Christine Mollier

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant book on how Daoism and Buddhism cosied up to one another from the 3-9C in China. Mollier is a superb scholar and this work deserves the Stanislas Julien Prize for Scholarship in Asian Studies it was awarded. Mollier's meticulous studies include examples of plagiarism, forgery, evolution and influence as these two religions (one native and one foreign) vied for popularity and followers in medieval China. There is an excellent introduction, which introduces the difference between authentic and apocryphal Chinese Buddhist sutras and other basics. Individual chapters focus on the Heavenly Kitchen, the role of sorcerers and talismens, astronomy and medicine and are rich with examples and some very helpful illustrations (sometimes a picture is worth 1,000 words). Each case study is thoroughly presented together with the textual sources that are available... The Bibliography and Index are extensive and thus extremely helpful when researching specific topics. This is a work for anyone interested in Chinese religions, medieval Chinese history, and related topics. Not for the lay person, but for serious readers, scholars, museum docents and the like.… (más)

This book explores the interaction of Chinese Buddhism with Taoism, particularly the mutual borrowing of scriptures: Buddhist takeover of Taoist texts and Taoist take over of Buddhist texts. Notably the adaptation by the Taoists of the boddhisattva of compassion chapter of the Lotus Sutra. A shared theme that intrigued me was the cult of the Big Dipper. The illustrations needed a little more explanation, and (not surprisingly given the cost involved) the illustrations needed to be of higher quality.… (más)