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Book Review Editor’s Note Throughout its history the Journal of Chinese Religions has published book notes every now and then. These were short descriptions of notable new publications that were unlikely to be reviewed in the Journal (usually because they were published in Asian languages), but that deserved to be brought to the attention of its readers. While the Journal now also reviews some Asian language works, the book review section will remain focused on Western language publications. In the interest of a balanced coverage, we therefore endeavor to reestablish a permanent “Book Notes” section that will be devoted primarily (even if not exclusively) to Asian language scholarly works on Chinese religions. All readers are invited to submit such notes of important new publications that have come to their attention. Please send them as email attachments to the book review editor, Philip Clart, at clart@uni-leipzig.de. Their format should follow that of the samples listed below. Further requirements include: • The descriptive text (exclusive of the bibliographic information) should not exceed 250 words. • The work introduced needs to be of a scholarly nature. • Its publication year should not be more than two years prior to the JCR issue in which the note is to appear. Thus, for example, in the 2013 issue of the Journal, we will only run notes for books published in 2011, 2012, and 2013. PHILIP CLART Journal of Chinese Religions 40 (2012) 165 166 Journal of Chinese Religions Daoxue tonglun 道学通论 HU FUCHEN 胡孚琛. Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe 社会科学文 献出版社, 2009. x, 506 pages. ISBN 978-7-5097-0814-9. RMB 59.00. Hu Fuchen is one of China’s best-known Daoist scholars and an activist eager to accord Daoism a greater role in contemporary Chinese life. Here he offers Daoism (daoxue, not daojiao) as a “cultural strategy in the 21st century.” Writing that “national cultures are under a tide of globalization,” he says daoxue can provide a way for the Chinese people (zhonghua minzu 中华民族) to “reconstruct its spirit.” The book is mainly a summary of basic Daoist knowledge. There is a sketch history of religious Daoism (daojiao), a chapter on Daoist techniques (fangshu 方术) such as fasting, a chapter on cultivation and an introduction to the Daoist Canon. He says Daoism must reinvent itself for the modern era and offers daoxue as an alternative. The book can be seen as an effort to include Daoism in the guoxue 国学 (national learning) movement and thus make it part of the government’s push to restore certain parts of traditional Chinese culture. IAN JOHNSON, Beijing Yidai Tianshi: Zhang Enpu yu Taiwan Daojiao 弌代天師:張恩溥 與臺灣道教 LI LI-LIANG 李麗涼. Taipei: National History Office, 2012. 456 pages. ISBN 978-986-03-3103-5. NT$350. This in-depth study of the 63rd Heavenly Master Zhang Enpu 張恩溥 (1894–1969) represents a major accomplishment in the field of Daoist Studies. One of the book’s most noteworthy features is its interdisciplinary approach, with Li making apt use of a wide range of documents as well as extensive field research. She also deserves special credit for collecting many valuable texts from Zhang’s descendents (including even family letters!), as well as numerous photographs. All in all, this book, which earned a research award from Taiwan’s National History Office, promises to be of great benefit to the study of modern Taiwanese religions. Yidai Tianshi is divided into a total of twelve chapters, including the Introduction and Conclusion. Chapters 2–4 examine the history of Zhang’s links to Taiwan, as well as the ...

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