Prof. Dr. John Kieschnick
The Monk, the Poet, the Bureaucrat, and the Anarchist: Vegetarian Discourse in Republican-era China
Location: KWZ. 0.606
Time: 02. April. (Thursday) 16:00-18:00 CET
Abstract
In the first half of the twentieth century, leading monks were eager to harness new developments to further the longstanding Chinese Buddhist cause of vegetarianism. The prominent monk Yinguang 印光 (1862–1940) wrote essays promoting vegan soap and, somewhat surprisingly, MSG. Others championed the new urban vegetarian restaurants. In addition to drawing on traditional doctrines in established ways, Buddhists also adapted teachings of karma for the modern era of nationalism. However, Buddhists were not the only proponents of vegetarianism in Republican-era China. In this talk, I place Buddhist vegetarian activism in the context of the vibrant discourse on politics, culture, and health in the early twentieth century through four figures: Yinguang, Lü Bicheng 呂碧城 (1883–1943), Huang Yanpei 黃炎培 (1878–1965), and Li Shizeng 李石曾 (1881–1973), each with different motivations for promoting vegetarianism and different relationships to Buddhism.
In the first half of the twentieth century, leading monks were eager to harness new developments to further the longstanding Chinese Buddhist cause of vegetarianism. The prominent monk Yinguang 印光 (1862–1940) wrote essays promoting vegan soap and, somewhat surprisingly, MSG. Others championed the new urban vegetarian restaurants. In addition to drawing on traditional doctrines in established ways, Buddhists also adapted teachings of karma for the modern era of nationalism. However, Buddhists were not the only proponents of vegetarianism in Republican-era China. In this talk, I place Buddhist vegetarian activism in the context of the vibrant discourse on politics, culture, and health in the early twentieth century through four figures: Yinguang, Lü Bicheng 呂碧城 (1883–1943), Huang Yanpei 黃炎培 (1878–1965), and Li Shizeng 李石曾 (1881–1973), each with different motivations for promoting vegetarianism and different relationships to Buddhism.
Short Bio
John Kieschnick is The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Professor of Buddhist Studies and co-director of the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford. He specializes in Chinese Buddhism, with particular emphasis on its cultural history. He is the author of The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval China, The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture, and Buddhist Historiography in China. In connection with a regular graduate seminar, he has compiled a primer for reading Buddhist texts in Chinese. He is currently completing a translation of the Biographies of Eminent Monks Compiled during the Song Dynasty and is writing a general history of Chinese vegetarianism.
John Kieschnick is The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Professor of Buddhist Studies and co-director of the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford. He specializes in Chinese Buddhism, with particular emphasis on its cultural history. He is the author of The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval China, The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture, and Buddhist Historiography in China. In connection with a regular graduate seminar, he has compiled a primer for reading Buddhist texts in Chinese. He is currently completing a translation of the Biographies of Eminent Monks Compiled during the Song Dynasty and is writing a general history of Chinese vegetarianism.
Ph.D., Stanford University (1996); B.A., University of California at Berkeley (1986).