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147-460: Tehanu continues the stories of Tenar, the heroine of the second book of the Earthsea series The Tombs of Atuan , and Ged , the hero of the first book, A Wizard of Earthsea . Tehanu begins slightly before the conclusion of the previous book in the series, The Farthest Shore , and provides some information about the life of Tenar after the end of The Tombs of Atuan . She had rejected

294-548: A " liturgical framework for the development of local cults", in other words a scheme or structure for Chinese religion, proposed first by the scholar and Taoist initiate Kristofer Schipper in The Taoist Body (1986). Taoshi are comparable to the non-Taoist ritual masters ( 法師 ) of vernacular traditions (the so-called Faism ) within Chinese religion. The term dàojiàotú ( 道教徒 ; 'follower of Dao'), with

441-410: A 1996 reference book on science fiction described them as among the best regarded fantasies, and went on to call the series a "fast-paced narrative" that explored serious questions of morality, power, and identity, Science fiction writer Jo Walton said that it was a "beautifully written" book. She went on to write that a "lesser writer" would have ended the novel after the earthquake and the collapse of

588-503: A Western or Japanese background, who often use distinct interpretive models and techniques. This point of view characterizes the religious and philosophical characteristics of the Taoist tradition as being inseparable. Sinologists such as Isabelle Robinet and Livia Kohn state that "Taoism has never been a unified religion, and has constantly consisted of a combination of teachings based on a variety of original revelations." The distinction

735-481: A bifurcated 'philosophy' versus 'religion' model. Daojia was a taxonomical category for Taoist texts, that was eventually applied to Taoist movements and priests in the early medieval period. Meanwhile, daojiao was originally used to specifically distinguish Taoist tradition from Buddhism. Thus, daojiao included daojia . Komjathy notes that the earliest Taoist texts also "reveal a religious community composed of master-disciple lineages", and therefore, that "Taoism

882-723: A catalyst for this stream of thought, because he is completely alien to her; he is male, brown-skinned, and has a picture of the world is so different from Tenar's own. After speaking to him, she begins to wonder whether the Nameless Ones, despite their power, deserve her worship, and begins to lose faith in them and in all the things she has been taught. She expects to find only evil in Ged, according to what she has been taught; but instead she finds light and love, further challenging her belief. Gender and power feature as themes through The Tombs of Atuan . The labyrinth has been described as

1029-433: A child coming home", suggesting that she has been successful in finding new connections in her life. The conclusion of the novel represents the successful end of a quest that Ged undertook as a mature wizard, part of the story arc that traces his character development across the first three Earthsea books; thus The Tombs of Atuan has been described as part of Ged's coming-of-age as well. The notion of faith and deep belief

1176-515: A contentless and nonconceptual apophatic meditation as a way of achieving union with the Tao. According to Louis Komjathy, their worldview "emphasized the Dao as sacred, and the universe and each individual being as a manifestation of the Dao." These communities were also closely related to and intermixed with the fangshi (method master) communities. Other scholars, like Russell Kirkland, argue that before

1323-468: A conversation with Penthe, her only friend, who expresses an "unfaith" in the divinity of the God-king. Though Tenar reacts to this with shock, the incident opens a new perspective to her. In her own thoughts, "she felt as if she had looked up and suddenly seen a whole new planet hanging huge and populous right outside the window, an entirely strange world, one in which the gods did not matter." Ged acts as

1470-503: A favorable light, in contrast to works such as " Vaster than Empires and More Slow ". The trilogy shares a thematic similarity in that each volume is a bildungsroman for a different character; the first for Ged, the second for Tenar, and the third for Arren. Though the structure of the Earthsea novels is in many ways typical of fantasy, it has been described as subverting the tropes of this genre. The protagonists of her stories, with

1617-470: A female protagonist guiding a blundering male through a labyrinth of sorts. Comparisons have been made to a number of Le Guin's works which have a notion of a dream world in which the protagonists undergo a transformation; in The Tombs of Atuan , this is the labyrinth. Ged's journey through the series has been compared to the traditional heroic quest, including a "descent into the underworld" represented by

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1764-507: A feminist horror thriller". Le Guin's portrayal of the cultural differences between the Kargish lands and the rest of Earthsea has been praised as "sensitive", while her use of the theme of gender has been referred to as a "significant exploration of womanhood". Nonetheless, Le Guin's treatment of gender in The Tombs of Atuan , and in the first three Earthsea volumes in general, has been questioned by critics, who suggest that it perpetuates

1911-510: A girl named Tenar, born on the Kargish island of Atuan. Born on the day that the high priestess of the Tombs of Atuan died, she is believed to be her reincarnation. Tenar is taken from her family when five years old and goes to the Tombs. Her name is taken from her in a ceremony, and she is referred to as "Arha", or the "eaten one", after being consecrated to the service of the "Nameless Ones" at

2058-442: A goatherd. While at Re Albi, Tenar is confronted by the local lord's wicked mage, Aspen, who attempts to put a curse on her, but is initially thwarted. Tenar informs the king's men that she cannot reveal Ged's whereabouts, and they accept the situation and depart. Tenar is initially unsure whether to stay or leave Re Albi, but when she is threatened by both Aspen and Handy, she flees with Therru. Her mind confused by Aspen's magic, she

2205-815: A key Taoist work on inner cultivation, the Baopuzi ( Master Embracing Simplicity ). The Six Dynasties (316–589) era saw the rise of two new Taoist traditions, the Shangqing and Lingbao schools. Shangqing was based on a series of revelations by gods and spirits to a certain Yang Xi between 364 and 370. As Livia Kohn writes, these revelations included detailed descriptions of the heavens as well as "specific methods of shamanic travels or ecstatic excursions, visualizations, and alchemical concoctions." The Shangqing revelations also introduced many new Taoist scriptures. Similarly, between 397 and 402, Ge Chaofu compiled

