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OverviewMuch as the modern Western world is concerned with diets, health, and anti-aging remedies, many early medieval Chinese Daoists also actively sought to improve their health and increase their longevity through specialized ascetic dietary practices. Focusing on a fifth-century manual of herbal-based, immortality-oriented recipes-the Lingbao Wufuxu (The Preface to the Five Lingbao Talismans of Numinous Treasure)-Shawn Arthur investigates the diets, their ingredients, and their expected range of natural and supernatural benefits. Analyzing the ways that early Daoists systematically synthesized religion, Chinese medicine, and cosmological correlative logic, this study offers new understandings of important Daoist ideas regarding the body's composition and mutability, health and disease, grain avoidance (bigu) diets, the parasitic Three Worms, interacting with the spirit realm, and immortality. This work also employs a range of cross-disciplinary scientific and medical research to analyze the healing properties of Daoist self-cultivation diets and to consider some natural explanations for better understanding Daoist asceticism and its underlying world view. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Shawn ArthurPublisher: Lexington Books Imprint: Lexington Books Dimensions: Width: 15.90cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.608kg ISBN: 9780739178928ISBN 10: 073917892 Pages: 416 Publication Date: 27 June 2013 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsContemporary Western society is replete with dietary advice, much of it backed by a thriving supplement industry. Nevertheless, increasing numbers of people seek inner balance using guidance from ancient traditions. Centering body movement practices, such as qigong and taiji, are widely known, but information from ancient texts on the relationship between diet and optimal health is harder to come by. This book discusses historical and cultural contexts for a selection of ancient Chinese 'recipes' utilizing various food and herbal ingredients. Arthur (Appalachian State Univ.), who specializes in Chinese religions and 'the intersection of religion, culture, medicine, and the body,' then evaluates the recipes' potential therapeutic value from a modern scientific perspective. Appendixes include lists of recipe titles, proposed health benefits, ingredients, and translations of selected recipes. A Sourcebook in Chinese Longevity, by L. Kohn (CH, Dec'12, 50-2099), also contains a substantive discussion of ancient Daoist dietary practices. Useful for researchers specializing in Daoist traditions relating to health and longevity. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers/faculty, and professionals/practitioners. CHOICE Early Daoist Dietary Practices: Examining Ways to Health and Longevity makes a significant contribution to our understanding of medieval Daoist practice, to our appreciation of the concerns of Chinese religious practitioners, as well as to our awareness of food- and health-related practices both historically and today. It provides pertinent arguments, analyses, and insights on all levels-translation, presentation, historical placement, and comparative evaluation-moving from one strong point to the next. It is a must read for anyone interested in Chinese religion and Daoism. -- Livia Kohn, Boston University Shawn Arthur's study of a classical Chinese dietary text explains how Daoists tried to eat their way to immortality and beyond. The Wufuxu, or Explanation of the Five talismans, provides over sixty recipes for long life, perfect health and supernatural powers. What makes this book stand out, however, is that the author has also interviewed Chinese Daoist monks about their dietary practices, and theorized Daoist dietary regimens from the perspectives of contemporary medicine, medical anthropology and evolutionary psychology. By employing a range of theoretical frameworks to ask radical questions about diet, religion and the body, the author breathes new life into a classic text and revitalizes the field of Daoist Studies. -- James Miller, Queen's University, Canada Early Daoist Dietary Practices: Examining Ways to Health and Longevity makes a significant contribution to our understanding of medieval Daoist practice, to our appreciation of the concerns of Chinese religious practitioners, as well as to our awareness of food- and health-related practices both historically and today. It provides pertinent arguments, analyses, and insights on all levels -translation, presentation, historical placement, and comparative evaluation- moving from one strong point to the next. It is a must read for anyone interested in Chinese religion and Daoism. -- Livia Kohn, Boston University Early Daoist Dietary Practices: Examining Ways to Health and Longevity makes a significant contribution to our understanding of medieval Daoist practice, to our appreciation of the concerns of Chinese religious practitioners, as well as to our awareness of food- and health-related practices both historically and today. It provides pertinent arguments, analyses, and insights on all levels -translation, presentation, historical placement, and comparative evaluation- moving from one strong point to the next. It is a must read for anyone interested in Chinese religion and Daoism. -- Livia Kohn, Boston University Shawn Arthur's study of a classical Chinese dietary text explains how Daoists tried to eat their way to immortality and beyond. The Wufuxu, or Explanation of the Five talismans, provides over sixty recipes for long life, perfect health and supernatural powers. What makes this book stand out, however, is that the author has also interviewed Chinese Daoist monks about their dietary practices, and theorized Daoist dietary regimens from the perspectives of contemporary medicine, medical anthropology and evolutionary psychology. By employing a range of theoretical frameworks to ask radical questions about diet, religion and the body, the author breathes new life into a classic text and revitalizes the field of Daoist Studies. -- James Miller, Queen's University, Canada Author InformationShawn Arthur is associate professor of Religion at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. His teaching and research focus on early Daoism; Chinese religions; the intersection of religion, culture, medicine, and the body; and method and theory in the study of religion. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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