Auspicious Omens And Miracles In Ancient China

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Auspicious Omens and Miracles in Ancient China

Author : Tiziana Lippiello
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 9783805004565
Total Pages : 383 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (45 download)

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Book Synopsis Auspicious Omens and Miracles in Ancient China by : Tiziana Lippiello

Download or read book Auspicious Omens and Miracles in Ancient China written by Tiziana Lippiello and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2001 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The subject of Dr. Lippiello's study is one of bewildering complexity and variety. 'Good luck' and its manifestation through ominous signs and miraculous events occupy a central position in traditional Chinese thought, and the author has wisely refrained from covering the subject in all its ramifications. She has chosen to place the belief in auspicious omens in three different perspectives, corresponding to the three main religious and ideological traditions of ancient and early medieval China: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. (...)By concentrating on these three main spheres of religious thought, each with its own conception of ominous signs, Dr. Lippiello gives us a clear presentation of a subject that in spite of its obvious importance so far has not attracted much scholary attention. It is the result of years of exciting exploration to which I have been a witness when supervising her research. To me it is a great pleasure to see the book published in a form that does justice to its content, and to introduce it to the reader.

Picturing Heaven in Early China

Author : Lillian Lan-ying Tseng
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 1684175097
Total Pages : 479 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (841 download)

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Book Synopsis Picturing Heaven in Early China by : Lillian Lan-ying Tseng

Download or read book Picturing Heaven in Early China written by Lillian Lan-ying Tseng and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tian, or Heaven, had multiple meanings in early China. It had been used since the Western Zhou to indicate both the sky and the highest god, and later came to be regarded as a force driving the movement of the cosmos and as a home to deities and imaginary animals. By the Han dynasty, which saw an outpouring of visual materials depicting Heaven, the concept of Heaven encompassed an immortal realm to which humans could ascend after death. Using excavated materials, Lillian Tseng shows how Han artisans transformed various notions of Heaven—as the mandate, the fantasy, and the sky—into pictorial entities. The Han Heaven was not indicated by what the artisans looked at, but rather was suggested by what they looked into. Artisans attained the visibility of Heaven by appropriating and modifying related knowledge of cosmology, mythology, astronomy. Thus the depiction of Heaven in Han China reflected an interface of image and knowledge. By examining Heaven as depicted in ritual buildings, on household utensils, and in the embellishments of funerary settings, Tseng maintains that visibility can hold up a mirror to visuality; Heaven was culturally constructed and should be culturally reconstructed.

Divination and Prediction in Early China and Ancient Greece

Author : Lisa Raphals
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 110729228X
Total Pages : 499 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (72 download)

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Book Synopsis Divination and Prediction in Early China and Ancient Greece by : Lisa Raphals

Download or read book Divination and Prediction in Early China and Ancient Greece written by Lisa Raphals and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-17 with total page 499 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Divination was an important and distinctive aspect of religion in both ancient China and ancient Greece, and this book will provide the first systematic account and analysis of the two side by side. Who practised divination in these cultures and who consulted it? What kind of questions did they ask, and what methods were used to answer those questions? As well as these practical aspects, Lisa Raphals also examines divination as a subject of rhetorical and political narratives, and its role in the development of systematic philosophical and scientific inquiry. She explores too the important similarities, differences and synergies between Greek and Chinese divinatory systems, providing important comparative evidence to reassess Greek oracular divination.

Buddhist Historiography in China

Author : John Kieschnick
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231556098
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhist Historiography in China by : John Kieschnick

Download or read book Buddhist Historiography in China written by John Kieschnick and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2022-07-29 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner, 2023 Toshihide Numata Book Award, Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley Since the early days of Buddhism in China, monastics and laity alike have expressed a profound concern with the past. In voluminous historical works, they attempted to determine as precisely as possible the dates of events in the Buddha’s life, seeking to iron out discrepancies in varying accounts and pinpoint when he delivered which sermons. Buddhist writers chronicled the history of the Dharma in China as well, compiling biographies of eminent monks and nuns and detailing the rise and decline in the religion’s fortunes under various rulers. They searched for evidence of karma in the historical record and drew on prophecy to explain the past. John Kieschnick provides an innovative, expansive account of how Chinese Buddhists have sought to understand their history through a Buddhist lens. Exploring a series of themes in mainstream Buddhist historiographical works from the fifth to the twentieth century, he looks not so much for what they reveal about the people and events they describe as for what they tell us about their compilers’ understanding of history. Kieschnick examines how Buddhist doctrines influenced the search for the underlying principles driving history, the significance of genealogy in Buddhist writing, and the transformation of Buddhist historiography in the twentieth century. This book casts new light on the intellectual history of Chinese Buddhism and on Buddhists’ understanding of the past.

