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Gendering Chinese religion : subject, identity, and body / edited by Jinhua Jia, Xiaofei Kang, and Ping Yao.

Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Albany : State University of New York Press, 2014Description: 1 online resource (ix, 300 pages) : illustrationsContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9781438453095
  • 1438453094
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: Gendering Chinese religionDDC classification:
  • 200.82/0951 23
LOC classification:
  • BL1923 .G46 2014eb
Other classification:
  • online - EBSCO
  • B957.2-532
Online resources:
Contents:
Tang women in the transformation of Buddhist filiality / Ping Yao -- Writing oneself into the tradition: the autobiographical sermon of Chan Master Jizong Xingche (b. 1606) / Beata Grant -- Making religion, making the new woman: reading Su Xuelin's autobiographical novel Jixin (Thorny Heart) / Zhange Ni -- The identity of Tan Daoist priestesses / Jinhua Jia -- Revisiting White-haired Girl: women, gender and religion in Communist revolutionary propaganda / Xiaofei Kang -- Negotiating between two patriarchies: Chinese Christian women in postcolonial Hong Kong / Wai Ching Angela Wong -- Birthing the self: metaphor and tranformation in Medieval Daoism / Gil Raz -- Female alchemy: transformation of a gendered body / Elena Valussi -- A religious menopausal ritual: changing body, identity, and values / Neky Tak-ching Cheung.
Summary: A gender-critical consideration of women and religion in Chinese traditions from medieval to modern times. Gendering Chinese Religion marks the emergence of a subfield on women, gender, and religion in China studies. Ranging from the medieval period to the present day, this volume departs from the conventional and often male-centered categorization of Chinese religions into Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religion. It makes two compelling arguments. First, Chinese women have deployed specific religious ideas and rituals to empower themselves in various social contexts. Second, gendered perceptions and representations of Chinese religions have been indispensable to the historical and contemporary construction of social and political power. The contributors use innovative ways of discovering and applying a rich variety of sources, many previously ignored by scholars. While each of the chapters in this interdisciplinary work represents a distinct perspective, together they form a coherent dialogue about the historical importance, intellectual possibilities, and methodological protocols of this new subfield.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

Tang women in the transformation of Buddhist filiality / Ping Yao -- Writing oneself into the tradition: the autobiographical sermon of Chan Master Jizong Xingche (b. 1606) / Beata Grant -- Making religion, making the new woman: reading Su Xuelin's autobiographical novel Jixin (Thorny Heart) / Zhange Ni -- The identity of Tan Daoist priestesses / Jinhua Jia -- Revisiting White-haired Girl: women, gender and religion in Communist revolutionary propaganda / Xiaofei Kang -- Negotiating between two patriarchies: Chinese Christian women in postcolonial Hong Kong / Wai Ching Angela Wong -- Birthing the self: metaphor and tranformation in Medieval Daoism / Gil Raz -- Female alchemy: transformation of a gendered body / Elena Valussi -- A religious menopausal ritual: changing body, identity, and values / Neky Tak-ching Cheung.

A gender-critical consideration of women and religion in Chinese traditions from medieval to modern times. Gendering Chinese Religion marks the emergence of a subfield on women, gender, and religion in China studies. Ranging from the medieval period to the present day, this volume departs from the conventional and often male-centered categorization of Chinese religions into Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religion. It makes two compelling arguments. First, Chinese women have deployed specific religious ideas and rituals to empower themselves in various social contexts. Second, gendered perceptions and representations of Chinese religions have been indispensable to the historical and contemporary construction of social and political power. The contributors use innovative ways of discovering and applying a rich variety of sources, many previously ignored by scholars. While each of the chapters in this interdisciplinary work represents a distinct perspective, together they form a coherent dialogue about the historical importance, intellectual possibilities, and methodological protocols of this new subfield.