2352-456: A life. At the book's outset, her husband is now dead and her children grown up. Tenar lives on her own at Flint's property – Oak Farm – and is lonely and uncertain of her identity. She is brought a severely injured child, born of wandering vagabonds; the child's natural father had pushed her into a campfire and left her for dead. Tenar helps to save the child's life, but the child is left with one side of her face permanently scarred and

2499-406: A male-centered book. However in the afterword to the 2018 illustrated edition Le Guin writes "It was the first book I wrote with a woman as the true central character." Taoist Taoism or Daoism ( / ˈ t aʊ . ɪ z əm / , / ˈ d aʊ . ɪ z əm / ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China , emphasizing harmony with

2646-417: A male-dominated model of the world of Earthsea. The unhealthy cult depicted at the Tombs serves only to reinforce the moral superiority of the school of Roke depicted in A Wizard of Earthsea ; the school is run entirely by men. Some feminist scholars have criticized The Tombs of Atuan for depicting the "suppression" of a female cult. Other scholars dispute this description, arguing that the "cult" in question

2793-465: A metaphor for Tenar's exploration of her own thoughts. In this reading of the novel, the labyrinth symbolizes the imprisonment of the women, and the darkness and unacknowledged thoughts within Tenar, which she begins to struggle through after feeling guilt over killing the prisoners sent to her for execution. A dark hand had let go its lifelong hold upon her heart. But she did not feel joy, as she had in

2940-414: A more revolutionary protagonist than Ged, or Arren, the protagonist of The Farthest Shore (1972), the third Earthsea volume. Whereas the two men grow into socially approved roles, Tenar rebels and struggles against the confines of her social role. The Tombs of Atuan shares elements of the story of a heroic quest with other Earthsea novels, but subverts some of the tropes common to the genre of fantasy at

3087-587: A new set of liturgies, which continue to influence Taoist practice to the present day." This period also saw the development of the Three Pure Ones , which merged the high deities from different Taoist traditions into a common trinity that has remained influential until today. The new Integrated Taoism, now with a united Taoist identity, gained official status in China during the Tang dynasty . This tradition

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3234-489: A nod to the women's rights movement , while Tenar's growing disquiet with her beliefs has been compared to the unease of individuals who began to protest discrimination and the Vietnam War. Earthsea is an archipelago , or group of islands. In the fictional history of this world, the islands were raised from the ocean by Segoy, an ancient deity or hero. The world is inhabited by both humans and dragons, and several among

3381-399: A place where she can make her own choices. In contrast to Ged, whose journey was chiefly a private quest, Tenar's choices have direct social consequences. While Ged's growth is traced through the various adventures he experiences in the first volume of the series, Tenar's development is shown through her exploration of her own domain. The labyrinth, in particular, with its twists and turns, is

3528-435: A positive philosophy aims for the holistic unification of an individual's reality with everything that is not only real but also valuable, encompassing both the natural world and society. But the earliest references to 'the Tao' per se are largely devoid of liturgical or explicitly supernatural character, used in contexts either of abstract metaphysics or of the ordinary conditions required for human flourishing. This distinction

3675-434: A sailor and tells her he wishes to run the farm. Under Gontish law Oak Farm belongs to him and Tenar has no claim to it. Tenar receives word that Moss is dying and wants to see her. She, Ged and Therru leave immediately for Re Albi. However, the message was a trap set by Aspen, who reveals himself to be a follower of the defeated wizard Cob. Tenar and Ged are led to the lord's mansion controlled by Aspen's magic. Therru runs to

3822-523: A second trilogy. Tehanu has been described as a rewriting or reimagining of The Tombs of Atuan , because Tenar's power and status are the inverse of what they were in the earlier book. In 2005 an original mini-series titled Legend of Earthsea , based loosely on the first two Earthsea books was broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel . Le Guin expressed strong displeasure with the result, which she said had " whitewashed Earthsea". The Tombs of Atuan

3969-481: A separate examination system based on Taoism. Another important Taoist figure of the Tang dynasty was Lu Dongbin , who is considered the founder of the jindan meditation tradition and an influential figure in the development of neidan (internal alchemy) practice. Likewise, several Song dynasty emperors, most notably Huizong , were active in promoting Taoism, collecting Taoist texts, and publishing updated editions of

4116-573: A series of scriptures that later served as the foundation of the Lingbao school , which was most influential during the later Song dynasty (960–1279) and focused on scriptural recitation and the use of talismans for harmony and longevity. The Lingbao school practiced purification rituals called "purgations" in which talismans were empowered. Lingbao also adopted Mahayana Buddhist elements. According to Kohn, they "integrated aspects of Buddhist cosmology , worldview, scriptures, and practices, and created

4263-505: A similar nature to all other life. Roughly contemporaneously to the Tao Te Ching , some believed the Tao was a force that was the "basis of all existence" and more powerful than the gods, while being a god-like being that was an ancestor and a mother goddess . Early Taoists studied the natural world in attempts to find what they thought were supernatural laws that governed existence. Taoists created scientific principles that were

4410-531: A simple life of farming and goat keeping at Ogion's old cottage. Following the Taoist thread running through the first three books and many of Le Guin's other works, a further theme in Tehanu is Ged 's transition from a man of doing and action to a man of generally passive being in harmony with his feelings and with nature. This was foreshadowed in the first book of the trilogy, A Wizard of Earthsea , in

4557-436: A subtle critique, particularly of the powers of the Tombs, which give nothing in return for their worship. Much of the early part of the novel describes the life that Tenar leads in the stable world of the Tombs. Ged's arrival acts as a turning point, and the rest of the book explores the possibility of change, and introduces different perspectives on the internal world of the novel. The form of narrative employed by Le Guin in

