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| legend of miaoshan: The Legend of Miaoshan Glen Dudbridge, 2004-02-19 The tale of a devout Buddhist girl who separates from her family and through suffering and death finally achieves divine status is a myth of religious celibacy, of filial piety, and of ritual salvation of the dead. It also presents a major symbol of the tension in women's lives between individual spiritual fulfillment and the imperatives of family duty. This is a new edition of the first full study of this important and influential Chinese legend. |
| legend of miaoshan: Kuan Yin Maya van der Meer, 2021-05-04 Spirituality & Practice Best Books of 2021 Award Winner Bank Street College of Education The Best Children’s Books of the Year Moonbeams Children’s Book Awards Best Illustrator Silver Winner Two sisters discover the power of love and the true meaning of compassion in this princess-adventure story based on an ancient Chinese tale. Miao Shan isn't your typical princess. She likes to spend her time quietly meditating with the creatures of the forest or having adventures with dragons and tigers. Miao Shan's heart is so full of love that her dream is to spread happiness throughout the land and help people endlessly. But her father has other plans for her--he intends to have her married and remain in the palace. With the help of her little sister Ling, Miao Shan escapes and begins her journey to discover the true meaning of compassion. During their adventure, Ling and Miao Shan are eventually separated. Ling must overcome doubts, fears, and loneliness in order to realize what her sister had told her all along--that love is the greatest power in the world. After the sisters' reunion, Miao Shan realizes her true calling as Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion. A princess-adventure story like none other, this ancient Chinese tale of the world's most beloved Buddhist hero is a story of sisterhood, strength, and following your own path. |
| legend of miaoshan: Becoming Kuan Yin Stephen Levine, 2013-09-01 In his long career as a poet, Buddhist teacher, spiritual advisor, and writer, Stephen Levine has changed our understanding of death and dying. In Becoming Kuan Yin, Levine’s first new book in many years, he turns to the legend of Kuan Yin, the Bbodhistitva venerated by East Asian Buddhists for her compassion. In Becoming Kuan Yin, Levine shares the tale of Miao Shan, born centuries ago to a cruel king who wanted her to marry a wealthy but uncaring man. This is the story of how Miao Shan refused to follow the path her father had in mind and, instead, became Kuan Yin, the first acknowledged female Buddha who watches over the dying and those who work with them. Levine weaves together story and practice and helps readers discover their own infinite capacity for mercy and compassion under difficult circumstances. This book will have resonance for Kuan Yin's millions of followers. |
| legend of miaoshan: Personal Salvation and Filial Piety , 2022-03-31 The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was a handsome prince when he entered China. As Guanyin, the bodhisattva was venerated from the eleventh century onward in the shape of a beautiful woman who became a universal savior. Throughout the last millennium, the female Guanyin has enjoyed wide and fervid veneration throughout East Asia and has appeared as a major character in literature and legend. In one tale, Guanyin (as the princess Miaoshan) returns from the dead after being executed by the king, her father, for refusing to marry. The most popular version of this legend is The Precious Scroll of Incense Mountain (Xiangshan baojuan), a long narrative in prose and verse and a work of considerable literary merit. It emphasizes the conflict between father and daughter, in the course of which all conventional arguments against a religious lifestyle are paraded and rebutted. A lengthy description of Guanyin’s visit to the underworld, which focuses on the conflict between grace and justice, is also included. Personal Salvation and Filial Piety offers a complete and fully annotated translation of The Precious Scroll, based on a nineteenth-century edition. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that discusses the origin of the text and the genre to which it belongs and highlights the similarities and differences between the scroll and female saints’ lives from medieval Europe. There follows a translation of the much-shorter Precious Scroll of Good-in-Talent and Dragon Daughter, which provides a humorous account of how Guanyin acquired the three acolytes—Sudhana, Nagakanya, and a white parrot—who are often shown surrounding her in popular prints. As the first English-language translation of major precious scrolls, Personal Salvation and Filial Piety will appeal to a wide range of readers—from scholars of Chinese literature to students of Buddhism. Beyond the field of East Asian studies, it will interest specialists in comparative religion and literature and feminist theologians. Because of its lively and moving narratives, the text is suitable for courses on popular Buddhist religiosity (particularly female religiosity) in Chinese society. |
