'Believing' (信) in Song China: Evidence from the Longshu jingtu wen (龍舒淨土文) and Other Sources

The UC Berkeley Institute of East Asian Studies presents a talk with Robert P.W. Hynes of Columbia University on the notion of belief in Chinese religion, where he will offer an empirical approach to the question based on the Longshu jingtu wen.

The position of the field of Chinese religion on the notion of "belief" seems unclear or unsettled. Both Talal Asad's work and the "orthodoxy/orthopraxy" debate growing out of James Watson's proposal have left at least part of the field inclined to the position that "belief" and "believing" are not central to Chinese religion, or even that there is a sort of "West = belief" / "China = practice" dichotomy. Ongoing work on a translation of the Longshu jingtu wen has brought the speaker back to the question of "believing" (xin 信) in the Song dynasty, and he will offer an empirical approach to the question based on that work and other sources.