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Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2000

The aim of this thesis is to identify in contemporary art practices the inflections that have either direct, or indirect origins in Taoism, the conceptual source of China’s principle indigenous, cultural practices. The thesis argues that the increasingly cross cultural qualities of contemporary art practice owe much to the West’s exposure to Taoism’s non-absolutist, non-humanist tropes, a cultural borrowing that has received slight attention despite its increasingly pervasive presence. This critical analysis is structured by Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of the rhizome as a metaphor for cultural influences that are pluralist permeations, rather than a linear hierachy. The thesis tracks discourse between the West and China from early contact to the present, tracing manifold aspects of Taoism’s modes of visual representation in Western art. Chinese gardens, Chinoiserie, calligraphy, and their coalescence in Chinese painting, are analysed to locate Taoist precepts familiar to the West, principally citing the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Taoism’s founder. Here Taoist philosophy, as synthesised in Western thought, is proven to be a source of identifiable innovations in contemporary art practice. For example, spatial articulation as a dominant element of expression in installation art is traced to Western artists’ exposure to the conceptualised spatiality of Sinocised artefacts. Taoist precepts are analysed in the Chinese tradition of improvising upon calligraphic characters as a key factor.This model is deployed using the skills set of studio-based research, to identify the experimental nature and degree of improvisation in Western artists’ adaptations of Taoist methods in innovative painting, then sculpture. Investigations of artworks are structured upon correlations between Deleuze’s theories of representation and Taoist theories of creativity. A thematic connection with Taoism located in contemporary art, namely, notions of continuity and change, assists this detailed unravelling of creative processes, aesthetics, metonymy and meaning derived from Taoism in global, contemporary art. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Southern California, 2001. / Adviser: Charlotte Furth. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 460-474)

Most studies of monasticism have concentrated on the religious discourse of asceticism as a withdrawal from the secular world. Based on three months of field research in a Taoist monastery at a holy mountain in Wenzhou, China, however, this thesis describes the close relationship between the monastery and the local society and economy. Social and economic factors influence the decisions of individuals to become monks or nuns. Through networks of lay disciples, the monastery maintains close social links to society. Furthermore, the monastery is intricately tied to the economy as a provider of ritual and tourist services. It is hoped that this thesis will contribute to a better understanding of the place of religious institutions in rural Chinese society.

No description available.

This thesis encompasses a survey of contemporary environmental literature (1970s to the present) as it relates to the tenets of Taoist literature, specifically the Chuang Tzu and the Tao te Ching. The thesis also presents and evaluates pertinent criticisms concerning the practice of relating modern environmental problems to ancient Chinese philosophy. The thesis contains a preface that describes the historic roots of Taoism as well as an explanation of the Chinese terminology in the paper. The environmental literature is divided into three major groups and discussed in the three chapters of the paper. The three groups include mainstream environmentalists, deep ecology, and ecofeminism.

Martin, Karine. / Thesis Ph.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-239). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 15, September, 2016). / Martin, Karine.