Subproject A02

Kinesis Refined: The Daoist Way or Did a Metaphor Become God?

Subproject A02 investigates the development of the Dao (“the Way”), one of the central concepts of the Chinese Daoist tradition. Early Daoist texts describe the Dao as an abstract principle that structures and sustains the world. A02 asks how this concept was reinterpreted during the first centuries CE and to what extent it came to be understood as a divine agency within emerging Daoist communities.

The project examines a range of Chinese sources from the formative period of Daoism, combining the study of doctrinal texts associated with the Celestial Masters with an analysis of visual representations of divine beings in tomb art. Particular attention is paid to processes through which abstract concepts acquire more concrete, personal, or divine characteristics and become embedded in religious practice and imagination.

By bringing together textual, visual, and historical evidence, A02 contributes to a better understanding of the formation of Daoist religious thought and the role of metaphors in shaping religious concepts and worlds of meaning.