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4704-540: A theoretical foundation for politics, warfare, and Taoist organizations. Taoist secret societies precipitated the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the late Han dynasty , attempting to create what has been characterized as a Taoist theocracy . Today, Taoism is one of five religious doctrines officially recognized by the Chinese government, also having official status in Hong Kong and Macau . It

4851-452: A tomb for the lives that Kargish women could have led. Le Guin herself stated that the theme of The Tombs of Atuan was sex, a statement which reviewers have suggested meant not physical intimacy, but yearning and the recognition of potential for intimacy. The role of the women priestesses at the Tombs is analogous to that of Kargish women in their society; though the priestesses have eunuch servants and male guards ostensibly to protect them,

4998-531: A type of companionship common to Le Guin's novels. After Tenar chooses to talk to him rather than have him killed, he tells her about the rest of Earthsea that she is ignorant of, and so helps her see a path out of her difficulties that she could not. The scars that Ged bears from his encounter with the shadow in A Wizard of Earthsea make Tenar realize that he has confronted death in a way that she has never done. Literature scholar Elizabeth Cummins argues that while Ged does not actually save Tenar, he "functions as

5145-596: A vast new collection of Taoist texts in close imitation of Buddhist sutras ." Louis Komjathy also notes that they adopted the Mahayana Buddhist universalism in its promotion of "universal salvation" (pudu). During this period, Louguan , the first Taoist monastic institution (influenced by Buddhist monasticism ) was established in the Zhongnan mountains by a local Taoist master named Yin Tong. This tradition

5292-485: A whole. The reader is shown that the true names of people have no particular significance in the Kargish lands, whereas in the Archipelago they grant power over the thing being named; nonetheless, the critical moment in which Tenar recalls her true name has been described as influencing other works such as Hayao Miyazaki 's 2001 film Spirited Away . Scholars have described Le Guin's depiction of Kargish culture as

5439-422: A wider perspective and showing her a more compassionate and joyful world than her previous experience allowed her to imagine. As with A Wizard of Earthsea , The Tombs of Atuan is a bildungsroman or coming-of-age story , this time from the perspective of a female character, Tenar. Though she nominally has a position of high authority, Tenar feels trapped by her duties as priestess, and desires to escape to

5586-413: Is self-cultivation , a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and more harmonious existence. Taoist ethics vary, but generally emphasize such virtues as effortless action , naturalness , simplicity , and the three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility. The core of Taoist thought crystallized during the early Warring States period ( c.  450  – c.  300 BCE ), during which

5733-462: Is Le Guin's familiarity with anthropology, visible in her description of Kargish culture and cultural differences with the rest of Earthsea. Le Guin's belief in Taoism is visible in the idea of a cosmic "balance" in the universe of Earthsea. Le Guin originally intended for A Wizard of Earthsea to be a standalone novel, but she wrote The Tombs of Atuan as a sequel after considering the loose ends in

5880-466: Is a bildungsroman that explores Tenar's growth and identity. Tenar's coming-of-age is closely tied to her exploration of faith and her belief in the Nameless Ones. The Tombs of Atuan explores themes of gender and power in the setting of a cult of female priests in service to a patriarchal society, while providing an anthropological view of Kargish culture. Tenar, who became the subject of Le Guin's fourth Earthsea novel, Tehanu , has been described as

6027-438: Is a large part of the novel, and is related to the book's other theme of identity. Throughout the story there is a tension between faith in the Nameless Ones and their power, and human curiosity and the tendency to question. The importance of tradition and belief in Kargish culture is emphasized when Tenar is taken from her family, and chosen to be the high priestess of the Tombs. However, Tenar's mother unsuccessfully tries to dupe

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6174-453: Is a modern Chinese construction largely rooted in earlier Chinese literati, European colonialist, and Protestant missionary interpretations. Contemporaneous Neo-Confucianists, for example, often self-identify as Taoist without partaking in any rituals. In contrast, Komjathy characterizes Taoism as "a unified religious tradition characterized by complexity and diversity", arguing that historically, none of these terms were understood according to

6321-459: Is almost overtaken by Handy, but manages to escape to Gont Port, taking refuge in the ship of the king himself. Lebannen takes Tenar and Therru to Valmouth, where Tenar eventually returns to Oak Farm to find that Ged is away tending goats in the mountains for the season. Tenar settles back into life on the farm, until one night when Handy and a group of men attempt to break into the house. They are driven off by Ged, who followed them on their way toward

6468-562: Is considered a major religion in Taiwan , and also has significant populations of adherents throughout the Sinosphere and Southeast Asia. In the West, Taoism has taken on various forms , both those hewing to historical practice, as well as highly synthesized practices variously characterized as new religious movements . "Taoism" and "Daoism" are alternate spellings of the same word. "Tao"

6615-489: Is fraught with hermeneutic difficulties when attempting to categorize different schools, sects, and movements. Russell Kirkland writes that "most scholars who have seriously studied Taoism, both in Asia and in the West" have abandoned this "simplistic dichotomy". Louis Komjathy writes that this is an untenable misconception because "the association of daojia with "thought" ( sixiang ) and of daojiao with "religion" ( zongjiao )

6762-475: Is generally not understood as a variant of Chinese folk religion per se: while the two umbrella terms have considerable cultural overlap, core themes of both also diverge considerably from one another. Traditionally, the Chinese language does not have terms defining lay people adhering to the doctrines or the practices of Taoism, who fall instead within the field of folk religion. Taoist, in Western sinology ,

