The Presence of Peach Spring: Daoism, Ritual, and Locality (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series) - Hardcover

Meulenbeld, Mark R. E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674304837 ISBN 13: 9780674304833

Publisher: Harvard University Asia Center, 2026

Synopsis

The Presence of Peach Spring radically breaks with conventional interpretations of medieval luminary Tao Qian’s famous “Record of Peach Blossom Spring” by connecting the tale to its stated geographical location in northern Hunan Province (PRC) and focusing on the Daoist lore that surrounds it. Drawing on more than two decades of fieldwork, Mark R. E. Meulenbeld uncovers the presence of Peach Spring as a site with a history of more than fifteen hundred years, locally embedded within a complex network of ritual referents that define the landscape as inherently sacred. Rather than a primarily textual analysis, Meulenbeld offers a more historically grounded and environmentally situated interpretation that engages with the religious manifestations of Peach Spring: on domestic altars, through spirit-mediums, at Daoist institutions, and, ultimately, as a source of transcendence. Meulenbeld shows that the category of the sacred offers a crucial framework for understanding traditional texts, even if they do not immediately seem to belong to any religious sphere. When read in the context of its native region, the tale of Peach Spring affords readers access to a sacred site, sacred objects, and the enduring traditions of Daoist ritual that continue to maintain its presence within a sacred ecology.

About this title

About the Author

Mark R. E. Meulenbeld is Associate Professor in the School of Chinese at The University of Hong Kong.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Asia Center
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674304837
• ISBN 13: 9780674304833
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480