Journal of Daoist Studies

Volume 3 2010

120 /JournalofDaoistStudies3 (2010)

Journal of Daoist Studies

TheJournalofDaoistStudies(JDS)isanannualpublicationdedicatedtotheschol arly exploration of Daoism in all its different dimensions. Each issue has three mainparts:AcademicArticles onhistory,philosophy,art,society,andmore(6 8,000 words); Forum on Contemporary Practice on issues of current activities both in China and other parts ofthe world(8001,200 words);andNews ofthe Field,presentingpublications,dissertations,conferences, andwebsites. Facilitators: LiviaKohn,RussellKirkland,RonnieLittlejohn Editorial Board:ShawnArthur,FriederikeAssandri,StephanPeterBumbacher, Suzanne Cahill, Joshua Capitanio, Alan Chan, Chang Yihsiang, Shinyi Chao, ChenXia,KennethCohen,DonaldDavis,CatherineDespeux,JeffreyDippman, Ute Engelhardt, Stephen Eskildsen, Norman Girardot, Seth Harter, Jonathan Herman, Adeline Herrou, Dominique Hertzer, Shihshan Susan Huang, P. J. Ivanhoe, Jiang Sheng, Kang Xiaofei,Paul Katz, SungHae Kim, Terry Kleeman, Louis Komjathy, Liu Xun, L Xichen, Victor Mair, Mei Li, Mark Meulenbeld, ThomasMichael,JamesMiller,ChristineMollier,Harrison Moretz,Mori Yuria, David Palmer, Fabrizio Pregadio, Michael Puett, James Robson, Harold Roth, Robert Santee, Elijah Siegler, Edward Slingerland, Julius Tsai, Richard Wang, Robin Wang, Michael Winn, Yang Lizhi, Yao Ping, Robin Yates, Yen Hseh cheng,ZhangGuangbao,Zhang Qin Submissions:To makeasubmission,please contactusat daojournal@gmail.com. Articlesarereviewedbytwoanonymousreadersandacceptedafterapproval. A modelfilewitheditorialinstructionsisavailableuponrequest.Deadlineforarti clesisNovember15forpublicationinFebruaryofthefollowingyear. Subscriptions: PrintedPaperback 1year: U.S.A.$26.50 Canada$28.00Overseas$34.00 2years: U.S.A.$53.00 Canada$56.00Overseas$68.00 3years: U.S.A.$79.50 Canada$84.00Overseas$102.00 OnlinePDFFile: US$12.00 Toorder,visitwww.threepinespress.com CoverArt:LordLaoasQigongMaster,BaguaXundaoGongRedCrossMedical ExchangeCenter,Beijing;Director: WanSujian.Usedbypermission. 2009byJournalofDaoistStudiesISSN19415524

Table of Contents
Articles
ALAN K. L. CHAN AffectivityandtheNatureoftheSage:Gleaningsfroma TangDaoistMaster NORMANHARRY ROTHSCHILD Empress Wu andtheQueenMotheroftheWest SHIHSHAN SUSAN HUANG DaoistImageryofBodyandCosmos,Part1: BodyGodsandStarryTravel KENNETH R. ROBINSON DaoistGeographiesinThreeKoreanWorldMaps ADELINEHERROU ADayintheLifeofaDaoistMonk

29

57

91

117

Forum on Contemporary Practice

ELLIOTCOHEN PsychologyandDaoism: ResistingPsychologization AssistingDialogue SETHHARTER PracticeintheClassroom:ToTaijiorNottoTaiji

151

163

MARK JOHNSON NiHuaChingsAmericanizationofTheEternalBreathofDao177

122 /JournalofDaoistStudies3 (2010)

ELENA VALUSSI WomensQigonginAmerica:Tradition,Adaptation, andNewTrends JEAN DEBERNARDI WudangMountainandtheModernizationofDaoism

187

202

News of the Field

Publications Dissertations ResearchProjects Conferences Scienceon Qi 213 222 224 225 231

NotesonContributors

237

Forum on Contemporary Practice

124 /JournalofDaoistStudies3 (2010)

Wudang Mountain and the Modernization of Daoism1

JEAN DEBERNARDI
Both the modern nationstate and global networks and organizations havecontributedtothemoderntransformationofreligions.Inparticular, the development of global capitalism has provided unprecedented fi nancial means and technologies of communication to religious leaders. Thesehaveenabledentrepreneurialreligiousleadersofmanyreligions including Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, but also many other reli gious groupsto rework their organizations, develop their networks, and transform their practices. In this paper, I consider Wudang Moun tain Daoism in light of these new organizational forms, networks, and practices.IwilldiscussthecontributionthatWudangMountainDaoism makestoChinascivilizationalculture,toworldculture,andtoreligious 2 culture.

