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This paper explores what is understood by the phrase 'spontaneous movement'. We discern five different understandings of spontaneity in the usage of the phrase: 1) spontaneous movement as automatic machine-like mechanistic, 2) spontaneous movement as free, 3) spontaneous movement as primal animateness of the body, 4) spontaneous movement as embodied responsive dealing in the world, 5) spontaneous movement as a force of nature. The first two understandings are rooted in a dualistic view, with the dichotomies of voluntary/involuntary and mind/body in the Western philosophical tradition. The next two arise from a phenomenological reflection on the body, drawn from Husserl and Merleau-Ponty, while the last comes from a holistic Eastern view of the body, human beings and nature. We argue that the latter three understandings of spontaneity demonstrate three aspects of a more comprehensive picture of the spontaneity of human movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the influence of religious beliefs on environmental attitudes and behaviors in China. Using data from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), two structural equation models were constructed to examine the mediating roles of natural empathy and anthropocentrism in the relationship between environmental awareness and willingness to make sacrifices for environmental protection. The results indicated that while environmental awareness positively influenced willingness to sacrifice, natural empathy did not significantly mediate this relationship. Conversely, anthropocentrism negatively mediated the relationship, suggesting that individuals with anthropocentric tendencies were less willing to make personal sacrifices for environmental protection. Furthermore, a multi-group analysis revealed that individuals with traditional Eastern religious beliefs (Buddhism, Taoism, and folklore) exhibited higher environmental awareness and willingness to sacrifice compared to those with no religion or traditional Western (Christianity) religious beliefs. These findings highlight the influence of religious traditions, particularly the emphasis on nature reverence in Eastern religions, on shaping pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. The study contributes to understanding the complex interplay between religious beliefs, environmental values, and sustainable behaviors in the Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a post-comparative approach to explore the concept of harmony in the Zhuangzi, moving beyond traditional comparative frameworks. It examines how Zhuangzian harmony offers a solution to the potential risks of domination that harmony may pose to individual freedom. It first challenges Chenyang Li's distinction between Confucian "active harmony" (主动和谐) and Daoist "passive harmony" (被动和谐), arguing that the "passive" label fails to capture the characteristic of Zhuangzian harmony. Instead, Zhuangzian harmony is better understood as "responsive harmony" (随动和谐), a unique form of harmony that is neither passive nor merely the opposite of Confucian active harmony. Responsive harmony shares similarities with active harmony, yet it offers distinct features that address certain challenges to harmony, such as the risk of domination, which Confucian harmony may not fully resolve. This perspective provides a fresh philosophical resource from Daoism for addressing contemporary concerns about harmony in ethical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the "Three Caverns" 三洞 thought was a critical step in the formation of medieval Daoism. It proposed the first viable approach to integrating emerging Daoist scriptural traditions, enabling the creation of the first canonical Daoist catalog, and laying the foundation for the compilation of the Daozang and the establishment of the Ordination Ranks 法位 system. Scholars generally agree that the Shangqing taiji yinzhu yujing baojue 上清太極隱注玉經寶訣 played a significant role in the development of the Three Caverns thought. However, research on the formation of this scripture remains lacking. This study fills this gap by confirming the composition of the scripture through two independent lines of evidence. Then, based on new insights into its composition, this study discusses the historical context of the Three Caverns concept in this scripture and its direct impact on Lu Xiujing 陸修靜 (406–477)'s cataloging work. These discussions illustrate that, when confronted with the challenge posed by the newly composed Shangqing scriptures, the authors of the Shangqing taiji yinzhu yujing baojue employed the integrative approach commonly found in the Ancient Lingbao Scriptures to propose a more inclusive scriptural system. This approach played a crucial role in providing a theoretical foundation for the formation of medieval Daoism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact and influence that a religious tradition can have amongst culturally out-group populations can be quite unexpected and can even "boomerang" back home in equally unpredictable ways. This article explores one example of a Chinese religion's unexpected cultural influence within the Western psychiatric community using religious Daoism and its appropriation by analytical psychologist Carl Jung. Although elements of religious Daoism, such as Daoist Internal Alchemy or the Yijing, integrated into a system of psychiatric practices, its influence was not straightforward. It will be argued that Jungian ideas such as active imagination, individuation, and synchronicity were directly influenced or inspired by Jung's exposure to religious Daoism through Richard Wilhelm, Daoist texts, and his own adoption of Daoist Internal Alchemy techniques, an influence which would reverberate through both Western and Chinese popular culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, China's religious culture centered on the triumvirate of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, fostering a diverse, multi-ethnic, and multi-faceted communication model. Whether through grand narratives of official diplomacy, subtle and organic grassroots interactions, or the catalytic efforts of scholars, these exchanges consistently promoted interaction, exchange, and integration among numerous ethnic groups in China. The harmonious coexistence and vibrant interactions of multiple ethnicities and diverse religious beliefs not only enriched and expanded the mainstreams of traditional Chinese culture, namely Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism—developing flourishing branches and generating new innovations—but also infused fresh vitality into each ethnicity's cultural practices. Together, these exchanges formed the profound, enduring, diverse and unified Chinese culture. This article primarily examines the types and characteristics of Interaction-Exchange-Integration History among diverse religious cultures of ethnic groups such as the Han, Tibetan, and Mongolian in Chinese history and derives insights from them for the contemporary era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sichuan and the surrounding region of south-west China has long been an active center of religious knowledge production, a node of religious networks that originate and/or develop within it and extend beyond it, and has given birth to important religious movements. This article attempts to uncover a part of the history of Daoism in Sichuan that has not been fully analyzed, in terms of the geographical area, the time period, the community, and the practices described. It discusses Li Xiyue 李西月 (1806–1856) an influential teacher, scholar and practitioner, and his community, the Western School of Daoism, located in the area of Leshan 樂山 and devoted to two popular gods: Zhang Sanfeng 張三丰 and Lüzu 呂祖. This article gives a comprehensive overview of this community through the description of its involvement in spirit writing and religious publishing, locating their activities in the wider constellation of communities also receiving and publishing religious scriptures in Sichuan. The article also recovers and makes more visible a different religious identity for mountains like Leshan and Emei, which have mostly been described as Buddhist, by highlighting how a Daoist community also inhabited, used, and was inspired by these places and spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In ancient China, art has never been a substitute for the category of 'truth' in the sense of Western aestheticism, but a mimic for goodness and beauty. The image in traditional Chinese aesthetics never transcended the idea to the level of Western abstraction, and that is because the artistic expression bore a social synthesis, rather than metaphysical, between human beings, reality, and the world. However, the Ming Dynasty introduces a Dionysian discourse that challenges the Apollonian tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the argumentative strategies employed by Daoism and Buddhism in their debates during the Tang dynasty (618–907). Despite being significant in Chinese intellectual history, these debates, particularly the strategies behind them, remain understudied, and two gaps remain. First, the argumentative strategies of the two teachings are yet to be fully examined. Secondly, few studies have examined why Daoism was consistently defeated in the debates. This paper aims to address the two gaps. The paper first examines the argumentative strategies of the two teachings. Overall, the strategies employed by Buddhists were far superior to those employed by Daoists. Buddhists excelled in exposing contradictions and illogical reasoning in their opponents' arguments. In contrast, the strategies employed by Daoists were often weak, superficial and aimless, primarily serving to undermine Buddhism, whether as a branch of Daoism or a foreign religion. The second part of the paper identifies three reasons for the disparities in argumentative strategies between the two teachings. Firstly, Buddhist doctrines and scriptures underscored the significance of debates, whereas Daoism, both from philosophical and religious perspectives, often overlooked or even discouraged their significance. Secondly, Buddhists actively learned from previous sources and debates, while Daoists displayed limited inclination to do so. Thirdly, Buddhists possessed extensive knowledge of various schools, including Daoism, while Daoists exhibited limited proficiency beyond their own tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we re-evaluate Du Guangting's (850–933 C.E.) contributions to Daoist philosophy and religious practice during the late Tang and Five Dynasties period (755–960 C.E.), emphasizing his method of "broadly drawing upon various texts and thoroughly exploring their meanings" (廣引眾文, 窮指詳采). Through a primary analysis of Explications Expounding upon the Sage's Commentary on True Scripture of the Dao and the