Daoist Modern: Innovation, Lay Practice, and the Community of Inner Alchemy in Republican Shanghai

by Liu Xun

This book explores the Daoist encounter with modernity through the activities of Chen Yingning (1880-1969), a famous lay Daoist master, and his group in early twentieth-century Shanghai. In contrast to the usual narrative of Daoist decay, with its focus on monastic decline, clerical corruption, and popular superstitions, this study tells a story of Daoist resilience, reinvigoration, and revival. Between the 1920s and 1940s, Chen led a group of urban...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674033094
• ISBN13: 9780674033092
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.2"