Political, Prophylactic and Ritual Aspects of "Nourishing Life Training Classes" in a Daoist Temple of Mt. Qingcheng (Sichuan, PRC) - Université Paris Nanterre
Conference Papers Year : 2023

Political, Prophylactic and Ritual Aspects of "Nourishing Life Training Classes" in a Daoist Temple of Mt. Qingcheng (Sichuan, PRC)

Abstract

In the People’s Republic of China, "nourishing life" (yangsheng) refers to both an ancient longevity principle and a major economic trend. On the one hand, yangsheng has been discussed from the foundational texts of Daoism as a means to attain immortality through techniques such as meditation, dietetics and calisthenics. On the other hand, "nourishing life" refers to a general idea of longevity and well-being that expresses itself in huge markets of self-help literature and wellness classes. This presentation explores how religion and the consumer-based economy merge in the form of "nourishing life training classes" (yangsheng peixun ban) held within the Medicine King Temple of Mt. Qingcheng, a sacred Daoist mountain. Anxiety about authenticity occurs both on the part of participants who fear that practices are over-commercialized and organizers who fear that too little commercialization may arouse the concern of the state that the practices are too religious in nature.
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Dates and versions

hal-04316377 , version 1 (30-11-2023)

Identifiers

  • HAL Id : hal-04316377 , version 1

Cite

Hélène Bloch. Political, Prophylactic and Ritual Aspects of "Nourishing Life Training Classes" in a Daoist Temple of Mt. Qingcheng (Sichuan, PRC). AAR Annual Meeting, American Academy of Religion, Nov 2023, San Antonio (TX), United States. ⟨hal-04316377⟩
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