Animals in Medieval Chinese Biographies of Buddhist Monks
In this paper, I examine the presentation of animals in medieval Chinese Buddhist biographies. These biographies tell stories about strange animals, whose behavior signals that they are far from ordinary-some local deities, underlings of such deities, or even former friends from a past life. By focu...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
MDPI
[2019]
|
In: |
Religions
Year: 2019, Volume: 10, Issue: 6, Pages: 1-18 |
Further subjects: | B
Buddhism
B Monks B China B Biography B Birds B Snakes B tigers |
Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Summary: | In this paper, I examine the presentation of animals in medieval Chinese Buddhist biographies. These biographies tell stories about strange animals, whose behavior signals that they are far from ordinary-some local deities, underlings of such deities, or even former friends from a past life. By focusing on two biography collections separated in time by over 100 years, in this paper, I argue that the differing presentation of animals reflects the changing fortunes of Buddhism in China, from its early establishment to its successful reception by the imperial court. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
|
Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel10060348 |