Seminar: Radu BIKIR
18 DECEMBER 23
IHP-EFEO Talk
Speaker:
Prof. Radu BIKIR
Associate Professor, University Rennes 2, France
Chair:
Dr. TUNG Yung-chang
Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
Title:
Intimacy with the Invisible in Religious Stories from the Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Date:
Monday, December 18, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Venue:
Room 703, Research Building, IHP, Academia Sinica
Abstract:
Numerous Song dynasty narratives attempt to describe the link between the visible world and that of the gods, the invisible world, which, although unknown, is not separated from everyday human life. The soothsayers and other magicians mentioned in these collections of “strangeness notes,” zhiguai 志怪, of which the Yijian zhi 夷堅志 of Hong Mai 洪邁 (1123-1202) is one of the most precious examples, appear as specialists attempting to tame the invisible in order to bring this dimension closer to human consciousness and widen the field of experience. For example, exorcists practicing the “Five Thunder Method,” wulei fa 五雷法, produce talismans to create an intimate link with the gods, who personify the forces of nature. These methods of the Way, of the Dao, also called “magical methods,” fashu 法術, enable “ritual masters,” fashi 法師, or “Daoist priests,” daoshi 道士, to literally open the gates of Heaven, which is the heart of the invisible. In addition, although fashi are lay initiates and daoshi are priests ordained in the institutional tradition, I nevertheless choose to consider them all as “magi” insofar as they are capable of creating an intimate link with the invisible forces of the world, sometimes at their peril if the rules of initiation are not respected. The production of these methods does, in fact, invite secret transmission, and this concept will therefore also need to be addressed. The most obvious idea is that secrecy is at the heart of esotericism, a body of doctrine reserved for a sometimes marginalized elite. These methods must not be divulged to just anyone, as the texts presented in this talk demonstrate.
The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required
lecture
Speaker:
Prof. Radu BIKIR
Associate Professor, University Rennes 2, France
Chair:
Dr. TUNG Yung-chang
Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
Title:
Intimacy with the Invisible in Religious Stories from the Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Date:
Monday, December 18, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Venue:
Room 703, Research Building, IHP, Academia Sinica
Abstract:
Numerous Song dynasty narratives attempt to describe the link between the visible world and that of the gods, the invisible world, which, although unknown, is not separated from everyday human life. The soothsayers and other magicians mentioned in these collections of “strangeness notes,” zhiguai 志怪, of which the Yijian zhi 夷堅志 of Hong Mai 洪邁 (1123-1202) is one of the most precious examples, appear as specialists attempting to tame the invisible in order to bring this dimension closer to human consciousness and widen the field of experience. For example, exorcists practicing the “Five Thunder Method,” wulei fa 五雷法, produce talismans to create an intimate link with the gods, who personify the forces of nature. These methods of the Way, of the Dao, also called “magical methods,” fashu 法術, enable “ritual masters,” fashi 法師, or “Daoist priests,” daoshi 道士, to literally open the gates of Heaven, which is the heart of the invisible. In addition, although fashi are lay initiates and daoshi are priests ordained in the institutional tradition, I nevertheless choose to consider them all as “magi” insofar as they are capable of creating an intimate link with the invisible forces of the world, sometimes at their peril if the rules of initiation are not respected. The production of these methods does, in fact, invite secret transmission, and this concept will therefore also need to be addressed. The most obvious idea is that secrecy is at the heart of esotericism, a body of doctrine reserved for a sometimes marginalized elite. These methods must not be divulged to just anyone, as the texts presented in this talk demonstrate.
The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required
lecture