6909-469: Is gradually erased. Though she is depicted as a person of strength and imagination, her development is stunted by the priestesses; her feelings are repressed, and her mind has no place to wander except the labyrinth. After trapping Ged, she talks to him about the rest of Earthsea, and begins to desire a life outside the barrenness of the Tombs. It is only after her escape that she seems to regain her name, crying "I have my name back. I am Tenar!" Tehanu ,

7056-496: Is in fact shown as evil, and is moreover not acting of its free will; it is already subordinate to the will of a male king. Speaking decades after the publication of The Tombs of Atuan , Le Guin stated that she considered The Eye of the Heron (published in 1978, seven years after The Tombs of Atuan ) to be her first novel not centered on a man; critics have interpreted this to mean that Le Guin considered The Tombs of Atuan to be

7203-598: Is in the Wade-Giles romanization system, which was predominant in English-speaking countries until the late 20th century, and remains in use for certain terms with strongly established spellings. "Dao" is the spelling in the Hanyu Pinyin system, officially adopted in China in the 1950s, which has largely replaced Wade–Giles. The Standard Chinese pronunciation of both romanizations of the character "Dao"

7350-470: Is still understood in everyday contexts among Chinese people, echoed by early modern scholars of Chinese history and philosophy such as Feng Youlan and Wing-tsit Chan . Use of the term daojia dates to the Western Han c.  100 BCE , referring to the purported authors of the emerging Taoist canon, such as Lao Dan and Zhuang Zhou . Neither the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi themselves, or

7497-488: Is syncretic and deeply rooted in Chinese culture for millennia, it is often unclear which denominations should be considered "Taoist". The status of daoshi , or 'Taoist master', is traditionally attributed only to clergy in Taoist organizations, who distinguish between their traditions and others in Chinese folk religion . Though generally lacking motivation for strong hierarchies, Taoist philosophy has often served as

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7644-486: Is the same; that is, /daʊ/ , much like the English "dow". One authority calls the pronunciation with a <t> as in "tie" to be a "mispronunciation" originally caused by the "clumsy Wade-Giles system," which misled most readers. The word Taoism is used to translate two related but distinct Chinese terms. The distinction between Taoism in philosophy and Taoist religion is an ancient, deeply-rooted one. Taoism as

7791-434: Is told, is born on the Kargish island of Atuan before being taken away to serve the Nameless Ones as their high priestess. She is told that she is the reincarnation of the high priestess, and has lived at the tombs since time immemorial; though she believes this early in her life, she begins to question the idea later in the novel. For much of the book she is known only as Arha, or the "Eaten one"; her identity as an individual

7938-478: Is traditionally used to translate daoshi /taoshih ( 道士 ; 'master of the Tao';), thus strictly defining the priests of Taoism, ordained clergymen of a Taoist institution who "represent Taoist culture on a professional basis", are experts of Taoist liturgy, and therefore can employ this knowledge and ritual skill for the benefit of a community. This role of Taoist priests reflects the definition of Taoism as

8085-436: Is when Ged calls her by her true name, and clarifies for her the choice between remaining in the Tombs as Arha and embracing Tenar and stepping into the larger world of Earthsea. Afterwards, she has a nightmare about suffocating, a motif Cummins describes as being common to female coming-of-age stories. The hold that the darkness has over her does not disappear when she escapes and the Tombs are brought down in an earthquake by

8232-422: Is written in the first three books from an implicitly patriarchal (or at least, male) viewpoint. The Kirkus Reviews comments that "Yes, there are dragons; but the human story and its meaning are primary here. Unlike Ged's, Le Guin's power is undiminished." The review notes that Ged and Tenar are "past middle age", reflecting the slower action, but "even young readers will be beguiled by the flawless, poetic prose,

8379-446: The I Ching and Spring and Autumn Annals . Although Taoism and Confucianism developed significant differences, they are not seen as mutually incompatible or exclusive. The relationship between Taoism and Buddhism upon the latter's introduction to China is characterized as one of mutual influence, with long-running discourses shared between Taoists and Buddhists; the distinct Mahayana tradition of Zen that emerged during

8526-599: The Daozang . The Song era saw new scriptures and new movements of ritualists and Taoist rites, the most popular of which were the Thunder Rites (leifa). The Thunder rites were protection and exorcism rites that evoked the celestial department of thunder, and they became central to the new Heavenly Heart (Tianxin) tradition as well as for the Youthful Incipience (Tongchu) school. In the 12th century ,

8673-522: The Zhuangzi , and the Tao Te Ching . The Tao Te Ching , attributed to Laozi , is dated by scholars to sometime between the 4th and 6th century BCE. A common tradition holds that Laozi founded Taoism. Laozi's historicity is disputed, with many scholars seeing him as a legendary founding figure. While Taoism is often regarded in the West as arising from Laozi, many Chinese Taoists claim that

8820-715: The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award . The Tombs of Atuan The Tombs of Atuan / ˈ æ t uː ɑː n / is a fantasy novel by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin , first published in the Winter 1970 issue of Worlds of Fantasy , and published as a book by Atheneum Books in 1971. It is the second book in the Earthsea series after A Wizard of Earthsea (1969). The Tombs of Atuan

8967-591: The Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) School was founded in Shandong by the sage Wang Chongyang (1113–1170) to compete with religious Taoist traditions that worshipped " ghosts and gods " and largely displaced them. The school focused on inner transformation, mystical experience , monasticism , and asceticism . Quanzhen flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries and during the Yuan dynasty . The Quanzhen school

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9114-747: The School of Naturalists (from which Taoism draws its main cosmological ideas, yin and yang and the five phases ), and the Chinese classics , especially the I Ching and the Lüshi Chunqiu . Meanwhile, Isabelle Robinet identifies four components in the emergence of Taoism: the teachings found in the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi , techniques for achieving ecstasy, practices for achieving longevity and becoming an immortal ( xian ), and practices for exorcism . Robinet states that some elements of Taoism may be traced to prehistoric folk religions in China. In particular, many Taoist practices drew from