| legend of miaoshan: Under Confucian Eyes Susan Mann, Yu-Yin Cheng, 2001-10-20 This important volume adds a significant number of new and unique materials for teachers at all levels of higher education to use in classroom and seminar discussion about the issues of gender, society, and religion in imperial China.—Benjamin Elman, author of A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China The eighteen primary documents in this anthology, all of them translated for the first time, provide a rich array of sources on the lives of women in China's past. The anthology is important not only for the selection of documents but for the ways it suggests we can think about, and find sources about, women in China. It is must reading for scholars and students alike.—Ann Waltner, author of The World of a Late Ming Visionary: T'an-Yang-Tzu and Her Followers |
| legend of miaoshan: Buddhist Extremists and Muslim Minorities John Clifford Holt, 2016-09-30 When the civil war in Sri Lanka between Sinhala Buddhists and Tamils ended in 2009, many Sri Lankans and foreign observers alike hoped to see the re-establishment of relatively harmonious religious and ethnic relations among the various communities in the country. Instead, a different type of violence erupted, this time aimed at the Muslim community. The essays in Buddhist Extremists and Muslim Minorities investigate the history and current state of Buddhist-Muslim relations in Sri Lanka, in an attempt to identify the causes of this newly emergent conflict. Euro-American readers unfamiliar with this story will be surprised to learn that it inverts common stereotypes of the two religious groups. In this context, certain groups of Buddhists, generally considered peace-oriented in the West, are engaged in victimizing Muslims, who are increasingly seen as militant. The authors examine the historical contexts and substantive reasons that gave rise to Buddhist nationalism and aggressive attacks on Muslim communities. The rise of Buddhist nationalism in general is analyzed and explained, while the specific role, methods, and character of the militant Bodu Bala Sena (Army of Buddhist Power) movement receive particular scrutiny. The motivations for attacks on Muslims may include deep-seated perceptions of economic disparity, but elements of religious culture (ritual and symbol) are also seen as catalysts for explosive acts of violence. This much-needed, timely commentary promises to shift the standard narrative on Muslims and religious violence. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Wiley Blackwell companion to East and inner Asian Buddhism Mario Poceski, 2014 The Wiley Blackwell Companion to East and Inner Asian Buddhism combines outstanding contributions covering Buddhism as it developed and is practiced in this region. These newly-commissioned essays provide fresh scholarly perspectives on a wide range of concepts, texts, and practices. Offers a comprehensive and balanced survey of Buddhism within East and Central Asia, from the time of the Buddha through to the present day Provides fresh perspectives on a wide range of concepts, texts, traditions, doctrines, practices, and institutions - on topics spanning gender roles, tantric rituals, and the spread of Zen into Europe Brings together cutting-edge research by an interdisciplinary and international contributor team, including historians, literature scholars, and historians, as well as those from religious studies Presents a panoramic view of the extraordinary richness and variety of local Buddhist expressions and practices within Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Tibetan, cultures. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Forerunner of All Things Maria Heim, 2013-11 Scholars have long been intrigued by the Buddha's defining action (karma) as intention. This book explores systematically how intention, agency, and moral psychology were interpreted in all branches of early Theravada thought, paying special attention to the thought of the 5th-century commentator Buddhaghosa. |
| legend of miaoshan: Many Faces of Mulian Rostislav Berezkin, 2017-12-01 The story of Mulian rescuing his mother’s soul from hell has evolved as a narrative over several centuries in China, especially in the baojuan (precious scrolls) genre. This genre, a prosimetric narrative in vernacular language, first appeared around the fourteenth century and endures as a living tradition. In exploring the evolution of the Mulian story, Rostislav Berezkin illuminates changes in the literary and religious characteristics of the genre. He also examines material from other forms of Chinese literature and from modern performances of baojuan, tracing their transformation from tools of Buddhist proselytizing to sectarian propaganda to folk ritualized storytelling. Ultimately, he reveals the special features of baojuan as a type of performance literature that had its foundations in multiple literary traditions. |
| legend of miaoshan: Books, Tales and Vernacular Culture Glen Dudbridge, 2005 Fourteen research papers on traditional China. They form three groups, each mixing discursive pieces with more technical research: books and publishing; medieval narrative and culture; vernacular culture. Fundamentally these studies develop a more open way of reading China's traditional narrative literature. |
