Precious Volumes: An Introduction to Chinese Sectarian Scriptures from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series)

Daniel L. Overmyer

ISBN 10: 067469838X / ISBN 13: 9780674698383

Published by Harvard University Press 1999-07-07, 1999

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 6666-WLY-9780674698383

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Precious Volumes: An Introduction to Chinese Sectarian Scriptures from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series)
• Publisher: Harvard University Press 1999-07-07
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 067469838X
• ISBN 13: 9780674698383
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

“Precious volumes,” or pao-chüan, were produced by popular sects in the Ming and early Qing dynasties. These scriptures were believed to have been divinely revealed to sect leaders and contain teachings and ritual instructions that provide valuable information about a lively and widespread religious tradition outside mainstream Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Largely neglected until now, they testify to the imagination and devotion of popular religious leaders.

This book, the most detailed and comprehensive study of pao-chüan in any language, studies 34 early examples of this literature in order to understand the origins and development of this textual tradition. Although the work focuses on content and structure, it also treats the social context of these works as well as their transmission and ritual use.

About the Author

Daniel L. Overmyer is Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of British Columbia and Professor of Religion at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.