Gendering Chinese Religion

Gendering Chinese Religion

Author: Jinhua Jia

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2014-07-31

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 1438453078

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A gender-critical consideration of women and religion in Chinese traditions from medieval to modern times. Gendering Chinese Religion marks the emergence of a subfield on women, gender, and religion in China studies. Ranging from the medieval period to the present day, this volume departs from the conventional and often male-centered categorization of Chinese religions into Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religion. It makes two compelling arguments. First, Chinese women have deployed specific religious ideas and rituals to empower themselves in various social contexts. Second, gendered perceptions and representations of Chinese religions have been indispensable to the historical and contemporary construction of social and political power. The contributors use innovative ways of discovering and applying a rich variety of sources, many previously ignored by scholars. While each of the chapters in this interdisciplinary work represents a distinct perspective, together they form a coherent dialogue about the historical importance, intellectual possibilities, and methodological protocols of this new subfield.


Book Synopsis Gendering Chinese Religion by : Jinhua Jia

Download or read book Gendering Chinese Religion written by Jinhua Jia and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2014-07-31 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gender-critical consideration of women and religion in Chinese traditions from medieval to modern times. Gendering Chinese Religion marks the emergence of a subfield on women, gender, and religion in China studies. Ranging from the medieval period to the present day, this volume departs from the conventional and often male-centered categorization of Chinese religions into Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religion. It makes two compelling arguments. First, Chinese women have deployed specific religious ideas and rituals to empower themselves in various social contexts. Second, gendered perceptions and representations of Chinese religions have been indispensable to the historical and contemporary construction of social and political power. The contributors use innovative ways of discovering and applying a rich variety of sources, many previously ignored by scholars. While each of the chapters in this interdisciplinary work represents a distinct perspective, together they form a coherent dialogue about the historical importance, intellectual possibilities, and methodological protocols of this new subfield.


Gender, Power, and Talent

Gender, Power, and Talent

Author: Jinhua Jia

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2018-03-13

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 0231545495

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During the Tang dynasty (618–907), changes in political policies, the religious landscape, and gender relations opened the possibility for Daoist women to play an unprecedented role in religious and public life. Women, from imperial princesses to the daughters of commoner families, could be ordained as Daoist priestesses and become religious leaders, teachers, and practitioners in their own right. Some achieved remarkable accomplishments: one wrote and transmitted texts on meditation and inner cultivation; another, a physician, authored a treatise on therapeutic methods, medical theory, and longevity techniques. Priestess-poets composed major works, and talented priestess-artists produced stunning calligraphy. In Gender, Power, and Talent, Jinhua Jia draws on a wealth of previously untapped sources to explain how Daoist priestesses distinguished themselves as a distinct gendered religious and social group. She describes the life journey of priestesses from palace women to abbesses and ordinary practitioners, touching on their varied reasons for entering the Daoist orders, the role of social and religious institutions, forms of spiritual experience, and the relationships between gendered identities and cultural representations. Jia takes the reader inside convents and cloisters, demonstrating how they functioned both as a female space for self-determination and as a public platform for both religious and social spheres. The first comprehensive study of the lives and roles of Daoist priestesses in Tang China, Gender, Power, and Talent restores women to the landscape of Chinese religion and literature and proposes new methodologies for the growing field of gender and religion.


