In the Land of Tigers and Snakes: Living with Animals in Medieval Chinese Religions

Huaiyu Chen

Published by Columbia University Press 2023

In the Land of Tigers and Snakes

Living with Animals in Medieval Chinese Religions

Huaiyu Chen

In the series The Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhist Studies

https://doi.org/10.7312/chen20260

Overview
Contents

About this book

Huaiyu Chen examines how Buddhist ideas about animals changed and were changed by medieval Chinese culture. He explores the entangled relations among animals, religions, the state, and local communities, considering both the multivalent meanings associated with animals and the daily experience of living with the natural world.

Author / Editor information

Huaiyu Chen is an associate professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. He is the author of The Revival of Buddhist Monasticism in Medieval China (2007) and coeditor of Great Journeys Across the Pamir Mountains: A Festschrift in Honor of Zhang Guangda on His Eighty-fifth Birthday (2018), among other books.

Reviews

T.H. Barrett, author of Taoism Under the T'ang: Religion and Empire during the Golden Age of Chinese History:
An unprecedented survey of some very rich sources, In the Land of Tigers and Snakes is a major contribution to the study of the interactions between the human and animal realms in a pivotal period of Chinese history.

Barbara Ambros, author of Bones of Contention: Animals and Religion in Contemporary Japan:
In the Land of Tigers and Snakes is meticulously researched, richly documented, and well contextualized. Chen shows excellent command of his source materials, and I really learned a tremendous amount from reading this book. A must-read for anyone interested in animals and religion!

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Buddhists Categorizing Animals: Medieval Chinese Classification Systems Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	14
2. Confucians Civilizing Unruly Beasts: Tigers and Pheasants Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
3. Buddhists Taming Felines: The Companionship of the Tiger Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
4. Daoists Transforming Ferocious Tigers: Practical Techniques and Rhetorical Strategies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
5. Buddhists Killing Reptiles: Snakes in Religious Competition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
6. Buddhists Enlightening Virtuous Birds: The Parrot as a Religious Agent Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	259

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Illustrations
- Other: 8 b&w illustrations
Keywords: animals; iconography; animal studies; medieval Chinese religion; medieval Chinese culture; Buddhism; Daoism; Confucianism; visual studies; religious studies; environmental studies; tigers; snakes; parrots

eBook

Published: March 15, 2023
ISBN: 9780231554640