Therapy, Spirituality, and East Asian Imaginaries

Therapy, Spirituality, and East Asian Imaginaries

  • Author: Gaitanidis, Ioannis; Bernardi Junqueira, Luis Fernando; Morrow, Avery; Han, Sang-yun
  • Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
  • eISBN Pdf: 9789048559022
  • Place of publication:  Amsterdam , Netherlands
  • Year of digital publication: 2025
  • Month: March
  • Pages: 302
  • Language: English
In the context of modern global exchanges, an imagined and essentialised notion of ‘East Asia’ has served as both a source of inspiration and a catalyst for new connections, extending beyond the geographic boundaries of China, Japan, and Korea. This volume explores the global circulation of practices, technologies, and ideas identified as ‘East Asian’ in alternative therapies and spiritual practices since the 1970s. Case studies range from the incorporation of traditional Chinese medicine into Brazilian naturopathy to self-development seminars promoting Korean national identity. Rather than focusing on questions of authenticity, the book uniquely interrogates how and why the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea have been invoked over the last fifty years to promote specific therapeutic, spiritual, and political agendas worldwide.
  • Cover
  • Table of Contents
    • Acknowledgements
    • Note on Naming, Use of Italics, and Other Conventions
    • Therapy, Spirituality, and East Asian Imaginaries: An Introduction
      • Ioannis Gaitanidis, Luis Fernando Bernardi Junqueira, Avery Morrow, and Sangyun Han
    • Part 1: Circulation of ‘East Asian’ Concepts
      • 1 How Qi Became Energy
        • Parapsychology, Soviet Science, and Chinese Acupuncture in the 1970s
          • Emily Baum
      • 2 Finding Kyo in Shiatsu Spaces
        • Sensing the Global Movement of Embodied Knowledge
          • Peter Skrivanic
      • 3 Capturing the Moment of Kimochi-ii
        • Transnational Flows and the Transformation of Qigong in Japan
          • Huang Xinzhe
    • Part 2: Circulation of Therapeutic Narratives
      • 4 Five-Element Acupuncture in 1960–1980s Britain
        • In Pursuit of Alternative Treatment with Body-Mind-Spirit
          • Yang Yi
      • 5 From Eden to Aquarius
        • ‘Oriental Medicine’, Natural Healing, and the Market of Self-Care Books in Brazil in the 1970s
          • Luis Fernando Bernardi Junqueira and Renata Palandri Sigolo
      • 6 Buddhist Self-Help Healing Narratives and the Meditative Turn
        • Christina Lee
    • Part 3: Alternative Therapies Across Epistemic Fields and Professions
      • 7 A Collaboration Between Mother and Baby
        • Sophrology in a Japanese Maternity Clinic and the Making of Medical Knowledge
          • Pamela Runestad
      • 8 The Influence of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Brazilian Naturology
        • Fábio L. Stern
      • 9 Constructing a Modern Esoteric Buddhist Breath Therapy
        • Nathan Jishin Michon
    • Part 4: Alternative Therapies and National Identities
      • 10 Ki Suryŏn in South Korea
        • Reclaiming the Term Pigwahakchŏk (Unscientific) to Challenge Scientific Supremacy
          • Victoria Ten and Michael Wharton
      • 11 Nationalism and the Legitimacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Macau: Colonial Legacy and Contemporary Imaginaries
        • Loretta I.T. Lou
    • Index
  • Figures and Tables
    • Figure 4.1. CTA and a collage of its faculty in the 1980s (Worsley in the centre left). Permission of reproduction kindly granted by Dr Martin Allbright (https://www.doctoracupuncture.co.uk/drmartinallbright.html).
    • Table 4.1. The canonised system of correspondences of the wuxing/Five Elements schema
    • Figure 5.1. Front cover of Do Jardim do Éden (1977). Reproduced with the kind permission of Ground.
    • Figure 9.1. Inside the World Harmony Meditation Centre. Photo by Ōshita Daien.
    • Figure 10.1. GiCheon students performing naegasinjang position at GiCheon Munmak mountain centre. Photo provided by SangMuWŏn organisation, used with permission.

Subjects

    SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

    By subscribing, you accept our Privacy Policy