Towards the Body of Androgyny

A Feminist Perspective on Daoist Philosophy of Yinyang and Cultivational Practices

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20249603
AutoresLili Zhang (0000-0002-5383-8435, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Peiwei Wang (0000-0002-9712-8849, Wuhan University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Volumen16
Número12
Páginas1493
Fecha de publicación2025-11-25
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel16121493
OpenAlexW4416666010
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas10

This paper re-examines Daoist philosophy and practice through a feminist lens, arguing that Daoist cosmology articulates a dynamic ontology of gender grounded in cixiongtongti (雌雄同體, “the body of androgyny”). Drawing on classical and religious texts—including the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, Taishang Laojun Zhongjing, Santian Neijie Jing, and later alchemical writings—it demonstrates how Daoism envisions embodiment as a site of coexistence where masculine and feminine forces mutually generate and transform. Rather than privileging “feminine” values or reversing patriarchal hierarchies, Daoist yinyang metaphysics dissolves the binary itself, redefining equality as interdependence within difference. The study situates Daoism in dialogue with feminist and ecofeminist theories, acknowledging shared anti-dualist impulses while highlighting Daoism’s distinct cosmological grounding in the circulation of qi. Through analysis of textual metaphors and inner-alchemical practices such as male pregnancy and female transformation, the paper shows that Daoist cultivation performatively realizes male-female-co-existence (nannü gongsheng 男女共生) as both a philosophical and embodied principle. In doing so, it reveals Daoist thought as a vital resource for reimagining embodiment beyond essentialism—offering a non-hierarchical, pluralistic model of gender that integrates cosmology, corporeality, and spiritual practice

Alchemy · Binary opposition · Embodied cognition · Feminist philosophy · Metaphysics · Ontology · Chinese history and philosophy · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Jungian Analytical Psychology

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