Worldly Saviors and Imperial Authority in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

Author : April D. Hughes
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824886267
Total Pages : 199 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Worldly Saviors and Imperial Authority in Medieval Chinese Buddhism by : April D. Hughes

Download or read book Worldly Saviors and Imperial Authority in Medieval Chinese Buddhism written by April D. Hughes and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2021-05-31 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although scholars have long assumed that early Chinese political authority was rooted in Confucianism, rulership in the medieval period was not bound by a single dominant tradition. To acquire power, emperors deployed objects and figures derived from a range of traditions imbued with religious and political significance. Author April D. Hughes demonstrates how dynastic founders like Wu Zhao (Wu Zetian, r. 690–705), the only woman to rule China under her own name, and Yang Jian (Emperor Wen, r. 581–604), the first ruler of the Sui dynasty, closely identified with Buddhist worldly saviors and Wheel-Turning Kings to legitimate their rule. During periods of upheaval caused by the decline of the Dharma, worldly saviors arrived on earth to quell chaos and to rule and liberate their subjects simultaneously. By incorporating these figures into the imperial system, sovereigns were able to depict themselves both as monarchs and as buddhas or bodhisattvas in uncertain times. In this inventive and original work, Hughes traces worldly saviors—in particular Maitreya Buddha and Prince Moonlight—as they appeared in apocalyptic scriptures from Dunhuang, claims to the throne made by various rebel leaders, and textual interpretations and assertions by Yang Jian and Wu Zhao. Yang Jian associated himself with Prince Moonlight and took on the persona of a Wheel-Turning King whose offerings to the Buddha were not flowers and incense but weapons of war to reunite a long-fragmented empire and revitalize the Dharma. Wu Zhao was associated with several different worldly savior figures. In addition, she saw herself as the incarnation of a Wheel-Turning King for whom it was said the Seven Treasures manifested as material representations of his right to rule. Wu Zhao duly had the Seven Treasures created and put on display whenever she held audiences at court. The worldly savior figure allowed rulers to inhabit the highest role in the religious realm along with the supreme role in the political sphere. This incorporation transformed notions of Chinese imperial sovereignty, and associating rulers with a buddha or bodhisattva continued long after the close of the medieval period.

Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China

Author : Mihwa Choi
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019045976X
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China by : Mihwa Choi

Download or read book Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China written by Mihwa Choi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines how political and legal disputes regarding the performance of death rituals contributed to shape a revival of Confucianism in eleventh-century Northern Song China.

Good Son is Sad If He Hears the Name of His Father

Author : Piotr Adamek
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351565206
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (515 download)

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Book Synopsis Good Son is Sad If He Hears the Name of His Father by : Piotr Adamek

Download or read book Good Son is Sad If He Hears the Name of His Father written by Piotr Adamek and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When in 1775 the scholar Wang Xihou compiled a dictionary called Ziguan , he wrote, for illustrative purposes, the personal names of Confucius and the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong in the introduction. In oversight, he recorded their complete names. This accidental writing of a few names was condemned by Emperor Qianlong as an unprecedented crime, rebellion and high treason. Wang Xihou was executed, his property confiscated and his books were burnt. His family was arrested and his sons and grandsons were killed or sent as slaves to Heilongjiang. It is surprising what an enormous impact the tabooing of names (bihui ) had on Chinese culture. The names of sovereigns, ancestors, officials, teachers, and even friends were all considered taboo, in other words it was prohibited to pronounce them or to record them in writing. In numerous cases characters identical or similar in writing or pronunciation were often avoided as well. The tabooing of names was observed in the family and on the street, in the office and in the emperor's palace. The practice of bihui had serious consequences for the daily lives of the Chinese and for Chinese historiography. People even avoided certain places and things, and refused to accept offices. They were punished and sometimes even killed in connection with the tabooing of names. The bihui custom existed as an important element of Chinese culture and was perceived as significant by Chinese and foreigners alike. It was crucial for implementing social values and demonstrating the political hierarchy. The present work A Good Son Is Sad if He Hears the Name of His Father is a systematic study of Chinese name-tabooing customs, which until now have been relatively little explored in Western-language Sinological studies. It attempts to provide a long-term perspective on the changing dynamics of tabooing and elucidates various aspects related to the fascinating topic of tabooing of names.

