THE TAOIST TRADITION
[
Religion 4403 / 6403
University of Georgia
Spring 2007
Professor Russell Kirkland
Peabody Hall 221
Office
Hours: Th 3:30-4:30 and by appt.
"Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto."
— William James (1842-1910), The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)
[ THE PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The
academic study of religion is a systematic exploration of the visions, values,
and activities by which individuals and societies of past and present have
understood and shaped their life-experiences. The goal of such courses is to
promote a mature sensitivity to religious traditions, personalities, issues,
and institutions, within their proper historical contexts. Such courses are not intended
to persuade students either toward or away from any specific tradition, nor
are they intended to serve as an element of any personal spiritual search in
which students might already be engaged. Rather, the goal of such courses is for students to achieve
an accurate understanding of certain cultures' religions on those cultures'
own terms, and to evaluate those religions in a manner that is both properly
critical and properly sympathetic.
Should you want an experience that is "spiritually
fulfilling" to you personally, please go to a religious center of your
choice and practice there. You are in this course to study religion: if you wish to practice religion, or to
learn how to do so, you are in the wrong place.
Taoism (now often written “Daoism”) is a Chinese cultural tradition focussed primarily on methods and strategies for individual and socio-political integration with the totality of reality, including its transcendent dimensions. Taoism encompasses a broad array of moral, social, philosophical, and religious ideas, values, and practices. Over the long history of China, Taoism incorporataed the teachings and practices of people whose interests and concerns were often quite different. Like other religions around the world, Taoism included some contemplatives, whose orientation often seems attractive to modern people—particularly to Westerners looking for alternatives to their own cultural traditions. Many Westerners, misled by writers who know nothing about the authentic traditions of Taoism, misunderstand Taoism: ignorant of the richness and depth of nearly 2500 years of Chinese Taoism, these people have often fallen victim to commercializations that are falsely marketed as “Taoism”—such as that found in mindless fluff like The Tao of Pooh, or in pseudo-translations of the Tao te ching by self-absorbed dilettantes who have never even read the text in its original language, and don’t even think that they, or you, ought to bother.
In
this course, you will learn that Taoism is an ancient and immense tradition of
great subtlety and complexity.
You will see how its many dimensions evolved to answer the needs of
people of different periods and different propensities, and you should learn
respect for, and understanding of, the teachings and practices of all those
people. Taoism is not some
abstract "timeless wisdom" that simply consists of a set of warm,
fuzzy ideas. Rather, Taoism is a
specific set of cultural traditions that evolved within the historical context
of ancient, medieval, and modern China, evolving to meet the spiritual needs
of people in specific historical situations. In medieval times, that tradition was quietly exported to
Korea. But Taoists never formulated teachings designed to be marketed in
foreign cultures. Westerners who
delude themselves that they are "following the Tao" are often simply
in love with ideas created by other deluded modern Westerners, not by the
authentic Taoist masters of China.
In this course, we will explore the nature and evolution of "real Taoism" — the Taoism
that
•
flourished at all social levels in China—even among scholars,
officials, and emperors—
up
until the time of the Western disruption of Chinese society in the mid-19th
century;
•
survived—in somewhat fragile condition—the vicissitudes of the 20th
century, including rabid
government-sponsored
persecution between 1966 and 1976;
•
was not taken seriously by scholars in the West until the late 1970s;
•
is seldom found on American websites or in American bookstores; and
•
remains generally unknown, even among most people in China today.
Despite the
persecution of Taoists (and practitioners of other religions) during the
“Cultural Revolution” of the 1960s-1970s, Taoism is still practiced by
men and women in China today, though they still often “keep a low profile.” Many American books and websites about
Taoism—with important exceptions, noted below—are the product of
people who have never actually met a living Taoist, and have no idea that authentic
Taoist traditions are still being practiced in China today. Meanwhile, many Chinese people today
are curious to learn more about this long-suppressed tradition.
Since
a full exploration of the entire Taoist tradition is impossible in one semester,
we will focus upon certain enduring themes, especially the diverse Taoist approaches
to self-cultivation. As we
study Taoism, we will attempt both (1) to learn to distinguish among the many historical forms of Taoism, and (2)
to discern what common themes and ideals are shared among those traditions.
Course Objectives:
1. To illumine the hermeneutic issues involved in understanding
religion across cultures. Prof.
Mark MacWilliams of St. Lawrence University calls this process “gaining
cross-cultural religious literacy.”
2. To introduce the Taoist traditions of
China, in relation to other Chinese traditions.
