優遊於歷史與田野之道：歐洲漢學與道教研究/Wandering on the Way of History and Fieldwork：European Sinology and Daoism Studies
After the Age of Discovery, European missionaries and scholars began to take an interest in “China,” giving rise to the discipline of “Sinology” (Sinologie / Sinology). Early European Sinology encompassed wide-ranging studies of Chinese history and culture, including Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, with a traditional emphasis on philology and classical texts. Following the publication of Édouard Chavannes’s Le jet des dragons (1919), a surge of interest in Daoist studies emerged in Europe. This movement, led primarily by French scholars, also introduced a greater focus on fieldwork as a research method.
What is Daoism? This deceptively simple yet expansive question has never been easy to answer. French Daoist studies have highlighted several key perspectives: the essence of Daoism lies in its methods, techniques, practices, and rituals. The term “Daoism” may not designate a religious tradition unified by a common set of doctrines; rather, it largely represents a ritual tradition that has sustained over two millennia of Chinese cultural heritage. Viewing Daoism through the lens of ritual provides a more precise understanding of its essence, as well as of traditional Chinese history and society. The Daozang (Daoist Canon) of the Ming dynasty contains more than 1,400 texts in over 4,500 fascicles, with ritual works constituting more than half—over 800 titles, totaling at least 3,000 fascicles. The interaction between Daoism and local society has likewise long been a central concern of the international field of Daoist studies.
Contemporary Daoist research increasingly emphasizes the integration of historical texts with ethnographic fieldwork, which is reflected in this course’s title, Following the Way Through History and Fieldwork. The course is offered in collaboration with two distinguished international Sinologists: John Lagerwey, Professor Emeritus of EPHE (École pratique des hautes études) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, currently Director of the Institut Ricci Paris. His research focuses on Daoism, Chinese religions, and local society, and he has often described his scholarly approach as the close integration of historical documentation and field investigation. Florian C. Reiter, Professor Emeritus of Humboldt University of Berlin, specializes in Daoist texts of the Tang and Song dynasties and in new Daoist methods of the Song and Yuan periods, working primarily through traditional philological methods.
The instructor of this course, Lin Zhenyuan, trained under John Lagerwey and carries forward the French tradition of Daoist studies that stresses the synthesis of historical sources and fieldwork. His research centers on historical and contemporary local Daoism, Daoist ritual, and Daoism in Taiwan.
