Food, Sacrifice, and Sagehood in Early China [Hardcover]

This book explores how religious culture influenced the ways in which the early Chinese explained the workings of the human senses.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. Roel Sterckx's book explores how this 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 begins with a survey of dietary culture from the Zhou to the Han and offers some intriguing insights into the ritual preparation of food and the sacrificial ceremony itself. This book will be essential reading for students of the period, and for anyone interested in ritual and religion in the ancient world.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. Roel Sterckx's book explores how this 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 begins with a survey of dietary culture from the Zhou to the Han and offers some intriguing insights into the ritual preparation of food and the sacrificial ceremony itself. This book will be essential reading for students of the period, and for anyone interested in ritual and religion in the ancient world.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 commlÃH