De (道德真經廣聖義), and supported by the Anthology of Lost Transcendent Biographies (仙傳拾遺), this paper introduces a novel perspective on Du Guangting's redefinition of Daoist practices, emphasizing self-cultivation and moral integrity over traditional alchemical methods. This shift not only addressed the spiritual demands of his era but also set a precedent for ethical practices in Daoism, thereby reflecting its adaptability to socio-political changes. This research underscores how Du's work significantly contributed to both the transformation of Daoist philosophy and the evolution of its religious practices, thus influencing subsequent developments in Chinese thought and spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers the first English-language philosophical treatment of Master Liu (Liuzi 劉子)—a treatise that gives a unique insight into the intellectual life of sixth-century China. Most probably written by Liu Zhou (d. 565) and known at the Tang court, the work was later neglected due to its eclectic label. This article argues that Liuzi integrated Confucian moral philosophy with selected Daoist ideas and responded to post-Buddhist transformations of key categories of Chinese thought in a manner that anticipates many solutions characteristic of neo-Confucian lixue. This includes an innovative understanding of such categories as spirit (shen) and heart-mind (xin), feelings (qing) and desires (yu), and, finally, reliability (xin) and balancing (quan). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his work The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, Matteo Ricci not only criticized Buddhism and Taoism but also put forward the viewpoint that "Sanhanjiao is non-orthodox teaching". The so-called Sanhanjiao actually refers to the three teachings into one established by Lin Zhaoen, so Ricci's criticism of the three teachings into one, to some extent, is also a criticism of Lin Zhaoen's "Three-in-One Doctrine". Ricci used the argument "One Teaching cannot have Three Teachings" to criticize the view of "One Dao, Three Teachings" and also used "it is not possible to forcibly equate the Three Teachings" to criticize the theory of "the Three Teachings are the same", bringing the perspective of the uniqueness of faith in Western religious culture to China. Ricci's criticism of the three teachings into one is based on the premise of spreading Catholicism; his argument mainly relies on the logical reasoning of the Western way of thinking, thus ignoring the inherent characteristics of Chinese indigenous culture. However, his viewpoint at least broke the mainstream ideology of "the Unity of the Three Teachings" in the late Ming Dynasty and also provided significant inspiration for the intellectuals of the late Ming Dynasty to reflect on this trend. Ricci's dialogue with Chinese indigenous religions did not erase the differences between their respective cultures, but actually promoted the integration between Chinese and Western cultures. Therefore, the significance of The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven lies not only in the dissemination of Catholic thought but also implies a dialogue and cultural transformation between different civilizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on religious development and explored the impact of cultural and religious tourism policies on local religions. The highlight is the use of econometric models to capture the interrelationship between supply (total number of temples) and demand (total number of followers) on religion. Using Taiwan's Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival Policies in June 2010 as an example, the impact of these policies on Taoism and Buddhism was examined from 2001 to 2021. The results showed that the believer-led model of religious development is superior to the temple-led model. When tourism policies are promoted, they positively impact Taoist temples and believers, but Buddhism does not have such a similar effect. Finally, it was found that after the millennium, when network penetration was greater, local religious beliefs showed signs of weakening. The results of the study indicate that the potential impact of the internet era on local religion deserves subsequent attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, many East Asian ethical leaders have aspired to emulate seemingly unattainable sages and buddhas throughout history. This aspiration challenges the common psychological view that significant gaps between role models and actual selves might hinder emulation motivation. It also differs from Western findings, which suggest that ethical leadership often emerges from emulating attainable exemplars like immediate supervisors or mentors. To decipher this intriguing emulation behavior in East Asia, this study employed a multiple-case approach involving 25 ethical leaders from Taiwan. Results indicate that these ethical leaders formulate three approaches to sustain emulation motivation for seemingly unattainable exemplars. First, they draw on East Asian philosophies to address demotivating factors such as ego threats and goal unattainability. Second, they embrace the cultural values of the Sinosphere, amplifying motivators like self-betterment, altruism, and life purpose. Lastly, they capitalize on the collective tendency of their culture to assimilate positive environmental influences, including societal norms and social support. These findings elucidate how and why many East Asian ethical leaders sustain buddha/sage emulation: The cultural resources of the Sinosphere nurture effective psychological strategies, underpinned by universal psychological mechanisms that suggest wider applicability across various societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monumenta Serica: Journal of Oriental Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Taoism, one of the oldest Eastern religious systems, has significantly influenced Chinese culture and society. Taoism centers around "The Tao" or "The Way," considered the ultimate source from which everything—both physical and non-physical, living and non-living—originates. It emphasizes inner self-cultivation through reflective and critical thinking, guiding individuals to recognize and connect with the Tao in daily activities. This strength-based perspective, which values diverse learning and development, aligns with contemporary professional learning (PL) and literacy research that emphasizes learner agency and sociocultural significance. Taoism advocates focusing on the natural process of instruction, accommodating diverse learning needs rather than rigidly adhering to predetermined goals. This article explores Taoist values related to individual growth, as articulated in Taoist texts, and presents two literacy PL programs that illustrate the feasibility and benefits of integrating Taoist principles into PL design and implementation. These programs have also fostered authentic, collaborative partnerships between researchers and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a brief introduction to Taoist rituals that are performed to seek blessings. The focus is especially on the Taoist blessing ceremonies that take place during the Spring Festival, which is now recognized as a United Nations floating holiday since 2024. The article explains that Taoist rituals for blessings have been performed since ancient times and can be divided into three categories: daily religious activities, festival rituals, and special religious activities. The article also briefly discusses other categorizing methods for Taoist rituals. The two major rites of Taoist rituals are Retreat (Zhai) and Offering (Jiao). Other important elements of Taoist rituals include the altar, scriptures, talismans, and more. As a religion that actively engages in social activities, Taoism is not only concerned with the self-cultivation and enlightenment of Taoists but also pays close attention to the demands and needs of the public. Serving the people has always been a fundamental principle of Taoism. It leads to a range of practices centred on individual wishes and blessings. The second and third categories of Taoist activities mentioned above are primarily oriented towards the purpose of blessing.

The proposed research analyzes for the first time the text of the ancient Chinese treatise “The Art of War” (兵法 bing fa ) from the point of view of the presence in it of archetypal constructions designed to tame chaos in such a phenomenon of human society as war. This written work of the Chinese strategist and thinker Sun-zi has been thoroughly analyzed into phrases and words by specialists of various disciplines, but all in one key - in the key of war. In this paper, other research goals of this treatise are formulated, consisting in tracking the process of embedding elements of military affairs into the cosmological archetype of Tao. It is particularly noted that, in essence, by creating the “Bing Fa”, Sun-zi accomplished what no theorist of the art of war could do. He presented the cosmological archetype of war in the form of a sequential set of five archetypal elements, relying in its construction on the Taoist model of the cosmological archetype of Tao. In the world triad of Heaven - Man - Earth, the central place of Sun-zi is occupied by a military subject: a Warlord - Commander-in-Chief, a Warrior. From now on, a commander who knows the military craft must be responsible for the fate of his people, ensure the security of the state, its power and invulnerability. It can be traced that, in essence, civilization acts as a breeding ground for warriors and war, and Taoism together with Confucianism can be incorporated into the civilizational space only with their support of the prevailing state ideology.

Dialogues between ecological wisdom across the East and the West contribute to generating unorthodox education, improving cross-cultural ecopedagogical praxis, and reinforcing education for sustainable development (ESD). In this article, Chinese Daoism and Norwegian Naessian ecosophy are compared and integrated to form an intercultural ecopedagogy. Indigenous Daoist wisdom entails profound ecopedagogical implications in learning from nature, human-nature reciprocity, and spontaneous, altruistic, and harmonious modes of action. Moreover, the cosmo-metaphysical notion of qi (氣) implies an alternative ecopedagogy that may empower learners to consolidate psychosomatic learning and embody human-nature oneness. Correspondingly, Arne Naess' life philosophy promotes ecocentric living and education that underline experiential relations, non-violent symbiosis, and activeness in sensing and feeling. Naess' postulation on subjective aesthetical identification with nature can be seen as one sensible complement to objective scientific knowledge of the ecosystem, facilitating individuals' holistic and personally meaningful formation of be(com)ing ecocitizens. The reciprocity of Lao Zhuang's