Divination and the Strange in Pre- and Early Modern East Asia and Europe
Convenor: Sophia Katz
October 27-28, 2015
Records describing events perceived as anomalies (occurrence of monsters, strange births, bodily deformities, gender transformations, demonic possessions, encounters with ghosts and spirits) appear in both East Asian and European written sources. In China, for example, testimonies regarding such strange phenomena were often included in official histories, leading to the development of a special literary genre, known as zhiguai 志怪 (records of the strange). Yet, these materials typically have been treated by scholars as amusing anecdotes that gave expression to the literary brilliance of their authors. Consequently, scholarly attention has focused primarily on the literary aspects of these records, and sometimes on the social implications of the described events, while the realms of prediction, divination, and fate have remained in the shadows. This workshop will assess “the strange” in relation to divinatory practices and their corresponding worldviews, and thereby provide new perspectives on the customs and beliefs common in pre- and early modern East Asia and Europe.
Programme
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
| 9:30 a.m. | Welcome Address Prof. Michael Lackner (Director, IKGF Erlangen) |
| 9:45 a.m. | Introduction Dr. Sophia Katz (Tel-Hai College) |
|
Panel 1: Monsters, Portents and Prodigies in Pre-Modern East Asia and Medieval Europe |
|
| 10:00 a.m. | Mi'am Ci: Exploring the Strange, the Grotesque, and the Wondrous
in the Land of Snows
Prof. Donatella Rossi (Sapienza University of Rome) Discussant: Prof. Fabrizio Pregadio (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) |
| 10:35 a.m. | The Man-Bird Mountain: Writing, Revelation, and Winged Beings
in Early China
Prof. Fabrizio Pregadio (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) Discussant: Dr. Burchard J. Mansvelt Beck (Leiden University) |
| 11:10 a.m. | Coffee Break |
| 11:25 a.m. | Prodigies and Divination in Classical and Medieval Western
Europe
Prof. Stefano Rapisarda (University of Catania) Discussant: Dr. Hans-Christian Lehner (IKGF Erlangen) |
| 12:00 p.m. | Historiographical Handling of Monstrous Births in the European
High Middle Ages
Dr. Hans-Christian Lehner (IKGF Erlangen) Discussant: Prof. Stefano Rapisarda (University of Catania) |
| 12:35 p.m. | Round Table 1 |
| 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
|
Panel 2: Divination, Strangeness and Literati in East Asia |
|
| 2:30 p.m. | Demon Hunters and Performers of Miracles: Common Ground
Between the So-called Confucians, Buddhists, and Daoists in Early
Medieval China
Dr. Zhao Lu (IKGF Erlangen) Discussant: Dr. Esther-Maria Guggenmos (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) |
| 3:05 p.m. | Divination and the Strange in the Liaozhai zhiyi
Dr. Sophia Katz (Tel-Hai College) Discussant: Dr.Vladimir Glomb (Charles University in Prague) |
| 3:40 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 3:55 p.m. | Laughing Literati and Fortune-Telling Confucians: Stories about
Prognostication in Ŏu yadam
Dr. Vladimir Glomb (Charles University in Prague) Discussant: Prof. Donatella Rossi (Sapienza University of Rome) |
| 4:30 p.m. | Taming the Demonic: Emergence of a Modern Discourse on the
Uncanny in Japan
Prof. Faye Kleeman (University of Colorado) Discussant: Prof. Tze-ki Hon (State University of New York at Geneseo) |
| 5:05 p.m. | Round Table 2 |
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
|
Panel 3: Strangeness, Portentology, and Divination in Pre-Modern China (I): Early Textual Sources and Religious Traditions |
|
| 9:00 a.m. | Danger and Disorder: Reading Anomalies and Strange Events in the
Yijing
Prof. Tze-ki Hon (State University of New York at Geneseo) Discussant: Dr. Zhao Lu (IKGF Erlangen) |
| 9:35 a.m. | Strange Creatures and Prodigies in the Shanhaijing and in Some
Chu Bamboo Manuscripts
Dr. Marco Caboara (HKUST Hong Kong), in absentia Discussant: Prof. Terry Kleeman (University of Colorado) |
| 10:10 a.m. | Coffee Break |
| 10:25 a.m. | Divination and Demonology in Daoist Ritual Treatments of the
Dead
Prof. Terry Kleeman (University of Colorado) Discussant: Prof. Joachim Gentz (University of Edinburgh) |
| 11:00 a.m. | Divining by Diving into the Strange: Examples from the Biographies of
Thaumaturge Monks (Shenseng Zhuan, T. 2064)
Dr. Esther-Maria Guggenmos (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) Discussant: Prof. Faye Kleeman (University of Colorado) |
| 11:35 a.m. | Round Table 3 |
| 12:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
|
Panel 4: Strangeness, Portentology, and Divination in Pre-Modern China (II): Han and Liu Song Dynasties |
|
| 1:30 p.m. | Uses We Can and Cannot Make of the Portent Treatises
Dr. Burchard J. Mansvelt Beck (Leiden University) Discussant: Prof. Tiziana Lippiello (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) |
| 2:05 p.m. | “Falling Stones: Five. Six: Fish-Hawks Flying Backwards.” Readings
of a Strange Record
Prof. Joachim Gentz (University of Edinburgh) Discussant: Dr. Grégoire Espesset (CRCAO Paris) |
| 2:40 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 2:55 p.m. | Portents in Han China and Some Weft (wei) Observational
Patterns: An Experiment
Dr. Grégoire Espesset (CRCAO Paris) Discussant: Prof. Joachim Gentz (University of Edinburgh) |
| 3:30 p.m. | Why Was Shen Yue So Fond of Auspicious Signs?
Prof. Tiziana Lippiello (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) Discussant: Dr. Burchard J. Mansvelt Beck (Leiden University) |
| 4:05 p.m. | Round Table 4 |
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Workshop Poster
International Consortium for Research in the Humanities
"Fate, Freedom and Prognostication. Strategies for Coping with the Future in East Asia and Europe."
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