9261-445: The Tang dynasty (607–917) incorporates many ideas from Taoism. Many Taoist denominations recognize deities , often ones shared with other traditions, which are venerated as superhuman figures exemplifying Taoist virtues. They can be roughly divided into two categories of "gods" and xian (or "immortals"). Xian were immortal beings with vast supernatural powers, also describing a principled, moral person. Since Taoist thought

9408-578: The Tao 道 ( pinyin : dào ; Wade–Giles : tao ). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', 'path', or 'technique', generally understood in the Taoist sense as an enigmatic process of transformation ultimately underlying reality . Taoist thought has informed the development of various practices within the Taoist tradition and beyond, including forms of meditation , astrology , qigong , feng shui , and internal alchemy . A common goal of Taoist practice

9555-819: The Tao Te Ching was to be a topic in the imperial examinations. During the reign of the 7th century Emperor Taizong , the Five Dragons Temple (the first temple at the Wudang Mountains ) was constructed. Wudang would eventually become a major center for Taoism and a home for Taoist martial arts ( Wudang quan ). Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–755) was also a devoted Taoist who wrote various Taoist works, and according to Livia Kohn , "had frequent meetings with senior masters, ritual specialists, Taoist poets, and official patriarchs, such as Sima Chengzhen." He reorganized imperial rituals based on Taoist forms, sponsored Taoist shrines and monasteries, and introduced

9702-753: The Tao Te Ching were written: the Heshang Gong commentary and the Xiang'er commentary. The first organized form of Taoism was the Way of the Celestial Masters , which developed from the Five Pecks of Rice movement at the end of the 2nd century CE. The latter had been founded by Zhang Daoling , who was said to have had a vision of Laozi in 142 CE and claimed that the world was coming to an end. Zhang sought to teach people to repent and prepare for

9849-614: The Yellow Emperor formulated many of their precepts, including the quest for "long life". Traditionally, the Yellow Emperor's founding of Taoism was said to have been because he "dreamed of an ideal kingdom whose tranquil inhabitants lived in harmonious accord with the natural law and possessed virtues remarkably like those espoused by early Taoism. On waking from his dream, Huangdi sought to" bring about "these virtues in his own kingdom, to ensure order and prosperity among

9996-608: The " three vehicles " of Buddhism. The three caverns were: Perfection (Dongzhen), associated with the Three Sovereigns ; Mystery (Dongxuan), associated with Lingbao; and Spirit (Dongshen), associated with the Supreme Clarity tradition. Lu Xiujing also used this schema to arrange the Taoist scriptures and Taoist deities. Lu Xiujing worked to compile the first edition of the Daozang (the Taoist Canon), which

10143-464: The Earthsea trilogy has been described by literature scholar Mike Cadden as "free indirect discourse"; a technique in which the feelings of the protagonist are not directly separated from the narration, making the narrator seem sympathetic to the characters, and removing the skepticism towards a character's thoughts and emotions that are a feature of more direct narration. Cadden suggests that this method leads to younger readers sympathizing directly with

10290-555: The Han dynasty, there were no real "Taoists" or "Taoism". Instead, there were various sets of behaviors, practices, and interpretative frameworks (like the ideas of the Yijing , yin-yang thought , as well as Mohist , " Legalist ", and " Confucian " ideas), which were eventually synthesized into the first organized forms of "Taoism". Some of the main early Taoist sources include: the Neiye ,

10437-527: The Han. As such, they grew and became an influential religion during the Three Kingdoms period, focusing on ritual confession and petition, as well as developing a well-organized religious structure. The Celestial Masters school was officially recognized by the warlord Cao Cao in 215 CE, legitimizing Cao Cao's rise to power in return. Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in the mid-2nd century BCE. Another important early Taoist movement

10584-563: The Hardic folk as evil sorcerers: the Kargish, in turn, are viewed by the Hardic as barbarians. The Kargish peoples have a distinct culture and geography: for example, they do not use written language, as they consider it an evil practice. The Kargish people have been described by scholars as being the analog of people in the United States; similarities include an organized religion, and a class system . This society does not believe in

10731-592: The Ming, the legends of the Eight Immortals (the most important of which is Lü Dongbin ) rose to prominence, being part of local plays and folk culture. Ming emperors like the Hongwu Emperor continued to invite Taoists to court and hold Taoist rituals that were believed to enhance the power of the throne. The most important of these were connected with the Taoist deity Xuanwu ("Perfect Warrior"), which

10878-447: The Nameless Ones; however, she realizes that she cannot go through with it. She instructs Manan to dig a false grave underground, while she herself takes Ged to hide in the treasury of the Tombs. Arha and Kossil have a public falling out, in which Kossil says that nobody believes in the Nameless Ones anymore. In response, Arha curses her in the name of the Nameless Ones. Realizing that Kossil will now be determined to kill her, she heads to

11025-415: The Tombs are a prison, and act to isolate the women from the rest of society. The priestesses have internalized this situation, and act to enforce it: Kossil's cruelty is described as epitomizing this. Brought into this environment, Tenar's development as a person is not the result of choices she made, as is the case with Ged in A Wizard of Earthsea ; instead, her coming of age is forced upon her. Despite

11172-463: The Tombs for the long-lost half of the ring of Erreth-Akbe, a magical talisman broken centuries before, necessary for peace in Earthsea. The other half had come into his possession by pure chance, and a dragon later told him what it was. Arha is drawn to him as he tells her of the outside world, and keeps him prisoner in the tombs, bringing him food and water. However, Kossil learns of Ged's existence, forcing Arha to promise that Ged will be sacrificed to

