图像所在的建筑物作为参照物。以此原则观察汉画像石的西王母图像，便会发现如下几点方位特 征：第一，与东王公图像成对出现的西王母图像位于所属建筑物或图像的右侧，东王公图像则位于所属建筑物或图像的左侧；第二，单独出现的西王母图像位于所属 建筑物的右侧。因西王母自身名称具有指明西方之特征，从中可以推断，上述汉画像石中的西王母图像模式为左东右西，这与现代制图学遵循的左西右东的方位原则 是相反的，与《山海经》、《淮南子》、《楚辞》等古代神话文本表述的宇宙观是一致的。
Wang, Xiaoyang 汪小洋. Two Misreadings in the Study of the Cult of Queen Mother of the West in the Han Period 汉代西王母信仰的两个误读
The cult of Xiwangmu, or Queen Mother of the West finds its fullest expression in the Han period. Before the Han period, Xiwangmu was a local deity with a limited influence, and after the Han period, she became a minor goddess without an independent character in the Taoist pantheon. It was during the Han dynasty that the influence of Xiwangmu reached its zenith.
In the study of the cult of Queen Mother of the West there are two misreadings, the first of which concerns Xiwangmu as a goddess of longevity and Xiwangmu as a goddess of rebirth as well. Xiwangmu as a goddess of longevity attains immortality through taking elixir of life, and as a goddess of rebirth attains a transformation between life and death through burial activities. The significance of the differences between them is that Xiwangmu’s pursuing immortality and detesting death inspires Taoism, and that her viewing death as life helps establish a tomb-burial tradition in China.
The second misreading concerns Xiwangmu as depicted on stone carvings and murals in Han tombs. Portraits of Xiwangmu are widely seen in Han stone carvings, while there are only two murals found so far picturing Xiwangmu. The significance of their difference is that the figure of Xiwang as depicted on Han stone carvings and that of Xiwangmu as pictured on the two murals belong to two different iconographical systems. Han stone carvings tend to place Xiwangmu at the centre of the picture, giving expression to the then non-mainstream cult of immortality, while the murals have their focus on more traditional deities such as Nüwa, thus giving expression to the mainstream cult of immortality.
西王母信仰在汉代发展最为充分。汉之前， 西王母是地域神而影响有限；汉之后，西王母是道教神仙榜中的辅神而缺少独立性。只有汉代，西王母影响最大。但是，西王母信仰的研究存在两个误读：第一个误 读：长寿西王母和重生西王母的误读。长寿西王母是通过不死药获得生命无限延续，重生西王母是通过墓葬活动而获得生死之间的生命转换。区别的意义是：长寿西 王母好生恶死，开启了道教；重生西王母事死如生，建立了中国的新墓葬传统。
第二个误读：画像石墓西王母与壁画墓西王母的误读。西王母图像在画像石墓中普遍存在，而在壁画墓中只有两个。区别的意义是：画像石墓与壁画墓是两个图像体系。画像石墓图像以西王母为中心，表现非主流社会长生崇拜；壁画墓图像以女娲等传统神灵为中心，表现主流社会长生崇拜。
Weaver, Afaa. The Heavy and the Light: Daoist Poetics and Trauma
In this paper I will explore the application of Daoist perceptions to the project of writing poetry about child trauma and recovery. I will examine the possibilities of applying the idea that Daoist texts such as the Daode jing are indeed memoirs from communities of meditators and what that may mean for an understanding of the applicability of Daoist philosophy as a psychological attitude toward recovery and examine the value of the experiential knowledge of mind/body unity.
Wells, Marnix. Heguanzi—A Message for Our Times
Heguanzi, the Pheasant Cap Master, was a man of mystery. References to known people, places, and datable events in the work ascribed to him enable us to place him in the state of Zhao (southern Shanxi/Hebei) during the mid-3rd century BCE. The book consists of essays, verses, and dialogues which center on the theme of unity. Pheasant Cap like Mozi believed that Heaven’s motions exemplified an equitable system of government opposed to the aggression that characterized the Warring States period, in which he lived. This they deduced from constant cycles observable in nature driven by the sky’s circumpolar rotation. This manifestation of divine impartiality underpinned his belief in meritocracy and rejection of hereditary rule. He called for a meritocracy and centralised system of law to achieve the world unity he believed teleologially pre-ordained.
