158-343/443 Religion and Ritual in China

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Subject Description:

A survey of the rich and variegated religious landscape of China, encompassing the doctrinal traditions of Taoism and Buddhism as well as sectarian and local cults. The importance of ritual as an organising principle in Chinese society and culture will be investigated through examination of the imperial cults and the highly evoluted ritual forms of classical and popular Taoism. The significance of the contemporary revival of ritual activity in China will be explored, as will the evidence for the continued existence of 'shamanic substratum' in Chinese culture. Chinese conceptions of the spirit world and Chinese ritual will be discussed within a variety of theoretical frameworks, including Chinese ones. Students will also complete a close analysis of a particular ritual performance or exchange, and gain familiarity with some major forms of religious texts.

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Prescribed Texts:

• Paul R. Katz, Demon Hordes and Burning Boats: The Cult of Marshall Wen in Late Imperial Chekiang, SUNY Press, Albany, 1995.
• Michael R. Saso, Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal, Washington State University Press, Pullman, 2nd edn., 1990.
• Kristopher Schipper, The Taoist Body, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1993.