11319-400: The Tombs, but that the last section of the story, about Ged and Tenar's travel, "do a lot to ground it", making it "solid and well rooted as ever". Speculative fiction scholar Mike Cadden praised the characterization in the novel, calling Tenar the "finest and most complicated multiple character in the Earthsea series, and maybe in all of her fiction". However, scholar Sandra Lindow referred to

11466-529: The Tombs. She is required to order the death of prisoners sent to the Tombs by the God-King of the Kargad lands; she has them killed by starvation, an act which haunts her for a long time. After Thar dies of old age, Arha becomes increasingly isolated: although stern, Thar had been fair to her. Kossil despises Arha and sees the Nameless Ones as a threat to her power. Arha's routine is disrupted by her discovery of

11613-672: The Warring States era phenomena of the wu ( Chinese shamans ) and the fangshi ("method masters", which probably derived from the "archivist-soothsayers of antiquity"). Both terms were used to designate individuals dedicated to "...magic, medicine, divination,... methods of longevity and to ecstatic wanderings" as well as exorcism. The fangshi were philosophically close to the School of Naturalists and relied greatly on astrological and calendrical speculations in their divinatory activities. Female shamans played an important role in

11760-402: The age of six with a ceremony involving a symbolic sacrifice. She moves into her own tiny house, and is given a eunuch servant, Manan, with whom she develops a bond of affection. Arha's childhood and youth are lonely; her only friends are Manan and Penthe, a priestess her own age. She is trained in her duties by Thar and Kossil, the priestesses of the two other major deities. Thar tells her of

11907-438: The arrival of Ged , the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea , who seeks to steal the half of a talisman buried in the treasury of the Tombs. Tenar traps him in the labyrinth under the Tombs, but then rebels against her teaching and keeps him alive. Through him she learns more of the outside world, and begins to question her faith in the Nameless Ones and her place at the Tombs. Like A Wizard of Earthsea , The Tombs of Atuan

12054-542: The back of the dragon Kalessin, unconscious and near death. Ged – once the Archmage of Roke – has spent all his wizard's powers in sealing the gap between the worlds of the living and the dead created by the evil wizard Cob. She nurses him back to health, but when the new king Lebannen sends envoys to bring him back to Havnor for the coronation, Ged cannot face them. He accepts Tenar's offer to return to Oak Farm to manage things there in her absence and once more takes up life as

12201-403: The character and quests of Ged, with Tenar introduced as the central character of the second book. Tehanu uses the lens of everyday events and a strong anti-patriarchal viewpoint to not only explore the future of these two characters—and of Earthsea itself—but to reinterpret them. According to Sharada Bhanu, Le Guin sees this reinterpretation as a more balanced view of the world of Earthsea, which

12348-464: The characters, thereby making it an effective technique for young-adult literature, whereas adults are likely to read the situations differently. In The Tombs of Atuan , much of the story is told from Tenar's perspective; for instance, the reader sees Tenar's fear of the undertomb through her own eyes, creating an empathy for her. Scholars have compared The Tombs of Atuan to The Beginning Place , another of Le Guin's fantasy works; both stories have

12495-647: The cliff behind Ogion's cottage, where she calls to the dragon Kalessin for help, and reveals her true nature: she is in fact "a double being, half human, half-dragon". Aspen and his followers bring both Tenar and Ged up to the clifftop. Under the influence of Aspen's spell, they are both just about to jump to their deaths when the dragon Kalessin arrives, subsequently burning Aspen and his men. Kalessin addresses Therru by her true name Tehanu, calling her its own daughter, and asks her if she would like to leave with it, but she decides for now that she will stay with Tenar and Ged. The novel ends with all three of them settling down to

12642-527: The coming cataclysm, after which they would become the seeds of a new era of great peace. It was a mass movement in which men and women could act as libationers and tend to the commoners. A related movement arose in Shandong called the " Way of Great Peace ", seeking to create a new world by replacing the Han dynasty. This movement led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion , and after years of bloody war, they were crushed. The Celestial Masters movement survived this period and did not take part in attempting to replace

12789-501: The conclusion of the novel, and particularly the conclusion of Ged and Tenar's relationship, as unsatisfying. A 2016 review in The Huffington Post praised the religious theme in the novel, saying Le Guin "skillfully illustrates the way religious conviction can permeate and give meaning to a life", while Entertainment Weekly referred to it as "a classic of stealth-missile literature, a fantasy adventure that's actually

12936-613: The contrast between Ged's first teacher Ogion the Silent and Ged himself as a young student, and also in The Farthest Shore , at the end of which the Master Doorkeeper of Roke states of Ged: "He is done with doing: he goes home." This implies that Ged's full maturity lies not in doing but in "going home" to the part of himself that he has yet to embrace. Magic in general has a much smaller role in Tehanu than in

13083-421: The earlier trilogy) would play in the future of Earthsea. The style of Tehanu differs from the initial Earthsea trilogy. Where the initial trilogy was written around the classic fantasy tropes of perilous quests, heroic actions and larger-than-human forces, Tehanu studies social interaction and emotional resonance. The pace is slower, the mood darker and more introspective. The initial trilogy focuses on

13230-436: The early Taoist tradition, which was particularly strong in the southern state of Chu . Early Taoist movements developed their own tradition in contrast to shamanism while also absorbing shamanic elements. During the early period, some Taoists lived as hermits or recluses who did not participate in political life, while others sought to establish a harmonious society based on Taoist principles. Zhuang Zhou (c. 370–290 BCE)

