Navigating the Owl's Gaze: The Chinese Body-Mind-Spirit Milieu and Circulations of New Age Teachings in the Sinosphere

Since the 2000s, Chinese society has experienced a state codirected psychologization of everyday life. This is reflected in the popularity of the Body-Mind-Spirit (shen xin ling), a New Age self-cultivation milieu that emerged at the intersections of religiosity and secularity. This essay examines t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nova religio
Main Author: Iskra, Anna (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: University of Californiarnia Press 2022
In: Nova religio
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B China / New Age / Spirituality / Self-optimization / Transculturation
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
AX Inter-religious relations
AZ New religious movements
BL Buddhism
BM Chinese universism; Confucianism; Taoism
KBM Asia
Further subjects:B Glocalization
B Spirituality
B Body-Mind-Spirit
B New Age
B Sinicization
B self-cultivation
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Since the 2000s, Chinese society has experienced a state codirected psychologization of everyday life. This is reflected in the popularity of the Body-Mind-Spirit (shen xin ling), a New Age self-cultivation milieu that emerged at the intersections of religiosity and secularity. This essay examines the process of "parallel glocalization," in which Taiwanese and Hong Kongese intellectuals and spiritual seekers engaged in creative translations of western New Age concepts to introduce them to Chinese speakers. It follows the multiple trajectories through which New Age teachings were rebranded as shen xin ling and introduced in mainland China where they undergo further transformations - an important dimension of the "return" to Asia of many New Age concepts inspired by "eastern" philosophies and religions. These dynamics both facilitate China's incorporation into the networks of globalizing spirituality and resonate with the processes of the Sinicization of religion used as a tool for control in today's China.
ISSN:1541-8480
Contains:Enthalten in: Nova religio
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1525/nr.2022.25.4.5