Pheasant Cap understood the Way (Dao) as necessity (biran), but its workings activated by human virtue (de). His monism was not fatalism but an end to be realized by humans in history. Unification was embodied in the divine personage of Grand Unity and to be realized on earth through the messianic figure of the Complete Ninth, the conclusion of the series of eight augustan rulers from history. Pheasant Cap like Mozi favored a program of positive action (youwei). Laozi reckoned injustices in the world would right themselves if left alone, as if by Adam Smith’s “invisible hand.” This relates to what Pheasant Cap called the “NightWalker”: Timely action, as by a doctor who treats the disease at its onset, just seems like inaction (wuwei). The dynamic of unity essentially derived from individuals’ innate desires and affinities. Yet Pheasant Cap warned of impending danger if reforms were not implemented. He declared world peace is cannot be realized by force yet military preparedness cannot be neglected.
Willmont, Dennis. A New Perspective on the Old Master
The text of the Daode jing is like an archaeological dig in that its inner meaning is hidden within the context of its main terms. Understanding them comprehensively will give us an insight that we have not previously been able to see. In this presentation, I outline the 220 main terms in the text in five basic categories, each with numerous sub-categories: 1) The definition of Dao as both source and Path; 2) how Dao manifests into the world; 3) human nature and its relationship to virtue and the role it plays in both attaining and losing Dao; 4) the Fragmentation of Dao; 5) how Dao can be restored in the world.
Examining the Daode jing in light of these terms and their systematic organization, I provide a better understanding of the inner meaning and importance of this text. It will clarity how it has influenced the history of Daoism over the millennia and why it has been so important to the opening and raising of consciousness in the West from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day.
Willmont, Dennis. Documentary Showing: “Return to the Mountain: A Taiji Journey”
Return to the Mountain: A Taiji Journey is a full-length film documentary shot on location in China in 2005 about the spiritual origins of Taiji Quan and its relevance to the ancient Chinese healing arts. It was produced by Dennis Willmont, an author and scholar of acupuncture and its Daoist connections, and his son Jud, who is a film-maker living in Shanghai. Together they travelled from Shanghai to Beijing and from Chen Village to Wudang Mountain in search of the ancestral and philosophical sources of this tradition and the inspiration they could find along the way.
Woolley, Nathan. Representing Daoist Principles in the Political Actions of Individuals during the Tang and Five Dynasties
Throughout Chinese imperial history, Daoists were engaged in the political sphere, often providing the symbols of legitimacy through ritual service in return for political patronage. Yet in Daoism, the model of the secluded practitioner who removes himself from society to cultivate the Way has long been revered. According to some religious biographies, key Daoist figures have adopted both service at court and social seclusion at different stages of their careers, often in response to the requirements of both religious training and political circumstances. Significantly, for scholar-officials with Daoist affinities, service to the court need not have precluded religious achievements.
Official service could be depicted as a means of achieving Daoist goals for the individual as well as the state, with examples drawn from members of the otherworldly bureaucracy. Daoism could also provide varying models for responding to complex situations with conflicting needs. In the examination of individual choice in some texts from the Tang and Five Dynasties period, the motivations of historical figures in political circumstances is framed by Daoist principles. In such depictions, Daoism sometimes provides the guiding rationale in both engagement with and withdrawal from politics. Alternatively, withdrawal from public life could be portrayed as a Daoist mode juxtaposed with a complimentary Confucian mode of political service. The choice of action in challenging times is ultimately dictated by the exigencies of the situation, with attention given to both the needs of the state and the goal of self-preservation. Appropriate response to the times, an ideal embedded in Daoist scripture, thus takes on practical significance. This paper will examine how scholar-officials wrote of political service in terms of Daoist principles and goals and how the language they used relates to Daoist scripture.