The Talent of Shu

Author : J. Michael Farmer
Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791479749
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis The Talent of Shu by : J. Michael Farmer

Download or read book The Talent of Shu written by J. Michael Farmer and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2008-06-05 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Talent of Shu reconstructs the intellectual world of early medieval Sichuan through a critical biography of Qiao Zhou, a noted classicist, historian, and official of Shu-Han. Countering conceptions of Sichuan as an intellectual backwater, author J. Michael Farmer provides an analytical narrative history of the significant intellectual and scholarly activity in the region during the late second through third centuries CE. Qiao Zhou stands as an apt figure to represent the intellectual world of third-century Sichuan. An heir to a long-standing regional intellectual tradition, he was trained in political prophesy, canonical studies, and ancient history, and in true Confucian fashion, employed these skills in the service of the state. While some of Qiao's scholarship, as well as his political engagement, was conservative, he also stands as an innovator in the fields of canonical and historical criticism and local history. As such, he embodies not only the scholarly tradition of Sichuan, but also the intellectual transitions of the age.

The Chinese Dreamscape, 300 BCE - 800 CE

Author : Robert Ford Campany
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 1684176425
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (841 download)

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Book Synopsis The Chinese Dreamscape, 300 BCE - 800 CE by : Robert Ford Campany

Download or read book The Chinese Dreamscape, 300 BCE - 800 CE written by Robert Ford Campany and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-03-07 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dreaming is a near-universal human experience, but there is no consensus on why we dream or what dreams should be taken to mean. In this book, Robert Ford Campany investigates what people in late classical and early medieval China thought of dreams. He maps a common dreamscape—an array of ideas about what dreams are and what responses they should provoke—that underlies texts of diverse persuasions and genres over several centuries. These writings include manuals of dream interpretation, scriptural instructions, essays, treatises, poems, recovered manuscripts, histories, and anecdotes of successful dream-based predictions. In these many sources, we find culturally distinctive answers to questions peoples the world over have asked for millennia: What happens when we dream? Do dreams foretell future events? If so, how might their imagistic code be unlocked to yield predictions? Could dreams enable direct communication between the living and the dead, or between humans and nonhuman animals? The Chinese Dreamscape, 300 BCE – 800 CE sheds light on how people in a distant age negotiated these mysteries and brings Chinese notions of dreaming into conversation with studies of dreams in other cultures, ancient and contemporary. Taking stock of how Chinese people wrestled with—and celebrated—the strangeness of dreams, Campany asks us to reflect on how we might reconsider our own notions of dreaming.

Chinese Studies in the Netherlands

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004263128
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Studies in the Netherlands by :

Download or read book Chinese Studies in the Netherlands written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2013-12-09 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Netherlands have a long and proud history in Chinese studies. This volume collects not only articles that trace the historical development of Chinese studies in the Netherlands from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present and beyond, but also studies that deal with Dutch research in specific disciplines within Chinese studies. Chinese studies in the Netherlands originated from the needs of the Dutch colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies, but developed a strong philological emphasis in the first part of the twentieth century, to turn increasingly towards disciplinary research on modern and contemporary China in the last few decades. Contributors include Leonard Blussé, Maghiel van Crevel, Barend ter Haar, Albert Hoffstädt, Wilt Idema, Mark Leenhouts, Oliver Moore, Frank Pieke and Rint Sybesma.

Divine Knowledge

Author : Brian Baumann
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9047428366
Total Pages : 910 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (474 download)

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Book Synopsis Divine Knowledge by : Brian Baumann

Download or read book Divine Knowledge written by Brian Baumann and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2008-02-15 with total page 910 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an original and compelling examination of traditional mathematics, this comprehensive study of the anonymous Manual of Mongolian Astrology and Divination (published by A. Mostaert in 1969) takes on the fundamental problem of the post-enlightenment categorization of knowledge, in particular the inherently problematic realms of religion and science, as well as their subsets, medicine, ritual, and magic. In the process of elucidating the rhetoric and logic shaping this manual the author reveals not only the intertwined intellectual history of Eurasia from Greece to China but also dismantles many of the discourses that have shaped its modern interpretations.

