BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//ceres.rub.de//events//
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Monday Meeting: Guest Lecture
DTSTART:20160125T171500Z
DTEND:20160125T184500Z
DTSTAMP:20260416T223749Z
UID:monday-meeting-guest-lecture-2-de-2078@ceres.rub.de
CATEGORIES:
DESCRIPTION:OLFACTION AND XIANGGuest Lecture by Paolo Santangelo\nA   shor
 t presentation of researches and methods will introduce Paolo   Santangelo
 's theoretical premises and hypotheses on cultural   "contruction" of emot
 ions and sensations\, and their important social   role. A synthesis on an
 thropological meanings of olfaction and odours   will follow. Some reflect
 ions will focus on the analysis of the use of   the term xiang 香\, "in
 cense"\,  "fragrance"\, "beauty" on the basis  of about 300 selected examp
 les. The  occurrences of the main terms and  their meanings will be commen
 ted. The  most common meaning is incense\,  which\, disclosing the way of
   communication between the human being and  the supernatural world\, is  
 used for religious purposes and ritual  ceremonies\, the worship of  divin
 ities and supernatural powers\, or the  funerary ceremonies for the  defun
 ct\, an ancestors\, a revered saint.  Incense has also an important  role 
 in the rituals for solemnise a  pledge\, a pact of brotherhood\,  friendsh
 ip\, marriage\, any oath of  alliance. Thus incense is mainly the  manifes
 tation of a religious  attitude\, and can also be indicative for  the char
 isma of a monk or a  magician\, as well as the volume of affairs  of a mon
 astery: the efficacy  in answering to the requests of the  devotees and th
 e miraculous power (ling靈)   demonstrated by the divinity or the saint a
 re proportional to the fame   and wealth of the sacred place.  As for the
  second main  meaning\, perfume\,  it refers to a relatively large amount
  of fragrances\,  some of them of  vegetal or floral origin\, some of supe
 rnatural  character (from  immortals\, spirits and gods). In case of fragr
 ance  coming from females'  bodies\, it is evident that at the same time t
 heir  aroma reflects their  charm. In  the "Peony Pavilion"\, the  sancti
 fication of love-passion let the loved  Liniang's body take the  place of 
 a saint's relics\, and thus she dies and  then resurrects with  her whole 
 integer and fragrant body\, and the  mixture of sacred and  eroticism is e
 xpressed by "heavenly fragrance"\, tianxiang. Analogously several female 
 immortals in Liaozhai have   a rare fragrance which derives from their s
 upernatural condition\,  while  it is evident that their fragrance reflect
 s the desire and  admiration  that they provoke in their lovers or in men 
 who deal with  them. The  material is not very rich of information on the 
 kind of  religiosity and  the characters of the worship. However\, a few e
 lements  are very  interesting for understanding the religious phenomenon.
   Although the  religious phenomenon in China has characters different  fr
 om other areas\,  and the ritual aspects are often dominant\, we can  noti
 ce both inner  fervour and a kind of personal relationship with gods  and 
 spirits. We  can understand how the religious attitude is expressed  in it
 s  consolatory function\, devotion for begging favours\, worshipping  the 
  supernatural entity\, concentrating in an act that is the  manifestation 
  of an inner state. The metaphor of the incense burning in  heart (心香
 奉佛)  expresses the deep attitude of the devotee. The ceremony  centere
 d in  burning and offering incense is often accompanied by other  acts\, l
 ike  purification\, sacrifices\, prayers\, and opens a special  dimension 
 in the  inner experience of the devotee.
LOCATION:CERES-Palais\, Raum "Ruhrpott" (4.13)
URL:https://khk.ceres.rub.de/de/veranstaltungen/monday-meeting-guest-lectu
 re-2-de/
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR