A stairway to heaven: daoist self-cultivation in early modern China
First book-length, English-language study of the life and works of Wu Shouyang, the perhaps most important master and author of Daoist self-cultivation and inner alchemy texts in early modern China.
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
Leiden Boston
BRILL
[2025]
|
| In: | Year: 2025 |
| Series/Journal: | Sinica Leidensia Series
v.166 |
| Further subjects: | B
Wu, Shouyang (1552-1640)
B Confucianism (China) B Philosophy, Confucian B Confucianism and state |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | First book-length, English-language study of the life and works of Wu Shouyang, the perhaps most important master and author of Daoist self-cultivation and inner alchemy texts in early modern China. Front Cover -- Half Title -- Series Information -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Note to Reader -- Figures and Tables -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 What This Book Is About -- 2 Some Notes on Semantics -- 3 Interpretation -- 4 Literature Review -- 5 What Can Be Expected in the Following Chapters -- Chapter 1 History and Religion -- 1 Quanzhen and Longmen -- 2 Inner Alchemy -- Chapter 2 An Immortal in the Family -- 1 Sources -- 2 1574-1593 -- 3 1593-1612 -- 4 1612-1644 -- 5 The Lineage -- 6 Miscellaneous Biographical Themes -- Chapter 3 Writing and Publishing -- 1 Works, Editions, and Texts -- 2 Comparing the Editions -- 3 Writing and Publication History -- Chapter 4 The Way of Immortality -- 1 The Stages -- 2 Refining the Self and Returning to Emptiness -- 3 The First Pass -- 4 The Middle Pass -- 5 The Upper Pass -- Chapter 5 A Stairway to Heaven -- 1 Daoist Models -- 2 Buddhist Models -- 3 Wu Shouyang's Model of Progress through Cultivation -- 4 Wu Shouyang's Model of Progress through Rebirth -- Chapter 6 An Inversion of Nature -- 1 Sexual Reproduction -- 2 Restoring Sexual Function -- 3 The Bedchamber Arts -- Chapter 7 The Return to Emptiness -- 1 The Celestial Immortal as a Celestial Official -- 2 The Cosmological and Psychological Return to Emptiness -- 3 Daoist Emptiness and Buddhist Nirvāṇa -- Conclusion -- 1 Wu Shouyang -- 2 Inner Alchemy -- Appendix 1 Comparing the Three Editions of the Dialogues and Other Texts -- Appendix 2 Wu Shouyang's Writings: an Annotated Bibliography -- Appendix 3 Research Note on Exemplar 1 -- Appendix 4 Research Note on Exemplar 2 -- Appendix 5 Research Note on Exemplar 3 -- Appendix 6 Research Note on Exemplar 4 -- Appendix 7 Longmen Lineage (Zhang-Li-Cao-Wu) -- Appendix 8 Wu Family -- Bibliography -- Index -- Back Cover. "By the eleventh century, communities of religious practitioners in China had developed a theory and practice of meditative self-cultivation that combined the so-called Three Teachings. By the seventeenth century, Wu Shouyang created a synthesis of the various lineages of this "inner alchemy," combining it with elements from Buddhism and Confucianism. By the late nineteenth century, his writings had become bestsellers in the genre and his became the standard account of this tradition. This first book-length English-language study of Wu Shouyang's life and works introduces his remarkable life and formulates answers to fundamental questions about this important tradition"-- |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (XV, 500 Seiten) |
| ISBN: | 978-90-04-70774-0 |
