E07: Materializing Martial Gods: Thunder Ritual, Material Culture, and the Story of Daoism in Ming China

Organizer(s)

• MN

  Michael Naparstek

  University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States
• AR

  Aaron Reich

  Saint Joseph’s University, United States

Chair(s)

• SS

  Sarah Schneewind

  University of California, San Diego, United States

Paper Presenter(s)

• ZZ

  Zhenpeng Zhan

  Sun Yat-Sen University, United States
• MN

  Michael Naparstek

  University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States
• NG

  Noelle Giuffrida

  Ball State University, United States
• AR

  Aaron Reich

  Saint Joseph’s University, United States

Discussant(s)

• RW

  Richard Wang

  University of Florida, United States

Session Abstract:

Recent scholarship on Ming-Dynasty China (1368–1644) has shown the central place of Daoism in the lived experience of people at all levels of society, from local villages to the imperial court. In contrast to the official recorded history, which has largely downplayed the role of Daoism or cast it in a negative light, Richard Wang and Mark Meulenbeld draw upon broad textual sources to advance a revisionist history of the Ming. Luk Yu-ping and Maggie Wan likewise call into question the official Ming narrative through an examination of material culture. This panel builds upon such work by focusing on the use and production of objects pertaining to the practice of Thunder Ritual (leifa). A collective name for exorcistic ritual methods that became integrated into Daoism from the twelfth century onward, Thunder Ritual invokes martial deities to eradicate maleficent spirits, a process aimed at effecting benefits, the prevention of epidemics, for example, and the correction of harmful weather patterns. By Ming times, this form of ritual reached across social strata and contributed to Daoism’s rise to prominence during the period. Emperors and their families, officials at court, and commoners alike looked to Thunder Ritual for protection and prosperity. In examining the intersection between Thunder Ritual and material culture, this panel not only further redresses the overlooked role of Daoism during the Ming, but it also presents research methods relevant to the broader field of Asian religions, each paper combining visual analysis with a close reading of contemporaneous ritual manuals.

Presentations:

• Straddling Realms Sacred and Secular: The Visualization and Reception of Martial Gods in Wu Wei's Picture of Quelling Demons
  

  Paper Presenter: Zhenpeng Zhan – Sun Yat-Sen University
• Thunder in the Bedroom: Imperial Consorts, Ritual Scrolls, and Daoist Demonifuges at Jiajing's Court
  

  Paper Presenter: Michael E. Naparstek – University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Materializing Daoist Thunder in Priestly Ritual Vestments of the Late Ming
  

  Paper Presenter: Noelle Giuffrida – Ball State University
• I Want You for the Militia of Spirits: The Canonization of Local Gods and the Department of Thunder in Ming Daoism
  

  Paper Presenter: Aaron K. Reich – Saint Joseph’s University