Tea in China

Author : James A. Benn
Publisher : Hong Kong University Press
ISBN 13 : 988820873X
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (882 download)

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Book Synopsis Tea in China by : James A. Benn

Download or read book Tea in China written by James A. Benn and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-23 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tea in China explores the contours of religious and cultural transformation in traditional China from the point of view of an everyday commodity and popular beverage. The work traces the development of tea drinking from its mythical origins to the nineteenth century and examines the changes in aesthetics, ritual, science, health, and knowledge that tea brought with it. The shift in drinking habits that occurred in late medieval China cannot be understood without an appreciation of the fact that Buddhist monks were responsible for not only changing people's attitudes toward the intoxicating substance, but also the proliferation of tea drinking. Monks had enjoyed a long association with tea in South China, but it was not until Lu Yu's compilation of the Chajing (The Classic of Tea) and the spread of tea drinking by itinerant Chan monastics that tea culture became popular throughout the empire and beyond. Tea was important for maintaining long periods of meditation; it also provided inspiration for poets and profoundly affected the ways in which ideas were exchanged. Prior to the eighth century, the aristocratic drinking party had excluded monks from participating in elite culture. Over cups of tea, however, monks and literati could meet on equal footing and share in the same aesthetic values. Monks and scholars thus found common ground in the popular stimulant—one with few side effects that was easily obtainable and provided inspiration and energy for composing poetry and meditating. In addition, rituals associated with tea drinking were developed in Chan monasteries, aiding in the transformation of China's sacred landscape at the popular and elite level. Pilgrimages to monasteries that grew their own tea were essential in the spread of tea culture, and some monasteries owned vast tea plantations. By the end of the ninth century, tea was a vital component in the Chinese economy and in everyday life. Tea in China transcends the boundaries of religious studies and cultural history as it draws on a broad range of materials—poetry, histories, liturgical texts, monastic regulations—many translated or analyzed for the first time. The book will be of interest to scholars of East Asia and all those concerned with the religious dimensions of commodity culture in the premodern world.

In Pursuit of the Great Peace

Author : Zhao Lu
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 1438474911
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis In Pursuit of the Great Peace by : Zhao Lu

Download or read book In Pursuit of the Great Peace written by Zhao Lu and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2019-06-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the Great Peace (taiping), one of the first utopian visions in Chinese history, and its impact on literati lives in Han China. Through an examination of the Great Peace (taiping), one of the first utopian visions in Chinese history, Zhao Lu describes the transformation of literati culture that occurred during the Han Dynasty. Driven by anxiety over losing the mandate of Heaven, the imperial court encouraged classicism in order to establish the Great Peace and follow Heaven’s will. But instead of treating the literati as puppets of competing and imagined lineages, Zhao uses sociological methods to reconstruct their daily lives and to show how they created their own thought by adopting, modifying, and opposing the work of their contemporaries and predecessors. The literati who served as bureaucrats in the first century BCE gradually became classicists who depended on social networking as they traveled to study the classics. By the second century CE, classicism had dissolved in this traveling culture and the literati began to expand the corpus of knowledge beyond the accepted canon. Thus, far from being static, classicism in Han China was full of innovation, and ultimately gave birth to both literary writing and religious Daoism. “Zhao’s study presents a model of intellectual history. Smartly written, it excels in connecting the analysis of specific texts and concepts with broader trends in the social-political realm. His work helps demythologize Chinese thought and makes it legible to scholars around the world.” — Miranda Brown, University of Michigan

Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads

Author : Barend ter Haar
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004483047
Total Pages : 533 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (44 download)

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Book Synopsis Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads by : Barend ter Haar

Download or read book Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads written by Barend ter Haar and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-08-30 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The extensive ritual and mythological lore of the Chinese Triads form the scope of this new paperback title in Brill’s Scholars’ List. The author critically evaluates the extant sources and offers a wealth of contextual information. The core of the book is formed by a close reading of the initiation ritual, including the burning of incense, the altar, the enactment of a journey of life and death, and the blood covenant. Different narrative structures are also presented. These include the messianic demonological paradigm, political legitimation, and the foundation of myth. Triad lore is placed in its own religious and cultural context, allowing radically new conclusions about its origins, meanings and functions. This book is of special interest to social historians, anthropologists, and students of Chinese religious culture.

