Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Mysticism and Kingship in China: The Heart of Chinese Wisdom

Mysticism and Kingship in China: The Heart of Chinese Wisdom

Ching, Julia
Clayton, John
Collins, Steven

Paperback

Series: Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions, Book 11

Religion General Chinese HistoryGeneral Sociology

ISBN10: 0521468280
ISBN13: 9780521468282
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: Nov 13 1997
Pages: 328
Weight: 0.99
Height: 0.66 Width: 6.01 Depth: 8.96
Language: English
In this book, Julia Ching offers a survey of over 4,000 years of Chinese civilization through an examination of the relationship between kingship and mysticism. She investigates the sage-king myth and ideal, arguing that institutions of kingship were bound up with cultivation of trance states and communication with spirits. Over time, the sage-king myth became a model for the actual ruler. As a paradigm, it was also appropriated by private individuals who strove for wisdom without becoming kings. As the Confucian tradition interacted with the Taoist and the Buddhist, the religious character of spiritual and mystical cultivation became more pronounced. But the sage-king idea continued, promoting expectations of benevolent despotism rather than democratization in Chinese civilization.

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