| legend of miaoshan: Kuan Yin Daniela Schenker, 2007 People call on Kuan Yin for many reasons-to keep them safe while traveling, to bless them with children, or to help them through a trying time. I have heard tales of people who were cured of serious diseases after seeking her blessings. This compassionate goddess has many manifestations, as you will soon discover. Because of this, there are myriad ways in which we can invite her into our lives, and many dimensions to our experiences of her. Book jacket. |
| legend of miaoshan: Sanctity and Self-Inflicted Violence in Chinese Religions, 1500-1700 Jimmy Yu, 2012-04-27 In this illuminating study of a vital but long overlooked aspect of Chinese religious life, Jimmy Yu reveals that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, self-inflicted violence was an essential and sanctioned part of Chinese culture. He examines a wide range of practices, including blood writing, filial body-slicing, chastity mutilations and suicides, ritual exposure, and self-immolation, arguing that each practice was public, scripted, and a signal of cultural expectations. Individuals engaged in acts of self-inflicted violence to exercise power and to affect society, by articulating moral values, reinstituting order, forging new social relations, and protecting against the threat of moral ambiguity. Self-inflicted violence was intelligible both to the person doing the act and to those who viewed and interpreted it, regardless of the various religions of the period: Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and other religions. This book is a groundbreaking contribution to scholarship on bodily practices in late imperial China, challenging preconceived ideas about analytic categories of religion, culture, and ritual in the study of Chinese religions. |
| legend of miaoshan: Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion Sandy Boucher, 2000-05-12 Sandy Boucher, celebrated author of Opening the Lotus and Turning the Wheel, now offers North American readers their first opportunity to share in Kwan Yin's illuminating wisdom. Along with providing meditations, chants, and prayers this lovely, illustrated volume recounts the stories of this bodhisattva (one who delays her own full enlightenment to work for the liberation of all beings) and explains Kwan Yin's role in Buddhism. Discovering Kwan Yin is sure to become an important spiritual touchstone for those who seek to celebrate the goddess in their lives, to give and receive the loving power of her presence. |
| legend of miaoshan: Bodhisattva of Compassion John Blofeld, 1988 This portrait of the Buddhist embodiment of compassion is both an informative study by a leading scholar of Buddhism and an engaging account of the author's search for the mystical significance of the goddess. An object of joyous devotion in Chinese folk religion, Kuan Yin is revered for her saving power: it is said that anyone in distress who calls on her with sincerity will be rescued from suffering and harm. On a deeper level, Kuan Yin symbolizes the liberating energy of compassion, which is an indispensable aid in the quest for enlightenment. John Blofeld evokes the charming presence of Kuan Yin through colorful anecdotes, personal experiences, and descriptions of Buddhist rituals and legends encountered during his travels throughout China. At the same time, he offers a learned account of the goddess's history and importance in Chinese thought and religion. He explores the origin of the Bodhisattva of Compassion in India and Tibet, in the form of Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan: Chenresig), a male deity who evolved into the gentle mother/maiden figure of Chinese Buddhism. Meditation and visualization techniques associated with Kuan Yin are given, and her principal iconographic forms are described. Illustrated with images from Chinese and Tibetan sacred art, the book also contains translations of devotional poems and yogic texts. Bodhisattva of Compassion is undoubtedly the most complete and illuminating picture of Kuan Yin available. |
| legend of miaoshan: Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade Tansen Sen, 2015-09-11 This book brings a fresh understanding to cross-cultural Sino-Indian encounters, elucidating for the first time significant changes in the religious, commercial, and diplomatic interactions between the two countries. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Legend of Miaoshan Glen Dudbridge, 2004 |
| legend of miaoshan: The Lady of Linshui Brigitte Baptandier, 2008 This book is a detailed examination of a Chinese women's cult that confronts the dangers of pregnancy, childbirth, and childhood diseases. |
| legend of miaoshan: Chicano Folklore Rafaela Castro, 2001-11-15 Originally published under title: Dictionary of Chicano folklore. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c2000. |
