Full metadata
Title
The confessional writing in early Daoism: a survey of medieval Daoist petition and declaration documents
Description
Since Ruth Benedict introduced the dual concepts of “shame culture” and “guilt culture,” far Eastern Asian societies have placed more emphasis on such “shame culture.” However, Wolfram Eberhard has indicated that Ruth’s dualism may be questionable, and he has pointed out that there are several documents composed by non-Confucian elites that are available to study. Furthermore, Paul Ricoeur claims that language, especially that in confession, is the best source to study to understand guilt and shame cultures. Thus, I would like to study confessional writings in early Daoism. These so-called confessional writings include the Personal Writs to the Three Officials, the zhang-petition in the Celestial Master tradition, and the ci-declaration in Lingbao rituals. If the Personal Writs documents a true practice in history, it should contain the most itemized and profound “feeling of guilt” according to the earlier texts. Most petitions recorded in Master Vermilion Pine’s Almanac only include some formula for confessional words rather than specific confessions. But, I have found some flexible sections, which may be reserved for specific confession, in these formulaic petitions. I also explore two anecdotes about specific confessions in the Six Dynasties to support my claims. I discuss the format, structure and functions of the ci-declaration, an ancient but new writ system in Lingbao retreats. By far the majority of confessions in Lingbao tradition are public and formulaic, but the Lingbao scripture also contains personal confession. Much like the petition, the ci-declaration is personal but contains formulaic writing.
Date Created
2017
Contributors
- Yuan, Ningjie (Author)
- Bokenkamp, Stephen (Thesis advisor)
- Oh, Young (Committee member)
- Chen, Huaiyu (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
v, 64 pages
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.44260
Statement of Responsibility
by Ningjie Yuan
Description Source
Viewed on December 1, 2017
Level of coding
full
Note
Partial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2017
Note type
thesis
Includes bibliographical references (pages 61-64)
Note type
bibliography
In English with some Chinese
Note type
language
Field of study: East Asian Languages and Civilizations
System Created
- 2017-06-01 02:05:50
System Modified
- 2021-08-26 09:47:01
- 2 years 8 months ago
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