Wu, Nengchang. Daoism in the Maoist and Post-Maoist Periods: The Case of Master Dingling in Western Fujian 毛澤東時代和後毛澤東時代的道教：
毛澤東時代（1949-76）
In what way has Mao’s reign (1949-76) impacted the religious life in rural China? Master Dingling (1929-2013) of the Lingying-tang 靈應堂, a Daoist altar in western Fujian, is a good case to discuss this topic. Already a great Daoist master in 1949, Dingling had gradually changed his status as Daoist, and taken wandering puppet master and photographer as his two major occupations. He also participated in many semi-official cultural and artistic activities, applying adroitly his Daoist techniques. However, the experience in Mao’s period has also influenced Dingling’s comeback as a Daoist master, and his Daoist practices in Post-Maoist period. Focusing on Master Dingling, this article attempts to explore how the Daoist transmissions, ritual practices and the daily life of the Daoist masters had changed in Maoist period and Post-Maoist period, and the internal logic of these changes.
Xin, Hong-juan 辛红娟. Tao Te Ching in the English World: Perspective of Cultural Travelling 《道德经》在英语世界的译介：文化旅行视角
20世纪90年代以来，学界出现旅行文化研究的趋向，学者们除了对“旅行”进行哲学上的阐发，还从文化接触的角度研究旅行中文化“接触地带”所彰显的文化固守、文化冲击和文化认证。文学翻译中文化内核语词的翻译，常常是这种异质文化交锋的“抗争之场”。本文从文化固守、文化冲击以及对双重文化认证的角度，分析了中国典籍《道德经》在英语世界一个多世纪以来被翻译的情况。
Many scholars have come to realize that the “contact zone”, being a place of cultural clinging, cultural shock and cultural identification sometimes reveals the radically asymmetrical relations of power when two different cultures encounter. The present paper illustrates the translation of Tao Te Ching in the past centuries from this new perspective of cultural travelling and points out that different images of Tao Te Ching and Tao manifest different cultural attitudes of the translators and hence brought new edification to the recipient culture.
Xue, Xiaogang. Mount Kongtong as Sacred Daoist Space Today 中国崆峒 道源圣地
在道教文化上具有地位突出的最重要的因素就是“黄帝问道广成子”，崆峒山正是因此而被誉为“道源圣地”，也被称为“中国道教第一山”。广成子向黄帝所授“长生之至道”，为道教内丹修炼的精髓，使崆峒仙山为世代求长生者景仰。崆峒山在西北道教的历史中占有极重要的地位，对早期道教的正式形成，道教思想的主要成分都有着重大影响，近代道教的主要经忏传承更是源于崆峒。
Yu, Senlin 俞森林. 中国道教经籍在英语世界的译介A General Survey on the Translations and Studies of Taoist Scriptures in the English-speaking World
1812年，馬禮遜在其《中國通俗文選》中選譯了《
本文擬以歷史為線索，將英語世界道教經籍譯介與研究分為“十九世
Yuan, Qing 袁青. How the Laozi Became a Classic: Its Fate in the Western Han
In the Western Han, between the lifetimes of Sima Qian and Liu Xiang, the Laozi was not called Daode jing, nor was it regarded as a classic. According to the Shiji and Hanshu, Empress Dowager Dou, whose power significantly influenced the reign of Emperor Jing, loved the Laozi very much, and Emperor Jing also felt devoted to it. In addition, references to “Upper” and “Lower Classic” appear in the Laozi of the Bamboo Slips of the Western Han as contained in the collection of Peking University, estimated to have been transcribed under Emperor Wu, the successor of Emperor Jing. All these can prove the reliability of the traditional view that the Laozi was regarded as a classic under Emperor Jing, reaching the height of its fame. Although Confucianism was honored at the time and people could not attain wealth and position by studying the Laozi after Emperor Wu, the text was not buried in oblivion. Some Confucian scholars still studied it to perfect the official Confucian classics, while others who were free from the need to pursue wealth and position continued to focus on it. Thus, the Laozi continued to spread and develop even after Emperor Wu.
