Description
Book SynopsisHuaiyu Chen examines how Buddhist ideas about animals changed and were changed by medieval Chinese culture. He explores the entangled relations among animals, religions, the state, and local communities, considering both the multivalent meanings associated with animals and the daily experience of living with the natural world.
Trade ReviewThe question of how humans treat, and should treat, non-human animals has become more urgent in the face of biodiversity loss, and we might find some answers by considering how we have lived with animals in other times and places. Huaiyu Chen’s
In the Land of Tigers and Snakes. . . provides openings to do so. * The Times Literary Supplement *
Huaiyu Chen makes a significant contribution to our understanding of human–animal interactions in medieval China…[He] tells a fascinating story of the changing boundaries between the “wild and untamed” and the “civilized” world. Particularly rich and cohesive…
In the Land of Tigers and Snakes would be an excellent reading for either an undergraduate- or a graduate level class in religious studies and Asian history. * Journal of Chinese History *
...by learning from the work presented in this book, we can promote deeper conversations and mutual understandings between religions, allowing scholars across multiple disciplines other than religious studies to gain inspiration for their respective fields of study. * Religion *
. . . engaging and rich in detail. In all, this is a much-needed addition to the ever-growing field of Chinese animal studies, demonstrating the applicability and range of the “animal lens” in scholarship. * School of Oriental & African Studies *
In the Land of Tigers and Snakes is meticulously researched, richly documented, and well contextualized. Chen shows excellent command of his source materials, and I really learned a tremendous amount from reading this book. A must-read for anyone interested in animals and religion! -- Barbara Ambros, author of
Bones of Contention: Animals and Religion in Contemporary JapanAn unprecedented survey of some very rich sources,
In the Land of Tigers and Snakes is a major contribution to the study of the interactions between the human and animal realms in a pivotal period of Chinese history. -- T.H. Barrett, author of
Taoism Under the T'ang: Religion and Empire during the Golden Age of Chinese HistoryIn this fascinating and important study, Huaiyu Chen overturns facile beliefs that Buddhism and Daoism have long promoted ecologically beneficent attitudes and practices toward wild animals. Instead, he shows the complex ways religious leaders and laypeople viewed, controlled, killed, and according to legends, tamed and converted wild animals, in processes producing religious hierarchies, involving interreligious competition, and contributing decisively to the spread of agricultural civilizations at the expense of wildlife and wildlands. Highly recommended. -- Bron Taylor, Author of
Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future and editor of the
Encyclopedia of Religion and NatureBy learning from the work presented in this book, we can promote deeper conversations and mutual understandings between religions, allowing scholars across multiple disciplines other than religious studies to gain inspiration for their respective fields of study. * Religion *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Buddhists Categorizing Animals: Medieval Chinese Classification
2. Confucians Civilizing Unruly Beasts: Tigers and Pheasants
3. Buddhists Taming Felines: The Companionship of the Tiger
4. Daoists Transforming Ferocious Tigers: Practical Techniques and Rhetorical Strategies
5. Buddhists Killing Reptiles: Snakes in Religious Competition
6. Buddhists Enlightening Virtuous Birds: The Parrot as a Religious Agent
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
