Research Projects

218 / Journal of Daoist Studies 2 (2009) pretations of the text. The themes throughout the text also differ consid‑ erably from the received versions. Notably absent are the Laozi’s charac‑ teristic references to water and the feminine, and its vehement criticisms of Confucianism. The majority of the passages have to do with de (Virtue) as it relates to statecraft, rather than the more ‘mystical’ dao (Way). In my analysis, I plan to explore how the prominence of verses on statecraft and the de‑centralization of yin and yang affect the interpreta‑ tion and the flavor of the text as a whole. Can the Laozi still be read through the lens of dichotomy and reversal? What does this mean for the extensions of the yin‑yang dichotomy metaphor (for example male‑ female, active‑receptive, solid‑liquid, full‑empty)? Was the Laozi origi‑ nally meant to be simply a handbook for ruling the state? The answers to these questions could certainly change in significant ways the manner in which the Laozi is read. Research Projects Daoism and Psychology The government sponsored research project on “Reciprocal Influence between Daoist Thought and Western Psychological Treatments” 道学与 西方心理治疗学的互动研究 was led jointly by Daoist scholar LüXichen 吕 锡琛, Central South University, and psychologist Yang Deshen 杨德森. Completed in 2007, it resulted in a series of essays to be published by Chinese Social Sciences Press. The project consists of three parts: the cultural background and phi‑ losophical foundation of the reciprocal influence between Daoist thought and Western psychology; Daoist teaching and Western psychological treatments; research on the applications of Daoist psychological theory. In part one, the authors analyze the crisis in psychology and the changes in psychological methods due to the transformation of contem‑ porary Western thought, notably the movements of phenomenology and existentialism and the methods of psychoanalysis. Phenomenology plays an important role in building the bridge between East and West during this process. On the one hand, some phenomenologists integrate tradi‑ News of the Field / 219 tional Daoist teachings into their theories with a highly beneficial results; on the other hand, phenomenology exerts a direct influence on Western psychological treatments, which in turn led to an interest in Chinese cul‑ ture and ways of thinking as conceptual resources for Western psychol‑ ogy. Phenomenology explores the connections between Daoist thought and Western psychological treatments at the methodological level from humanistic, holistic and practical perspectives. In part two, authors explore the works of Carl Gustav Jung (1875‑ 1961), Abraham Maslow (1908‑1970), and Carl Ranson Rogers (1902‑ 1987), focusing on their association with Daoist thought, how they inte‑ grated and applied Daoist ideas in their theories and how these theories in turn provided inspiration for contemporary Chinese psychological treatment and cultural studies. In part three, the authors link various methods of Western psycho‑ logical treatment with Daoist therapeutic wisdom to deal with a wide range of contemporary mental conditions in China. They also strive to explain the specific practice of “Daoist knowledge treatment” created by the psychologist Yang Deshen. —Lü Xichen and Robin R. Wang Conferences Dreams and East-West Culture 梦与中西文化 Mt. Shizhu 石竹山, Fuqing 福清 (Fujian), October 6‑8, Mt. Shizhu, the detached palace of the immoral He Jiuxian 何九仙, has been a sacred place for dreams since the Southern Song and is known as the “Home of Chinese Dreams.” Many local and popular stories tell about the immortal’s dreams and a variety of related practices are still going on today. Sponsored by the Daoist temple at Mt. Shizhu, the Fujian Center for Religious Studies at Sichuan University, the Center for Daoism and Tra‑ ditional Cultural Studies at Xiamen University, the Fujian Association of Yijing Studies, the Fujian Association of Laozi Studies, this meeting con‑ vened about a hundred scholars who offered presentations interpretat‑ ...