Zhang, Muliang. Complementarity and Confluence in the Historical Development Process: The Intrinsic Unification of Daoism and Confucianism
I investigate the intrinsic unification of Daoism and Confucianism. Before the Qin, thinkers of Daoism and Confucianism faced the same historical background, the destruction of the system of rites and music. Based on different philosophical concerns, they examined the relationship between the chaotic social reality and the system of social ethical principles in different perspectives and came to build different philosophical systems. That means, although they vary in theory, Daoism and Confucianism possess the same metaphysical origin. Their spiritual interconnectedness appears in the Zhuangzi and Daode jing. The structure of the tiandao 天道system shows this. Daoism and Confucianism made philosophical breakthroughs from the same cultural resources, i.e., the tiandao system. Daoism emphasized the natural attribute of tiandao, whereas Confucianism emphasized the social ethical attribute. There are three stages of the complementary and confluence process: 1. Before the Qin, they have the same metaphysical foundation, but created their theory in different perspectives. 2. In the Wei-Jin (240-316 AD), their successors expressed a burning desire to pursue the unification between the two schools, hoping to solve the conflict between you (existence) and wu (nothing), ziran (nature) and mingjiao (ethical codes). However, these philosophers all failed to unite these two schools of thought. Wangbi 王弼 (226-249) is one such philosopher. 3. Overall, in the Song and Ming (960-1644), philosophers realized the unification, but insisted on the authority of Confucianism and showed a repulsion to Daoism, even though they themselves took thoughts from Daoism.
Zhang, Yang. Northern Song Administration and Daoism北宋官僚與道教
北 宋時期的道教一直以官方為主導，太宗、真宗朝開始，官方開始編撰《道藏》，太、真二宗對道教的弘揚，並進而完善了”儒釋道三教合一”的思想，有著其深刻的 歷史背景和政治含義。有宋一代，尊祖宗成法，朝廷總用文人，開科取士，使得儒家興盛。北宋出現了對後世影響的理學思想，而儒家士大夫的興盛，也使官僚士大 夫集團對朝政的掌控導致了對皇權的一種威脅，因此統治者開始通過”儒釋道三教合一”的手段對其制衡，本文將著重從真宗朝入手，闡發自己的觀點。
Zhang, Yunlong. Daoist as Academic Thought and Daoism as Religion 作为思想的道家与作为宗教的道教
Although seemingly similar appearance, there is a vital difference between Daoist（dao jia道家）and Daoism（dao jiao道教）. not only is this difference in the one for academic thought, and the other for religion, but also in the two different interests. However, there are many relations between them. The thoughts which From Laozi, the idol of Daoism, to their conceptions, such as “doing nothing”, “longevity and health”, are almost affected by Taoist. After that, to what extent was Daoism, whose foundation was later than Taoist, constructed by Taoist and then how it became a great pervasive religion in the following China? Was it a logic and necessary result of Taoist, or the result from the political power and other external factors? This article will try to discuss this question by the formation and development of the original Daoism.
道家与道教，看似相似，实则存在着巨大的区别。这种区别不仅表现在一为学术思想，一为宗教，还表现在两者不同的精神旨趣。但是，它们之间有存在着千丝万缕的联系。从道教崇拜的偶像老子，到其“清静无为”、“养生长寿”等思想，均难逃道家的影响。那么，后于道家而产生的道教，是如何改造道家，并发展成为具有重大影响的世俗宗教的？是道教思想本身具有这样的逻辑必然，还是政治权力等外在因素形成的结果。本文试图从道教初期的形成探讨这一问题。
Zhao, Xiaohuan. The Cult of the City God (Chenghuang) in the Yuan Period: With Special Reference to the Quan Yuan Wen 元代城隍神信仰：以《全元文》為中心的考察