| legend of miaoshan: Fishers, Monks and Cadres Edyta Roszko, 2021-10-31 This remarkable and timely ethnography explores how fishing communities living on the fringe of the South China Sea in central Vietnam interact with state and religious authorities as well as their farmer neighbors – even while handling new geopolitical challenges. The focus is mainly on marginal people and their navigation between competing forces over the decades of massive change since their incorporation into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1975. The sea, however, plays a major role in this study as does the location: a once-peripheral area now at the center of a global struggle for sovereignty, influence and control in the South China Sea. The coastal fishing communities at the heart of this study are peripheral not so much because of geographical remoteness as their presumed social ‘backwardness’; they only partially fit into the social imaginary of Vietnam’s territory and nation. The state thus tries to incorporate them through various cultural agendas while religious reformers seek to purify their religious practices. Yet, recently, these communities have also come to be seen as guardians of an ancient fishing culture, important in Vietnam’s resistance to Chinese claims over the South China Sea. The fishers have responded to their situation with a blend of conformity, co-option and subtle indiscipline. A complex, triadic relationship is at play here. Within it are various shifting binaries – e.g. secular/religious, fishers/farmers, local ritual/Buddhist doctrine, etc. – and different protagonists (state officials, religious figures, fishermen and -women) who construct, enact, and deconstruct these relations in shifting alliances and changing contexts. Fishers, Monks and Cadres is a significant new work. Its vivid portrait of local beliefs and practices makes a powerful argument for looking beyond monolithic religious traditions. Its triadic analysis and subtle use of binaries offer startlingly fresh ways to view Vietnamese society and local political power. The book demonstrates Vietnam is more than urban and agrarian society in the Red River Basin and Mekong Delta. Finally, the author builds on intensive, long-term research to portray a region at the forefront of geopolitical struggle, offering insights that will be fascinating and revealing to a much broader readership. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Story of Buddhism Donald S. Lopez, 2002-08-20 How and when did the many schools of Buddhism emerge? How does the historical figure of Siddartha Guatama relate to the many teachings that are presented in his name? Did Buddhism modify the cultures to which it was introduced, or did they modify Buddhism? Leading Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez Jr. explores the origins of this 2,500-year-old religion and traces its major developments up to the present, focusing not only on the essential elemenmts common to all schools of Buddhism but also revealing the differences among the major traditions. Beginning with the creation and structure of the Buddhist universe, Lopez explores the life of the Buddha, the core Buddhist tenets, and the development of the monastic life and lay practices. Combining brilliant scholarship with fascinating stories -- contemporary and historical, sometimes miraculous, sometimes humorous -- this rich and absorbing volume presents a fresh and expert history of Buddhism and Buddhist life. |
| legend of miaoshan: Gods & Goddesses of Ancient China Trenton Campbell, 2014-07-15 This authoritative volume examines the two main faiths, Confucianism and Daoism, that developed before China had meaningful contact with the rest of the world. Aspects of Buddhism later joined features of these faiths to form elements of Chinese ideology and, with the beliefs in immortals and the worship of ancestors, they led to a popular religion. The narrative describes the gods and goddesses that dominated China's mythology and folk culture, roughly from the 3rd millennium to 221 BCE, including the Baxian (Eight Immortals), Chang'e (moon goddess), Guandi (god of war), the Men Shen (door spirits), and Pan Gu (first man). |
| legend of miaoshan: The Universal Gate Xingyun, 2011 The compassionate visage of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, better known as Guanyin in Chinese, has been a source of inspiration and devotion for Buddhists and non-Buddhists for centuries. Offering readers the opportunity to get to know this great practitioner from the Buddhist texts themselves, The Universal Gate contains a new translation of Avalokitesvara¿s Universal Gate Sutra, the Buddha¿s scriptural account of this compassionate sage and his power to manifest in whatever form necessary to help sentient beings. This short sutra, chanted and memorized throughout East Asia, is rich with symbolic significance and striking, memorable images. Venerable Master Hsing Yun provides a complete line-by-line commentary to unpack the sutra¿s fantastic descriptions, relating them to personal practice and the wider Buddhist teachings. The Universal Gate allows readers to enter Avalokitesvara¿s compassion and to appreciate the bodhisattva¿s special place of reverence in the Buddhist world. |
| legend of miaoshan: A Brief History of the Immortals of Non-Hindu Civilizations Shri Bhagavatananda Guru, 2015-10-27 This book contains a complete analysis of the legendary myths of civilizations like Roman, Greek, Celtic, Arabian, British, Japanese and Chinese. From the stories of the Trojan war and adventures of Hercules, Perseus and Theseus to the stories of the White Snake and Battle of Red Cliffs, this book is about the mesmerizing past of our ancestors. |
