Labelling of religious culture

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we need words to talk about things words are models◦ words are determined by the group within which we use

them (per discourse)◦ words are approximations

(some) differences academic vocabulary, regular language and labels◦ academic vocabulary=> definitions made explicit and

negotiated explicitly◦ regular language=> definitions implicit and negotiated

through actual usage◦ labels=> usually pejorative meanings attached to

vocabulary which one is not allowed to alter or negotiate

objectivity?

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Boring preliminaries

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filter

observations, fears, ideas,

etc.

filter

names

gender, age, social

group, political views,

custom, etc.

analytical theory,

questions, etc.

labelsacademic terms

definition by use

definition fixed

definition negotiable

Implicit meaning explicit meaning

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assumption of free academic intercourse◦ Karl Popper ◦ only partially true (teacher-pupil networks, veneration of older teachers,

control over publishing venues, etc.) label 標籤/簽

◦ “blacks”, “niggers” (vs Afro-American)◦ Miao 苗 minority ~ proper name◦ Yellow Danger◦ feudal superstitions 封建迷信

stereotype 刻板印象◦ Dutch & Scots are misers, all Wenzhounese are good tradespeople◦ all Chinese eat rice◦ ethnic minorities more romantic

autonym 自稱◦ 中國：中華人民共和國

appellation ◦ China

does it matter?◦ pejorative language does not belong in academic discourse◦ terms & names organize data, labels too, but incorrectly

talking about terms & names

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we always need to combine detailed historical research with attention to the growing of discourses

deconstructing labels is not a popular task! source analysis

◦ who is talking/judging◦ layers of translation (from 白 / 方言 / 口語 to 文 )

who is talking

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The White Lotus teachings白蓮教

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traditional characteristics of the so-called White Lotus Teachings◦ start rebellions◦ millenarian and messianic beliefs◦ rumours◦ magical techniques◦ dubious relationships between male and female ( 男女混雜，

夜聚曉散 ) traditional “historical” development of the White

Lotus teachings◦ start southern Song Mao Ziyuan 茅子元 (1086-1166)◦ late Yuan rebellions 韓山童 , 明王 , 彌勒◦ late Ming rebellion 徐鴻儒◦ mid-Qing rebellions◦ new religious movements

the object of study

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永樂 18 年： 唐賽兒

general stereotype

White Lotus rebellion around 1800

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my hypothesis◦ WLT not an analytical term and not an autonym◦ label used by officials and literati

test (falsification)◦ White Lotus movement ( 白蓮社 /會 ) of Southern Song

and Yuan periods◦ late Yuan rebellions (background 韓山童 rebellion in

particular)◦ when and why does term White Lotus Teachings ( 白蓮

教 ) become a label◦ autonyms of new religious movements◦ what kind of new phenomena do we see after

recognizing the labelling process

another approach (no longer so new)

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founder: Mao Ziyuan 茅子元 (1086-1166), near Lake Dianshan 澱山湖

spread during Song and Yuan (see Map) autonym: White Lotus Idealtype (Max Weber ‘s Idealtypus):

◦ lay believer central◦ private residences as halls 堂◦ married state, children, inherited halls◦ religious affiliation characters 普 覺 妙 道◦ titles 道人◦ charitable activities (bridge building & road, free tea

and hot water, free rituals, etc.)◦ daily rituals to recite name of Amitabha, sutra’s,

worship Guanyin◦ publication project of Buddhist canon◦ self-awareness as a regional movement◦ apologetic activities

the white lotus movement

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Pudu 普度 1255-1330◦ White Lotus movement family background◦ prominent monk, directly connected to then White Lotus movement◦ polemist together with the Wanshou Hall 萬壽堂 in Jianyang at the time of

1310 temporary) prohibition Precious Mirror of the Lotus tradition from Mount Lu 廬山蓮宗寳鑑

◦ in defense of the White Lotus movement as a general Pure Land movement◦ deals explicitly with limited mistakes in his own tradition◦ one chapter deals with all distortions of Pure Land believes, e.g.

visions just before dying (attested in Pure Land and Daoist texts) prognostication through twitching of body (attested in Dunhuang texts) popular version of Huiyuan 慧遠 ‘ s biography (attested in Transformation Text

from Dunhuang) inner cultivation techniques ([mis]understood as sexual) (attested in Daoist texts) out of circa 20 sections one brief and unclear reference to Maitreya beliefs

editions◦ 1310, 1429 reprint (still includes “White”)◦ Jiaxing canon reprint (drops “White”)

Pudu and his apologetical account

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crucial rebellion of the Red Turbans in Huai region◦ original leader Han Shantong 韓山童◦ 1351 辛卯 prophecy: 天下大亂，彌勒下生，明王出世◦ In 1355 his son declared 小明王◦ use military force, assistance by “foreign” forces◦ no known self-appellation or autonym=> not an organized

movement◦ outside appellations (~labels?): Red Turbans 紅巾 , Incense

Army 香軍◦ Han’s grandfather had been banished for 白蓮會 , no further

context known rebellion Xu Shouhui 徐壽煇

◦ some followers carried religious affiliation character 普 and title 道人 => link White Lotus movement

◦ in separate mentions reference to Maitreyism

late Yuan rebellions

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the sources of the Red Turban prophecy◦ tradition of the Classic /Amulets of the Five Lords 五公經 /符◦ elements current at the time: belief in Luo Ping 羅平 ,

catastrophes in yin or mao 寅卯 year, Luminous King, demonological view of end of times, aid by foreign army

◦ widely attested oral and textual traditions since late 9th until the late 20th century

the White Lotus connections, if any:◦ grandfather (not Han himself!), atypical mention 白蓮會◦ other Yuan rebellion may have had White Lotus movement

members ≠ White Lotus movement as a whole changed◦ White Lotus connection of the Red Turbans first made in late

sixteenth century!