13377-639: The early secondary sources written about them, put forward any particular supernatural ontology. Nonetheless, that religious Taoism emerged from a synthesis of folk religion with philosophical Taoist precepts is clear. The earlier, naturalistic was employed by pre-Han and Han thinkers, and continued to be used well into the Song, including among those who explicitly rejected cults, both private and state-sanctioned, that were often either labeled or self-identified as Taoist. However, this distinction has been challenged or rejected by some scholars of religion, often those from

13524-607: The epigrammatic Tao Te Ching and the anecdotal Zhuangzi —widely regarded as the fundamental texts of Taoist philosophy—were largely composed. They form the core of a body of Taoist writings accrued over the following centuries, which was assembled by monks into the Daozang canon starting in the 5th century CE. Early Taoism drew upon diverse influences, including the Shang and Zhou state religions, Naturalism , Mohism , Confucianism , various Legalist theories, as well as

13671-508: The equilibrium that the rest of the archipelago believes in, and does not believe in magic either. The Kargad empire is a theocracy ; its monarch, the God-king, claims to represent the power of the Nameless Ones, described as the "powers of the dark, of ruin, of madness". The society is depicted as militant, and patriarchal. Le Guin suggests that though the God-king relies upon the Nameless Ones and their high priestess to maintain his authority, he no longer believes in them. The story follows

13818-419: The exception of Tenar, were all dark-skinned , in comparison to the white-skinned heroes more traditionally used. The Tombs of Atuan examines the development of a young girl in great detail, a choice unusual for a fantasy writer of the period in which the book was written. The early part of the story provides an anthropological view of the culture of the Tombs, and through them, of the Kargish lands as

13965-413: The fact that Tenar does not become a wizard (like Ged) or a king (like Arren, the primary character of The Farthest Shore ), Cummins argues that her growth is more revolutionary than either of theirs. In contrast to the male bildungsroman in which characters grow into the characteristics society believes they should have, Tenar's coming of age is a female bildungsroman , in which she must struggle against

14112-403: The farm and nearly kills one of them with a pitchfork. Tenar and Ged begin a relationship, acknowledging that they had always loved each other. Ged wants nothing more than to settle down and live an ordinary life, far from the concerns of an Archmage. Together, they teach and care for Therru and manage the farm. The order is upset, however, when Tenar's son Spark returns home suddenly from a life as

14259-504: The fictional world. They were both later anthologized in Le Guin's collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters , published in 1975. Earthsea was the setting for a story Le Guin wrote in 1965 or 1966, which was never published. In 1967, Herman Schein (the publisher of Parnassus Press and the husband of Ruth Robbins , the illustrator of A Wizard of Earthsea ) asked Le Guin to try writing a book "for older kids", giving her complete freedom over

14406-409: The fingers of one hand fused into a claw. Tenar adopts her and gives the child the use name Therru, which means "flame" in Tenar's native Kargish language. Tenar learns that Ogion is on his deathbed and has asked to see her. She sets out to visit him at his house outside the town of Re Albi, taking Therru with her. On the way, she encounters a group of ruffians, one of whom is Handy, who was involved in

14553-496: The first book, and wrote a third book, The Farthest Shore , a year later after further consideration. Scholars have stated that the civil rights movement , and opposition to the Vietnam War that was gaining prominence during the period The Tombs of Atuan was written, subtly affected the structure of the book. Although not a "primarily feminist " novel, Le Guin's decision to choose a female protagonist has been described as

14700-477: The first of their kind in China, and the belief system has been known to merge scientific, philosophical, and religious conceits from close to its beginning. By the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), the various sources of Taoism had coalesced into a coherent tradition of ritualists in the state of Shu (modern Sichuan ). One of the earliest forms of Taoism was the Han era ( 2nd century BCE ) Huang–Lao movement, which

14847-574: The fourth Earthsea novel, is narrated from Tenar's point of view; it depicts her life on Gont and her reunion and relationship with Ged. She reappears in The Other Wind , the sixth Earthsea book. Tenar is paired with Ged in The Tombs of Atuan , the two sharing power to create a more powerful combination. Tenar is part of multiple pairs of characters that develop together; both Ged, in The Tombs of Atuan , and later Tehanu in her eponymous novel, are shown as being dependent on her. Ged , who in

14994-429: The humans are sorcerers or wizards. Influenced strongly by Le Guin's interest in Taoism , the world is shown as being based on a delicate balance, which most of its inhabitants are aware of, but which is disrupted by somebody in each of the original trilogy of novels. Magic in the societies of Earthsea is depicted as a force for both good and evil. The setting of Earthsea is preindustrial , and has many cultures within

15141-409: The inhabitants". Afterwards, Taoism developed and grew into two sects; One is Zhengyi Taoism, which mainly focuses on spells, and the other is Quanzhen Taoism, which mainly focuses on practicing inner alchemy. Overall, traditional Taoist thought, content, and sects are varied, reflecting the ideal of "absorbing everything inside and mixing everything outside". Early Taoism drew on the ideas found in

15288-407: The labyrinth and sees Kossil uncovering the false grave. Evading her, Arha goes to the treasury and confesses everything to Ged, who has found the other half of Erreth-Akbe's ring in the treasury. He tells Arha that she must either kill him or escape with him, and says that the Nameless Ones demand her service, but give nothing and create nothing in return. He tells her his true name, Ged, in return for

15435-493: The labyrinth and the Tombs. Le Guin suggests that true power is not only about authority and mastery, but trust and collaboration. The novels of the Earthsea cycle differ notably from Le Guin's early Hainish cycle works, written during the same period. Fantasy scholar George Slusser described them as providing a counterweight to the "excessive pessimism" of the Hainish novels. He saw the former as depicting individual action in

