In the year 1715, the ruler of the Qing empire Xuanye ordered that two thousand soldiers should be stationed at the mountain pass Gas, a thousand kilometers outside the borders of the empire. It... Show moreIn the year 1715, the ruler of the Qing empire Xuanye ordered that two thousand soldiers should be stationed at the mountain pass Gas, a thousand kilometers outside the borders of the empire. It provided access to the Tsaidam basin, and thus the entire Tibetan plateau. This essay places the initial occupation of Gas in the context of the Qing policy toward Tibet by examining Xuanye's motivations for the occupation of Gas. It then argues that the occupation of Gas ultimately failed to achieve its objective. Show less
This dissertation advances a new interpretation on the national formation of modern China through the lens of Chinese cinema. Primarily, this project explores how cinema—a modern invention imported... Show moreThis dissertation advances a new interpretation on the national formation of modern China through the lens of Chinese cinema. Primarily, this project explores how cinema—a modern invention imported from the West—has shaped China’s sociopolitical transition from a dynastic empire to a nation-state. It is argued that, the concurrence of motion picture’s arrival and nation-state’s advent in China at the turn of the twentieth century, is not to be considered as isolated events, but rather as a dialectical dynamism in which the imagined community of modern China has largely relied on cinema for its symbolic construction, and yet encountered constant resistance from cinematic representation. Viewing the formation of the Chinese nation-state from a cinematic perspective, this study centers on the conflicts between marginal figures and central categories in Chinese films. In approaching this unresolved dilemma, Jiyu Zhang dedicates his study to mapping out a dialectical relationship between China’s internal and external tensions. Through an extensive investigation of cinematic embodiment, Zhang hones in on four groups of characters that he terms the “central frontiers” of modern China’s cultural imaginary: children, women, ethnic minorities, and diaspora. Show less
This study focuses on the life, exploits and ideology of Guru Wuguang (1818-2000), an eclectic and influential Taiwanese Buddhist figure who studied Daoist alchemy, multiple forms of Chinese,... Show moreThis study focuses on the life, exploits and ideology of Guru Wuguang (1818-2000), an eclectic and influential Taiwanese Buddhist figure who studied Daoist alchemy, multiple forms of Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan Buddhism, as well as biology, thermodynamics, philosophy, theology, and occulture. This is done in order to understand what happens when a tradition ‘purified’ from its ‘mythical’ elements reincorporates itself in the tension between its ‘enchanted’ past and ‘scientific’ present. Wuguang is famous throughout the Chinese-speaking Buddhist world for resurrecting Zhenyan, a school of esoteric Buddhism said to have flourished in China during the Tang Dynasty. The academic community has largely ignored Wuguang, making this the first in-depth exploration of this figure, whose influence is truly global. Building upon David McMahan’s work on Buddhist modernism, Jason Josephson’s secular-religious-superstitious trinary, scholarly discourse concerning Weberian disenchantment, and employing the Religious Economy Model, I argue that Wuguang’s teachings represent an intentionally reenchanted form of Buddhist modernism aimed at harmonizing magic with modern science and philosophy. While scholarly discourse on Asian magic in the modern world has been confined to popular religion, this study additionally focuses on ‘High-Church Buddhism’ by analyzing Wuguang’s magico-scientific interpretation of complex Buddhist doctrine. Show less
This study discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan societies and how that position was informed by Buddhist monastic ideology. The point of departure is the huge impact of... Show moreThis study discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan societies and how that position was informed by Buddhist monastic ideology. The point of departure is the huge impact of monastic Buddhism on Tibetan society, economy, law, and culture. This work examines the impact of Buddhist monastic institutions on Tibetan societies by looking at their monastic policies with regard to organization, economy, justice, and public relations. The primary sources in which these policies can be found are the monastic guidelines (bca’ yig). As this type of literature has not been studied in any detail, this study contains an exploration of this genre, its parallels in other Buddhist cultures, its connection to the Vinaya, and its socio-historical value. The textual study is supplemented with important information gained via oral history methods. It is demonstrates that the monastery was mostly guided by Buddhist monastic law and that it was averse to any societal instability. The monastic guidelines are witness to certain socio-economic changes, but also contain rules that aim to change the monastery in order to preserve it. The monastic institutions’ influence on society was maintained not merely due to existing power-relations, but also because of certain deep-rooted Buddhist beliefs. Show less
In this dissertation, I have focused on the construction of the life account of the founder of Bon Religion, Shenrab Miwo. I try to answer some key questions such as, who was Shenrab Miwo and why... Show moreIn this dissertation, I have focused on the construction of the life account of the founder of Bon Religion, Shenrab Miwo. I try to answer some key questions such as, who was Shenrab Miwo and why is he considered to have been the founder of Bon? How did the hagiography of Shenrab Miwo emerge and how did this contribute toward the development of Bon? Shenrab Miwo was designated as the founder of Bon probably during the second spread of Buddhism in Tibet, starting the 10th–11th century AD. In order to compete with the Buddhist claim that their religion was founded by the Buddha Śākyamuni, Bonpos began to claim that their religion was founded by Shenrab Miwo, and that it was much older than Buddhism. The Bonpos began to formalize their religion by appropriating Buddhist literature and adjusting it for their own purposes. The choice of Shenrab Miwo as the founder of Bon was first canonized with the creation of the mDo ’dus. Its basic narrative patterns are based on proto-narratives, such as still extant in Tibetan Dunhuang documents, on Tibetan translations of legends of the life of the Buddha, and other textual fragments that existed in Tibet at that time, and are most likely also based on stories that were passed down orally. Show less
