Religious Studies 724 Topics in Taoism Fall 2015

Religious Studies 724 Topics in Taoism McMaster University, Term I 2015–16 [last revised: August 18, 2015] University Hall 122 Mondays 09:30–11:30pm Instructor—Dr. James A. Benn Email—bennjam@mcmaster.ca Phone—905-525-9140 ext. 24210 or 24734 (Chair’s Office) Office—University Hall 120 or 106 Office hours—Mondays, 9:00–10:00, or by appointment ra ft Course Description The subject of our seminar this term will be the structure and contents of the Taoist canon (Daozang 道藏). We shall begin with a basic orientation to the history of Taoism in China and the history of the study of Taoism in the West. We will survey the history of the canon’s formation and read selected texts from the canon in English translation. Students will also be introduced to the use of specialised research tools for the study of Taoism such as dictionaries, concordances, indices and databases. There is a vast body of scholarship on Taoism in European and Asian languages. We can read and discuss only a fraction of that work in this seminar; students are encouraged to put together their own working bibliographies that reflect their particular interests. During 2015 Term I this class will run in conjunction with “Introduction to Literary Chinese” 6YO6 (day and time to be confirmed). In the Chinese class we will read Taoist texts related to the topics under discussion. D Course Requirements You should come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. I will assign one person to lead the discussion of each reading (NB. “discussion” does not mean “summary”). The other requirement is a 20-25 page research paper which will be due on Wednesday December 16. You must turn in a proposal and annotated bibliography for that paper on Monday October 5. A first draft of the paper is due on Monday November 16. You will give an oral presentation of your research on Monday December 7. Class presentations and participation: 20% Seminar Paper: 80% Books and other resources I have ordered copies of the following books from the Campus Store and/or placed them on reserve in the library. You may also find some of them in the Department office: Bokenkamp, Stephen R., and Peter S. Nickerson. 1997. Early Daoist Scriptures. Berkeley and Los Angeles, Calif. and London: University of California Press. Huang, Shih-shan Susan. Picturing the True Form: Daoist Visual Culture in Traditional China. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center : Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2012. Komjathy, Louis. The Daoist Tradition: An Introduction. London ; New York: Bloomsbury, 2013. Robinet, Isabelle. Taoism: Growth of a Religion. Translated by Phyllis Brooks. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1997. Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. 2005. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. [NB, this book is often quite expensive to buy, so it may not be an essential purchase for you. There is a copy in the Department office.] I recommend this volume, although it not required: Kohn, Livia, ed. Daoism Handbook. Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, 2000; paperback edn., 2004. In addition to these books we shall also read articles that I may distribute to you electronically, or which I may ask you to photocopy. You should be familiar with the following important online resources: Fabrizio Pregadio’s page: http://www.goldenelixir.com/taoism.html The Daoist Studies website (run by James Miller, Queen’s University): http://www.daoiststudies.org/ Center for Daoist Studies: http://www.daoistcenter.org/homepage.html ra 1. September 14 Introduction and Organisation ft You should also know that you have unlimited access through McMaster’s libraries to important online dictionaries for East Asian and Buddhist terms: http://www.buddhism-dict.net/ 2. September 21 Orientation: Taoist history. Robinet, all. D 3. September 28 Taoism, an alternative view. Komjathy, all. 4. October 5 Instructor Away (conference at UBC) ***Paper Proposal and Bibliography due*** 6. October 12 Thanksgiving! No class! 7. October 19 Early Celestial Masters Hendrischke, Barbara. 2000. “Early Daoist Movements.” In Daoism Handbook, edited by Livia Kohn, 134–64. Leiden and Boston, Mass.: E.J. Brill. Schipper and Verellen, Taoist Canon, 120–37. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, 186–229. 2 8. October 26 Shangqing (“Upper Clarity”) Schipper and Verellen, Taoist Canon, 137–212. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, 275–372. 9. November 2 Lingbao (“Numinous Treasure” Schipper and Verellen, Taoist Canon, 212–59; 516–87. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, 373–438 10. November 9 Taoist Art [squash into 1 week] Huang Part 1 ft 11. November 16 Taoist Art 2 ***First Draft of Paper Due*** Huang Part 2 12. November 23 Instructor Away (AAR) D 14. December 7 Research presentations. ra 13. November 30 Quanzhen Taoism Excerpts from Komjathy’s Way of Complete Perfection : A Quanzhen Daoist Anthology 3