Protecting the Dharma through Calligraphy in Tang China

Author : Pietro De Laurentis
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000488586
Total Pages : 479 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis Protecting the Dharma through Calligraphy in Tang China by : Pietro De Laurentis

Download or read book Protecting the Dharma through Calligraphy in Tang China written by Pietro De Laurentis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-29 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a study of the earliest and finest collated inscription in the history of Chinese calligraphy, the Ji Wang shengjiao xu 集王聖教序 (Preface to the Sacred Teaching Scriptures Translated by Xuanzang in Wang Xizhi’s Collated Characters), which was erected on January 1, 673. The stele records the two texts written by the Tang emperors Taizong (599–649) and Gaozong (628–683) in honor of the monk Xuanzang (d. 664) and the Buddhist scripture Xin jing (Heart Sutra), collated in the semi-cursive characters of the great master of Chinese calligraphy, Wang Xizhi (303–361). It is thus a Buddhist inscription that combines Buddhist authority, political power, and artistic charm in one single monument. The present book reconstructs the multifaceted context in which the stele was devised, aiming at highlighting the specific role calligraphy played in the propagation and protection of Buddhism in medieval China.

The Chinese Face of Jesus Christ

Author : Roman Malek
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000709825
Total Pages : 391 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis The Chinese Face of Jesus Christ by : Roman Malek

Download or read book The Chinese Face of Jesus Christ written by Roman Malek and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-08-01 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume completes the previous volumes 1, 2, 3a, 3b, and 4a of an interdisciplinary book project on the reception of Jesus Christ in China, as seen from the perspectives of Sinology, mission history, theology, and art history, among others. It consists of the following parts: A "Supplementary Anthology" that presents excerpts and longer quotations from selected works – such as translations, prayers, poems, and scholarly articles – listed in the bibliography of vol. 4a; two sections of "Notes on Contributors, Vols. 1–3b" and "Notes on Authors of the Anthologies, Vols. 1–3b, 4b" that provide short biographical information on the contributors of articles and authors of all texts in the anthologies; a "List of Reviews of Vols. 1–4a" published on the whole collection as well as on individual volumes; the Tables of Contents of vols. 1, 2, 3a, 3b and 4a; a "General Index and Glossary" that gives readers access to all articles and anthologies included in vols. 1, 2, 3a, 3b, and 4b, a corpus of almost two thousand pages of text; and finally a list of "Errata and Corrigenda."

The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy

Author : Hugh B. Urban
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000556182
Total Pages : 621 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy by : Hugh B. Urban

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy written by Hugh B. Urban and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 621 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Secrecy is a central and integral component of all religious traditions. Not limited simply to religious groups that engage in clandestine activities such as hidden rites of initiation or terrorism, secrecy is inherent in the very fabric of religion itself. Its importance has perhaps never been more acutely relevant than in our own historical moment. In the wake of 9/11 and other acts of religious violence, we see the rise of invasive national security states that target religious minorities and pose profound challenges to the ideals of privacy and religious freedom, accompanied by the resistance by many communities to such efforts. As such, questions of secrecy, privacy, surveillance, and security are among the most central and contested issues of twenty-first century religious life. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy is the definitive reference source for the key topics, problems, and debates in this crucial field and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising twenty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into five parts: Configurations of Religious Secrecy: Conceptual and Comparative Frameworks Secrecy as Religious Practice Secrecy and the Politics of the Present Secrecy and Social Resistance Secrecy, Terrorism, and Surveillance. This cutting-edge volume discusses secrecy in relation to major categories of religious experience and individual religious practices while also examining the transformations of secrecy in the modern period, including the rise of fraternal orders, the ongoing wars on terror, the rise of far-right white supremacist groups, increasing concerns over religious freedom and privacy, the role of the internet in the spread and surveillance of such groups, and the resistance to surveillance by many indigenous and diasporic communities. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, comparative religion, new religious movements, and religion and politics. It will be equally central to debates in the related disciplines of sociology, anthropology, political science, security studies and cultural studies.