111 lines
5.2 KiB
Reg
111 lines
5.2 KiB
Reg
chjapreg.reg
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Ben Blumenberg
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Reality Software
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P.O. Box 105
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Waldoboro, Me 04572
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February 3, 1992
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Introduction to the Goddess in China and Japan
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Welcome to a discussion of the Great Goddess in China and
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Japan; a difficult subject to approach at best. It is often
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assumed that the Great Goddess of the Neolithic, as known from
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Europe, is not to be found in East Asia. Discerning the
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mythological elements in the earliest Chinese texts is very
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difficult; the Chinese talent for abstraction and brilliant, but
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secular oriented, philosophy dominates the earliest examples from
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their written records. From the first millenium B.C. onwards,
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the ethics and morality of the family, clan, village and the
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society at large became the dominant metaphor for expressing the
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highest of spiritual ideals and conducting the deepest of
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philosophical journeys. Confucius did not write and teach in a
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vacuum. Only Taoism proceeded from different premises and it is
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there that our search begins for the mythological underpinnings
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of early Chinese religion (Giradot 1983). The female bodhisatvas
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of Buddhism are not manifestations of the Great Goddess as the
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philosophy of the Buddha made clear from the outset.
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Japan did not begin to emerge from a country dominated by
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village organized agricultural peoples, until the seventh century
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A.D. and therefore clan-shamanic deities were at the core of all
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ritual life. Furthermore, Shinto, Tao and Zen were not intent on
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virtrually obliterating the gods as Confucianism did in China;
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that change was forced by a medieval, patriachal feudalism .
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Nonetheless, what the various Japanese goddesses might actually
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represent is a question that is only just beginning to be
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considered. As Giradot (1983) represents a break-through study
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for perceiving early Chinese mythology, Nakamura (1989) is one of
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the few publications in English that recognizes the Goddess in
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Japan and is concerned with more than cataloguing the detail of
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local deities or discussing the survival of female shamans.
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This study is quite incomplete, a beginning only, to the
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recognition of the White Goddess in East Asia. Notice how recent
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many of the references are that accompany the text and how
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tentative the interpretations. Nonetheless, her existence is
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beyond doubt. Unlike in Europe, the complete chronicle of her
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presence, relationships on earth and eventual demise has yet to
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be written. Brilliant members of the Christian clergy in Europe
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recognized the goddess as a pagan enemy of major proportions and
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made the chronicle of her mortal wounding a major priority. In
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East Asia, there was no such militancy in the confrontation and
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the story was not deemed worthy of official recording in such a
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deliberate manner. Nonetheless, the history may be reconstructed
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from a variety of evidence and the work has begun.
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References
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Giradot, N.J. 1983. Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism. Berkeley,
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Ca: Univ. California Press.
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Nakamura, K.M. 1989. "The Significance of Amaterasu in Japanese
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Religious History." in C. Olsen ed. The Book of the Goddess:
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Past and Present. Lexington, Mass.: Crossroad, pp. 176-189.
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Registration
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If you wish to read more than a few sample pages of this
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presentation you must register. The complete text (chinjap.dos
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or chinjap.wpw) comprises 20 single spaced pages and provides an
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extensive bibiliography; see chinjap.doc. These references are
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invaluable if your interest motivates you to pursue any of this
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material further. You also have the option at registration to
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purchase a version of this package in which the files are
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formatted for Word Perfect for Windows (WPWIN). These files are
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identical in content to those formatted for old fashioned ASC II
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Dos Text but they utilize a desk top publishing format that
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includes bold, underline, italic and special characters. The
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WPWWIN version also contains a file for a second version of the
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title page with two small maps that are more or less readable
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(chjpttl2.wpw). If you have WPWIN and wish to own files with a
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splashier design, consider registration with this option.
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____________________________________________________________
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To register, simply fill out the form below and mail to:
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REALITY SOFTWARE, P.O. BOX 105, WALDOBORO, ME 04572.
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Name ___________________________________________________
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Street Address __________________________________________
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Town or City _______________ State ________ Zip _________-
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CHINA-JAPAN TEXT and Docs.*
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Disc Size 5 1/4" (Quant) __$8 (ASCII) __$10 (WPWIN) Total ___
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($ each)
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3 1/2" (Quant) __$9 (ASCII) __$11 (WPWIN) Total ___
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Method of Payment. Check ___ Money Order ____
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(Made out to Ben Blumenberg)
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Where did you obtain CHINJAP.ZIP ?____________________________
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