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Article ID: CBB000932583

From “Dragonology” to Meteorology: Aristotelian Natural Philosophy and the Beginning of the Decline of the Dragon in China (2009)

Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period
Volume: 14
Pages: 340--368
Publication date: 2009
Language: English

Publication Date: 2009
Edition Details: Part of special issue: Evidence and Interpretation: Studies on Early Science and Medicine in Honor of John E. Murdoch

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Aristotelianism Animals, mythical Folklore East Asia, civilization and culture Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence Natural philosophy Cosmology Early modern Jesuits (Society of Jesus)

The cult of the dragon in China, which expressed itself not only in the ritual sacrifices to the dragon kings during drought and floods but also in the rationalization of the dragon's power to make rain by many serious thinkers from diverse intellectual persuasions, was first subjected to sustained criticism during the early modern era as part of an "enlightenment" drive against popular cults and "superstitions" led by some of the Jesuit-inspired Chinese scholars. This paper examines how these critics drew on Aristotelian conceptions of nature and meteorological theories introduced by the Jesuit missionaries to attack the core ideas of the traditional dragon lore and their underlying cosmology. It argues that the de-animated and rigidly stratified view of nature articulated by this small but clearly discernable group of Chinese critics can be seen as marking the beginning of the decline of the dragon, the allegedly semi-divine aquatic animal which swims, walks, flies, and makes rain.

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Description On the influence of Jesuit-inspired Chinese scholars on the cult of the dragon.

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Article Newman, William R.; Sylla, Edith Dudley (2009) Introduction. Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period (p. 1). unapi

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