Livia Kohn

Biographic Data

ID3831400
NAMELivia Kohn
GIVEN NAMESLivia
FAMILY NAMEKohn
SIGNATUREKOHN L
AFFILIATIONSBoston University
VERIFIEDNo
TOTAL WORKS61
TOTAL CITATIONS4
AUTHOR COUNT56
EDITOR COUNT5
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR1981
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2022
H-INDEX1

  • Activating Twenty-four; Time, Space, and Body

    Open AccessLivia KohnARTICLEJournal of Daesoon Thought and…2022

    Numbers structure reality and define the way people live. Both in Daoism and in Daesoon Jinrihoe they signify key concepts, notably the cardinal numbers from one through nine that classify different dimensions of the cosmos. Beyond these, the number twenty-four plays an important role. In a temporal mode, it marks the divisions or seasonal periods of the year. Consisting of fifteen days each, these periods signal (and are named after) changes in …

  • The Daode Jing: A Guide

    Livia KohnBOOKDaode Jing2019

    The Daode jing (Book of the Dao and Its Virtue) is an essential work in both traditional Chinese culture and world philosophy. The oldest text of philosophical Daoism, and also widely venerated among religious Daoist practitioners, it was around the fourth century bce, ascribed to a thinker contemporaneous to Confucius (551–479 bce) named Laozi. Written in aphoristic verse, the book survives in several manuscripts, and its standard version consis…

  • Armored Gods: Generals, Guardians, Killers, and Protectors

    Livia KohnARTICLEJournal of Daoist Studies2019

    The world of traditional Daoism is full of potentially or actively negative forces, unruly elements, villains, and evildoers, making it essential to guard against them. For this reason, Daoists over the millennia have established a culture of military and martial prowess on the supernatural level, taking recourse to spirit generals, celestial guardians, heavenly killers, and valiant protectors, both internalized within their bodies and activated …

  • Monastic Life in Medieval Daoism: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

    Livia KohnBOOKMonastic Life in Medieval Daoism2017

    In Monastic Life in Medieval Daoism, a senior scholar of Daoist studies presents for the first time a detailed description and analysis of the organization and practices of medieval Daoist monasteries. Following an introduction to the wider, comparative issues involved in the study of monasticism, Livia Kohn outlines the origin, history, conceptual understanding, and social position of the monasteries, which came into their own early in the Tang …

  • The Caishan Goddess Temple: Then and Now

    Yanli Wei, Livia KohnARTICLEJournal of Daoist Studies2017

    The Caishan Goddess TempleThen and Now Wei Yanli (bio) Translated by Livia Kohn In late May of 2012, the Xuzhou dushi chenbao 徐州都市晨报 (Xuzhou Metropolitan Morning News), the Yangzi wanbao 扬子晚报 (Yangzi Evening News), various television stations in the Xuzhou and Jiangsu areas, as well as other media reported an archaeological find in Liguo Township 利国镇 of the remains of an ancient Daoist temple hall complete with several murals. In the spring of 20…

  • The American Transformation of Daoist Cultivation

    Livia KohnARTICLEJournal of Daoist Studies2017

    The American Transformation of Daoist Cultivation1 Livia Kohn (bio) Since 1965, when the Immigration Act was changed to allow Asians to immigrate to the United States, Chinese healing and longevity methods have become increasingly popular in America. Another major factor that propelled Asian healing into the public eye was the fact that James Reston, a writer for the Washington Post, came down with an infected appendix during Richard Nixon’s firs…

  • Ways to Immortality: In Popular and Daoist Tales

    Xiaoyang Wang, Yan Bao et al.ARTICLEJournal of Daoist Studies2017

    Ways to ImmortalityIn Popular and Daoist Tales Wang Xiaoyang (bio) and Bao Yan (bio) Translated by Livia Kohn Chinese traditional culture is full of stories of immortals, both in folk religion and Daoism, however, the religious experience they refer to is not the same. While Daoist practitioners attain immorality during their lifetime, first reaching extended longevity, then ascending into heaven after the physical body falls away, popular religi…

  • Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin

    Livia KohnBOOKChinese Healing Exercises2017

    Daoyin, the traditional Chinese practice of guiding the qi and stretching the body is the forerunner of Qigong, the modern form of exercise that has swept through China and is making increasing inroads in the West. Like other Asian body practices, Daoyin focuses on the body as the main vehicle of attainment; sees health and spiritual transformation as one continuum leading to perfection or self-realization; and works intensely and consciously wit…

  • The Inspirational Laozi: Poetry, Business, and the Blues

    Livia KohnARTICLEJournal of Daoist Studies2015

    137 The Inspirational Laozi Poetry, Business, and the Blues LIVIA KOHN In 1989, about a year after starting as assistant professor at Boston University , I attended a concert at the Old South Church in Copley Square. It was announced as “Songs of Lao Tsu” and involved a group of musicians and a singer presenting a poetic rendition of certain Laozi verses to blues and folk music. I enjoyed the performance and bought the cassette tape, little reali…

  • Grand Offering in Hong Kong

    Livia KohnARTICLEJournal of Daoist Studies2008

    188 Grand Offering in Hong Kong LIVIA KOHN The Grand Offering (dajiao 大醮) is traditionally held once every sixty years to renew the world, pray for peace, and enhance community cohe‐ sion. An elaborate event that can last from three days to several weeks, it involves the establishment of temporary altar facilities, the participation of several Daoist troupes, the invitation of major deities, and continued ritual services with full community parti…

