Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Thesis (Master's)
Department or Program
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
First Advisor
Gil Raz
Second Advisor
Donald E. Pease
Third Advisor
David A. Rezvani
Abstract
In 1281, under the order of Kublai Khan, the Daoist Canon and some other Daoist texts compiled by the Quanzhen Daoist sect were burned. Since Qiu Chuji’s meeting with Genghis Khan in 1221, the Quanzhen Sect enjoyed sixty-years of prosperity and its leaders been appointed as leaders of all Daoist and Buddhist sects under the Yuan Mongol dynasty. During this period, Quanzhen Sect experienced a turning point from prosperity to decline. Li Zhichang, the seventh-generation leader of the Quanzhen Sect, spread the huahu (Conversion of the Barbarians) discourse in order to suppress Buddhism. This directly affected the Mongols’ attitude towards the Quanzhen Sect. This paper aims to argue that although Li Zhichang’s strategy for propagating the “Conversion of the Barbarians” discourse was intended to suppress Buddhism, the content also projected a sense of cultural belittlement of the non-Han groups which angered the Mongol rulers, leading to the eventual decline of the Quanzhen Sect.
Recommended Citation
Liang, Jian, "LI ZHICHANG’S PROPAGANDA OF THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIANS): THE CAUSE OF DECLINE OF QUANZHEN DAOISM IN THE YUAN PERIOD" (2023). Dartmouth College Master’s Theses. 96.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/masters_theses/96
Included in
Asian History Commons, Chinese Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, History of Religion Commons
