Der Berg des Lao Zi in der Provinz Sichuan und die 24 Diözesen der daoistischen Religion by Volker Olles (review)

124 Journal of Chinese Religions their tears, their songs and their hypnotic power with the writing that is the prerogative of men. The author is particularly interested in the economic and sociological aspects underlying this cycle of lamentations. This interest gives the work a sometimes overly classic approach in terms of the selected topics and her interpretation, which does not always integrate the symbolic point of view. Despite these remarks concerning essentially its analytical perspective this work, which offers newly translated material, is a good study of the cycle of women’s marriage laments and a very precious tool for comparative research. BRIGITTE BAPTANDIER, CNRS/ Université Paris Ouest Der Berg des Lao Zi in der Provinz Sichuan und die 24 Diözesen der daoistischen Religion VOLKER OLLES. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005. Asien- und Afrika-Studien 24. xii, 306 pages. ISBN 3-447-05261-9. €78.00 hardcover. Written in German and published in 2005 as a slightly revised Ph.D. dissertation, this book combines a study of the religious geography of the early Heavenly Masters diocese system with a study of Mount Laojun 老君山, identified as the center of one of the former dioceses. Both parts are richly illustrated with maps, charts, illustrations from the Daozang 道藏, and photos. The discussion of the dioceses covers the first two chapters. The 24 dioceses (二十四治) of the early Heavenly Masters (天師道) originated in a system of administrative units, which evolved into a religious geography integrated with a cosmological system. After a short introduction to concepts of sacred space, Olles presents this system based on primary sources from the Daoist Canon and on scholarly studies by Wang Chunwu,1 Franciscus Verellen,2 and others. He adds interesting observations on the contemporary situation of the dioceses obtained through his fieldwork. A description of the characteristics of the dioceses follows, including their spiritual legitimation, and their function as centers of cultural and social religious activities and places of learning. The third chapter leads over to the discussion of Mount Laojun, beginning with a presentation of the available references to the mountain in historical geographical texts and 1 Wang Chunwu 王純五. Tianshi dao ershisi zhi kao 天師道二十四治考 [An Examination of the Twenty-four Dioceses of the Way of the Heavenly Masters] (Chengdu: Sichuan daxue chuban she, 1996). 2 “The Twenty-four dioceses and Zhang Daoling,” in Pilgrims and Place, ed. by Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2003), 15-67. Book Reviews 125 references in the Daoist canon to the Chougeng diocese (稠稉治), located on Mount Laojun. A study of the religious legitimation of the Mountain through association with Laozi 老子, the Yellow Emperor, and Zhang Daoling 張道陵 in hagiographical accounts completes this chapter. The fourth chapter presents the history of Laojun shan, reconstructed from written sources of the Ming and Qing dynasties, relics from the Han dynasty, an inscription of a temple bell dated 1796, anecdotes of an evidential miracle in the Tang dynasty in 729, and an account of a religious movement called the teaching of the Liu school (Liumen jiao 劉門教) in the early twentieth century. The narrative presents the information gleaned from the sources (in this order) rather than following a chronologically stringent historical account, resulting in much repetition and an overall rather fragmented description. However, the section on the Liu school is a highlight of the book. The movement played a major role on the mountain in the 19th to mid-20th centuries; combining Confucian ethics and Daoist neidan 内丹 practice, it is characterized as a movement of “confucianized” (rujiahua 儒家化) “house-Daoism” (huoju Dao 火居道) (p. 140). Olles discusses the writings and inscriptions of its founder Liu Yuan 劉沅 (1768-1856) and presents Chinese studies and materials collected by a descendent of Liu Yuan. The description offers rich information on the thought and ritual activities of the group, as well as on their activities in the reconstruction of the temple complex. A short section on the fate of the temple after 1949 completes this survey of the history of the Mountain. The fifth chapter describes the mountain in its contemporary appearance, with temple buildings and grottoes, including layout designs, photos, and descriptions of the statues in the temple halls. A very short chapter on contemporary religious practice—focusing on...

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