| legend of miaoshan: Chinese Religious Life David A. Palmer, Glenn Shive, Philip L. Wickeri, 2011-08-25 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. |
| legend of miaoshan: Chinese Myths J.K. Jackson, 2018-12-15 River Gods, snake spirits, mountain and Immortals, Chinese mythology is alive with ancient passions. China’s unique set of mythological tales are derived from its vast expanse, diverse culture and the endless wars between tribes and dynasties. The result is a rich landscape of humanity, gods and spirits battling for survival and supremacy. This brilliant new book introduces the key themes and characters of Chinese legend before plunging into the fascinating stories themselves. FLAME TREE 451: From mystery to crime, supernatural to horror and myth, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic. |
| legend of miaoshan: Gems in the Early Modern World Michael Bycroft, Sven Dupré, 2018-11-27 This edited collection is an interdisciplinary study of gems in the early modern world. It examines the relations between the art, science, and technology of gems, and it does so against the backdrop of an expanding global trade in gems. The eleven chapters are organised into three parts. The first part sets the scene by describing how gems moved around the early modern world, how they were set in motion, and how they were pulled together in the course of their travels. The second part is about value. It asks why people valued gems, how they determined the value of a given gem, and how the value of a gem was connected to its perceived place of origin. The third part deals with the skills involved in cutting, polishing, and mounting gems, and how these skills were transmitted and articulated by artisans. The common themes of all these chapters are materials, knowledge and global trade. The contributors to this volume focus on the material properties of gems such as their weight and hardness, on the knowledge involved in exchanging them and valuing them, and on the cultural consequences of the expanding trade in gems in Eurasia and the Americas. |
| legend of miaoshan: Chinese Religious Life David A. Palmer, Glenn Shive, Philip L. Wickeri, 2011-09-13 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. |
| legend of miaoshan: Gendering Chinese Religion Jinhua Jia, Xiaofei Kang, Ping Yao, 2014-07-31 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. |
| legend of miaoshan: Sanctity and Self-Inflicted Violence in Chinese Religions, 1500-1700 Jimmy Yu, 2012-04-27 Also includes some discussion of chastity suicides. |
| legend of miaoshan: Interreligious Hermeneutics in Pluralistic Europe David Cheetham, 2011 At the second major conference held in Salzburg in 2009 of The European Society for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies (ESITIS), participants probed the broad theme of ‘interreligious hermeneutics in a pluralistic Europe’. Due to the phenomenon of an increasingly plural Europe, questions arise about how we see each other’s cultural heritage, religious traditions and sacred scriptures. Following the discussions that took place at the conference, this book focuses on the usage of texts in our global and mass media world, the possibility of ‘scriptural reasoning’, the theological comparison of selected topics from religious traditions by scholars belonging to multiple religions or interreligious communities of scholars, the pragmatics of using sacred texts in social contexts of family and gender, polemical attacks on the other’s sacred text and the challenge to interreligious hermeneutics of the postcolonial deconstruction of religion by cultural studies. The future of interreligious hermeneutics is going to be complex. This book exhibits the multiple agendas – power, gender, postcolonialism, globalisation, dialogue, tradition, polemics – that will have a stake in these future debates. |
| legend of miaoshan: Exploring the Materiality of Food 'Stuffs' Louise Steel, Katharina Zinn, 2016-11-10 From remote antiquity to contemporary contexts, food and the ‘stuff’ of food remains central to people’s daily experiences as well as their sense and expression of identity. This volume explores the materiality of foodstuffs past and present, examining humanity’s intriguingly complex relationships with, and experiences of, food. The book also makes a fresh contribution to our understanding of materiality through a novel focus on material culture, analysing objects used to prepare, wrap, serve and consume food and the tactile experiences involved in its production and consumption. Considering a wide range of cultures, spanning from ancient China to modern-day Kenya, this broad collection of interdisciplinary chapters reveal the multiple interplays between foods, bodies, material worlds, rituals and embodied knowledge that emerge from these encounters and which, in turn, shape the material culture of food. Exploring the Materiality of Food 'Stuffs' makes an important contribution to this burgeoning field and will be of interest to archaeologists and anthropologists working in the key area of food research. |
