Research

15 pages, 374 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Juedi Tiantong: The Religious Basis of the Relationship between Tian and Man in Ancient China

by Zhejia Tang and Xuedan Li

Religions 2024, 15(4), 477; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040477 - 11 Apr 2024

Viewed by 398

Juedi Tiantong occurred in ancient China and was the critical foundation for understanding the relationship between Tian and man in China. From the perspective of conceptual history, Juedi Tiantong not only shaped the metaphysical dimension of the concept of Tian, but also [...] Read more.

Juedi Tiantong occurred in ancient China and was the critical foundation for understanding the relationship between Tian and man in China. From the perspective of conceptual history, Juedi Tiantong not only shaped the metaphysical dimension of the concept of Tian, but also transformed the original religious form of communication between man and natural gods into the unity of human nature and Tiandao, which liberated the relationship between Tian and man from the religious field. Therefore, Juedi Tiantong should be regarded as the critical basis of the unity of heaven and man in Chinese philosophy. Furthermore, as an important religious revolution, Juedi Tiantong also affected people’s understanding of nature, which was mainly reflected in the recognition of astronomy and calendar reform. In ancient China, it was difficult to distinguish between humanity and astronomy, science and religion, and rationality and divinity. In this case, Juedi Tiantong also abstracted Tian, originally representing the physical sky, into a metaphysical concept. Accordingly, the concept of Tian in Chinese philosophy has not developed the same meaning of nature as Western civilization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

19 pages, 515 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beauty and Dao: The Transcendental Expressions of Nature from Emerson’s Prose and the Zhuangzi

by Xuehong Jia and Dongyue Wu

Religions 2024, 15(1), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010081 - 09 Jan 2024

Viewed by 773

Abstract

As an aesthetic resource in ancient China, the Zhuangzi’s description of Dao is similar to the American philosopher Emerson’s experience of beauty, and both reveal that the essence of beauty lies in its inherent vitality, spiritual transcendence, and the unity of multidimensional [...] Read more.

As an aesthetic resource in ancient China, the Zhuangzi’s description of Dao is similar to the American philosopher Emerson’s experience of beauty, and both reveal that the essence of beauty lies in its inherent vitality, spiritual transcendence, and the unity of multidimensional connotations. Emerson defines beauty as the constitution of all things in the world and believes it to be an expression of the universe. The Zhuangzi proposes the thought of tiandi damei 天地大美 (lit. Great Beauty of heaven and earth) as a manifestation of the function of the wordless Dao. Nature, intact from any human interference, becomes the common intermediary for Emerson and the Zhuangzi to elaborate on the connotations of beauty. The Emersonian definition of beauty originates from the philosophical implication of the world in ancient Greek, whereas the meaning of Great Beauty in the Zhuangzi, which embodies the worship of heaven in primitive religion, is very close to Emerson’s definition of beauty. The pattern of mei 美 consisting of da 大 (lit. great, equivalent to Dao) and yang 羊 (lit. auspice) signifies the natural celestial phenomena predicting good or bad luck and can be seen as synonymous with Dao illuminated by Daoism. By describing such natural imagery as forest, time sequence, dawn, and wilderness, Emerson reveals the vastness, harmony, brightness, and tranquility of beauty, which not only delights the spirit but also brings the human soul back to its natural state and improves personality. Emerson’s illumination of beauty conforms to those of Dao unraveled by the Zhuangzi. Despite the difference between the former’s poetic linguistic feature and the latter’s application of allegorical fables, both resort to visualized language to express internal aesthetic perceptions of the physical nature. Using the approaches of word tracing, textual comparison, and logical analysis, this article identifies the consistency in the original meanings of beauty in both Emerson’s essays and the Zhuangzi first and then goes on to analyze the similarities between their descriptions of natural imagery, so as to hint at the commonality in their understanding of natural beauty and verify the significance of literary language in cross-cultural comparative research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

15 pages, 776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nature, Spirituality, and Place: Comparative Studies between Emerson and Zhuang Zi

by Shan Gao

Religions 2023, 14(9), 1134; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14091134 - 04 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 913

Abstract

Very rich scholarly works have been produced to perform a comparative study between Emerson and Zhuang Zi. Many scholars in their comparative research have tried to find how Emerson and the transcendentalists such as Thoreau borrow ideas from Daoism. In this article, I [...] Read more.