Yuan rebellions reflecting the White Lotus movement?

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incorporation name White Lotus into Ming law on religious activities◦ 凡師巫假降邪神書符咒水扶鸞禱聖自號端公太保師婆及妄稱彌勒佛白蓮社明尊

教白雲宗等會一應左道亂正之術或隱藏圖像燒香集眾夜聚曉散佯修善事扇惑人民。。。

◦ White Lotus Society implicitly distinguished from Maitreya worship and two other types of movement/group that were now prohibited

◦ Ming law systematizes individual prohibitions from the preceding Yuan period

White Lotus movement (i.e. the Pure Land movement) still exists, invisible after ca. 1400

Þ not yet a label, just another prohibition of the PL movementÞ very broad, and inapplicable law: true impact unclearÞ negative connotation White Lotus in widely available

document

systematisation of prohibition

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Local histories: Red Turban rebellion (1355) relabelled White Lotus rebellion,

connected a.o. to Zhang Jue’s Great Peace rebellion of 184 Tang Saier 唐賽兒 (early 15th century) relabelled White Lotus TeachingsVeritable Records: Li Fuda 李福達 (early 16th century) relabelled in 1560sPrivate accounts Xu Daoren 許道人 (1454) relabelled White Lotus by the late sixteenth

centuryAnd so forth (migrants to the Mongols accused of magic, rumours of flying objects, and so forth)

=>crucial points are: similar dates of relabeling, not so of the much earlier events diversity of religious phenomena 　 　 　 irrespective of sources: officials and elites

from autonym to label (16th century)

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groups explicitly rejecting the term White Lotus Teachings◦ proclamation by people involved in the rebellion led by Xu

Hongru 徐鴻儒◦ Proclamation by people involved in the so-called White Lotus

rebellion (1796-1804) examples of autonyms

◦ late 16th century movement centred on Zhejiang/ Fujian/Jiangxi: 無爲教，大乘教，龍華會 and others

◦ Wang Sen movement (origin Xu Hongru) (network survived early 17th-early 19th century): 大乘教 (autonym), 焚香教 /聞香教 (labels)

◦ Unity Way 一貫道 caveat:

◦ same autonym not necessarily same (type of) group◦ different autonym maybe same (type of) group

autonyms from late Ming onwards

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one label with numerous stereotypes◦ WLT causes violent rebellions (no investigation

real/deeper causes)◦ messianic/millenarian beliefs lead to violence/rebellion

(manifestly untrue: only one specific demonological messianic tradition often connected to violent action)

◦ high position of women (usually fictive: tendency to invent female roles with magical abilities, e.g. Red Lantern women from Boxer rebellion!)

◦ ascribing magical techniques (karma mirror, paper cuttings)

◦ 男女混雜 & 夜聚曉散 (Tang origins!) always search for confirmation of stereotype

fashioning of White Lotus narrative

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“White Lotus Teachings” in this sense is an elite phenomenon from fear and misunderstanding◦ proclamations (Xu Hongru and WLT rebellions)

show some non-elite awareness of the stereotype◦ phenomena labelled as such not necessarily

“popular”, if anything: local!◦ stereotypes largely elite-creations

I leave applying these notions to the modern age to the students themselves

elite phenomenon

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Elder Brothers Gathering & secret

societies

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term itself curious◦ usual trsl. Elder Brothers Society◦ real meaning: Elder Brothers and Elders Gathering◦ no connection to anything with the gangs labelled as such◦ refers to gangs in Hunan/Hubei regions late 19th -early 20th

century maybe just a sound?

◦ sounds similar to ethnonym *Klau; Gelao 犵狫 ◦ sounds similar to 咕嚕 bandits Sichuan

label to point to local gangs that seemed to cooperate beyond their locality

explanation for 1891 Lower Yangzi riots ~ Sichuanese paoge 袍哥 eventually reappropriated as positive nickname

哥老会

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19th century term introduced to our field by G. Schlegel and adopted by W.

Stanton Stanton plagiarized by Hirayama Shū

◦ translated in Chinese reprinted in 1911 平山周◦ seen as reliable source

supposed revolutionary experience contacts Sun Yatsen 孫中山 very little real knowledge

◦ introduced Western term “secret societies” to Chinese discourse label:

◦ lack of clear criteria for applying the term◦ suggests more structure than there really is◦ suggest secrecy, conspiracy

secret societies秘密結社

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◦ “revolutionaries” late 19th and early 20th century tended to overestimate potential help

◦ pasted on the White Lotus narrative by modern scholarship since the 1920s

◦ inherited by modern labels such as xiejiao etc.

confusion

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shaman

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only brief at this point, to make a point for later◦ word shaman potential analytical term, usually applied

without reflexion or definition=> label◦ 巫 also used as a label

religious specialists one disapproves of presumed to be “popular” different types of mediators between human and extrahuman

world usually excludes spirit writing in Chinese context (not “popular”)

distinction with medium◦ shaman as analytical term: keeps his/her and journeys to

other world◦ medium as analytical term: vessel for extrahuman being◦ Chinese terms may vary, forms may vary

shaman