Neue Publikation: "Religious Culture and Violence in Traditional China" von Barend ter Haar

14. Mai 2019, von AAI Webmaster

Foto: Cambridge University Press

Wie bereits in seiner Antrittsvorlesung am 25. April 2019 angekündigt, ist nun das neue Buch von Barend ter Haar zu Religion und Gewalt im traditionellen China erschienen. Es kann bis 27. Mai 2019 umsonst auf der Seite des Verlags heruntergeladen werden. 

Zum Inhalt des Buches: 

The basis of Chinese religious culture, and with that many aspects of daily life, was the threat and fear of demonic attacks. These were inherently violent and could only be counteracted by violence as well - even if this reactive violence was masked by euphemisms such as execution, expulsion, exorcisms and so on. At the same time, violence was a crucial dimension of the maintenance of norms and values, for instance in sworn agreements or in beliefs about underworld punishment. Violence was also an essential aspect of expressing respect through sacrificial gifts of meat (and in an earlier stage of Chinese culture also human flesh) and through a culture of auto-mutilation and ritual suicide. At the same time, conventional indigenous terms for violence such as bao 暴 were not used for most of these practices since they were not experienced as such, but rather justified as positive uses of physical force.