Very rich scholarly works have been produced to perform a comparative study between Emerson and Zhuang Zi. Many scholars in their comparative research have tried to find how Emerson and the transcendentalists such as Thoreau borrow ideas from Daoism. In this article, I will take a different approach. I aim to find how Emerson and Zhuang Zi’s pursuit of spirituality in nature shapes different types of sense of place. The concept of spirituality is related to the pursuit of meaning in life and self-transcendence. This concept has gradually gained attention from the branches of religion, philosophy, geography, and psychology since, currently, due to the fast urbanization process, more people are separated from their land and move into cities. I will make a comparison between Emerson and Zhuang Zi from the concepts of spirituality, nature, and place. This perspective will shed light on the question of the conservation of various places due to their value and meaning, although I will not discuss conservation issues in this paper. In this article, I will first give a brief introduction to the meaning of spirituality by focusing on the three dimensions of this concept, which include meaning, self-transcendence, and spiritual practices. Then, I will discuss how the concept of nature in Emerson and Zhuang Zi’s works is related to these three dimensions. Finally, I will examine why Emerson and Zhuang Zi treat wilderness and agricultural land, respectively, as a place. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

12 pages, 758 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hmong Spirituality, Nature, and Place

by Yunjie Zhang

Religions 2023, 14(9), 1127; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14091127 - 01 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1961

Abstract

In this article, I show how the Hmong religion can provide the basis of a novel version of non-human-centered environmentalism. I do this by outlining some of the core doctrines in the Hmong religion and showing what they imply about the value of [...] Read more.

In this article, I show how the Hmong religion can provide the basis of a novel version of non-human-centered environmentalism. I do this by outlining some of the core doctrines in the Hmong religion and showing what they imply about the value of nature. I then situate the view that is implied by these doctrines into the traditional Western environmental ethics literature on the value of nature. In particular, I argue that the Hmong religion provides a view in environmental ethics that is non-anthropocentric, individualistic, non-egalitarian, and non-biocentric. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

12 pages, 757 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Biocultural Dialogue between Thoreau and Taoist Thought: Rethinking Environmental Ethics, Nature, Spirituality and Place

by Michael Thompson and Li Xu

Religions 2023, 14(7), 829; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070829 - 25 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1262

Abstract

A fundamental question of the 21st century centers around the role and place of humans in their environment. Given the great acceleration of consumptive practices engaged in the 20th century, humans stand on the brink of a 6th extinction event. In order to [...] Read more.

A fundamental question of the 21st century centers around the role and place of humans in their environment. Given the great acceleration of consumptive practices engaged in the 20th century, humans stand on the brink of a 6th extinction event. In order to determine our place and role in our global environment, we need to reflect on where we are and what the future will be—we need to focus on the habits of our “co-inhabitation” of the planet. Given the positive and negative impacts of international and global activities, intercultural dialogues are necessary for the care of the ecology of the planet, and one of the most prescient dialogues is between Eastern and Western world views. While much comparative research has been conducted regarding the connection between American Transcendentalism and Chinese ancient philosophy, relatively little philosophical work has been conducted to demonstrate the connectivity between Henry David Thoreau and Taoism. Yet there are, in fact, profound similarities between the American naturalist and Chinese philosophy, in particular Taoism. This paper aimed to discover and manifest the connection and similarities between the philosophy of Thoreau and the ancient worldview of Taoism. Through this comparative study and intercultural dialogue, we seek to trace historical precedents and intercultural dialogue between American Transcendentalism and ancient Chinese philosophy in order to explore the groundwork for a new vision of environmental awareness in order to promote a better future with a community of co-inhabitants and emphasis on the well-being of all. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

18 pages, 881 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chinese Chan Buddhism and the Agrarian Aesthetic in the Garden

by Yun Wang and Yaoxuanzi Xiao

Religions 2023, 14(5), 681; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050681 - 19 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1468

Abstract

As the most important Buddhist school in the history of Chinese Buddhism, the philosophy of Chan Buddhism and its agricultural Chan practice have had a profound influence on the lives of the literati and scholars. Both historically and logically, the term “Chan Dharma [...] Read more.

As the most important Buddhist school in the history of Chinese Buddhism, the philosophy of Chan Buddhism and its agricultural Chan practice have had a profound influence on the lives of the literati and scholars. Both historically and logically, the term “Chan Dharma 禪法” is extremely rich in connotations. The so-called “agricultural Chan 農禪” is a transformation of Chinese farming culture into the “Chan practice” by practising meditation through farming activities. The “garden farming 園耕” refers to the farming activities of the literati and scholars in the gardens, which were driven by the style of agricultural Chan. Under the influence of agricultural Chan, “garden farming” took on a new spiritual attitude towards crops and created a natural aesthetic realm of life in the act of farming. This article consists of three main sections. I start with an introduction to the religious thoughts and practices of Chan Buddhism, pointing out that the underlying colour of Chan Buddhism is the aesthetics of life, while gradually evoking its special practice of Chan. The second section discusses the concept of agricultural Chan and farming activities in gardens, to figure out the characteristics of agricultural Chan and how farming activities in gardens are carried out. In the third section, I argue for the beauty of farming in gardens, pointing out the essence of the beauty in garden farming and what aesthetic possibilities the act of farming in gardens may embody. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

19 pages, 1458 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nature Prescribes Laws to Humans: The Ziran of the Myriad Things in Early Daoism

by Jing Liu

Religions 2023, 14(5), 646; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050646 - 12 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1549

Abstract

This essay examines the nature of things in early Daoism via the lens of comparative philosophy. Daoism uses ziran 自然 (spontaneity) to express the nature of things. I explore the ziran or spontaneity of the myriad things through the analysis of de 德, [...] Read more.