3. To illustrate that religious traditions
evolve, and that such evolution can be understood by reference to historical, intellectual,
cultural and existential phenomena.
4. To sample the cultural riches of Taoism
by reading important selections from Taoist texts.
5. To stimulate meaningful comparison, and
contrast, of Taoist traditions with those more familar to students from their
own cultural heritage. As Prof.
Mark MacWilliams says, this means: “To learn more about religion and about one's self. Max
Müller, a famous historian of religions, once said, "One who knows one
religion knows none." The same can be said about human life. One who knows
only one culture or one way of living knows none. To know ourselves--who we
are, who we could be--means we must know others. And to know others means we
must study that which informs and guides their sense of self, society, and
world. To study what people believe is ultimately real, good, beautiful, true,
and the way they put this into practice is to study religion.”
This syllabus is simply a
general plan for the course.
Changes and variations, as announced to the class by the instructor, may
be necessary at times. All academic work must meet the
standards contained in the document titled A Culture of Honesty. All students are responsible for
informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic
work. You are also expected to
take thorough notes in class.
Whenever you miss class, it is your responsibility to check with
classmates about what you missed—not to expect the instructor to give you
a personal review or to excuse you for not having paid attention to important
announcements. The midpoint
withdrawal deadline is Thursday 1 March.
A student who submits assigned work before that date, then later
withdraws from the course, will receive a W or WF based on that work. One who withdraws before submitting
assigned work will receive a grade of W.
You
are welcome to chat with the instructor after class, during office hours, or at other arranged times. The
time before class, however, is not
a good time for any discussion.
The
classroom is not a lunchroom: please show respect for others by doing
your snacking and enjoyment of beverages before you come to class or after you
leave. It is also not a phonebooth,
so please make sure that any phones
that you bring into the building are turned off. In
sum, it is your responsibility to show respect for others by refraining from
activity that might distract others or interfere with the learning process. Failure to do so will affect your
course grade.
& TEXTS
1. Course
Reader (Available at Bel-Jean’s Printers, downtown)
2. Textbooks
(Required: Available
at local bookstores)
Russell Kirkland, Taoism: The Enduring Tradition
Livia
Kohn, The Taoist Experience: An Anthology
Victor
Mair, trans., Lao-tzu: Tao-te ching
Victor
Mair, trans., Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of
Chuang-tzu
Eva
Wong, trans., Seven Taoist Masters: A Folk Novel of China
Livia
Kohn, Cosmos and Community: The Ethical Dimension of Taoism
J. J. Clarke, The Tao of the West: Western Transformations of Taoist
Thought
Bill
Porter, Road to Heaven:
Encounters with Chinese Hermits
Other assigned readings will be made available (1) on reserve,
in hard-copy or as “e-texts” (accessible from any computer); (2) on specified
internet sites; and/or (3) as handouts.
:
The Academic value of the Internet
Your instructor’s webpage
(http://kirkland.myweb.uga.edu) includes
many pertinent
● Study
Guides
● full-text
Publications
● Links to other Sites on Asian Religions.
However, like many other good sites, this one has its
limitations. First, it is
presently quite outdated. Secondly,
it has never provided all the material that even your instructor would like it
to provide. And thirdly, it was
not constructed, in the first instance, to serve as a pedagogical tool. Even such a website tries to fulfill
different functions for different people:
some are intended as professional connections for other scholars, others
are designed to appeal to the general public. The latter may be more colorful or amusing, but are not
necessarily more reliable or more informative. Remember to think critically about what you are seeing: many
sites have an unexpressed agenda, just like movies and TV shows, and some may
be well-intentioned but insubstantial and/or unsound. So beware attempting to use the internet as an educational
tool — particularly in
regard to non-Western religions — without expert guidance. Remember that all a person has to do to
create, for example, a website on Taoism is to set up the website: he or she does not really have to know much, or anything, about Taoism! And for psychological and/or economic
reasons, some people construct such sites just to get attention, or to get a
reputation that they have not bothered to earn through hard work or proven
expertise. Newcomers can easily
mistake such a site for a reliable resource. See the instructive guide to “Evaluating Websites” from a
committee of the American Library Association at http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/EvaluatingWebsites1.htm.
With
a very few exceptions, responsible scholars do not put their actual
research on the web. Few professors’
webpages, for instance, even provide full bibliographic data telling you what
they have published. And only a handful post unpublished research findings, or
provide full-text reprints of any of their publications, the way that your
instructor and a few others do on their own webpages. So despite the immense amount of stuff that you can find on the internet, it is unreliable
as an educational resource.