Chenghuang, the City God, is a popular tutelary deity in Daoism. The cult of Chenghuang as a guardian god of cities remains very much a living tradition dating from the Three Kingdoms period (220-285 AD). During the Tang dynasty (618-907) at the latest, Chenghuang began to be worshipped also as a judge of the netherworld. With a judicial and administrative power over the dead comparable to that of a county magistrate or regional prefect over the people, the god was housed in a yamen-like temple and enjoyed regular sacrificial offerings and ritual/theatrical performances. With the revival of traditional culture and nation-wide reconstruction and renovation of ancient temples in the 1990s, more and more scholarly attention has since been paid to the cult of Chenghuan in imperial
城隍神－中國傳統社會中的城市保護神的信仰可以追溯到南北朝，甚至於更早的時代。至遲到唐代，城隍神又開始祀奉為冥官，與執掌州府郡縣的地方行政長官共理幽明。自二十世紀八九十年代中國大陸官方針對宗教和民間信仰控制的放鬆，各地祠堂寺廟建築的重修和祭祀功能的逐漸恢復，古老的城隍信仰受到越來越多中外學人的關注。然而，他們關注的重點卻主要集中於城隍信仰的起源，和明清／唐宋時期城隍信仰，而元代作為中國傳統社會中城隍信仰的一個承前（唐宋）啓後（明清）的重要時期卻沒有在學界得到應有的關注。有鑒於此，本文擬在逐篇細讀《全元文）所收全部“城隍文”的基礎上，重點考察撰述者、撰述年代和撰述背景；城隍神的來歷、朝廷封號或所賜廟額；城隍廟的建制、形制和區域分佈；城隍廟的修建、補葺和維護的資金來源及其日常管理；朝廷、地方官員、地方士紳和普通市民至於城隍信仰的態度，並一一詳加列表說明。本文的考察雖聚焦於《全元文），但在可能和必要時，也參諸相關官修史書、野史雜錄、筆記小說等資料，以圖較為全面地勾勒出蒙元時期城隍神在公共事務和民眾個體生活中的角色，城隍神的宗教功能和地位。
Zhao, Yanxia. Daoist Healthy Longevity Yangsheng and the Aging Society
The achievements of modern medicine in treatment and detecting of diseases, alongside with the establishment of social welfare in modern society, has made the youth death caused by the insufficient treatment and the shortage of nutrition getting lesser and lesser, and therefore, more and more people living in contemporary time are being able to live in an older and older age. This continue grow of the elderly population (people whose age is over 65 years old) and the ongoing decline of the young population has in fact made modern society a typical aging society. Thus, problems of an ageing society such as the increase of medical spending, the cost of social care and social welfare, the shortage of labour forces, and the lack of vitality, energy and creativity of the society appear consequently. How to encounter with these new emerged problems and challenges has become a serious concern of many scholars, organizations, and governments. Distinctive from the other world religions, Daoism is a religion of ‘this world’ with a heavy attention on individual cultivation of physical health, and a strong focus on maintaining personal spiritual wellbeing. From Daoist perspective, to obtain a healthy longevity life is crucial for individual to pursue her/his religious goal of immortality; and to have a healthy physical body and an alert mentality with full of energy and vitality, is essential for obtaining of healthy longevity life. Based on such an understanding, Daoist practitioners through history have created many effective yangsheng exercises with particular focus on skills and techniques for nourishing and prolonging individual lives. These exercises are especially good for people who are in their old ages because of their gentle nature and time requirement. This paper intends to explore what can Daoist healthy longevity yangsheng exercise can contribute to forthcoming ageing society.
Zhou, Enyi. The Laozi in the Light of the Philosophy of Technology 从技术哲学的视角探视“老子”
In the technologilized age, the term“usefulness”and”utility” has been the main rhythms of our times. Truly, it is helpful to develop the civilization, however, there are some problems, such as “alienation”, “meaninglessness”, which have been discussed by Karl Marx, Martin Heidegger, Frankfurt School and so on. If we definite the core idea of technology as “making”, we will find a fertile source of technical thoughts in Laozi, especially, its thoughts, ”doing nothing”,” The Natural Way”, etc. , will give us some new ideas to reflect the modern technology.This paper will deal with two questions: first, how to understand Laozi’s philosophy of technology; secondly, how about the possibility of Laozi to overcome the questions of modern technology.
