Finding the Appropriate Fit: An Interdisciplinary Rereading of Daoist Nuns in Hearing Zither in Bamboo Dock

This study offers an interdisciplinary reading of one particular Yuan drama Hearing Zither in Bamboo Dock. After comparing the Confucian notion of female chastity, the Quanzhen Daoism tradition, as well as the unity of the three teachings in the drama with its historical counterparts, I argue that as Confucianism and Daoism both share the idea of moral and spiritual perfectibility, when facing a moral dilemma either as laymen or Daoists, the females during the Yuan are relatively free to take refuge in either religion. These effortless conversion and secularization reflect the inclusive atmosphere of the society towards religion, which became one of the accelerators for the development of Daoism, especially Quanzhen Daoism. However, their returning to lay life at the end implies that guarding their female chastity is the ultimate driving force. Therefore, when the dilemma gets resolved, they would unhesitatingly or “unconsciously” return to the world that is primarily dominated by the Neo-Confucianism ideology.

Author

• Zou, Yuanyuan

Language

• en

Keyword

• Religion
• Female Chastity
• Quanzhen Daoism
• Yuan drama
• Neo-Confucianism
• The Unity of Three Teachings

Date created

• 2020

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Chinese Language & Culture

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Chen, Liana
• Kang, Xiaofei

Committee Member(s)

• Dong, Hongyuan

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/1v53jx796