Solid
and reliable studies of Confucianism, and other non-Western traditions,
generally appear only in your university LIBRARY,
within the pages of scholarly books and journals. Such
publications—unlike
internet websites—undergo a careful peer-review process, by which today’s knowledgeable authorities confirm
the substance and value of good scholarship and screen out shoddy
material. So do not attempt to "do research" on the web! Your instructor will recommend
particular websites that are useful and dependable. But unless instructed otherwise, you should plan to do all of your research in your university library, informed by your instructor and guided by trained
reference librarians.
For the study of Taoism, the prime internet sites that provide an abundance of reliable material are:
1. “Taoist Culture and Information Centre”: http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/
2. Professor James Miller’s “Daoist Studies”: http://www.daoiststudies.org.
3. Professor Fabrizio Pregadio’s complementary sites:
“Taoist Studies on the World Wide Web”: http://venus.unive.it/pregadio/taoism.html.
“Golden Elixir”: http://venus.unive.it/dsao/pregadio/.
4. Louis Komjathy’s “Center for Daoist Studies” website: http://www.daoistcenter.org/
5. Professor Russell Kirkland’s website: http://kirkland.myweb.uga.edu
6. The Taoist Restoration Society: New Site TBA 2007
7. The British Taoist Association: http://www.taoists.co.uk/.
Trustworthy reviews of many books on Taoism may be found at:
1. http://rels.queensu.ca/dao/reviews.php
2. http://www.uga.edu/religion/rk/pdf/booknotes.html
A good glossary of terms
associated with Taoism is found at http://rels.queensu.ca/dao/glossary.php. For readers of Chinese, another place
to start is “Zhongguo Daojiao” http://www.chinataoism.org/. See further the “Web Links” page from
Louis Komjathy’s site, reproduced in your course reader.
4 REQUIREMENTS
% Regular class attendance
& Timely completion of all required readings
! Two in-class tests [each 30% of course grade]
4 A final essay exam [40% of course grade]
If a student’s written work seems to indicate that he/she
failed to do the assigned readings, or if her/his attendence is irregular, such
facts will seriously affect her/his grade on specific assignments, and in the
course overall. Class attendance
will be recorded, and will be a primary factor in determining the disposition
of borderline grades at the end of the course. NOTE the “Critieria for Evaluation of Papers,” in your
course Reader. The Reader
also includes:
Kirkland, “The Writing Process as Partnership”; and
Kirkland,
“A Guide to Writing Academic Papers.”
Following the advice provided there will help you write good
papers in this and other courses.
Failure to show that you have read those documents and have taken them
seriously will very much affect your grade on all written papers. See also:
1. UGA Writing Center,
“Writing Resources”: http://www.english.uga.edu/writingcenter/writing/index.html;
and
2. “Writing the
Religion Paper”: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/humanities/religion.shtml.
As the Writing Center says (http://www.english.uga.edu/writingcenter/about/contact.html): “Please, by all means, feel free to contact us if we can help you in any way….Whatever your needs, we are eager to help.”
COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS
[NOTE: Readings listed in square brackets are Recommended; consult instructor for location as needed]
Reader: "On the Academic Study of Religion in American Colleges and Universities"
“Why Study Religion?” http://www.studyreligion.org/why/index.html
Reader: “A
Definition of Religion”
[For
a fuller discussion of the issues, see Kirkland, Webpage:
“Defining Religion”]
Reader: Fuller, Religion and the Life Cycle, 1-13, 136-40
CHINA AND ITS
RELIGIONS
Reader:
“Elements of Chinese Religion”
[Stephen Teiser, “The Spirits of Chinese Religion”:
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/lopez.html]
“A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization” by the fine historian Patricia Buckley Ebrey is found at http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv. A resource for dealing with the confusions caused by the conflicting systems for romanizing Chinese words is http://www.edepot.com/taoroman.html. See also:
• Major Periods in Chinese History: http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln270/History.htm
• “Traditional / Mythic Periods”: http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln270/MythHist.htm
• Other Useful Links Appear at: http://www.asianstudiesarena.com/asianstudiesarena/links.html
TAOISM — "ANOTHER FINE MESS..."
Kirkland, Taoism: xiv-xx
Kirkland, Webpage: "The Taoism of the Western Imagination and the Taoism of China: De-Colonializing
the Exotic Teachings of the East"
Reader: Girardot, Abstract of “‘Finding the Way’: James Legge and the Victorian Invention of Taoism”
[full-text available online through the ATLA Religion Database, accessible through Galileo]
Clarke, The Tao of the West: 1-4bot. [4bot.-9] 9-15, 16-22, 27-40top [40top-47mid] 47mid.-51mid.,
52mid.-53bot.
