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Dreaming and Self-Cultivation in China, 300 BCE–800 CE

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Dreaming and Self-Cultivation in China, 300 BCE–800 CE by Robert Ford Campany explores the cultural and historical significance of dreams and self-cultivation in China's philosophies and religious traditions during this period. It examines how dreams were interpreted and used as tools for self-improvement and spiritual development, highlighting the interplay between personal experiences and broader philosophical ideas. The book offers insights into the role of dreams in shaping personal identities and societal values in ancient China.
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Format: Hardback
$11899
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you are fascinated by ancient Chinese culture and the historical interplay between dreaming and self-cultivation practices. It offers insights into how dreams were understood and used as tools for personal and spiritual growth in early Chinese philosophy and religion. Perfect for history enthusiasts interested in exploring unique cultural perspectives and practices from 300 BCE to 800 CE.

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In Dreaming and Self-Cultivation in China, 300 BCE–800 CE, Robert Ford Campany examines how dreaming was addressed in texts produced and circulated by practitioners of Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and other self-cultivational disciplines. He uncovers paradigms by which dreams are viewed and shows how they underlay diverse religious texts.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Practitioners of any of the paths of self-cultivation available in ancient and medieval China engaged daily in practices meant to bring their bodies and minds under firm control. They took on regimens to discipline their comportment, speech, breathing, diet, senses, desires, sexuality, and even their dreams. Yet, compared with waking life, dreams are incongruous and unpredictable—in a word, strange. How, then, did these regimes of self-fashioning grapple with dreaming, a lawless yet ubiquitous domain of individual experience?

In Dreaming and Self-Cultivation in China, 300 BCE–800 CE, Robert Ford Campany examines how dreaming was addressed in texts produced and circulated by practitioners of Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and other self-cultivational disciplines. Working through a wide range of scriptures, essays, treatises, biographies, commentaries, fictive dialogues, diary records, interpretive keys, and ritual instructions, Campany uncovers a set of discrete paradigms by which dreams were viewed and responded to by practitioners.

He shows how these paradigms underlay texts of diverse religious and ideological persuasions that are usually treated in mutual isolation. The result is a provocative meditation on the relationship between individuals' nocturnal experiences and one culture's persistent attempts to discipline, interpret, and incorporate them into waking practice.

Series: Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674293724

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 18 April 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 590g

Pages: 326

About the Author

Robert Ford Campany is Professor of Asian and Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University. He is author of Signs from the Unseen Realm: Buddhist Miracle Tales from Early Medieval China and Making Transcendents: Ascetics and Social Memory in Early Medieval China.

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