Roaming into the Beyond : Representations of Xian Immortality in Early Medieval Chinese Verse.

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Conventions -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 -- Religious and Literary Background -- The Ideal of Xian-ship -- A Historical Survey of Immortality Cults -- Methods of Achieving Immortality -- Prose Accounts of Immortality -- Poetry on Immortality -- Literary Criticism on Youxian Verse -- Chapter 2 -- The Dramatis Personae -- Xi Wangmu -- The Yellow Emperor -- Laozi -- Wangzi Qiao, Master Redpine, and Other Immortals -- Transformations of the Pantheon -- Chapter 3 -- A Phenomenology of Immortals -- Images of Immortals from the Han to the Eastern Jin -- Transformation and Transcendence -- The Visual Image of Immortals -- The Far-Off Journey -- Levitation and Fantastic Steeds -- Spontaneity and Swiftness -- Immortals' Feasts -- The Hidden Immortal -- Celestial Splendor and Courtly Refinement: The Southern Dynasties -- Images of Eternity -- Chapter 4 -- The World of the Immortals -- Topography -- Cosmic Mountains and Paradise Gardens -- The Lands of the Shangqing Revelations -- Paradise on Earth -- The Court Dulcification of Otherworldly Nature -- Chapter 5 -- The Way to Immortality -- Journeys to Other Worlds -- The "Yuanyou" Poem of the Chuci -- The Distant Journey in the Han Fu -- The Journey Theme in the Yuefu Tradition -- The Distant Journey as a State of Mind -- Sun Chuo's Visionary Ascent of the Tiantai Mountains -- The Elixir Way -- Alchemical Formulas and Sacred Scriptures -- Chapter 6 -- Immortality in the Context of the Human World -- The Juxtaposition of the Two Realms in the Chuci Tradition -- Melancholy and Yearning for Immortality during the Third and Fourth Centuries -- Social Engagement, Hedonism, or Immortality Seeking? -- Honoring the Immortals -- Feasting Songs -- Tableaus of Higher Realms -- The Earth Below Is Out of Sight.

Poetry on Immortality and Personal Religious Pursuits -- Youxian Poetry and Daoist Ritual Hymns -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Extant Classical and Early Medieval Verse Treating the Theme of Immortality -- Bibliography -- Frequently Used Collections and Digital Archives -- Index.

This book examines representations of Daoist xian immortality in a broad range of versified literature from the Han until the end of the Six Dynasties and explores the complex interaction between poetry and Daoist religion in early medieval China.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.