Siegler, Review of Clarke: http://rels.queensu.ca/dao/review.clarke.php
Reader: Kirkland, “On Coveting Thy Neighbor’s Tao: Reflections on J. J. Clarke’s The Tao of the West”
[Komjathy, “Taoist Texts in Translation”:
http://www.daoistcenter.org/Articles_files/Articles_pdf/Texts.pdf]
THE TAOISM OF CHINA
Reader: Bokenkamp, “The World-view of the
Taoist Religion: General Perspectives and Definitions”
Komjathy,
“Daoism and Daoists”: http://www.daoistcenter.org/Daoism.html
Miller, “Daoism: A Short Introduction”: http://www.oneworld-publications.com/samples/daoism.htm
[Sivin, “On the Word ‘Taoism’ as a Source of Perplexity”: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/perp.html]
Kohn, The Taoist Experience: 1-7
Kirkland, Webpage: Review of Kohn’s The Taoist Experience:
Kirkland, Taoism: 1-19, 211-217
Reader: Kirkland, “The History of Taoism: A New Outline”
[Barrett, “Daoism: A Historical Narrative” (Daoism Handbook, xviii-xxvii)]
Reader: Kirkland, “Tao/Dao” (from Encyclopedia of Taoism)
THE CLASSICAL LEGACY OF
TAOISM
THE
"FIRST TAOISTS"? THE NEI
YEH (“INNER CULTIVATION”)
Kirkland, Taoism: 20-22 [23-35] 39-52
Reader: Komjathy, “Inward Training”: 3-28
[Roth translation: http://www.panlatrevo.com/texts/neiyeh]
THE “USELESS WORDS” OF CHUANG CHOU (“Chuang-tzu”/”Zhuangzi”)
Kirkland, Taoism: 33-39
[Roth, “Zhuangzi”: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zhuangzi]
Clarke, The Tao of the West: 57-59, 175-184
Mair, trans., Wandering on the Way: xi-xvi [xlvii-liv] 3-71 [75-151] 152-173 [174-347]
"THE
ELDERS" — THE TAO TE CHING
(Daode jing)
[Hansen,
“Laozi”: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi]
Kirkland, Taoism: 52-73
Mair, trans., Lao-tzu: Te-tao ching: 148-153, 3-105
Kirkland, Webpage: “The Kuo-Tien (Guodian) ‘Lao-tzu’ Texts”
Reader: Kirkland, "’Responsible Non-Action’ in a Natural World’”
Reader: Kirkland, "Self-Fulfillment through Selflessness: The Moral Teachings of the Daode Jing"
[Kirkland, Webpage: “The Roots of Altruism in the Taoist Tradition”]
Kohn, Cosmos and Community: 1-2, 115-20, and as assigned
THE GROWTH AND FLOWERING OF TAOISM
Clarke, The Tao of the West: 28-36
Kirkland, Taoism: 74-84
Kirkland, Taoism: 85-97
Reader: Kirkland, “Daoshi/Tao-shih (Taoist Priest/Priestess)”
“Lay Organizations” and “Monastic Institutions”: Kohn, Cosmos and Community: 9-12
“Forms of Community”:
Kohn, Cosmos and Community: 72-74
“From Community to Cosmos”: Kohn, Cosmos and Community: 103-6 [108-111]
• [A Shang-ch’ing Meditation on "The Three Ones": Kohn, The Taoist Experience: 204-14]
• The Scripture for Saving Humanity (Ling-paoTu-jen ching): Kohn, The Taoist Experience: 43-48
Kirkland, Taoism: 116-126, 144-171
[Chao, Shin-yi, “Daoist Examinations and Daoist Schools,” Journal of Chinese Religions 31 (2003)]
[Chao,
Shin-yi, “Huizong and the Divine Empyrean Palace Network,” in Emperor
Huizong and Late
Northern Song China, edited by Patricia Ebrey and Maggie Bickford]
"SPIRTUAL
IMMORTALITY" — THE “GOAL” OF TAOIST PRACTICE
Clarke, The Tao of the West: 117-120mid., 123bot.-124mid.
