Abstract
This dissertation offers a critical revision of Kristofer Schipper’s book The Taoist Body, with the focus on the philosophical concept of ‘body.’ By theoretically connecting Daoism and Phenomenology, I argue that although The Taoist Body is widely regarded as a classic of religious Daoism, it should also be approached from a philosophical perspective. Both The Taoist Body and Phenomenology are the introduction of the ‘body’ as a philosophical concept rather than a biological object within their respective fields. This is the main reason for choosing phenomenology, and its first attempts in conceptualisation of the ‘body’ as a parallel theoretical framework to the revision of The Taoist Body.Secondly, Schipper’s focus on the distinct understanding of the human body (especially its connections with the mind and environment) aligns with the phenomenological discourse, which examines human existence in the framework of embodiment. I propose incorporating phenomenological insights into Schipper's study of the ‘body’ in Daoism to deepen both – our understanding of Daoism’s perspective on the mind-body connection and our broader theoretical understanding of ‘body’ through the first hand, lived religious experiences and practices described in the book.
Thirdly, this approach challenges the rigid boundaries between what is considered religious and what is regarded as philosophical – if we accept the ‘body’ as a philosophical concept, then religious (embodied) practices and actions may also be understood as inherently philosophical. I propose that phenomenology provides the philosophical and linguistic resources to support Schipper's efforts in dissolving the dichotomy between religious and philosophical Daoism and to establish theoretical grounds for the concept of ‘body’ in Daoism.
To explore the concept of ‘body’ from this unique perspective I introduce three larger narratives: 1) Historical: ‘body’ as a cornerstone of development of Daoism, and Daoism as a fundamentally embodied system of knowledge; 2) Theoretical: ‘body’ as a philosophical concept, in the framework of phenomenology; 3) Intellectual history: the development of Western philosophical approach to the concept of ‘body’ and the development of the Daoist Studies as an academic discipline.
I position The Taoist Body at the intersection of these larger narratives to firstly, revisit the texts which Schipper uses to support his argument (e.g., Wang Bi’s commentary on Daodejing and Ge Hong’s Baopuzi chapter 18) and read them with the focus on the ‘body’. This prepares the ground for the revision of the two large scholarly discussions – Western Daoist Studies and Chinese tradition of commentary of the Daoist texts. Secondly, I provide a theoretical revision of The Taoist Body to initiate the discussion on the theory of body in Daoism. Therefore, it is the intersection of the three larger narratives, through the revision of The Taoist Body, that serves as the main point and argument of the dissertation.
To accommodate these discussions, the dissertation is divided into three parts and six chapters. In the introduction I justify my choices of cases and theoretical frameworks, present methodology and main arguments and situate this dissertation in the broader scholarly discussion. The first part presents The Taoist Body. Second part is devoted to the historical context of the ‘body’ in Daoism and Schipper’s argument on the importance of this context in Daoist Studies. This is supplemented with the literature review of the ‘body’ in Daoist Studies. Part three is devoted to the theory of ‘body’, with phenomenology providing the theoretical grounds for discussion and The Taoist Body presented as the case for investigating into the theory of body in Daoism.
| Date of Award | 1 Dec 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Tze Ki HON (Supervisor), May Bo CHING (Supervisor) & Tze Ki HON (External Co-Supervisor) |
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