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Appropriating the Dao
The Euro-American Esoteric Reception of China
Appropriating the Dao
The Euro-American Esoteric Reception of China
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Description
Assembling original contributions, this book is a pioneering attempt to address the Euro-American esoteric reception and appropriation of China.
Positioned between eighteenth-century's mesmerism and intersections with the modern martial arts current, the contributions specifically centre on nineteenth and early twentieth-century occult appraisals and representations. This book opens up an under-explored area of research in
the field of East–West interactions and the global history of religions.
Table of Contents
China in the Euro-American Esoteric Imagination: Contouring a Lacuna, Lukas K. Pokorny (University of Vienna, Austria) and Franz Winter (University of Graz, Austria)
1. Daoism and Kung Fu as Occult Sciences: Historical Comparisons between Chinese Practices and Mesmerism, Julian Strube (University of Vienna, Austria)
2. Looking Out for Magic in Ancient China: The Yijing, Its Trigrams, and the Figurist Tradition in Éliphas Lévi, Franz Winter (University of Graz, Austria)
3. The Theosophical Daodejing: The Beginnings, Lukas K. Pokorny (University of Vienna, Austria)
4. The Daoist Who Wasn't: Albert de Pouvourville, Matgioi, Nguyen Van Cang, and the Problem of Indochinese Masters in fin de siècle Occultism, Davide Marino (University of Vienna, Austria)
5. Turning Further East: C. H. A. Bjerregaard and the Esoteric Enthusiasm for Daoism, Johan Nilsson (Lund University, Sweden)
6. Do What Dao Wilt: The Integration of East Asian Concepts and Practices into Aleister Crowley's Thelema, Gordan Djurdjevic (Independent Scholar, Canada)
7. An Exoticism of Rationality and Social Order? Examining the East-West Binary in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Esoteric Representations of China, Johan Nilsson (Lund University, Sweden)
8. The Archetypal Dao: A Look at C. G. Jung's Reception of Chinese Thought, Karl Baier (University of Vienna, Austria)
9. Be Water My Friend: Esotericism, Martial Arts, and Entangled Histories, Tao Thykier Makeeff (University of Stavanger, Norway)
Index
Product details

Published | 04 Apr 2024 |
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Format | Ebook (PDF) |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 240 |
ISBN | 9781350289574 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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With the blossoming of research on esotericism's global entanglements, one conspicuous lacuna has remained: the Chinese connection. Not anymore. This pioneering collection firmly establishes Euro-American engagements with China as a central and long-standing element of global esotericism. Its new vistas will shape scholarship for years to come.
Egil Asprem, Professor of the History of Religions, Stockholm University, Sweden
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Esoteric fantasies and orientalist speculations about Chinese religions have played a significant role in Western cultural history, but this a topic that has hitherto been remarkably neglected by scholars. This splendid volume fills a major lacuna and will be the essential point of departure for further research.
Olav Hammer, Professor of The Study of Religions, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
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This groundbreaking volume offers a penetrating analysis of understudied or previously unknown material. Shedding new light on key dimensions of long-term global entanglements, it is a must-read for anyone interested in esotericism or the reception of Chinese culture.
Per Faxneld, Associate Professor of the History of Religions, Södertörn University, Sweden
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The wide range of topics and their embedding in current debates make this anthology not only an important read for all those involved in esotericism research, but hopefully also a starting point for further engagement with this hitherto under-studied field.
Religious Studies Review

ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
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