Appropriating the Dao

Connects its focus on "esoteric" viz. "occult" topics to developments and changes in the context of spirituality and religion right now

Lukas K. Pokorny is Professor and Chair in Religious Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. Franz Winter is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Graz, Austria.

List of ContributorsChina in the Euro-American Esoteric Imagination: Contouring a Lacuna, Lukas K. Pokorny (University of Vienna, Austria) and Franz Winter (University of Graz, Austria) 1. Daoism and Kung Fu as Occult Sciences: Historical Comparisons between Chinese Practices and Mesmerism, Julian Strube (University of Vienna, Austria)2. Looking Out for Magic in Ancient China: The Yijing, Its Trigrams, and the Figurist Tradition in Éliphas Lévi, Franz Winter (University of Graz, Austria) 3. The Theosophical Daodejing: The Beginnings, Lukas K. Pokorny (University of Vienna, Austria)4. The Daoist Who Wasn't: Albert de Pouvourville, Matgioi, Nguyen Van Cang, and the Problem of Indochinese Masters in fin de siècle Occultism, Davide Marino (University of Vienna, Austria)5. Turning Further East: C. H. A. Bjerregaard and the Esoteric Enthusiasm for Daoism, Johan Nilsson (Lund University, Sweden)6. Do What Dao Wilt: The Integration of East Asian Concepts and Practices into Aleister Crowley's Thelema, Gordan Djurdjevic (Independent Scholar, Canada) 7. An Exoticism of Rationality and Social Order? Examining the East-West Binary in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Esoteric Representations of China, Johan Nilsson (Lund University, Sweden) 8. The Archetypal Dao: A Look at C. G. Jung's Reception of Chinese Thought, Karl Baier (University of Vienna, Austria)9. Be Water My Friend: Esotericism, Martial Arts, and Entangled Histories, Tao Thykier Makeeff (University of Stavanger, Norway)Index

With the blossoming of research on esotericism's global entanglements, one conspicuous lacuna has remained: the Chinese connection. Not anymore. This pioneering collection firmly establishes Euro-American engagements with China as a central and long-standing element of global esotericism. Its new vistas will shape scholarship for years to come.
Esoteric fantasies and orientalist speculations about Chinese religions have played a significant role in Western cultural history, but this a topic that has hitherto been remarkably neglected by scholars. This splendid volume fills a major lacuna and will be the essential point of departure for further research.
This groundbreaking volume offers a penetrating analysis of understudied or previously unknown material. Shedding new light on key dimensions of long-term global entanglements, it is a must-read for anyone interested in esotericism or the reception of Chinese culture.