| legend of miaoshan: Oedipal God Meir Shahar, 2015-08-31 Oedipal God offers the most comprehensive account in any language of the prodigal deity Nezha. Celebrated for over a millennium, Nezha is among the most formidable and enigmatic of all Chinese gods. In this theoretically informed study Meir Shahar recounts Nezha’s riveting tale—which culminates in suicide and attempted patricide—and uncovers hidden tensions in the Chinese family system. In deploying the Freudian hypothesis, Shahar does not imply the Chinese legend’s identity with the Greek story of Oedipus. For one, in Nezha’s story the erotic attraction to the mother is not explicitly acknowledged. More generally, Chinese oedipal tales differ from Freud’s Greek prototype by the high degree of repression that is applied to them. Shahar argues that, despite a disastrous father-son relationship, Confucian ethics require that the oedipal drive masquerade as filial piety in Nezha’s story, dictating that the child-god kill himself before trying to avenge himself upon his father. Combining impeccable scholarship with an eminently readable style, the book covers a vast terrain: It surveys the image of the endearing child-god across varied genres from oral and written fiction, through theater, cinema, and television serials, to Japanese manga cartoons. It combines literary analysis with Shahar’s own anthropological field work, providing a thorough ethnography of Nezha’s flourishing cult. Crossing the boundaries between China’s diverse religious traditions, it tracks the rebellious infant in the many ways he has been venerated by Buddhist monks, Daoist priests, and possessed spirit mediums, whose dramatic performances have served to negotiate individual, familial, and collective tensions. Finally, the book offers a detailed history of the legend and the cult reaching back over two thousand years to its origins in India, where Nezha began as a mythological being named Nalakūbara, whose sexual misadventures were celebrated in the Sanskrit epics as early as the first centuries BCE. Here Shahar reveals the long-term impact that Indian mythology has exerted—through the medium of esoteric Buddhism—upon the Chinese imagination of divinity. A tour de force of literary analysis, ethnographic research, psychological insight, and cross-cultural investigation, Oedipal God is a must read for anyone interested in Chinese studies and the historical connection between India and China. Shahar’s broad reach and engaging approach will appeal to specialists and students in a variety of disciplines including Chinese religion, Chinese literature, anthropology, Buddhist studies, psychology, Indian studies, and cross-cultural history. |
| legend of miaoshan: Personal Salvation and Filial Piety , 2008-02-20 The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was a handsome prince when he entered China. As Guanyin, the bodhisattva was venerated from the eleventh century onward in the shape of a beautiful woman who became a universal savior. Throughout the last millennium, the female Guanyin has enjoyed wide and fervid veneration throughout East Asia and has appeared as a major character in literature and legend. In one tale, Guanyin (as the princess Miaoshan) returns from the dead after being executed by the king, her father, for refusing to marry. The most popular version of this legend is The Precious Scroll of Incense Mountain (Xiangshan baojuan), a long narrative in prose and verse and a work of considerable literary merit. It emphasizes the conflict between father and daughter, in the course of which all conventional arguments against a religious lifestyle are paraded and rebutted. A lengthy description of Guanyin’s visit to the underworld, which focuses on the conflict between grace and justice, is also included. Personal Salvation and Filial Piety offers a complete and fully annotated translation of The Precious Scroll, based on a nineteenth-century edition. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that discusses the origin of the text and the genre to which it belongs and highlights the similarities and differences between the scroll and female saints’ lives from medieval Europe. There follows a translation of the much-shorter Precious Scroll of Good-in-Talent and Dragon Daughter, which provides a humorous account of how Guanyin acquired the three acolytes—Sudhana, Nagakanya, and a white parrot—who are often shown surrounding her in popular prints. As the first English-language translation of major precious scrolls, Personal Salvation and Filial Piety will appeal to a wide range of readers—from scholars of Chinese literature to students of Buddhism. Beyond the field of East Asian studies, it will interest specialists in comparative religion and literature and feminist theologians. Because of its lively and moving narratives, the text is suitable for courses on popular Buddhist religiosity (particularly female religiosity) in Chinese society. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Idea of Cultural Heritage Derek Gillman, 2010-04-12 This book reviews the competing claims that works of art belong either to a particular people and place, or to humankind. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Constant and Changing Faces of the Goddess Phyllis K. Herman, Deepak Shimkhada, 2009-03-26 The Constant and Changing Faces of the Goddess: Goddess Traditions of Asia contains essays written by established scholars in the field that trace the multiplicity of Asian goddesses: their continuities, discontinuities, and importance as symbols of wisdom, power, transformation, compassion, destruction, and creation. The essays demonstrate that while treatments of the goddess may vary regionally, culturally, and historically, it is possible to note some consistencies in the overall picture of the goddess in Asia. The book provides a comprehensive treatment of the goddess, culminating in the selections that draw from research on Indian, Nepali, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese traditions, seldom found in other works of similar subject. The volume will be useful for students in religious studies, gender studies, Asian studies, and women's studies. With the intent of making the volume truly broad in scope, an effort has been made to include works written by art historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and religious studies scholars. Culture cannot be separated from religion; they are intertwined as an organic whole, and variations manifest themselves in the rituals and daily lives of the people. In this sense, all the essays are interconnected: the goddess manifests in many forms and appeals to differing aspects of a particular culture as a paradigm of the divine feminine. |
| legend of miaoshan: Filial Obsessions P. Steven Sangren, 2017-03-13 This book employs a broad analysis of Chinese patriliny to propose a distinctive theoretical conceptualization of the role of desire in culture. It utilizes a unique synthesis of Marxian and psychoanalytic insights in arguing that Chinese patriliny is best understood as, simultaneously, “a mode of production of desire” and as “instituted fantasy.” The argument advances through discussions and analyses of kinship, family, gender, filial piety, ritual, and (especially) mythic narratives. In each of these domains, P. Steven Sangren addresses the complex sentiments and ambivalences associated with filial relations. Unlike most earlier studies which approach Chinese patriliny and filial piety as irreducible markers of cultural difference, Sangren argues that Chinese patriliny is better approached as a topic of critical inquiry in its own right. |
| legend of miaoshan: Buddhism in Practice Donald S. Lopez, Jr., 2015-11-24 This anthology, first published in 1995, illustrates the vast scope of Buddhist practice in Asia, past and present. Re-released now in a slimmer but still extensive edition, Buddhism in Practice presents a selection of thirty-five translated texts--each preceded by a substantial introduction by its translator. These unusual sources provides the reader with a sense of the remarkable diversity of the practices of persons who over the course of 2,500 years have been identified, by themselves or by others, as Buddhists. Demonstrating the many continuities among the practices of Buddhist cultures widely separated by both history and geography, Buddhism in Practice continues to provide an ideal introduction to Buddhism and a source of new insights for scholars. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Essentials of Governance Wu Jing, 2021-01-21 In the eighth century, Wu Jing selected exchanges between Emperor Taizong and his ministers that he deemed key to good governance. This collection of dialogues has been used for the education of emperors, political elites and general readers ever since, and is a standard reference work in East Asian political thought. Consisting of ten volumes, subdivided into forty topics, The Essentials of Governance addresses core themes of Chinese thinking about the politics of power, from the body politic, presenting and receiving criticism, recruitment, the education of the imperial clan, political virtues and vices, to cultural policy, agriculture, law, taxation, border policy, and how to avoid disaster and dynastic fall. Presented with introductory commentary that offers insights into its historical context and global reception, this accessible and reliable translation brings together ten scholars of Chinese intellectual history to offer a nuanced edition that preserves the organisation, tone and flow of the original. |
| legend of miaoshan: The Pitfalls of Piety for Married Women , 2021-08-15 The Pitfalls of Piety for Married Women shows how problematic the practice of Buddhist piety could be in late imperial China. Two thematically related precious scrolls (baojuan) from the Ming dynasty, The Precious Scroll of the Red Gauze and The Precious Scroll of the Handkerchief, illustrate the difficulties faced by women whose religious devotion conflicted with the demands of marriage and motherhood. These two previously untranslated texts tell the stories of married women whose piety causes them to be separated from their husbands and children. While these women labor far away, their children are cruelly abused by murderous stepmothers. Following many adventures, the families are reunited by divine intervention and the evil stepmothers get their just deserts. While the texts in The Pitfalls of Piety for Married Women praise Buddhist piety, they also reveal many problems concerning married women and mothers. Wilt L. Idema's translations are preceded by an introduction that places these scrolls in the context of Ming dynasty performative literature, vernacular literature, and popular religion. Set in a milieu of rich merchants, the texts provide a unique window to family life of the time, enriching our understanding of gender during the Ming dynasty. These popular baojuan offer rare insights into lay religion and family dynamics of the Ming dynasty, and their original theme and form enrich our understanding of the various methods of storytelling that were practiced at the time. |
