EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 9 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 99 culture than it was in its original culture of the Indian subcontinent. The case of Christianity differs from Buddhism in that Christianity brought, and brings, with it a more comprehensive cultural package than did Indian Buddhism. Based on the author’s previous investigations of the ways in which current Taiwanese Christian practice is adapting semi-Confucian practices regarding departed ancestors, this paper discusses the theological issues of how these Confucianized practices are challenging and modifying traditional Western Christian concepts of the soul and the afterlife, and how these challenges are forming new and hybridized theological constructs. Berezkin Rostislav (Fudan University) A Popular Buddhist Story at the Ming Court: a Study of Narrative Murals of Dahui Temple in Beijing (Early 16th Century) Key words: Buddhist art, Buddhist narratives, oral literature, eunuchs, Ming dynasty This paper discusses connections between religious art and Buddhist vernacular narratives that circu- lated at the imperial court during the middle period of the Ming dynasty, with a focus on the case study of murals of the Hall of Great Mercy (Dabeidian 大悲殿 ) of the Great Wisdom monastery (Dahuisi 大 慧寺 ) in a western suburb of Beijing, built by the eunuch Zhang Xiong ca. 1513. This is the only sur- viving hall of this Buddhist complex, dedicated to Bodhisattva Guanyin and decorated with statues and murals of fine quality. Though it was already studied by the Chinese scholars, they mainly concentrated on the study of statues rather than murals. These murals depict the story of the Guanyin’s reincarnation as Princess Miaoshan, who dedicated her life to spiritual cultivation and attained enlightenment. I argue that their subject was borrowed from the Precious Scroll of Xiangshan (Xiangshan Baojuan 香山寶 卷 ), a vernacular text intended for oral presentation, representing a type of Buddhist proselytizing for laity. I demonstrate close similarity between details of murals and this written text (its earliest extant recension that has been almost unknown to the scholars of Chinese literature and that I have obtained recently). Scattered historical references also testify that this baojuan text was transmitted at the Ming court in that period. This study sheds a new light on the use and ways of transmission of vernacular Buddhist stories in the milieu of inner palace and on the connections between eunuchs and Buddhist artifacts in the Ming period. I argue that the Miaoshan story depicted on the murals of the Hall of Great Mercy in Dahui had to do with personal religious pursuit of the eunuch who commissioned it. My case study demonstrates that vernacular Buddhist narratives in both textual and pictorial forms circulated among inhabitants of the inner court (palace women and eunuchs) of the Ming dynasty and constituted a part of their religious culture. Dunajevs Georgijs (University of Latvia / SOAS University of London) Self-Mutilation and Miraculous Healing in Chinese Sources: A Cross-Cultural Motif Key words: body, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, magic, folklore Accounts of self-mutilation and miraculous healing have persistently appeared in Chinese litera- ture —both fiction and non-fiction works — throughout ages. While largely featuring in numerous Buddhist tales of the extraordinary, such as those recounting the wondrous acts performed by the likes of Fotudeng and Fazang, the motif is by no means limited to a Buddhist context. Being either Central Asian or Indian in origin, it can also be found in descriptions of Zoroastrian rituals, street magic performances and is not entirely unrelated to the practices of Daoist fangshi. It has become popular enough to leave a lasting legacy on Chinese folklore not only appearing in popular novels like Journey to the West, but also surviving in the form of carnival entertainment in rural Shaanxi. In this paper I aim to cover different variations of the motif found throughout the accounts, namely: Belly-slitting or evisceration, severing of the limbs and other body parts and self-injury inflicted with sharp objects. The common theme of these accounts is the instantaneous or extremely rapid healing of the wounds,