在技术化的时代，“有用”、“效益”已经成为一种主要的思想情调，这固然推动了人类物质文明的发展，但也形成了“物化”等现代性问题。《老子》的“无为”、“自然”思想，为我们反思现代技术问题提供了新的思路。本文主要探讨两个问题：1，如何理解老子的技术思想；2，老子思想克服现代技术问题的具有多大的可能性。
Zhu, Yiwen 祝逸雯. 宋元祭鍊文獻研究: 以鄭思肖《太極祭鍊內法》為例 A Preliminary Study on Inner Method of Taiji for Sacrificing to and Sublimating [the Souls of the Deceased] (Taiji jilian neifa太極祭鍊內法)
鄭思肖（1241-1318）的《太極祭鍊內法》是一部為學界所關注的祭鍊文本，其中對「水火鍊度」的解釋，幾成標準解說。但是，鄭思肖本人卻並非一位受過經籙的道士，他甚至認為《太極祭鍊內法》的功效要遠遠大於黃籙大齋。本論文以鄭思肖《太極祭鍊內法》為研究的主要對象，在分析其文本源流及儀式特徵的同時，參照金允中《上清靈寶大法》卷十三<祭鍊幽魂品>、《道法會元》卷二一〇<丹陽祭鍊內旨>等多部祭鍊文獻，試圖將它們置於一個靈寶祭鍊傳統的背景中去解讀與比較，揭示出金允中的靈寶祭鍊與<丹陽祭鍊內旨>共同體現了作為道教儀式特徵之一的官僚主義程序的穩定性，《太極祭鍊內法》與<丹陽祭鍊內旨>則同時凸顯了個人的內丹修煉對於道教公共儀式的滲透，其中也反映了受到儒家與佛教影響的內丹思想的逐漸成熟。《太極祭鍊內法》體現了儒士不僅從事道教修煉以療疾養生，更以此達到普度的目的，並融入了其三教兼修的特色，其作品不但為道教界所接受，更影響了道教界科儀文獻的編撰，如明代的《靈寶文檢大成》與《上清靈寶濟度大成金書》。
The Inner Method of Taiji for Sacrificing to and Sublimating [the Souls of the Deceased] (Taiji jilian neifa太極祭鍊內法), written by Zheng Sixiao鄭思肖(1241-1318), has attracted wide scholarly attention as a ritual text that combines both universal salvation and individual inner practice. This paper aims to demonstrate the sharp differences between the ritual text compiled by a non-Daoist, Zheng Sixiao and those by Daoists, say, Jin Yunzhong金允中(fl.1225) and Wang Xuanzhen王玄真 through detailed analysis of the ritual manuals flourished in the Song-Yuan dynasties. Despite this, Taiji jilian neifa, which reflects the penetration of inner alchemy practice into the public rituals, has found its way into the ritual compendia of the Ming dynasty, like Lingbao wenjian dacheng靈寶文檢大成 and Shangqing lingbao jidu dacheng jinshu上清靈寶濟度大成金書.
Zuern, Tobias. Traces of the Ancients (gu zhi ji 古之跡) in the Huainanzi.
Scholars have regularly emphasized the Huainanzi‘s intertextual style and employment of historical and mythological narratives; however, there has been no attempt to understand these literary strategies using the Huainanzi‘s own terminology and ideology to my knowledge. In this paper, I present the concept of the traces of the ancients (gu zhi ji 古之跡) in order to tackle and explain parts of the Daoist classics’ “eclectic” style. The Huainanzi claims that contrary to the Dao and the sage (shengren 聖人) actions of human beings inherently leave traces in the dusty world (chen’gou 塵垢 or chen’ai 塵埃). These traces of past actions manifest in transmitted words (yan 言) and affairs (shi 事). I argue that the Huainanzi attempts, on one hand, to textually align the traces of the ways or methods of the past and present (經古今之道) by incorporating fragments of the transmitted words of the numerous masters and hundred schools of thought (zhuzi baijia 諸子百家).
On the other hand, it weaves a web of the remnants of human affairs (jingwei renshi 經緯人事) by including historical and mythological narratives in its writings. In that sense, we may understand the Huainanzi as a textual fabric that creates a literal connection between the transmitted affairs and words of the past and the present (通古今之事). Thus, the Huainanzi‘s eclectic style effects a textual bridge between the ancients and the present age and temporally unifies the world (tong tianxia 統天下) within the constrains of the book.
