This interdisciplinary and multiresearcher project focuses on the transcultural dynamics in the creation, transmission, and reconfiguration of knowledge on childbirth, pregnancy, and women's health in premodern China, Korea, and Japan, with special emphasis on the medical and religious traditions, such as Buddhism, Daoism, Shinto, and native Korean religions. The team of collaborating researchers includes specialists from Belgium, Switzerland, US, Korea, and Taiwan. The project is sponsored by the International Collaborations Committee of American Academy of Religions and participating universities.
Research group events:
27-28 September 2022 International Symposium: reading and analysis of premodern East Asian primary sources in classical Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Readers and participants: Dr. Jessey Choo (Rutgers University), Dr. Hsin-Yi Lin (Fo Guang University), Dr. Daniela Tan (Zurich University), Dr. Sujung Kim (DePauw University), Elias Bouckaert (Ghent University), Dr. Anna Andreeva (Ghent University). These intenstive reading sessions are open to Ghent University researchers, and MA, PhD, and postdocs in Buddhist, Chinese, and Japanese studies. To attend, please contact anna.andreeva@ugent.be
29 September 2022 International Symposium: Final research presentations, open to the public and researchers from Ghent University. To attend, please contact anna.andreeva@ugent.be
8.50 – 9.00 Welcome remarks by Prof. Dr. Ann Heirman (Buddhist Studies)
9.00 - 9.30 Jessey Choo (Rutgers University): There is a Talisman for It: Daoist Rituals for Protecting Pregnancy
9.30 - 10.00 Hsin-Yi Lin (Fo Guang University):The Cult of Guanyin and Protective Blessings for Childbirth in Esoteric Buddhist Materials from Dunhuang: An Analysis of Four Manuscripts
10.00 - 10.30 Anna Andreeva (Ghent University): Making Babies in Medieval Japan: Buddhist Ritual and Medical Formulas for Aiding Conception
10.30 - 11.00 Daniela Tan (Zurich University): Body Time: Menstruation and Concepts of the Female in Medieval Japan
11.00 - 11.30 Sujung Kim (DePauw University): Sacred Signs and Safe Labor: Childbirth Talismans in Chosŏn, Korea
11.30 – 12.30 Final discussion and Q&A with the audience
2023–2024 Team work on a joint publication: special journal issue on "Religion, medicine, and women's health in premodern East Asia"