Book Synopsis Gender, Power, and Talent by : Jinhua Jia

Download or read book Gender, Power, and Talent written by Jinhua Jia and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Tang dynasty (618–907), changes in political policies, the religious landscape, and gender relations opened the possibility for Daoist women to play an unprecedented role in religious and public life. Women, from imperial princesses to the daughters of commoner families, could be ordained as Daoist priestesses and become religious leaders, teachers, and practitioners in their own right. Some achieved remarkable accomplishments: one wrote and transmitted texts on meditation and inner cultivation; another, a physician, authored a treatise on therapeutic methods, medical theory, and longevity techniques. Priestess-poets composed major works, and talented priestess-artists produced stunning calligraphy. In Gender, Power, and Talent, Jinhua Jia draws on a wealth of previously untapped sources to explain how Daoist priestesses distinguished themselves as a distinct gendered religious and social group. She describes the life journey of priestesses from palace women to abbesses and ordinary practitioners, touching on their varied reasons for entering the Daoist orders, the role of social and religious institutions, forms of spiritual experience, and the relationships between gendered identities and cultural representations. Jia takes the reader inside convents and cloisters, demonstrating how they functioned both as a female space for self-determination and as a public platform for both religious and social spheres. The first comprehensive study of the lives and roles of Daoist priestesses in Tang China, Gender, Power, and Talent restores women to the landscape of Chinese religion and literature and proposes new methodologies for the growing field of gender and religion.


Chinese Religious Life

Chinese Religious Life

Author: David A. Palmer

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-08-25

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0199875669

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Written by a team of internationally renowned scholars, this volume provides an in-depth introduction to religion in contemporary China. Instead of adopting the traditional focus on pre-modern religious history and doctrinal traditions, Chinese Religious Life examines the social dimensions of religious life, with essays devoted to religion in urban, rural, and ethnic minority settings; to the religious dimensions of body, gender, environment, and civil society; and to the historical, sociological, economic, and political aspects of religion in contemporary Chinese society.


Book Synopsis Chinese Religious Life by : David A. Palmer

Download or read book Chinese Religious Life written by David A. Palmer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-25 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a team of internationally renowned scholars, this volume provides an in-depth introduction to religion in contemporary China. Instead of adopting the traditional focus on pre-modern religious history and doctrinal traditions, Chinese Religious Life examines the social dimensions of religious life, with essays devoted to religion in urban, rural, and ethnic minority settings; to the religious dimensions of body, gender, environment, and civil society; and to the historical, sociological, economic, and political aspects of religion in contemporary Chinese society.


Goddess on the Frontier

Goddess on the Frontier

Author: Megan Bryson

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2016-11-02

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1503600459

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Dali is a small region on a high plateau in Southeast Asia. Its main deity, Baijie, has assumed several gendered forms throughout the area's history: Buddhist goddess, the mother of Dali's founder, a widowed martyr, and a village divinity. What accounts for so many different incarnations of a local deity? Goddess on the Frontier argues that Dali's encounters with forces beyond region and nation have influenced the goddess's transformations. Dali sits at the cultural crossroads of Southeast Asia, India, and Tibet; it has been claimed by different countries but is currently part of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. Megan Bryson incorporates historical-textual studies, art history, and ethnography in her book to argue that Baijie provided a regional identity that enabled Dali to position itself geopolitically and historically. In doing so, Bryson provides a case study of how people craft local identities out of disparate cultural elements and how these local identities transform over time in relation to larger historical changes—including the increasing presence of the Chinese state.


Book Synopsis Goddess on the Frontier by : Megan Bryson

Download or read book Goddess on the Frontier written by Megan Bryson and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-02 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dali is a small region on a high plateau in Southeast Asia. Its main deity, Baijie, has assumed several gendered forms throughout the area's history: Buddhist goddess, the mother of Dali's founder, a widowed martyr, and a village divinity. What accounts for so many different incarnations of a local deity? Goddess on the Frontier argues that Dali's encounters with forces beyond region and nation have influenced the goddess's transformations. Dali sits at the cultural crossroads of Southeast Asia, India, and Tibet; it has been claimed by different countries but is currently part of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. Megan Bryson incorporates historical-textual studies, art history, and ethnography in her book to argue that Baijie provided a regional identity that enabled Dali to position itself geopolitically and historically. In doing so, Bryson provides a case study of how people craft local identities out of disparate cultural elements and how these local identities transform over time in relation to larger historical changes—including the increasing presence of the Chinese state.


Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan During the Modern Era

Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan During the Modern Era

Author: Paul R. Katz

Publisher: Academia Sinica on East Asia

Published: 2023-05-31

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781032066448

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This book explores how beliefs and practices have shaped the interactions between different ethnic groups in Western Hunan, as well as considering how religious life has adapted to the challenges of modern Chinese history. Combining historical and ethnographic methodologies, chapters in this book are structured around changes that occurred during the interaction between Miao ritual traditions and religions such as Daoism, with particular focus on the commonalities and differences seen between Western Hunan and other areas of Southwest China. In addition, investigation is made into how gender and ethnicity have shaped such processes, and what these phenomena can teach about larger questions of modern Chinese history. As such, this study transcends existing scholarship on Western Hunan - which has stressed the impact of state policies and elite agendas - by focusing instead on the roles played by ritual specialists. Such findings call into question conventional wisdom about the 'standardization' of Chinese culture, as well as the integration of local society into the state by means of written texts. Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan during the Modern Era will prove valuable to students and scholars of history, ethnography, anthropology, ethnic studies, and Asian studies more broadly.


Book Synopsis Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan During the Modern Era by : Paul R. Katz

Download or read book Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan During the Modern Era written by Paul R. Katz and published by Academia Sinica on East Asia. This book was released on 2023-05-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how beliefs and practices have shaped the interactions between different ethnic groups in Western Hunan, as well as considering how religious life has adapted to the challenges of modern Chinese history. Combining historical and ethnographic methodologies, chapters in this book are structured around changes that occurred during the interaction between Miao ritual traditions and religions such as Daoism, with particular focus on the commonalities and differences seen between Western Hunan and other areas of Southwest China. In addition, investigation is made into how gender and ethnicity have shaped such processes, and what these phenomena can teach about larger questions of modern Chinese history. As such, this study transcends existing scholarship on Western Hunan - which has stressed the impact of state policies and elite agendas - by focusing instead on the roles played by ritual specialists. Such findings call into question conventional wisdom about the 'standardization' of Chinese culture, as well as the integration of local society into the state by means of written texts. Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan during the Modern Era will prove valuable to students and scholars of history, ethnography, anthropology, ethnic studies, and Asian studies more broadly.


A Companion to Chinese History

A Companion to Chinese History

Author: Michael Szonyi

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-02-06

Total Pages: 475

ISBN-13: 1118624602

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A Companion to Chinese History presents a collection of essays offering a comprehensive overview of the latest intellectual developments in the study of China’s history from the ancient past up until the present day. Covers the major trends in the study of Chinese history from antiquity to the present day Considers the latest scholarship of historians working in China and around the world Explores a variety of long-range questions and themes which serves to bridge the conventional divide between China’s traditional and modern eras Addresses China’s connections with other nations and regions and enables non-specialists to make comparisons with their own fields Features discussion of traditional topics and chronological approaches as well as newer themes such as Chinese history in relation to sexuality, national identity, and the environment


Book Synopsis A Companion to Chinese History by : Michael Szonyi

Download or read book A Companion to Chinese History written by Michael Szonyi and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-02-06 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Companion to Chinese History presents a collection of essays offering a comprehensive overview of the latest intellectual developments in the study of China’s history from the ancient past up until the present day. Covers the major trends in the study of Chinese history from antiquity to the present day Considers the latest scholarship of historians working in China and around the world Explores a variety of long-range questions and themes which serves to bridge the conventional divide between China’s traditional and modern eras Addresses China’s connections with other nations and regions and enables non-specialists to make comparisons with their own fields Features discussion of traditional topics and chronological approaches as well as newer themes such as Chinese history in relation to sexuality, national identity, and the environment