and Naess' ecological wisdom is argued to shed new light on theories and practices of ecopedagogy and combat dualism and anthropocentrism cross-culturally and innovatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship on the philosophy of time in pre-Qin Daoist thought has not yet produced a thorough examination of dao's relationship to time. This essay resolves this omission through a systematic study of the concept heng 恒 in pre-Qin Daoist literature. While principally expressing the 'constancy' of dao, heng also significantly presupposes dao's ability to change. This change is characterized in the texts as a cyclical movement of 'return' and identified with the universe's circular metanarrative of generation and reintegration. The essay turns to examine pre-Qin Daoist literature's use of primal wu 無 metaphors to describe dao. It concludes that they present dao as undifferentiated infinitude, liberating dao as heng from the tense structure of past-present-future that divides life in time. These metaphors further associate the movement of dao with the flow of time, reformulating time's relentless ever-greater advancement into an endless cycle of creative transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents our "multi‐vocal memory work" of collaborative researching and writing experiences as women academics in UK Business Schools. Set against the backdrop of the broken neoliberal academy, we use Daoism as an analytical lens to identify two emergent themes: 1) emotional contradictions and 2) institutional and social structures: micro‐creative and collective change. Examining ourselves and the academy as broken, we learn to find beauty in the flaws as they signify healing. Thus, sharing our emotions and vulnerability through collective research and writing enables us to "put ourselves back together." Methodologically, we draw on memory work to explore different ways of researching and writing. We argue that there is emergent hope in identifying and raising the profile of growing spaces within the academy for alternative forms of writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this essay is to offer us a philosophical solution to environment crisis and ecocide. Firstly, the notion of ecocide is discussed from different perspectives (biology, law, psychology). Secondly, in the light of Debray's philosophy the modern attitude to nature is examined. It is necessary in order to explain what has to be changed if we want to avoid the destruction of nature entirely in the future. Furthermore, the philosophy of Zhuangzi is described as self-cultivation that can be used against the current situation at the personal level. To consider the philosophy of Zhuangzi as a path of self-cultivation, a practice that is a cure for the consequences of ecocide and environment crisis is the novelty of this essay. Thus, the necessary measures that must be taken are available for anybody in the world there is simply a need of persistence, responsibility and effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Trans/Form/Ação is the property of Trans/Form/Acao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Religious identities play an important role in shaping migrants' experiences. Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of religions enhances our knowledge of both religious expansion and religious cultures. This paper aims to leverage spatiotemporal analysis to characterise the topology of the spread of multiple religions in the Taipei metropolitan area from 1660 to 2020, including Folk Taoism (853 temples/altars, 55.39%), Christianity (306 churches, 19.87%) and Buddhism (332 temples, 21.56%). Three major factors affecting religious distribution are considered: the year of establishment of religious units (churches, temples or altars), the reclamation year of religious locations, and the economic index of religious sites. The results show that Folk Taoism and Buddhism have a long history of development in early reclamation regions with a hopping expansion pattern. However, Christianity expanded later in the later reclaimed and early reclaimed areas. The Christian religious units have highly concentrated spatial patterns and are located in the higher‐income districts, centralised in the core regions of the Taipei metropolis. Modern forms of highly institutionalised religion, such as Buddhism and Christianity, are more prevalent in the relatively higher‐income, later‐cultivated areas, which provide richer social resources for development. Folk Taoism, as a traditional religion, is maintained and developed by local communities. This macroscopic analysis helps to (1) identify the exact chronology of different growth waves and explain them in a historical context, and (2) elucidate the spatial distribution differences between institutionalised religions and folk religion. Our research shows the evolution of religious landscapes from an undeveloped city to a developed city, offering valuable insights for geographical and religious studies, and enhancing understanding of diffused and institutionalised religious expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literary criticism of the book "Zhuangzi," an anthology of Warring States writings associated with the Daoist school of thought, is presented. It examines the anthology's celebration of figures who adopt an attitude of anming, and two approaches to anming in the book, namely the ming-as-fate approach and the ming-as-nature approach.