| legend of miaoshan: Buddhism after Mao Ji Zhe, Gareth Fisher, André Laliberté, 2020-02-29 With well over 100 million adherents, Buddhism emerged from near-annihilation during the Cultural Revolution to become the largest religion in China today. Despite this, Buddhism’s rise has received relatively little scholarly attention. The present volume, with contributions by leading scholars in sociology, anthropology, political science, and religious studies, explores the evolution of Chinese Buddhism in the post-Mao period with a depth not seen before in a single study. Chapters critically analyze the effects of state policies on the evolution of Buddhist institutions; the challenge of rebuilding temples under the watchful eye of the state; efforts to rebuild monastic lineages and schools left broken in the aftermath of Mao’s rule; and the development of new lay Buddhist spaces, both at temple sites and online. Through its multidisciplinary perspectives, the book provides both an extensive overview of the social and political conditions under which Buddhism has grown as well as discussions of the individual projects of both monastic and lay entrepreneurs who dynamically and creatively carve out spaces for Buddhist growth in contemporary Chinese society. As a wide-ranging study that illuminates many facets of China’s Buddhist revival, Buddhism after Mao will be required reading for scholars of Chinese Buddhism and of Buddhism and modernity more broadly. Its detailed case studies examining the intersections among religion, state, and contemporary Chinese society will be welcomed by sociologists and anthropologists of China, political scientists focusing on the role of religion in state formation in Asian societies, and all those interested in the relationship between religion and social change. |
LEGEND Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of LEGEND is a story coming down from the past; especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable. How to use legend in a sentence.
LEGEND | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
LEGEND definition: 1. a very old story or set of stories from ancient times, or the stories, not always true, that…. Learn more.
Legend - Wikipedia
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate …
Legend | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica
A legend in literature is a traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place. Formerly the term legend meant a tale about a saint. Some legends are the unique …
Legend - definition of legend by The Free Dictionary
A legend is a story associated with a people or a nation; it is usu. concerned with a real person, place, or event and is popularly believed to have some basis in fact: the legend of King Arthur.
LEGEND definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
A legend is a story that people talk about, concerning people, places, or events that exist or are famous at the present time. The incident has since become a family legend. His frequent …
Legend - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com
A legend is a larger-than-life story that gets passed down from one generation to the next — like the legends of Beowulf, Robin Hood, or even Big Foot. Legend comes from the Latin legere, …
LEGEND Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of LEGEND is a story coming down from the past; especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable. How to use legend in a sentence.
LEGEND | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
LEGEND definition: 1. a very old story or set of stories from ancient times, or the stories, not always true, that…. Learn more.
Legend - Wikipedia
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate …
Legend | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica
A legend in literature is a traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place. Formerly the term legend meant a tale about a saint. Some legends are the unique …
Legend - definition of legend by The Free Dictionary
A legend is a story associated with a people or a nation; it is usu. concerned with a real person, place, or event and is popularly believed to have some basis in fact: the legend of King Arthur.
LEGEND definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
A legend is a story that people talk about, concerning people, places, or events that exist or are famous at the present time. The incident has since become a family legend. His frequent …
Legend - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com
A legend is a larger-than-life story that gets passed down from one generation to the next — like the legends of Beowulf, Robin Hood, or even Big Foot. Legend comes from the Latin legere, …