  • Ancestors and Anxiety: Daoism and the Birth of Rebirth in China

    Livia KohnARTICLEThe Chinese Historical Review2008

    (2008). Ancestors and Anxiety: Daoism and the Birth of Rebirth in China. The Chinese Historical Review: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 179-181

  • Daoyin: Chinese Healing Exercises

    Livia KohnARTICLEAsian Medicine2007

    Daoyin , the traditional Chinese practice of guiding ( dao ) the qi and stretching ( yin ) the body is the forerunner of qigong . Like other Asian forms of body cultivation, it uses a combination of mental awareness, controlled breathing, and slow physical movements to engage the person, develop health, and open ways to spiritual attainment. Unlike Yoga or Magical Movements, its worldview focuses on the concept of qi or vital energy, the material…

  • Oneness with Heaven and Earth: Mystical Attainment in the Chinese Tradition

    Open AccessLivia KohnARTICLEArc The Journal of the School of…2007

    Chinese mysticism has a long and varied history: from the early thinkers of the Axial Age through various permutations in the middle ages to modem versions of both theory and practice.It spread throughout the different aspects of the Chinese tradition and was present as much in the dominant school of Confucianism and the foreign religion of Buddhism as in Daoism, the indigenous higher religion of China.How, then, is the Chinese mystical tradition…

  • B ook R eviews and N otes

    Livia Kohn, Françoise Aubin et al.ARTICLEMonumenta Serica2004

  • The Daoist Monastic Manual: A Translation of the Fengdao Kejie

    Livia KohnBOOKThe Daoist Monastic Manual2004

    The Fengdao kejie or "Rules and Precepts for Worshiping the Dao" dates from the early seventh century and is a key text of medieval Daoist priesthood and monasticism, which was first formally organized in the sixth century. Compiled to serve the needs of both monastic practitioners and priests in training it describes the fundamental rules, organizational principles, and concrete establishments of Daoist institutions. Speaking in their own voices…

  • Monastic Rules in Quanzhen Daoism: As Collected by Heinrich Hackmann

    Livia KohnARTICLEMonumenta Serica2003

    (2003). Monastic Rules in Quanzhen Daoism: As Collected by Heinrich Hackmann. Monumenta Serica: Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 367-397

  • Daoism and Chinese Culture

    Robert Ford Campany, Livia KohnARTICLEJournal of the American Oriental…2003

    A long-awaited textbook that introduces the major schools, teachings, and practices of Daoism, this work presents a chronological survey that is thematically divided into four parts: Ancient Thought, Religious Communities, Spiritual Practices, and Modernity. The work offers an integrated vision of the Daoist tradition in its historical and cultural context, establishing connections with relevant information on Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, popu…

  • Daoist Identity: History, Lineage, and Ritual

    Suzanne Cahill, Mark Csikszentmihalyi et al.BOOKDaoist Identity2002

  • I Ching: An Annotated Bibliography

    Livia Kohn, Edward Hacker et al.ARTICLEAsian Folklore Studies2002

  • To Live As Long As Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents

    Livia Kohn, Hong Ge et al.REVIEWAsian Folklore Studies2002

    List of Illustrations Foreword Preface Acknowledgments PART ONE: TRADITIONS OF DIVINE TRANSCENDENTS AND ITS CONTEXT Opening Ge Hong and the Writing of Traditions of Divine Transcendents The Nature of the Religion Reflected in Ge Hong's Works Text-Critical Matters PART TWO: A CRITICAL, ANNOTATED TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY Group A: Earliest-Attested Hagiographies Group A: Earliest-Attested Fragments Group B: Early-Attested Hagiographies Group B: Ea…

  • Daoist Monastic Discipline: Hygiene, Meals, and Etiquette

    Livia KohnARTICLET oung Pao2001

  • Handbook of Oriental Studies: Section 4 : China

    Livia KohnCHAPTERDaoism Handbook2000

  • Daoism Handbook

    Livia KohnBOOKDaoism Handbook2000

    Thirty major scholars in the field wrote this new, authoritative guide to the main features and development of Daoism. The chapters are devoted to either specific periods, or topics such as Women in Daoism, Daoism in Korea and Daoist Ritual Music. Each chapter rigidly deals with a fixed set of aspects, such as history, texts, worldview and practices. Clear markings in the chapters themselves and a detailed index make this volume the most accessib…

  • The Aspiration and Standards of Taoist Priests in the Early T'ang Period

    Livia Kohn, Florian C Reiter et al.ARTICLEAsian Folklore Studies2000

  • God of the Dao: Lord Lao in History and Myth

    Livia KohnBOOKGod of the Dao1999

    Lord Lao, first known as the philosopher Laozi, the purported author of the "Daode jing," later became an immortal, a messiah, and high god of Daoism. Laozi, divinized during the Han dynasty and in early Daoist movements, reached his highest level of veneration under the Tang when the rulers honored him as a royal ancestor. In subsequent eras he remained prominent and is still a major deity in China today. Livia Kohn's two-part study first traces…