Taoism is the only indigenous Chinese religion and one of the most important ideological traditions that have a significant influence on leisure. Current Taoist leisure research mainly focuses on philosophical Taoism, an offshoot of the 'real Taoism'. This paper will take philosophical Taoism and religious Taoism as a cultural whole and conduct a comprehensive, in-depth study of Taoist leisure, by paying more attention to its religious dimension, which is very esoteric, characteristic, and more of the essence of Taoism but rarely investigated before. We will explore Taoist leisure from the perspectives of philosophical bases, leisure concepts, pharmaceutical and life cultivation (i.e. alchemy, regimens), outdoor activities (i.e. seclusion, festivals, liturgy, travel) and its art practices (i.e. literature, paintings, music). Finally, we will make a concise comparison and exchange between the Taoist and the West leisure in the global vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major form of meat abstinence in modern China was the observance of periodic fasting, as distinct from permanent vegetarianism. This article explores the various forms of such observances and their evolution from late imperial times to the Republican period. It describes the religious calendars that circulated widely from the late Qing onward and identifies the most common fasting regimens (and the associated gods) that people selected from a large choice of fasting days. It then draws on narrative material to tease out how and why people adopted such regimens and to discuss debates and polemics about them. Finally, it shows that periodic fasting continued to be popular during the twentieth century, exhibiting more continuities than current studies of modern changes in the discourses about vegetarianism would suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author draws attention to "Daoist" themes in Morrissey's art and personality. The link between Morrissey and Daoism can be established via Oscar Wilde, whose relationship with Zhuangzi's philosophy has been much commented upon. Morrissey's worldview and art have been shaped by Wilde, whose Complete Works Morrissey received from his librarian mother at the age of eight. The self-estranging irony, the incorrect behavior, as well as the conviction that aesthetics is more important than ethics, are emblematic of Zhuangzi, Wilde, and Morrissey. Linking themes of East Asian philosophies to Morrissey's art is historically justified. There is an affinity between Daoism/ Buddhism and the subcultural context from which Morrissey emerges. Morrissey becomes the Oscar Wilde of post-punk. Morrissey rejects all taints of rock'n'roll machismo and plays up to social awkwardness of the misfits and the outsider. The article also deals with the following themes : strength arising from weakness, uselessness, aimless wandering, language skepticism, identity, authenticity, handicap, camp, and finally, the aesthetics of awkwardness. Awkwardness transcends mere clumsiness (which is no aesthetic quality at all) and becomes potentially attractive. Morrissey's wuwei strategy of non-pretentious acting creates an aesthetics of awkwardness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Trans/Form/Ação is the property of Trans/Form/Acao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Trans/Form/Ação is the property of Trans/Form/Acao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper advocates for a focus on non-clarity and indeterminacy in Sound Studies. This idea is pursued pursuing with reference to two diverse paradigms: Daoism, in particular the writings of Zhuangzi, and agential realism, a material framework first put forward by Karen Barad in Meeting the Universe Halfway. Following Zhuangzi’s enigmatic parable of Emperor Hundun closely, this paper argues that by the very materiality of sound and our position within its becoming, listening is a creative practice which is deeply entangled with and co-constitutive of an indeterminate ontology of sound. Such an entanglement necessitates a recognition of listening as ethics-doing, enjoining us to account for the human as a co-constitutive (yet never primary) part of the materiality of sound-making, doing, and listening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on destination image has insufficiently advocated the use of a don’t know option in surveys in the context of its measurement. This research demonstrates the application of the don’t know option in cross-border travel to Macao. It further compares the utility of the don’t know option for residents vis-a-vis tourists by destination attributes. For tourists and residents, results show that meeting, incentives, conference, and exhibition participants had the highest percentage of don’t know responses, followed by Macanese cuisine and Buddhism/Taoism. These items also exhibited the lowest mean values, suggesting they are lesser known. This research practically and theoretically confirms the usefulness of the don’t know option in destination image research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using original texts of Confucian and Taoist primary classics as materials, we conducted an eight-week educational intervention experiment combining classroom teaching and post-class reflection as cultural manipulation. Ninety-four sixth-grade students from three parallel mainstream classes were randomly assigned to three intervention groups, comprising two experimental groups (Confucian and Taoist values interventions) and a control group (natural science intervention). The results suggest that the Confucian intervention had a positive effect on interdependent self and holistic thinking, the Taoist intervention had a positive effect on independent self and holistic thinking, and the natural science intervention promoted analytical thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1580s, when the Jesuit missionaries Michele Ruggieri (1543–1607) and Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) established the first Jesuit mission in China, the terms "translatability" and "cultural incommensurability" were yet to enter the European lexicon, but these questions were addressed implicitly through the translation choices employed in the mission field. For the early missionaries, translatability had immense ramifications for their missionary practice. One of the foremost challenges was how to communicate in Chinese the concept of "sanctity," which was central to Christian soteriology. There was a range of terms in Chinese intellectual and religious traditions that the Jesuits drew upon to translate sanctus such as shengren 聖人 zhenren 真人, and xian 仙, but each of these terms implied a certain commensurability between Christian and indigenous Chinese conceptions of human excellence. This paper will present a microhistory of early Jesuit attempts to translate sanctus in Chinese, and reflect upon the significance of these translation choices for the development of the Jesuits' missionary strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between the concepts of humility and competition in Confucianism and Daoism, and discusses their relevance to contemporary education. It argues that while both philosophical traditions value humility and caution against excessive competition, they do not outrightly reject competition; instead, they advocate for a harmonious balance between humility and competition through yielding (rang) and showing reverence (gong) or acting through non-action (wei-wu-wei) to resolve conflicts and promote healthy competition. The insights gleaned from this exploration carry significant implications for the moral development and mental well-being of students, particularly in the context of high-stakes testing cultures in China and other countries. They also offer valuable support in nurturing students' qualities such as openness to learning, humble leadership, and appreciation of diversity and multiculturalism essential for success in a diverse and interconnected world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A list of the some of the most useful scholarly and pedagogical resources on the web for readers of the journal is presented.