I base this paper on research conducted with support from the Chiang ChingkuoFoundationandtheSocialScienceandHumanitiesResearchCouncil ofCanada.SpecialthanksareduetomycollaboratorsinthisprojectProf.Dong LuoandDr.WuXu,toAbbottLi,toDeanDengZhenglaiatFudanUniversity,to theChineseTaoistAssociationandtheorganizersoftheInternationalForumon theDaodejing,includingespeciallyLeongTakwah,andinSingaporetotheSin gapore Taoist Federation, Chong Kwangtong (Weiyi), Xu Liying, and Victor Yue. I presented an earlier version of this paper at a conference on the theme ChineseSocialScienceinaGlobalAgeattheNationalInstituteforAdvanced StudyintheSocialSciences,FudanUniversityDecember58,2008andpublished atranslationin TheChineseJournalofSocialScience (DeBernardi2009). 2 Anthropologicalcontributionstothestudyofmodernityandtransnation alismthathaveinfluencedthisresearchprojectincludeAppadurai(1996);Eisen stadtandSchluchter(1998);Hannerz(1992;1996);andSahlins(1998;1999)
1

DeBernardi,WudangMountain /203

Civilizational Culture
AtpresentthereisadrivetobrandChinaasamodernandprogressive place and to not place too much emphasis on its history. Nonetheless, undoubtedlyChinaspoliticalleadersaremobilizingelementsofChinas civilizational culture as a resource as a strategy to build stronger links with Chinese in greater China. Although Maoism divided them from theChineseinSoutheastAsia,forexample,whowereearlyparticipants inthegrowthofthecapitalistworldsystem,Chinascivilizationaltradi tionscanserveasapotentialsourceofsharedvalues.Confucianism,for example, forms a supranational link with a number of Asian countries, includingcountrieslikeSingaporeandTaiwanthathaveselfconsciously soughttoteachandpromotemodernistforms ofConfucianideology. RecentlyChinaspoliticalleadershavealsomobilizedcivilizational culture, using what Harvard professor Joseph Nye has called soft powertogainglobalinfluence.Forexample,whenChinabuildsConfu cius Institutes throughout the world, they use the name Confucius to tap into the cosmopolitan prestige of their great sage and to symbolize Chinesevalues.Atthesametime,theChinesegovernmentsgoalisnot onlyculturebutalsoeconomic:toencourageChineselanguagelearning outside China. Although this might be the final aim, nonetheless the governmentisdrawingoncivilizationaltraditiontobuildthislink. ThegovernmenthasalsorecentlyformedtheChinaReligiousCul tureCommunicationAssociationasanonprofitsocialorganization.The association was formed to strengthen and promote contacts and ex changes between members of the religious sector in the Chinese mainlandand theircounterparts inTaiwan,Hong Kong, and Macao, as well as inothercountries and regions; to widelymake friends, increase friendship and promote cooperation; to jointly unearth positive and beneficial religious content; and to carry forward and promote Chinas traditional culture. In cooperation with religious groups, this associa tion has helped to organize and promote several international confer ences, includingone on Buddhism, and the International Forum on the Daodejingin2007thatIdiscussinmoredetailbelow.Ithinkitsignificant that with few exceptions, the participants at this International Forum were primarily Chinese from Mainland China and diaspore Chinese from Greater Chinain particular Singapore and Taiwan, and North America.

204 /JournalofDaoistStudies3 (2010) Undoubtedly,DaoismmakesanimportantcontributiontoChinas civilizational culture, especially within Greater China. Modern Daoist leadersoftenassertthatDaoismistherootofChinesecultureandclaim certain symbols and practices as distinctive to their religion. The yin/yang symbol is of course globally recognized. Inaddition, Wudang MountainoffersvisitersDaoistteaculture,Daoistmusic,Daoistcalligra phy,Daoistmartialarts,andavarietyofcommoditieslikeTaijisword.

