New Approach to Buddhist Studies: on Liturgical Buddhism in Southeast China
Speaker: Prof. Tam Wai Lun (Department of Cultural & Religious Studies)
| Date: | 23 Novebmer 2012 (Fri) |
| Time: | 4:00pm |
| Venue: | Activities Room, 2/F, Art Museum East Wing, Institute of Chinese Studies, CUHK |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | There is an often neglected aspect of Buddhism which we may call liturgical Buddhism or popular Buddhism in China. An important example is Pu’an Buddhism which bases itself upon the Chan/Zen monk Pu’an (1115-1169) of the Cihua monastery in Jiangxi province during the Song Dynasty. A ritual tradition was formed in the late imperial period claiming Pu’an to be the founder. This calls for a re-evaluation of Chan/Zen Buddhism as an elitist, anti-ritualistic and iconoclastic teaching. The Pu’an Buddhist ritual specialists are ‘married’ village monks whom we may call ‘hearth-dwelling’ monks” or ‘huozhai seng’ in Chinese. This concept is based upon a famous passage from the Lotus Sūtra and was widely used in the anecdotal novels during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is a neglected phenomenon of Buddhism in the current predominant textual/ philological and historical studies of Buddhism in China. Our studies on local ritual traditions help to show that Buddhism has played a major role in shaping local ritual traditions. In many southeast Chinese villages, Pu’an Buddhism works together with Lüshan Taoism to form a local Buddho-Taoist ritual tradition. |
For the powerpoint presentation of the talk, please click here.
Chinese Heroes Never Die: The Xu Fu Legend in Tokugawa Intellectual History
Speaker: Prof. Benjamin Ng (Department of Japanese Studies)
| Date: | 9 November 2012 (Fri) |
| Time: | 4:00pm |
| Venue: | G24, Fung King Hey Building, CUHK |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Japan has become known as the last refuge for legendary figures from abroad. Some Japanese believe that Jesus, Moses, Bodhidharma (Daruma), Xu Fu, Yang Guifei, and Wu Taibo found their second lives in Japan. Texts and relics about these legends were created in different parts of Japan. The story of Xu Fu has stimulated and fed the imagination of artists and discussions among scholars in both China and Japan. He has become a metaphor in Sino-Japanese intellectual and cultural exchange, used by Chinese and Japanese intellectuals to discuss their bilateral cultural ties. Three differing accounts of Xu Fu are found in Tokugawa writings—Xu Fu as a transmitter of Chinese culture to Japan, Xu Fu as a political refugee to Japan, and Xu Fu as “the other”. To a certain extent, these accounts represent different views of Sino-Japanese cultural relations among Tokugawa intellectuals. Through a textual analysis of Tokugawa writings about Xu Fu, the talk aims to examine how the Tokugawa intellectuals overcame the dilemma of accepting Chinese culture without compromising their national and cultural identity. |
For the powerpoint presentation of the talk, please click here.
The Life of Pi: Incommensurability in Shakespeare's play ‘Measure for Measure
Speaker: Prof. Simon Haines (Department of English)
| Date: | 19 October 2012 (Fri) |
| Time: | 4:00pm |
| Venue: | G24, Fung King Hey Building, CUHK |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The mathematical symbol “pi” is used to express a geometric relationship that cannot otherwise be expressed. The Oxford English Dictionary calls pi “the incommensurable quantity”. “Incommensurability” refers to things which have no common unit of measurement and so are hard to compare. This talk began by considering some influential accounts of incommensurability in science and ethics. It then turns to one Shakespeare play which seems to be all about moral measuring. A corrupt politician tries to seduce a novice nun: potentially a tragic situation, with a central values clash between Christian chastity and corrupt power. But the ruler of the state is actually controlling all the action, so the tragedy can’t happen. The result is that we actually feel cheated of the true values clash we expect from all tragedy. This seems to suggest that we actually need values clashes (as in tragedy) in order to know that we have values at all. |
For the presentation material of the talk, please click here (Summary, Quote).
Understanding Sign Languages and Deaf Communities
Speaker: Prof. Felix Sze (Department of Linguistics & Modern Languages)
| Date: | 5 October 2012 (Fri) |
| Time: | 4:00pm |
| Venue: | G24, Fung King Hey Building, CUHK |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Studies of sign languages started in 1960s in the United States and gradually flourished around the globe. Five decades of fruitful research findings have not only unraveled the linguistic properties of sign languages in parallel with spoken languages, but also raised the social status of sign languages to the benefit of the Deaf Communities, particularly in the education sector. This talk began with some common misconceptions about the Deaf communities and sign languages. This is followed by a comparison of sign languages and spoken languages. It shown that, despite some modality-specific characteristics, sign languages in fact exhibit striking similarities to spoken languages in their linguistic organization. This talk ended with a discussion of why sign languages are so important to the Deaf Communities, and how early exposure to sign languages can benefit the cognitive and linguistic development of deaf children. |
For the powerpoint presentation of the talk, please click here
For those who would like to review the video archive of the talk, please contact the Faculty Office at 3943 7107.