Food, Sacrifice, and Sagehood in Early China

Bibliographic Data

ID19901190
AuthorsRoel Sterckx (University of Cambridge, corresponding author)
Year2011
Publication date2011-03-28
Open AccessYes
TypeBOOK
VenueFood, Sacrifice, and Sagehood in Early China (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/cbo9780511736247
OpenAlexW431832187
Open LibraryOL24881687M
ISBN9780511736247
GOOGLE_BOOK_IDQ2ygZMdf2YYC
LanguageEN
Citations received46
References cited65

In ancient China, the preparation of food and the offering up of food as a religious sacrifice were intimately connected with models of sagehood and ideas of self-cultivation and morality. Drawing on received and newly excavated written sources, Roel Sterckx's book explores how this vibrant culture influenced the ways in which the early Chinese explained the workings of the human senses, and the role of sensory experience in communicating with the spirit world. The book, which begins with a survey of dietary culture from the Zhou to the Han, offers intriguing insights into the ritual preparation of food - some butchers and cooks were highly regarded and would rise to positions of influence as a result of their culinary skills - and the sacrificial ceremony itself. As a major contribution to the study of early China and to the development of philosophical thought, the book will be essential reading for students of the period, and for anyone interested in ritual and religion in the ancient world

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Ceremony · China · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · History of China · Morality · Political science · Reading (process) · Sacrifice · Sociology · Chinese history and philosophy · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · History · Japanese History and Culture · Law · Philosophy · Food · Social life and customs

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