De Jiao - A Religious Movement in Contemporary China and Overseas

De Jiao - A Religious Movement in Contemporary China and Overseas

Author: Bernard Formoso

Publisher: NUS Press

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 9971694921

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De Jiao ("Teaching of Virtue") is a China-born religious movement, based on spirit-writing and rooted in the tradition of the "halls for good deeds," which emerged in Chaozhou during the Sino-Japanese war. The book relates the fascinating process of its spread throughout Southeast Asia in the 1950s, and, more recently, from Thailand and Malaysia to post-Maoist China and the global world. Through a richly-documented multi-site ethnography of De Jiao congregations in the PRC, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, Bernard Formoso offers valuable insights into the adaptation of Overseas Chinese to sharply contrasted national polities, and the projective identity they build with relation to China. De Jiao is of special interest with regard to its organization and strategies which strongly reflect the managerial habits and entrepreneurial ethos of the Overseas Chinese businessmen. It has also built original bonding with symbols of the Chinese civilization whose greatness it claims to champion from the periphery. Accordingly, a central theme of the study is the role that such a religious movement may play to promote new forms of identification with the motherland as substitutes for loosened genealogical links. The book also offers a comprehensive interpretation of the contemporary practice of fu ji spirit-writing, and reconsiders the relation between unity and diversity in Chinese religion.


Book Synopsis De Jiao - A Religious Movement in Contemporary China and Overseas by : Bernard Formoso

Download or read book De Jiao - A Religious Movement in Contemporary China and Overseas written by Bernard Formoso and published by NUS Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: De Jiao ("Teaching of Virtue") is a China-born religious movement, based on spirit-writing and rooted in the tradition of the "halls for good deeds," which emerged in Chaozhou during the Sino-Japanese war. The book relates the fascinating process of its spread throughout Southeast Asia in the 1950s, and, more recently, from Thailand and Malaysia to post-Maoist China and the global world. Through a richly-documented multi-site ethnography of De Jiao congregations in the PRC, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, Bernard Formoso offers valuable insights into the adaptation of Overseas Chinese to sharply contrasted national polities, and the projective identity they build with relation to China. De Jiao is of special interest with regard to its organization and strategies which strongly reflect the managerial habits and entrepreneurial ethos of the Overseas Chinese businessmen. It has also built original bonding with symbols of the Chinese civilization whose greatness it claims to champion from the periphery. Accordingly, a central theme of the study is the role that such a religious movement may play to promote new forms of identification with the motherland as substitutes for loosened genealogical links. The book also offers a comprehensive interpretation of the contemporary practice of fu ji spirit-writing, and reconsiders the relation between unity and diversity in Chinese religion.


The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China

The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China

Author: Jinhua Jia

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2007-06-01

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780791468241

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A comprehensive study of the Hongzhou school of Chan Buddhism, long regarded as the Golden Age of this tradition, using many previously ignored texts, including stele inscriptions.


Book Synopsis The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China by : Jinhua Jia

Download or read book The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China written by Jinhua Jia and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive study of the Hongzhou school of Chan Buddhism, long regarded as the Golden Age of this tradition, using many previously ignored texts, including stele inscriptions.


Gender and Change in Hong Kong

Gender and Change in Hong Kong

Author: Eliza Wing-Yee Lee

Publisher: UBC Press

Published: 2011-11-01

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0774841907

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Gender and Change in Hong Kong analyzes women's changing identities and agencies amidst the complex interaction of three important forces, namely, globalization, postcolonialism, and Chinese patriarchy. The chapters examine the issues from a number of perspectives to consider legal changes, political participation, the situation of working-class and professional women, sexuality, religion, and international migration.


Book Synopsis Gender and Change in Hong Kong by : Eliza Wing-Yee Lee

Download or read book Gender and Change in Hong Kong written by Eliza Wing-Yee Lee and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gender and Change in Hong Kong analyzes women's changing identities and agencies amidst the complex interaction of three important forces, namely, globalization, postcolonialism, and Chinese patriarchy. The chapters examine the issues from a number of perspectives to consider legal changes, political participation, the situation of working-class and professional women, sexuality, religion, and international migration.


Chinese Religions

Chinese Religions

Author: Christian Jochim

Publisher: Prentice Hall

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13:

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Covers Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism focusing on the interaction between religion and aspects of Chinese culture such as the family, the community, the arts, etc.


Book Synopsis Chinese Religions by : Christian Jochim

Download or read book Chinese Religions written by Christian Jochim and published by Prentice Hall. This book was released on 1986 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism focusing on the interaction between religion and aspects of Chinese culture such as the family, the community, the arts, etc.