• A Case Study on the Evolution of Chinese Religious Symbols from Talismanic Paraphernalia to Taoist Liturgy

    Author(s):
    Grégoire Espesset (see profile)
    Date:
    2015
    Group(s):
    Medical Humanities, Religious Studies
    Subject(s):
    Magic--Religious aspects, Magic, Religions, Material culture, Religion, China, Taoism
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    artefact, liturgy, rite, symbol, Magico-religious systems, Religion in China, Taoism (Daoism), Visual culture
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/tw83-w791
    Abstract:
    This is a chronological comparative study of five visual artefacts spanning about a millennium in Chinese history and retrieved from various sources included in the mid-fifteenth century collection called in English the Taoist Canon. All five specimens are basically titled “Taiping fu” 太平符 in Chinese, literally “Great Peace Symbol”. By briefly introducing the source of each specimen, describing the specimen's morphology and contextualising its implementation and purpose, the study highlights functional changeability and raises semiological issues that invite Sinologists to revise their understanding of the category of cultural artefact to which these specimens belong.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.1017/S0041977X15000439
    Publisher:
    Cambridge University Press (CUP)
    Pub. Date:
    2015-6-16
    Journal:
    Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
    Volume:
    78
    Issue:
    3
    Page Range:
    493 - 514
    ISSN:
    0041-977X,1474-0699
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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