Abstract
Abstract This article explores an understudied aspect of the influential Quanzhen Daoist movement in thirteenth-century North China under Mongol rule: installing genealogical stelae as a critical mechanism in lineage making. It does so through a case study of two parallel genealogical stelae produced by a local Daoist community in 1265 for its male and female monastics. The article makes two arguments, one historical and the other methodological. With respect to the historical argument, it demonstrates how genealogical stelae not only reified Quanzhen lineage-making but also projected hereditary political power and reinforced a troubling discourse on women's subservience within religious institutions. Regarding the methodological argument, it highlights the importance of situating epigraphic narratives in the material, visual, and spatial contexts in which they were produced and represented. Detailed attention to all the dimensions of stelae allows us to discover surprisingly rich information stored in and communicated by them.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call