Cosmopolitan Culture
In addition to Chinas civilizational culture, Daoism also engages mod ern cosmopolitan world culture. Globalization in the period of early modernityenabledscholarstoamassanencyclopedicknowledgeofthe worldscultures.EuropeanEnlightenmentscholarstranslatedthesacred texts of the worlds diversereligions.They promotedknowledge ofthe worlds cultures, including religious cultures like Daoism, Buddhism, andHinduism,asawaytoovercomelocalisminfavorofthenotionofa universal human fellowship. Today, Daoisms contribution to world cosmopolitancultureincludesitsmostfamoussacredtext,theDaodejing, its sacred sites, including Wudang Mountain, and Taijiquan, which is Wudang Mountains contribution to the global field of martial arts. Let mebrieflydiscusseachofthese. th century, we find individuals and groups in Starting in the 19 Europe that celebrated Asian religions, translating the socalled Sacred Books of the East, including classic works of Confucius, Buddhism, Hindusim,andDaoism.BooksliketheAnalects,theDaodejing,andthe Buddhistsutrasare widely taught inChinese religionsclasses through out Europe and North America. They are read not only to gain insight intoChineseculture,butasclassicsofworldliterature. Daoists are aware of the global importance of the Daode jing, and manyDaoisttemplesnowofferfreecopiesoftheDaodejing.Inrecogni tion of the global importance of this book, in 2007, the China Religious CommunicationOfficetogetherwiththeChinaDaoistFederationorgan ized an International ForumontheDaodejingin Xian and HongKong. TheforumincludedaspecialceremonyatLouguantai,attheplace where Laozi issaidto havecreated theDaodejing.The Forum included participantsfromChinaandgreaterChina,butalsoNorthAmericaand Europe, who in their lectures relatedtheDaodejingto the environment,

DeBernardi,WudangMountain /205 tosocialharmony,tohealthpracticesandtobusiness.Thetwocitycon ferencealsoincludedanexhibitofeditionsandtranslationsoftheDaode jing in Hong Kong.This event highlighted the importance of the Daode jing as aclassicofworldliterature. InadvanceoftheForum,DaoistsinHongKongorganizedaspecial eventinastadiumamassrecitationoftheDaodejing.Insodoing,they soughtrecognitionintheGuinnessBookofWorldRecordsforthemost people reading aloud simultaneously in one location. The forum itself closedwithamassrecitiationoftheDaodejing.Theseeventshighlighted a fact not widely known inthe west, namely thatstudents of theDaode jingmemorized andrecited it. Inthecosmopolitan field ofpractice, the Daodejing hasglobalrenown,andDaoistsnowpromoteitatextonapar withtheChristianBible.

World Heritage Sites

Withthecreationof theUNESCOWorld Heritageprogram,cosmopoli tanworldculturenowalsoincludeshistoricsitesliketheAncientBuild ing Complex at Wudang Mountain. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Pro gram promotes a sense of cosmopolitan citizenship not limited to the nation state. When a country adds a site like Wudang Mountain to the UNESCO world heritage list, they identify it as important not just as a national treasure but also as a global treasure. Being on the list should mean that the place is preserved and sheltered against the pressures of global capitalism, whose developers see more profit in building new structuresthanpreservingoldones. CulturalhistorianThomasMachoobservedthatculturesareislands intheoceanofoblivion(Assmann2006,81).Asaformofculturalmem ory,religioustraditionsseektoperpetuatememoriesofthepastandex pectations of the future through text, story, the preservation of sacred sites, and above all ritual. As civilizations change, we also find wilful acts of forgetting. And people undoubtedly remake their traditions for newgenerations. What, then,dowemakeoftherecentreconstructionofJinglePalace inDanjiangkou?TheoriginalJinglePalace,oneofeightgrandpalacesat Wudang Mountain, no longer exists. The new Jingle Palace, a replica built in a new location, is something quite different from the building

206 /JournalofDaoistStudies3 (2010) that it replaces. Some might regard it as an anachronism, or an expres sionofnostalgia,orevenkitsch.IspeculatethatmanyWesternerswould conclude that the reconstruction was a fake, forgetting perhaps that many heritage buildings in European cities were rebuilt after being de stroyedbybombsinWorldWarII. Others would see it as acommercial rather than religious venture. Theywouldnotbeentirelymistaken: peoplespokeofpotentialrevenues from charging an admission fee, and anticipated that it would enhance tourism inthe smallcity, which isbest know for Danjiankou Dam. But despite all this, the use of the temple is traditional: when the Daoist priestperformtheirrituals,whenlocalpeoplefillthetempleandcollect oracles, when local officials willingly participate in elaborate ritual events,andwhenbusinessmenofferfinancialpatronage,thistemplere semblesChinesetemplesthroughouttheworld.

