From Online Buddha Halls to Robot-Monks: New Developments in the Long-Term Interaction between Buddhism, Media, and Technology in Contemporary China
The interaction between religion and the new media has affected the perception that society has of religion, changed cardinal structures in the relationship between religious practice and religious authorities, and also transformed features and functions of the media. If we look at mainland China to...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Review of Religion and Chinese Society |
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| 1. VerfasserIn: | |
| Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Verfügbarkeit prüfen: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Brill
[2020]
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| In: |
Review of Religion and Chinese Society
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| normierte Schlagwort(-folgen): | B
China
/ Buddhismus
/ Religiöses Leben
/ Neue Medien
/ Künstliche Intelligenz
/ Religiöser Wandel
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Religionssoziologie; Religionspolitik AG Religiöses Leben; materielle Religion BL Buddhismus KBM Asien ZB Soziologie |
| weitere Schlagwörter: | B
Artificial Intelligence
B media robot-monks B 龙泉寺 B Longquan Monastery B Buddhism B 佛教 B China B 数字宗教 B 机器僧 B 人工智能 B 中国 B Digital Religion B Xian’er |
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| Zusammenfassung: | The interaction between religion and the new media has affected the perception that society has of religion, changed cardinal structures in the relationship between religious practice and religious authorities, and also transformed features and functions of the media. If we look at mainland China today, religious individuals and groups have their own WeChat and Weibo accounts, and internet websites; some believers operate solely in cyberspace and perform rituals online; and commercials often adopt religious symbols to brand nonreligious products. In other words, we find religious people or organizations that use (and even own) different media platforms as channels of communication; we also see that religious imageries are more and more put to use in the secular domain for nonreligious purposes.This article will analyze how and why Buddhists have resorted to social and digital media and even robotics to preach the Dharma and attract potential new followers, but also to redefine their public image in the wider Chinese society. This study also will ask whether the state has directed or merely engaged with this new Dharma media-enterprise, and in what way. In addressing these questions, one section of this article will explore the creation of the robot-monk Xian’er (at the Longquan Monastery, Beijing). Xian’er’s creation will be considered in relation to similar androids, placed in dialogue with the current debate on the use of robotics in religion, and viewed from posthumanist perspectives. |
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| ISSN: | 2214-3955 |
| Enthält: | Enthalten in: Review of Religion and Chinese Society
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/22143955-00701006 |