Roaming into the Beyond : Representations of Xian Immortality in Early Medieval Chinese Verse.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (429 pages)
- Sinica Leidensia Series ; v.129 .
- Sinica Leidensia Series .
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.
9789004313699
Chinese poetry-Qin and Han dynasties, 221 B.C.-220 A.D.-History and criticism. Chinese poetry-220-589-History and criticism. Immortality in literature. Taoism in literature.