Martial Arts
Finally, Wudang Mountains physical culturemartial artsis a major contributiontocosmopolitanworldculture.Indeed,inthelasttwodec ades, Wudang Mountain martial arts has extended its influence world wide. In the late 1970s, a small handful of students went to Wudang Mountain to study martial arts with a resident master. They formed a schoolnexttothemaintemple,andin2002,theWudangMountainper formance group made their first trip to North America. By 2007, the school had many more international students and the performance grouptraveledwidelyinAsiaandNorthAmerica.(Isawthemperform, forexample,inHongKongattheInternationalConferenceontheDaode jing,andalsoinSingaporeatthe90thAnniversaryoftheSingaporeCity God Temple.)Theydisplay theperformance style that theyhavedevel oped on a global stage,andtheir form of Taijiquanrepresents Wudang Mountainmartialartstotheworld.WudangMountainsDaoistsarejus tifiablyproudofthefactthattheDaoistreligionhasmadeacontribution to cosmopolitan world culture and also aware of the global fame and popularityofChinesemartialarts.

DeBernardi,WudangMountain /207

Wudang Mountain and the Fujian Diaspora

Wudang Mountain is a historic site of national and global interest. But Wudang Mountain also enjoys special popularity among Chinese from Fujian,Taiwan,andtheFujiandiasporainSoutheastAsia.Globalization allows them an unprecedented opportunity to visit Wudang Mountain, whichforsomeDaoistsisasimportantasacredsiteastheHolyLandis for Christians or Bodhgayathe place where Buddha reached enlight enmentis for Buddhists. Consequently it ispredictablethatmany pil grimgroupscomefromFujian,TaiwanandSoutheastAsia. For the Taiwanese, the veneration of Zhenwu has deep historical roots. MingloyalistZhengChenggongbuiltaZhenwutemplenexttohis headquarters at Fort Provintia in what is today Tainan City.3Many temples throughout Taiwan are dedicated to him, and his veneration alsoiswidespreadinSoutheastAsia,wheresomecall himShangdiGong. Some Nine Emperor God temples regard him as the elder of the Nine Emperor Gods, who are the focus of a distinctive temple tradition in Thailand,MalaysiaandSingapore(seeDeBernardi2004;WangN.d.).4 Althoughtheydonotliveinasingleterritorialregion,nonetheless diaspora Fujianese share linguistic, cultural and historical traditions stemmingfromtheirhomelandinFujianProvince.Fujianspeakingpeo ples are like the Jewish people in recognizing their shared traditions while living in diaspora. Fujian regional language is not a written lan guage;theirreligiouscultureisamongtheirmostimportantsharedcul tural practices, including a range of performing arts from opera and puppettheatretoexorcisticdramas.Theymayexplorethosesharedtra ditions through religious pilgrimage. Although the overseas pilgrims destination ismost likely tobe Fujianprovince,nonetheless they some timesmakethemoredifficultjourneytoWudangMountain.Theydoso
Aproject of modernization ledtothe demolition ofthe originalZhenwu templeinTainan.Whenthegovernmentdemolishedthetempletobuildaschool, a smaller temple was built nearby to replace the original temple. A small sign identifies it as a cultural relic, but no mention is made ofthe demolition of the originaltemple,astorythattemplemembersrecountedinconversation. 4 IspeculatethatXuantian shangdiistheHeavenandEarthSocietysGreat Ancestor,adeitywhoseidentityismysterious,butwhodiedontheninthday of the ninth lunar month, just like the god, who is said to have ascended to heavenonthatday.SeeDeBernardi2004, ch. 8.
3

208 /JournalofDaoistStudies3 (2010) because they regard this templecomplex asthemothertempleforven eration of one of their most important deities, Zhenwu (also known as Xuantiandadi). Increasingly,wealsofindritualperformersandWudang martialartistsvisitingChinesetemplesintemplesinSoutheastAsiaand Taiwan.

