Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources / Edition 1

by Deborah Sommer

Overview

For centuries, westerners have referred to China's numerous traditions of spiritual expression as "religious"—a word born of western thought that cannot completely characterize the passionate writing that fills the pages of this pathbreaking anthology.
The first of its kind in well over thirty years, this text offers the student of Chinese ritual and cosmology the broadest range of primary sources from antiquity to the modern era. Readings are arranged chronologically and cover such concepts as Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and even communism. A large number of the selections concern the role of the female in Chinese religion, and are either by or about women. Through invocations, poetry, drama, philosophical texts, religious treatises, and modern fiction, students hear the voices of numerous Chinese masters expounding on the movements and traditions that inspired them: the mysterious Tao-te ching of Lao Tzu, cloaked in the mists of deepest antiquity; the Analects of stately, reverent Confucius; "Nailing a Stick into Empty Space," from The Recorded Conversations of Ch'an Master I-hsuan, and many others, including the work of Mencius, Pan Chao, Han Shan, Chang Tsai, Wang Yang-ming, Lu Hsun, and Mao Tse-tung. Fully one third of the translations are new, and each reading is preceded by an introduction that explains its importance and salient features. Complete with a helpful chronology of dynasties and list of possible video sources, this remarkable volume collects under one cover the most significant and influential works of China's dynamic spiritual tradition, making a fundamental contribution to courses in Chinese religion, literature, and history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195088953
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/23/1995
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	9.16(w) x 6.48(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Gettysburg College

Table of Contents

I. SHANG (1200-1059 BCE) AND CHOU (1059-249 BCE) DYNASTIESfrom _The Book of Changes_; from _The Book of History_ Inscriptions from Ritual Bronzes; from _The Book of Odes_, The _Tso Chuan_, The _Rites of Chou_, The _Book of Rites_, The _Analects_ of Confucius; Mo Tzu; Mencius; Hsun Tzu; The _Tao de Ching_ of Lao Tzu; Chuang Tzu; The _Songs of the South_II. HAN (202 BCE-220 CE) AND WEI (220-264 CE) DYNASTIESfrom: Wan Fu's _Discourses of a Recluse_, Pan Chao's Perfected Woman; The Unattainable GoddessIII. SIX DYNASTIES PERIOD (220-589 CE)The Buddhist Pure Land: _Scripture of the Pure Land_; from: The _Lotus Sutra_; The _Heart Sutra_; _The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti_; Meditations on the Body: _The Secret Instructions of the Holy Lord on the Scripture of Great Peace_; Alchemical Recipes for Immortality: from _The Book of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity_IV. SUI (581-618 CE) AND T' ANG (618-907) DYNASTIESThe Mind-to-Mind Transmission of the Dharma: Selections from the _Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch_; Nailing a Stick into Empty Space: from the _Recording Conversations of Ch' an Master I-hsuan_; Poems of Han Shan; The Writings of Han Hu; The Poetry of Po Chu-yiV. SUNG (960-1279) AND YUAN (1279-1369) DYNASTIESThe Great Ultimate of Chou Tun-yi; The Writings of Chang Tsai, Chu Hsi; Ch' en Ch' un's Learning of the Way; "Master Ch' ung-yang's Fifteen Precepts for Establishing the Teaching"; from _Seven Taoist Masters_; from _Chang Boils the Sea_VI. MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)_The Writings of Wang Yang-ming; Poetry of the Spirit; from _Monkey: Folk Novel of China_VII. CH'ING DYNASTY (1644-1911)Tales of the Supernatural; Confession of a Ghost; _The Story of the Stone_VIII. MODERN ERA (1911-)Lu Xun's Critique of Tradition; Chang T' ien-i's "The Bulwark"; from the writings of Mao-Tse Tung; on the Cult of Mao; The Revival of the Spiritual Tradition: The God of Theater; from Ling Chung, "The Fall of Moon Lady"; from Master Sheng-yen's _Faith in Mind_; Buddhism Comes to America: from _The Dharma Bums_ by Jack KerouacNotes/Chronology of Dynasties/Additional Sources/Video Sources/Bibliography/Glossary

Editorial Reviews

"The selections...represent a broader range of Chinese religious expressions than most. Classics are well represented, with some delightful surprises. Exactly what many who use primary texts in the classroom need."—Religious Studies Review

"An excellent anthology which should become a 'standard' collection. The introductions to the different sections are especially readable."—William Shealy, Virginia Wesleyan College

"An excellent cross-section of original materials, greatly improving on earlier anthologies."—William Powell, University of California at Santa Barbara

"Covers unusual, important, and interesting Chinese writings, and the student is provided with writings not included in most Chinese anthologies."—Candice Blocker, Ohio University

"Well written and documented. It is a good textbook for beginning students. The contents from Shang to Ching (1200 B.C. - 1911 A.D.) are excellent, concise and inclusive."—Samuel Tang, Golden Gate Baptist Seminary

From the Publisher