Poet-Monks, The Invention of Buddhist Poetry in Late Medieval China

Author

Mazanec; Thomas J.

Year

2024

Publisher

Cornell University Press

Language

English

Pages

ISBN

978-1-50177-385-3

Link

Last Update

04-Sep-2024

Keywords

History ; Asian Studies ; Religion ; Language & Literature

Description

Shiseng (“poet-monk”), like any word, has a history. It emerged at a specific time and place. It is the result of myriad historical, political, and cultural forces that coalesced in southeastern China in the mid-eighth century, and its meaning shifted significantly over the following two centuries. It is best not to take it as a stable, transcendent category of literary actor.¹ Rather, it was a tool used for both the marginalization and self-justification of Buddhist monastics living during the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries who took the writing of poetry very seriously. The first three chapters of this book describe...