The Ming Prince and Daoism - Institutional Patronage of an Elite (Hardcover)

Scholars of Daoism in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) have paid particular attention to the interaction between the court and certain Daoist priests and to the political results of such interaction; the focus has been on either emperors or Daoist masters. Yet in the Ming era a special group of people patronized Daoism and Daoist establishments: these were the members of the imperial clan, who were enfeoffed as princes. In addition to personal belief and self-cultivation, a prince had other reasons to patronize Daoism. As the regional overlords, the Ming princes like other local elites saw financing and organizing temple affairs and rituals, patronizing Daoist priests, or collecting and producing Daoist books as a chance to maintain their influence and show off their power. The prosperity of Daoist institutions, which attracted many worshippers, also demonstrated the princes' political success. Locally the Ming princes played an important cultural role as well by promoting the development of local religions. This book is the first to explore the interaction between Ming princes as religious patrons and local Daoism. Barred by imperial law from any serious political or military engagement, the Ming princes were ex officio managers of state rituals at the local level, with Daoist priests as key performers, and for this reason they became very closely involved in Daoist clerical and liturgical life. By illuminating the role the Ming princes played in local religion, Richard Wang demonstrates in The Ming Prince and Daoism that the princedom served to mediate between official religious policy and the commoners' interests.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	August 2012
First published:	August 2012
Authors:	Richard G. Wang (Assistant Professor of Chinese Language and Literature)
Dimensions:	238 x 163 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	336
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-976768-7
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > General > History of religion Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > General Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Oriental religions > General Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Oriental religions > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > General > History of religion Promotions
LSN:	0-19-976768-8
Barcode:	9780199767687

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!