{"title":"John Kieschnick","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Kieschnick's works explore the intricate relationship between Buddhism and Chinese culture, offering insightful perspectives on religious practice and historical development. His scholarship delves into topics such as \u003cem\u003eBuddhist historiography\u003c\/em\u003e and the tangible influences of Buddhism on material culture in China.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect thoughtful analyses that illuminate the spiritual and cultural dimensions of Buddhism, making these titles essential for those interested in religion, history, and East Asian studies.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"buddhist-historiography-in-china-by-john-kieschnick-9780231205634","title":"Buddhist Historiography in China","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince the early days of Buddhism in China, monastics and laity alike have expressed a profound concern with the past. In voluminous historical works, they attempted to determine as precisely as possible the dates of events in the Buddha's life, seeking to iron out discrepancies in varying accounts and pinpoint when he delivered which sermons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBuddhist writers chronicled the history of the Dharma in China as well, compiling biographies of eminent monks and nuns and detailing the rise and decline in the religion's fortunes under various rulers. They searched for evidence of karma in the historical record and drew on prophecy to explain the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuddhist Historiography in China\u003c\/em\u003e by John Kieschnick provides an innovative, expansive account of how Chinese Buddhists have sought to understand their history through a Buddhist lens. Exploring a series of themes in mainstream Buddhist historiographical works from the fifth to the twentieth century, he looks not so much for what they reveal about the people and events they describe as for what they tell us about their compilers' understanding of history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKieschnick examines how Buddhist doctrines influenced the search for the underlying principles driving history, the significance of genealogy in Buddhist writing, and the transformation of Buddhist historiography in the twentieth century. This book casts new light on the intellectual history of Chinese Buddhism and on Buddhists' understanding of the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47430199443692,"sku":"9780231205634","price":66.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231205634.jpg?v=1774559418"},{"product_id":"the-impact-of-buddhism-on-chinese-material-culture-by-john-kieschnick-9780691096766","title":"The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the first century, when Buddhism entered China, the foreign religion shaped Chinese philosophy, beliefs, and ritual. At the same time, Buddhism had a profound effect on the material world of the Chinese. This wide-ranging study shows that Buddhism brought with it a vast array of objects, big and small—relics treasured as parts of the body of the Buddha, prayer beads, and monastic clothing—as well as new ideas about what objects could do and how they should be treated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKieschnick argues that even some everyday objects not ordinarily associated with Buddhism—bridges, tea, and the chair—on closer inspection turn out to have been intimately tied to Buddhist ideas and practices. Long after Buddhism ceased to be a major force in India, it continued to influence the development of material culture in China, as it does to the present day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt first glance, this seems surprising. Many Buddhist scriptures and thinkers rejected the material world or even denied its existence with great enthusiasm and sophistication. Others, however, from Buddhist philosophers to ordinary devotees, embraced objects as a means of expressing religious sentiments and doctrines. What was a sad sign of compromise and decline for some was seen as strength and versatility by others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYielding rich insights through its innovative analysis of particular types of objects, this briskly written book, \u003cem\u003eThe Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture\u003c\/em\u003e, is the first to systematically examine the ambivalent relationship, in the Chinese context, between Buddhism and material culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47599474671852,"sku":"9780691096766","price":130.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/221fe1d5ae06d08c01ee17e15b388667.jpg?v=1778022411"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/john-kieschnick.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}