In popular discourse, it is not uncommon to highlight the distinctiveness of systems of "Eastern thought" (e.g., Daoism) in contrast to so-called "Western" systems. However, there is an interesting congruence between Daoism and Meister Eckhart's mystical theology, particularly in regard to the concepts of the Dao and the Godhead. Like the Dao, the Godhead is the "ground" of all being, simultaneously radically transcendent and immanent, considered as distinct from all things and yet the enfolded totality of them. Both these concepts are also dynamic principles, continually manifesting in the flux of the ever-changing universe. In both systems, nature at its fundamental level is characterized by namelessness, emptiness, encompassment, and dynamism. Nature as "ground" is also a religio-ethical concept. Humans are called to align with this ground and enter into a state of wandering joy, called wuwei (non-action) in Daoism and the "wayless way" for Eckhart. Through reverting to their indeterminate source, the person is able to become detached from rigid teleological norms. Thus is laid the foundation for an ethics of non-attachment, wherein individuals dwell in an existential flow and are attuned to all yet anchored unquestionably to none. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese and Japanese stories of capturing yaoguai or yōkai and obtaining treasures in haunted houses share a common origin from 'Xì Yāo' narratives. The core motif chain remains largely consistent, despite distinct differences in the treatment of yaoguai. In China, these beings are often expelled or even killed, whereas in Japan they are usually appeased and revered. The underlying reasons can be largely attributed to the influence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in China, which perceive yaoguai as ominous and associate them with calamities. In contrast, the integration of Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan has created a cultural landscape that offers a pathway for yōkai to ascend to the status of deities. The dissemination of similar stories primarily relies on the stability of the motif chain, while variations beyond it serve as essential conditions for the acceptance and dissemination of these stories across regions, ethnicities, and even nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on Fircks (2023), who aims at integrating the theoretical and historical roots of mindfulness into psychology through a bridge between Taoism, relying on the polarity of life and wu wei (the principle of not-forcing) and Mead's Social Psychology, this commentary seeks to further explore how mindfulness, meditation and self-transcendence plays a role in the personal needs hierarchy of the human organism. This is done in the framework of Abraham Maslow's theory of human motivation and his hierarchy of needs, where a model that introduces a new layer in the hierarchy of needs, the need for self-transcendence, is presented. This model containing the new hierarchy of self-transcendence is based on Maslow's own notion of peak-experiences, as well as related to William James' notion of mystical experiences. Fircks' (2023) autoethnographic meditative experience is conceptualized as a peak-experience and analyzed to show how human beings strive to experience this state of being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, mindfulness-based research has experienced a boom. Yet, the majority of those studies treat mindfulness in a positivistic way, thus solely as a variable. Within such a lens of inquiry, we ignore the theoretical and historical underpinnings of mindfulness that are still important, nowadays. For that purpose, I instance a theoretical and historical framework of mindfulness grounded within Taoism – relying on the notion of the polarity of life and wu wei (the principle of not-forcing) and try to bridge that focus with Mead's Social Psychology. By means of an autoethnography, I show that mindfulness-based activities such as meditation unfold the power of an individual to experience and own a new I which then acts in a new fashion upon the demands of the (social) environment (Me). In this process, a new personality is born that integrates wholistically the polar sides of life within himself/herself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Inoperative Education as Drift Between Eastern and Western Philosophies" expands upon recent notions of "inoperativity" in educational philosophy in the West through an encounter with the Taoist philosophy of Zhuangzi. Thus far, the concept of inoperativity has largely been inspired by Giorgio Agamben, the contemporary Italian critical theorist. Educational theory has taken up inoperativity in order to rethink the school as a space of free time, the student as a studier, and the gymnastic body, to name only a few. Through a comparative, philosophical analysis, inoperativity is rethought in a decisively Taoist register in order to generate three movements of inoperativity: drift as use, drift as use of uselessness, and drift as deactivation of learning (un-learning). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Given the necessity of presenting a new classification of global legal traditions, this study identifies the "Main Contemporary" Legal Traditions as Common Law, Romano-Germanic Law, Islamic Law, and Neo-Confucianism. After presenting this classification and explaining its rationale, the central focus of this study has been on the Neo-Confucianism legal tradition. This legal tradition, which is a mixture of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, exerts significant influence on the legal systems of various countries, especially China, today. Despite the recognition of the importance of this field, the level of legal publications created indicates insufficient attention from the Iranian legal community to this area. Therefore, this study seeks to elucidate the position of the Neo-Confucianism legal tradition in relation to other legal traditions through comparative legal studies and by clarifying the foundations of the Neo-Confucianism legal tradition. It aims to lay the groundwork for initial steps in legal studies related to legal systems influenced by this tradition, including the legal system of China. Firstly, this research demonstrates the necessity of giving attention to the Neo-Confucianism legal tradition alongside other legal traditions rather than subordinate to them. Secondly, it shows without considering the foundations of this legal tradition, namely "harmony," "hierarchy," "service," and "persuasion," a comprehensive understanding of legal issues in legal systems under its influence cannot be achieved, whether within these systems or in the international arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposition zhengyan ruo fan 正言若反 (straightforward words seem paradoxical) embodies Laozi's 老子 linguistic self-consciousness about the expression of ideas, and the way of thinking presented by this proposition is also commonly considered by ancient exegetes to be reflected in the linguistic expressions of Daoism. As such, contemporary Chinese scholars have paid great attention to this proposition and have discussed it enthusiastically. However, researchers have not yet reached a consensus on how to interpret this proposition. The divergence of views among scholars is manifested both in the interpretation of this proposition according to the context it appears in and how to locate its role and status in Laozi's thought. In terms of the interpretation of the text, scholars have different views on the chapter to which zhengyan ruo fan should be attributed and the precise meaning of this proposition in the chapter where it appears. Scholars have also paid attention to linguistic phenomena involved in the Laozi, the theoretical motives behind these linguistic phenomena, and the way they relate to other important concepts in Laozi. There are many differences in the discussed opinions. In this article, an overview of these different views and an assessment of the merits and flaws of each interpretation in light of the textual basis and theoretical feasibility is provided in order to increase understanding of the linguistic expression and the thought behind it, in regard to Laozi in particular and even Daoism in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates elements of empathy in the Zhuangzi 莊子. It outlines four prominent aspects of current scholarship on empathy: different types of empathy, the other-centeredness of empathy, empathy as a process and the role empathy plays in responsiveness to others, and interaction between empathy and other capacities. Based on materials from the Zhuangzi that involve elements of empathy, I delegate them respectively to these four areas. While the Zhuangzi does not invent any specific term for an exclusive designation of the meaning of empathy, I attempt to show that the Zhuangzi does explore the phenomena of empathy to a great extent. It characterizes unique features of empathy, such as other-centeredness, perceptual directness, its function as listening, mirroring, qi 氣-connecting and receptivity, the issue of how to cultivate one's empathic capacity in the everyday encounter with others, and especially how empathic capacity works closely with the Zhuangzian forgetfulness of oneself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phraseological units analyzed in a comparative aspect reflect the peculiarities of the national worldview. The purpose of the study is to identify and compare the semantics and linguocultural properties of animal phraseological units with religious component in Russian and Chinese languages. The relevance of the topic is due to the insufficient study of idioms with the name of an animal component in the aspect of religious beliefs and traditions. The linguistic focus of this study is the phraseological units of the Russian language, reflecting the Christian and pagan ideas of the Russian people. The selection of the analyzed Chinese language material is due to the significant influence of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism on Chinese culture. In the work, using a set of methods and techniques, such as linguocultural analysis, comparative analysis, and classification, the phraseological units of the Russian and Chinese languages with names of marine animals components birds, and terrestrial animals are studied. Similar and different figurative and symbolic meanings of animals are revealed in the two linguocultures. Discrepancies in the national and cultural connotations of animal images among speakers of Russian and Chinese languages against the background of religious and confessional differences have been established: the image of the same animal in different linguistic cultures generates different meanings. In addition to the discrepancies, Russian and Chinese idioms reveal semantic similarities due to the commonality of moral and ethical doctrines of Russian and Chinese speakers.