I am a poet and an independent researcher with an educational background in Anthropology and Asian Studies from Indiana University and the University of New Mexico. I have various research interests involving the socio-cultural semiotics of East, South, and Southeast Asia. I have been living and teaching in China since 2007.
The novel Beiyou ji 北游記 may be read as a polemic valuing an association of bodily perfection wit... more The novel Beiyou ji 北游記 may be read as a polemic valuing an association of bodily perfection with mountains. That value association is presented in contrast to a negative value association of desires with trees, fruit, women, and babies. The austerities performed on mountains lead one in a return to an undivided True Form (zhenxing 真形), while the desire for flowering trees, fruit, women, and children fragments the integrity of one into the illusions of many. In the first part of this study I locate this value structure in the socio-historical context of the ideological frames of late Ming commercial publishers from Jianyang 建陽. I then turn my focus to the specific semiotic construction in the novel itself. First, I explore how this contrast of values relates to concepts of internal and external bodies. That discussion then leads me to a detailed analysis of concepts that relate Breath Force (qi 氣) to Internal Alchemy (neidan 內丹) throughout the novel. In that discussion I analyze the alchemical processes that are present in the illustrations and textual narrative after the protagonist's ascension. Those processes lead form either forward towards division and mutation (Deviant or Dark Breath: xieqi 邪氣; heiqi 黑氣), or regroup form into a perfected, unified whole (Proper or True Breath: zhengqi 正氣; zhenqi 真氣). In conclusion, I demonstrate how the dynamic and resolution of these conflicting processes structure the novel's narrative in stages of cultivation and refinement.
Comprehensive catalog of books published in Jianyang, Fujian in the Late Ming. Includes short des... more Comprehensive catalog of books published in Jianyang, Fujian in the Late Ming. Includes short descriptions, sources, and locations of facsimilies.
The Journal of Daoist Studies (JDS) is an annual publication dedicated to the scholarly explorati... more The Journal of Daoist Studies (JDS) is an annual publication dedicated to the scholarly exploration of Daoism in all its different dimensions. Each issue has three main parts: Academic Articles on history, philosophy, art, society, and more (6-8,000 words); Forum on Contemporary Practice on issues of current activities both in China and other parts of the world (800-1,200 words); and News of the Field, presenting publications, dissertations, conferences, and websites.
The novel Beiyou ji 北游記 may be read as a polemic valuing an association of bodily perfection wit... more The novel Beiyou ji 北游記 may be read as a polemic valuing an association of bodily perfection with mountains. That value association is presented in contrast to a negative value association of desires with trees, fruit, women, and babies. The austerities performed on mountains lead one in a return to an undivided True Form (zhenxing 真形), while the desire for flowering trees, fruit, women, and children fragments the integrity of one into the illusions of many. In the first part of this study I locate this value structure in the socio-historical context of the ideological frames of late Ming commercial publishers from Jianyang 建陽. I then turn my focus to the specific semiotic construction in the novel itself. First, I explore how this contrast of values relates to concepts of internal and external bodies. That discussion then leads me to a detailed analysis of concepts that relate Breath Force (qi 氣) to Internal Alchemy (neidan 內丹) throughout the novel. In that discussion I analyze the alchemical processes that are present in the illustrations and textual narrative after the protagonist's ascension. Those processes lead form either forward towards division and mutation (Deviant or Dark Breath: xieqi 邪氣; heiqi 黑氣), or regroup form into a perfected, unified whole (Proper or True Breath: zhengqi 正氣; zhenqi 真氣). In conclusion, I demonstrate how the dynamic and resolution of these conflicting processes structure the novel's narrative in stages of cultivation and refinement.
Comprehensive catalog of books published in Jianyang, Fujian in the Late Ming. Includes short des... more Comprehensive catalog of books published in Jianyang, Fujian in the Late Ming. Includes short descriptions, sources, and locations of facsimilies.
The Journal of Daoist Studies (JDS) is an annual publication dedicated to the scholarly explorati... more The Journal of Daoist Studies (JDS) is an annual publication dedicated to the scholarly exploration of Daoism in all its different dimensions. Each issue has three main parts: Academic Articles on history, philosophy, art, society, and more (6-8,000 words); Forum on Contemporary Practice on issues of current activities both in China and other parts of the world (800-1,200 words); and News of the Field, presenting publications, dissertations, conferences, and websites.
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