Daoism in the twentieth century

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Mario Poceski

"Under the leadership of Mazu Daoyi (709-788) and his numerous disciples, the Hongzhou school emerged as the dominant tradition of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China during the middle part of the Tang dynasty (618-907). Mario Poceski offers a systematic examination of the Hongzhou school's momentous growth and rise to preeminence as the bearer of Chan orthodoxy, analyzing its doctrines against the backdrop of the intellectual and religious milieus of Tang China. Poceski demonstrates that the Hongzhou school represents the first emergence of an empire-wide Chan tradition that had strongholds throughout China and replaced the various fragmented schools of early Chan with an inclusive orthodoxy."--Jacket.

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Stephen Jones

"Along with Jones' moving film Li Manshan : Portrait of a Folk Daoist, this engaging and original book describes a hereditary family of household Daoist priests in rural north China. It traces the vicissitudes of their lives--and ritual practices--over the turbulent last century through the experiences of two main characters: Li Manshan (b.1946), and his distinguished father Li Qing (1926-99). The story anchors changing ritual practice in the ethnography of ritual specialists and their patrons as they negotiate new challenges, giving a unique flavor of rural life in China today. A vivid portrait of a rapidly changing society, the work will fascinate anthropologists, scholars of Daoism and folk religion, world-music aficionados, and all those interested in Chinese society"--Publisher's description.

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edited and translated by A. Sanda

"Severus of Antioch (d. 538) disagreed with Julian, bishop of Halicarnassus, on the question of the corruptibility of Jesus’ body, and thö two engaged in polemical disputes in writing. This volume contains the Syriac version, with Latin translation, of a series of letters between the two men, Severus refutation of Julian’s “Tome,” and the former’s Refutation of Heretical Propositions. The Syriac text is edited from manuscripts at the Vatican Library and the British Museum. Sanda gives an index of authors cited in each work. Along with Sanda’s other editions and translations (also available from Gorgias Press), this volume gives students and scholars a look into the theological sectarianism that affected much of the intellectual and political climate of Late Antiquity. Syriac and Greek scholars interested in patristic translations will also find this work of some interest"--From the publisher's website.

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Hirakawa Akira

This comprehensive and detailed survey of the first six centuries of Indian Buddhism sums up the results of a lifetime of research and reflection by one of Japan's most renowned scholars of Buddhism. Relying on Pali and Sanskrit sources and on inscriptions from archaeological sites and Chinese translations of Indian texts, Hirakawa balances his review of early Buddhist doctrinal development with extensive discussion of historical background and the evolution of Buddhist institutions. The inclusion of Japanese and Western language bibliographies together with an extensive bibliographic essay by the translator should make this volume especially useful as an introduction to a large corpus of Japanese scholarship on Buddhism which is still not widely known in the West.