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Frontiers of History in China

ISSN 1673-3401

ISSN 1673-3525(Online)

CN 11-5740/K

Postal Subscription Code 80-980

Front. Hist. China    2013, Vol. 8 Issue (3) : 316-341    https://doi.org/10.3868/s020-002-013-0024-0
Orginal Article
Unintended Baggage? Rethinking Yuanwu Keqin’s View of the Role of Language in Chan Gongan Discourse
Steven Heine()
Asian Studies Program, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
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Abstract

This essay argues that the distinctive literary voice of Yuanwu Keqin in Biyanlu is generally overlooked or blurred with the source materials. It seeks to understand Yuanwu’s view of Chan rhetoric seen in relation to Xuedou’s original verse comments. In one of Yuanwu’s prose remarks, he stakes out his view of the role of language in gongan discourse by valorizing the verse comments of Xuedou. But other passages stress that there is a difference between verse and prose commentary, or view both styles as positive. By engaging the views of other recent scholars, this essay demonstrates that it is crucial to see that from the start of his collection Yuanwu emphasizes the innate limitations of discourse, while at the same time shows how an appropriate use of rhetoric can be useful and necessary as a heuristic tool to guide disciples.

Keywords Yuanwu Keqin      Song      Biyanlu      doubt      huatou      geteng     
Issue Date: 05 September 2013
 Cite this article:   
Steven Heine. Unintended Baggage? Rethinking Yuanwu Keqin’s View of the Role of Language in Chan Gongan Discourse[J]. Front. Hist. China, 2013, 8(3): 316-341.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fhc/EN/10.3868/s020-002-013-0024-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fhc/EN/Y2013/V8/I3/316
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