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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Daoist Studies Année : 2010

A Day in the Life of a Daoist Monk

Résumé

This article seeks to give an ethnographical description of the everyday life of an ordinary Daoist monk in China today. As it follows Yang Zhixiang from early morning until night, it deals with his current main occupations—in this case, work on the glyphomancical dissection of the Dao 道 character, fate calculation for young fiancés, preparation for a healing ritual, the ascetic practice of self­ perfecting through refinement, etc. — as well as more basic scenes such as meals, gestures and postures, various domestic tasks, and the reconstruction of the temple. It also relates fragments of his own past life and implicitly outlines the path that led him to the monastery and the vocation that made him become a monk. Finally, it aims to convey the diversity of the monks' activities and then, by considering them serially as a whole, to arrive at an understanding of the spe­ cific texture of Daoist monastic life and its reason for being. The scene is in Hanzhong, a small provincial town in central China (Shaanxi). It is the hour of the hare (maoshi 卯时), between five and seven in the morning. A relatively old monk of about sixty years comes out of his cell, stops in the courtyard and takes a deep breath. He finishes but‑ toning the cloth straps on his blue cotton vest, which he is wearing with black trousers. It is an ordinary day, and for the sake of convenience, he has not put on his long robe, or even his boots and white gaiters; he wears khaki tennis shoes instead. He goes back into his room and re‑ emerges carrying a basin, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a towel, and a var‑ nished metal cup visibly chipped around the rim.
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Dates et versions

hal-01660017 , version 1 (12-01-2018)

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  • HAL Id : hal-01660017 , version 1

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Adeline Herrou. A Day in the Life of a Daoist Monk . Journal of Daoist Studies, 2010, 3, pp.117-148. ⟨hal-01660017⟩
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