Kirkland, Taoism: 172-190
Kohn, The Taoist Experience:
• Ascension to the Immortal Realm: 303-5
• Life in the Immortal Realm: 333-35 [336-43; 358-62]
• Stories of Hsien ("Immortals") in Chinese Lore and Literature: [290-99; 351-58; 325-332; for more
on "The Flower Maiden," see Kirkland, "Huang Ling-wei"]
• The Queen Mother of the West: [56-62]
“CULTIVATING
REALITY” — MODELS AND TRADITIONS THROUGH T’ANG TIMES
Kirkland, Taoism: 190-210
Kohn, The Taoist Experience:
• Meditation for Men and Women: 215-19 [319-25; 224-28—note the Buddhist influence]
• Ssu-ma Ch'eng-chen's Teachings on the Taoist Life: 236-41
• Self-cultivation in the T'ien-yin-tzu: 80-86
•
The Scripture on Clarity and Stillness (Ch’ing-ching
ching / Qingjing jing): 25-29
Reader: Komjathy, “Developing Clarity and Stillness: The Scripture for Daily Internal Practice”
(also at http://www.daoistcenter.org/Articles_files/Articles_pdf/DM.pdf)
Kirkland, Webpage: Review of Wong, Cultivating Stillness
[Kohn, Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques: 125-34, 137-52, 154-56, 193-222]
[Kohn, Seven Steps to the Tao: 31-73, 83-111]
“COMPLETE PERFECTION” (CH’ÜAN-CHEN / QUANZHEN) AND "GENTRY TAOISM"
Reader: Berling, The Syncretic Religion of Lin Chao-en: 38-46
Eskildsen,
“Cultivating Clarity and Purity”:
As Assigned
Kohn, The Taoist Experience:
• The Teachings of "Inner Alchemy"—The Wu-chen p'ien, "On Awakening to True Reality": 313-19
• The Teachings of Wang Che (“Wang Ch'ung-yang,” Founder of the Ch'üan-chen Tradition)—
The "Fifteen Articles": 86-92
•
Moral and Spiritual Discipline on the Taoist Path
• The Story of "The Gourd Master": 95-100
• Lü Tung-pin and his "Yellow Millet Dream": 119-132
WOMEN IN
TAOISM
Kirkland, Taoism: 126-144
Despeux and Kohn, Women in Daoism, Introduction (http://www.threepinespress.com/pdf/pdf.women.pdf)
Kirkland, Review of Benn, The Cavern-Mystery Transmission:
http://www.uga.edu/religion/rk/basehtml/reviews/BENN.html
[Despeux and Kohn, Women in Daoism]
[Cahill, “Discipline and Transformation: Body and Practice in the Lives of Daoist Holy Women…”]
THE
“NEO-CONFUCIAN” APPROPRIATION OF TAOIST SPIRITUAL MODELS
Adler, “Varieties of Spiritual Experience: Shen
in Neo-Confucian Discourse”:
http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln471/Spirit.htm
Kirkland, Taoism: 110-115
Reader: Darga, “The Taoist Idea of Transformation in the Xingming guizhi (Hsing-ming Kuei-chih)”
[Richard Wang, “Taoist Writings Packaged in Ming Popular Encyclopedias”]
Wong, trans., Seven Taoist Masters (a Taoist novel of the 17th century)
Kirkland, Webpage: Review of Seven Taoist Masters
> Film: “Chinese Taoism”
Porter, Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits: 39-59, 208-220
Kirkland, Webpage: Review of Porter
“Interview with
Min Zhiting, Chairman of China Taoist Association”: TBA
“Interview with
Yin Xinhui, Abbottess of Qian Yuan Guan Monastery”: TBA
“Interview with the Mysterious Secret Taoist Monk”: TBA
[Yoshioka, “Taoist Monastic Life”]
[“The
Daoist World Today”: http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/daoist-world-today/default.asp]
[Lai Chi-tim, “Daoism in China Today,” in Daniel Overmyer, ed., Religion in China Today]
Reader: Kirkland,
“The Relevance of Taoism in the 21st-Century World”
|
Classes begin for RELI 4402 |
Jan. 9, Tu |
|
Drop/Add for RELI 4402 ends |
Jan. 11, Th |
|
Drop/Add for RELI 6402 ends |
Jan. 16, Tu |
|
Midpoint Withdrawal Deadline |
Mar. 1, Th |
|
Last day of class prior to Spring Break for RELI 4402 |
Mar. 8, Th |
|
UGA Spring Break |
Mar. 12-16, M-F |
|
RELI 4402 Classes Resume |
Mar. 20, Th |
|
RELI 4402 Classes End |
Apr. 26, Th |
|
UGA Final Exams |
May 2-4, W-F & 7-8, M-Tu |
|
RELI 4402 Exam |
May 8, Tu, 3:30 - 6:30 pm |