The subject of our research is reinvention of Taoist ritual among Yao minorities. Imperial protocolary deeds are examined as one form of proceedings open to transformation. Liturgy or ritual installations are discussed with reference to choreography and scenography. Fieldnotes from Thailand, 1995, are provided as a side illustration.

This dissertation explores the discursive voices present in a late Qing inner alchemy (neidan) compilation, the Nudan hebian. Inner alchemy is a meditation/visualization practice centered on purification of the physical body as the essential element in gaining physical immortality; therefore the physical body is of utmost importance. Yin-yang theory associates male with heaven and yang, and female with earth and yin. (Kunjue 1a) In neidan, both men and women must purge the earthly elements from their mind-body matrix to create a 'golden yang immortal's body' (Hutian xingli nudan shize 463a). This process can be accomplished by men through self-cultivation, but in mainstream Qing Daoism, women were limited by their gender, and could not attain complete mind-body purification without resort to outside assistance from the gods. / The theoretical consequences of these limitations notwithstanding, many women practiced neidan and were thought to have reached the highest states of perfection. The symbolic processes through which this becomes possible are complex and often contradictory. Some Nudan hebian texts reveal many levels of discursive play, rendering new meanings for old symbols and revealing rifts and commonalities in the tradition. Exploration of these rifts and commonalities reveals important dilemmas and understandings operative in the particular socio-historical contexts in which they were drafted, and offers a gender-sensitive historical perspective on the development of neidan during the late Qing period.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington. / Bibliography: l. 191-201.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-229).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 247-250) Also available in print.

Thesis--Guo li Taiwan da xue zhong wen yan jiu suo. / On double leaves. Bibliography: p. 157-167.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toledo, 2009. / Typescript. "Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for The Master of Arts in Philosophy." "A thesis entitled"--at head of title. Bibliography: leaves 80-83.

Thesis (M.A.)--Fu ren da xue, 1970. / On double leaves. Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-132).

Thesis (Ph.D. (Philosophy))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, 1925. / Originally issued by the Commercial press, limited, without thesis note. This edition is identical except for the addition of the thesis t.p. Bibliography: p. [129]-143.