This essay examines the nature of things in early Daoism via the lens of comparative philosophy. Daoism uses ziran 自然 (spontaneity) to express the nature of things. I explore the ziran or spontaneity of the myriad things through the analysis of de 德, sheng 生 (xing 性), and freedom (ziyou 自由). The sections on de 德 and sheng 生 reveal that the spontaneity of things is the ultimate reality, which contains the oneness of one and many, essence and appearance, change and changelessness. The section on freedom revolves around two essential questions in metaphysics: What are things? What is the relation between things and humans? Different from the motto of modern metaphysics, “humans prescribes laws to nature”, early Daoism believes that human existence belongs to the constant ziran. I call this “nature prescribes laws to humans”. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

17 pages, 1058 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism

by Matthew Crippen

Religions 2023, 14(5), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050570 - 24 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2625

Abstract

My central claim is that resonances between Transcendentalist and Chinese philosophies are so strong that the former cannot be adequately appreciated without the latter. I give attention to the Analects, the Mengzi and the Tiantai Lotus Sutra, which Transcendentalists read. Because [...] Read more.

My central claim is that resonances between Transcendentalist and Chinese philosophies are so strong that the former cannot be adequately appreciated without the latter. I give attention to the Analects, the Mengzi and the Tiantai Lotus Sutra, which Transcendentalists read. Because there was conceptual sharing across Chinese traditions, plus evidence suggesting Transcendentalists explored other texts, my analysis includes discussions of Daoism and Weishi, Huayan and Chan Buddhism. To name just some similarities between the targeted outlooks, Transcendentalists adopt something close to wu-wei or effortless action; though hostile to hierarchy, they echo the Confucian stress on rituals or habits; Thoreau’s individualistic libertarianism is moderated by a radical causal holism found in many Chinese philosophies; and variants of Chinese Buddhism get close to Transcendentalist metaphysics and epistemologies, which anticipate radical embodied cognitive science. A specific argument is that Transcendentalists followed some of their Chinese counterparts by conserving the past and converting it into radicalism. A meta-argument is that ideas were exchanged via trade from Europe through North Africa to Western Asia and India into the Far East, and contact with Indigenous Americans led to the same. This involved degrees of misrepresentation, but it nonetheless calls upon scholars to adopt more global approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

14 pages, 887 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Realm of Tianfang Advocated by the Daoist Philosophy of Naturalism

by Shaojun Wang

Religions 2023, 14(4), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040519 - 10 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1669

Abstract

More and more people talk about so-called Daoist ecological thought. Actually, Daoism does not have a ready-made ecological thought. However, it indeed can act as a vital theoretical resource for constructing such thought. In this article, I will argue how this is possible, [...] Read more.

More and more people talk about so-called Daoist ecological thought. Actually, Daoism does not have a ready-made ecological thought. However, it indeed can act as a vital theoretical resource for constructing such thought. In this article, I will argue how this is possible, and what realm Daoism can attain in the relation between human and nature. I will mainly employ such methods as original problem research, literature analysis and comparative research in the inquiry. Compared with traditional Western metaphysics, Daoist ontology can provide stronger philosophical support for the value and significance of empirical things. In addition, Dao does not dominate things like a personal god with will, but gives them the chance to grow and develop according to their own nature. Lao-Zhuang called on people to imitate this character of Dao. They believed that the primitive nature itself was worthy of respect, and urged us to set limits for ourselves and never to distort things’ natural propensities to suit us. Consequently, natural things are neither overshadowed by a noumenon, nor are they subject to humans’ conquering and abuse, so they are capable of flourishing freely. This is precisely the realm of tianfang which Daoism seeks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

14 pages, 820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sites of Solitude: Situating the Wilderness of Nature in Wei-Jin Dark Learning and Emerson

by Benjamin Coles

Religions 2023, 14(4), 455; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040455 - 28 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1183

Abstract

For Daoism, the wilderness of nature beyond human society has often been viewed as a site for eremitic retreat in spiritual solitude, a realm where an individual can transcend the limits of social existence. While this tradition flourished in the early medieval Wei-Jin [...] Read more.

For Daoism, the wilderness of nature beyond human society has often been viewed as a site for eremitic retreat in spiritual solitude, a realm where an individual can transcend the limits of social existence. While this tradition flourished in the early medieval Wei-Jin period, Daoism-inspired Dark Learning thinkers of the time also explored ways in which such a realm of solitude could be attained and enjoyed without the necessity of leaving behind the mundane world, an endeavor that has clear parallels with the function of solitude in Emerson’s Transcendentalism. This paper focuses on three sites where both Emerson and Dark Learning thinkers located such access to solitude: aesthetic appreciation of nature, metaphysical speculation, and authentic social relationships. In both Emerson and Dark Learning, the universal implications of metaphysical speculation provided a path by which the solitude and independence attainable in the wilderness of nature could be connected to individuals in social life, providing a foundation for ethics outside of traditional authority that led both Emerson and Dark Learning to face similar criticisms from more conservative contemporaries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Study between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Religions)

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