“Ge Hong and the Formation of the Medieval Daoist Transcendent”
A Lecture by Professor Thomas Michael, Boston University
On March 23, the Program for Scripture and the Arts will present a lecture by Professor Thomas Michael: Ge Hong’s (283- 343) Shenxian Zhuan stands out as one of the most powerfully innovative and influential texts of the entire Daoist religion. This work successfully established the image of the Daoist transcendent that would remain popular even to the present day. Arguably the most radical effect of Ge Hong’s Shenxian Zhuan was that it brought the two traditions of Daoist sages and occult masters into the rubric of a shared classification. This presentation explores the ways in which the various hagiographies of the Shenxian Zhuan depict these two very different types of masters and the ways in which Ge Hong masterfully melded them into the single concept of the Daoist transcendent. Reception to follow in Room 202.
Location: BU College of Arts & Sciences, Room 313
Time/Date: March 23, 2011, 6pm
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