Abstract

Professor Michael Lackner

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

小道有理 –The Minor Ways Have Their Reason

Discourses on Divination in Chinese Tradition

Mantic practices were (and continue to be) deeply embedded in the life-world of China, and the Classic of Changes shaped its world-view for millennia. However, only few discourses are to be found on the nature of divination, on the possible reasons for its efficacy (or the lack of it), and on the assessment of expert knowledge.

The lecture will provide an overview of the voices that articulated meta-discourses on divination. These range from the exceptional criticism of Wang Chong (27-100 CE) to Zhu Xi’s (1130-1200) attempt at integrating life-world experiences of divination with the cosmic roots of the individual, and from Li Deyu’s (787-850) reflections on free will to late Ming/early Qing encyclopedias on dream and character dissection. Throughout, I will inquire into the potential and the limits of such discourses. Some final remarks will also be devoted to the difficult position of Republican scholars (e.g. Yuan Shushan – 1881-1952), who tried to defend age-old traditions under the auspices of modern Chinese scientism.