Wudang Daoism in a Global Era

Finally,IwishtodiscussthecontemporarysituationoftheDaoistrelig ionandspecificallythepriests,nunsandmartialartsperformersofWu dangMountain ina globalcontext.WudangMountain is one of a wide network of Daoist sacred sites, and a popular destination for pilgrims andtourists.ButtheworldretreatingDaoistsofWudangMountainalso goesoutintotheworld.Thepriestandnunsarelinkedintonationaland international networks of Daoist practitioners and they often travel to displaytheirritualsandtoperformmartialarts. Their visits have made an important contribution to the revival of Daoism in Southeast Asia. In Singapore and Malaysia, Daoism has waned in popularity among educated Chinese for decades due to the stigma that attaches to Chinese popular religion. In modern societies, governmentshaveoftenlabelledpopularreligiouspracticesassupersti tious, backward, and wasteful. At the same time, many Chinese have hadnoopportunitytostudy thefoundationsofphilosophicalDaoism. ManyliterateChineseMalaysiansandSingaporeanshaveelectedto participate in rationalized forms of Buddhist religious practice, to con verttoChristianity (manyjoiningcharismaticChristianchurches), or to become free thinkers (DeBernardi 2008a). With increasing contact be tween Daoists in SoutheastAsia andChina,however, this situation ap pears to be changing. Chinese in Southeast Asia have long purchased andreadreligiousliteratureproducedinTaiwanandHongKong.Daoist priestsandnunsinChinanowrecognizetheneedforeducation,public outreachandevenproselytism. Theirbooksandteachingsnowinfluence a growingnumberofChinese educated Daoists in SoutheastAsia, who are themselves seeking to reform the practices of religious Daoism in theirowncommunities(DeBernardi2008b). Massmediaalsodevelopedintoapowerfultoolforglobalizingthe influence of new forms of Daoist practice. These include VCDs, picture albums,andscholarlyandpopularbooks.ManyareforsaleatWudang

DeBernardi,WudangMountain /209 Mountain,wherevisitorsmaybuythematavarietyofsmallstores.We also find for sale martial arts paraphernalia like Taiji quan swords but alsoitemsregardedashavingspecialpotencybecausetheyareboughtat a sacred site, including statues of deities and incense. Some of these commoditiesaredistributedor sold outsideChina, as when performers fromtheMainlandwhoareengagedtoperformatfestivalsinSingapore orMalaysiaoffer VCDsforsale.

Conclusion
Inthispaper,IhaveusedthemodernizationofWudangMountainDao ist as an example of religious modernity in a global era. Using that ex ample,IhavesoughttodemonstratethatDaoismhasnewsignificancein a globalized world. Wudang Mountain Daoism contributes to diverse modern projects, from world cosmopolitan culture to the promotion of civilizational values. At the same time, Daoist symbols and practices transmitculturalmemoriesandtraditionsindiasporiccultures.Through the study of Wudang Mountain, we can learn what complex network relationships modern Daoists create and maintain in this remarkable globalera.

210 /JournalofDaoistStudies3 (2010)

Bibliography
Appadurai, Arjun. 1996. Modernity at Large. Minneapolis: University of Minne sotaPress. Assmann,Jan.2006[2000].RememberinginOrdertoBelong:Writing,Memory andIdentity.InReligionandCulturalMemory,translatedbyRodneyLiving stone,81100.Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress. DeBernardi, Jean. 2009. Zai shunxi wanbiande shijieli zhongjian chuantong Tanqiuquanquihuahezongjiaojichuantongwenhuaxiandaixingdelilun. TranslatedbyLeileiChen.Zhongguo shehiukexue Jikan 16. 2008a.GlobalChristianCultureandtheAntiochofAsia.InReligiousDiversity andHarmonyinSingapore,editedbyLaiAhEng,11641.Singapore:Institute ofSoutheastAsianStudies. _____. 2008b.Wudang Mountain: Staging Charisma andthe Modernization of Daoism.Chenghuangxinyang,editedbyNingNguiNgi,27380.Singapore: LorongKooChyeShengHongTempleAssociation. _____.2004.RitesofBelonging:Memory,ModernityandIdentityinaMalaysianChi neseCommunity. Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress. Eisenstadt, Shmuel N. and Wolfgang Schluchter. 1998. Introduction: Paths to EarlyModernities:AComparativeView. Daedalus 127.3:118. Hannerz, Ulf. 1996. The Global Ecumene as a Landscape of Modernity. In TransnationalConnections:Culture,People,Places,4455.London:Routledge. _____.1992.CulturalComplexity:StudiesintheSocialOrganizationofMeaning.New York:ColumbiaUniversityPress. Sahlins,Marshall.1999.WhatisAnthropologicalEnlightenment?SomeLessons oftheTwentiethCentury.AnnualReviewsofAnthropology 28.1:ixxiii. _____. 1998. Cosmologies of Capitalism: The Transpacific Sector of the world System.RadcliffeBrownLectureinSocialAnthropology.Proceedingsofthe BritishAcademy LXXIV:151. Wang Chenfa (Ong Senghuat). N.d. Xuantian shangdi xinyangde yanbian. Kuala Lumpur:MalaixiyaDaojiaoZushiheZongjiaoWenhuaYanjiuZhongxin.

213