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From epistemology to the method: phenomenology of the body, qì cultivation ( qìgōng) and religious experiences in Chinese worlds
Author(s) -
Micollier Evelyne
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
anthropology of consciousness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 1556-3537
pISSN - 1053-4202
DOI - 10.1111/anoc.12125
Subject(s) - buddhism , phenomenology (philosophy) , ethnography , martial arts , sociology , alterity , ontology , anthropology , china , situated , epistemology , gender studies , aesthetics , religious studies , philosophy , theology , history , archaeology , artificial intelligence , computer science
Abstract At the intersections of social anthropology, philosophy, and Asian studies, my paper explores the body ecologic through a phenomenological frame in the context of Chinese culture engaging both theory and method. How can qì cultivation experiences transporting bodies and persons in movement, within the world and their “life‐world,” be interpreted through a phenomenology of perception? Based on ethnographic study data collected mainly in South China (Guangzhou) and in Taiwan (1990s–2000s), this exploration is situated within qìgōng experiences (training, cultivating and mastering the qì ). Anchored in martial, religious, and healing arts and their meanings , qìgōng’s myriad of forms and infinite variations invite journeys into religious Daoist and Buddhist practice, Chinese thought, and politico‐religious issues of past and present Chinese society. The qìgōng world, paths of knowledge transmission, healing horizons, claimed affiliations, and views of practitioners unveil an ontology and a cosmology grounded in religious (Daoist and Buddhist) lore.