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The Poetics of Daoist Cultivation

Submitted to Program Units
1: Daoist Studies Unit
2: Arts, Literature, and Religion Unit

Thomas Mazanec, University of California, Santa Barbara, Presiding

Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)

Daoist sources contain abundant material for the study of Daoist verse, from the more well-known Supreme Purity (Shangqing) scriptures to the profusion of Complete Perfection (Quanzhen) verse to later poetry produced through spirit-writing. Moreover, literati writers, who observed and participated in Daoist rites, wrote poems on the ubiquitous presence of Daoist ritual, priests, practices, sites, and texts for centuries of Chinese history. This panel focuses on poetic expressions that were informed by Daoist contexts and turns our attention to the ways writers of verse engaged more specifically with Daoist cultivation practices. The papers address a range of materials from different time periods, but all seek to explore central questions: How do writers use poetic forms to capture, imagine, reflect or imagine various kinds of Daoist bodily cultivation? How do socio-historical conditions and conventions shape such poetry? How does such poetry function rhetorically?

Papers

  • Jonathan Pettit, University of Hawai'i

    Poetics of Immortality in Medieval Daoist Verse

    Abstract

    This paper begins with Kevin Hart’s recent work on *how* religious poetry is deployed in the Christian context and the tension he finds between a poet’s “mystical longing” and “sense of sin.” This author juxtaposes Hart’s study with an analysis of a fourth-century CE poem recorded by spirit medium YANG Xi. The imagined poet was not YANG, but an ancient farmer who centuries earlier sang this verse as he rowed his boat across an idyllic pond. The singing of the verse marks the moment of his transfiguration as a Daoist god. This Daoist poem challenges assumptions about what Hart considers to be the underlying purpose behind religious poetry. Whereas poetry in a Christian context might be a vehicle or mode in which the divine/sacred/God appears to the poet, the effects of poetry in a Daoist context concern how humans could transcend their bodies to become gods themselves.

  • Tyler Feezell, Arizona State University

    Cultivation, Ecstatic Ascension, and the Dao: ‘Pacing the Void’ Verse by Wei Qumou and Wu Yun

    Abstract

    The production of ‘Pacing the Void’ lyrics accelerated in the Tang dynasty (618–907), a period that saw two lengthy versions produced by writers associated with Daoist cultivation practices, Wu Yun (d. 778) and Wei Qumou (749–801). This paper compares these two pieces, examining their structure, narrative, language, and imagery. Each gestures to Daoist regimens of practice, notably those of the Supreme Purity (Shangqing) tradition, which was prevalent during this historical period. Moreover, they both celebrate the wondrous sights and scenes of the Daoist heavens, as the practitioner ascends. Nevertheless, despite such similarities, the poems’ manifold differences suggest quite different visions of Daoist cultivation and experience. The culmination of such practices, as presented by both authors, reveals a key distinction in Daoist poetry, that is, between ecstatic and mystical visions of Daoist practice.

  • Wanmeng Li, University of California, Los Angeles

    Landscape Reimagined: The Poetic Reworking of ‘Pacing the Void’ Lyrics in the Song Dynasty (960–1279)

    Abstract

    This paper examines two sets of ‘Pacing the Void’ lyrics by Song dynasty literati. These poems illustrate a new form of ‘Pacing the Void’ lyrics created under the influence of two Daoist traditions and the Jiangxi Poetry School. Incorporating elements from Lingbao and Shangqing traditions, the poets merge the visions of the sacred mountains with that of a sacred holistic body, reflecting a progressive anthropomorphic imagination of the landscape. Additionally, the study highlights how the Jiangxi Poetry School's theory of poetic transformation further fueled their creative expressions, showcasing the Song poets' innovative engagement with Daoist language in literary endeavors.

  • Yanning Wang, Florida State University

    Women’s Youxian Poetry in the Qing Dynasty

    Abstract

    Youxian poetry (poetry of roaming as a transcendent, or poetry of roaming through the realm of the immortals) has remained an important component of Daoist literature. Throughout the dynasties, this poetic genre, which crosses the boundary between poetry and Daoism, has served as an effective vehicle for literati’s poetic expression. Studies on youxian poetry have focused on the Tang (618–907) or pre-Tang periods, when both Daoism and Daoist poetry flourished. The youxian poems of the post-Tang periods demand additional scholarly attention. Despite the general decline of monastic Daoism during the Qing, youxian poetry did not decline. This paper examines women’s youxian poetry of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) when women’s writings emerged as never before. This study hopes to shed light on our understanding of Qing women’s youxian poems and the role of Daoism in women’s literary and religious life. 

Responding
Jason Protass, Brown University

Business Meeting
Tobias Zürn, Other, Presiding
Audiovisual Requirements

Resources

LCD Projector and Screen

Full Papers Available

No
Program Unit Options

Session Length

90 Minutes

Schedule Preference

Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Schedule Preference Other

90 min session is also okay
Schedule Info

Saturday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Session Identifier

A23-413