15582-832: The labyrinth in The Tombs of Atuan . It has drawn comparisons to the character of Alvin in Arthur C. Clarke 's novella The City and the Stars . A shorter version of The Tombs of Atuan was published in the magazine Worlds of Fantasy in the Winter 1970 issue. The complete version was published by Atheneum Books in 1971. It was the second book of the original Earthsea "trilogy", being preceded by A Wizard of Earthsea , and followed by The Farthest Shore in 1972. The Tombs of Atuan has since been translated into more than 20 languages, and has been reprinted many times. The first three Earthsea novels received critical acclaim as works for children when they were published. The classification of

15729-476: The meaning of "Taoist" as "lay member or believer of Taoism", is a modern invention that goes back to the introduction of the Western category of "organized religion" in China in the 20th century, but it has no significance for most of Chinese society in which Taoism continues to be an "order" of the larger body of Chinese religion. Scholars like Harold Roth argue that early Taoism was a series of "inner-cultivation lineages" of master-disciple communities, emphasizing

15876-426: The midwife in her rebirth". Ged is the figure of the "other" in this novel; in contrast to the other inhabitants of the Tombs, he is male, dark-skinned, and a wizard. Ged's difference in the story is symbolized by light on many occasions, such as when his staff allows Tenar to see the undertomb for the first time: she is shocked then to find it to be beautiful, rather than just dark. Ged is responsible for giving Tenar

16023-535: The mind's original purity and clarity (which could become obscured by desires and emotions). Key figures of this school include Xu Xun, Liu Yu, Huang Yuanji, Xu Yi, and Liu Yuanran. Some of these figures taught at the imperial capital and were awarded titles. Their emphasis on practical ethics and self-cultivation in everyday life (rather than ritual or monasticism) made it very popular among the literati class. The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) mainly promoted Buddhism as well as Neo-Confucianism . Thus, during this period,

16170-420: The moment the chanting of the priestesses is described, Le Guin suggests that the Kargish faith is one of meaningless words and ritual. The Kargish deities are revered as the "Nameless Ones"; thus Ged's statement to Arha that all things have names also works to undermine her faith. Tenar begins to question her beliefs when she hears Kossil defying the Nameless Ones, and sees that they do not punish her. She has

16317-496: The most important figure of the Tang was the court Taoist and writer Du Guangting (850–933). Du wrote numerous works about Taoist rituals, history, myth, and biography. He also reorganized and edited the Taotsang after a period of war and loss. During the Tang, several emperors became patrons of Taoism, inviting priests to court to conduct rituals and enhance the prestige of the sovereign. The Gaozong Emperor even decreed that

16464-513: The mountains... What she had begun to learn was the weight of liberty. Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward towards the light; but the laden traveler may never reach the end of it. —Ursula K. Le Guin, The Tombs of Atuan , chapter 12, Voyage . After this incident, she falls ill and experiences nightmares, suggesting that when she underwent

16611-434: The nameless ones. She contemplates killing Ged, blaming him for her pain. Eventually, she learns to accept her guilt over her actions, realizing that though she had no choice in her actions as a priestess, she now has a choice to move away from them; however, this "freedom is a heavy load". Le Guin ends the novel with the reassuring sentence "Gravely she walked beside [Ged] up the white streets of Havnor, holding his hand, like

16758-439: The option of life in aristocratic Havnor, and instead arrived on Gont. For some time she lived with Ged's old master, the mage Ogion – but though fond of him, rejected Ogion's offer to teach her magic. Instead, she married a farmer called Flint with whom she had two children, called Apple and Spark, and became known to the locals as Goha. It is mentioned that Ged was a bit disappointed in – and did not understand – Tenar's choice of

16905-429: The original attempt on Therru's life, and claims to be her uncle. She stays with Ogion, tending to him in his last days. He instructs her to teach Therru, but his instructions are vague, and hint at her being more than she seems. After his death, she stays on at his cottage, assisted by a local witch called Moss and a simple village girl called Heather. A few days after Ogion's death, Ged (also called Sparrowhawk) arrives on

17052-560: The original trilogy as children's literature was decried by many critics, such as Barbara Bucknall, who stated that the stories were "ageless because they deal with problems that confront us at any age", and could be read by both children and adults. It took several decades and the publication of a fourth novel, Tehanu for the series to be recognized as adult literature. Two more books were published in subsequent years; Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind , both in 2001. These books, along with Tehanu , have sometimes been referred to as

17199-408: The patriarchal Kargish empire. She learns to value herself for herself and not simply for her role as a priestess. She is helped through this process by Ged, who sees her as a powerful person, and helps her find choices that she did not see. Over the course of the story she realized that her true power is not her authority as the reincarnated high priestess, but the ability to make the choice to leave

17346-428: The philosophy expressed in thoughtful, potent metaphor, and the consummately imagined world". The Science Fiction Review summarized the novel as "Great things happen to great people, whatever their station in life, and wherever they may be. An excellent story and a fine capstone to Earthsea." Tehanu won the 1990 Nebula Award ; this made Le Guin the first person to win three Nebula Awards for Best Novel. It also won

17493-417: The previous trilogy. The book's text suggests that, to some extent at least, this is prompted by Le Guin's redefinition of the world of Earthsea and the questions she asks about the differences between male and female "power". In other words, the reduced emphasis on magic appears to be not just a difference in the kind of narrative Le Guin decided to tell, but in the actual role she felt that magic (as defined in

17640-442: The priestesses into believing the child has a skin disease. Commentators state that this episode suggests certain universal impulses can lead to resistance against "cultural imperatives"; Tenar's mother is willing to bend the rules to keep her child. Unlike the rest of Earthsea, which relies on the "Old Speech" for its magic and rituals, the Kargish lands use their own tongue, and rituals are conducted with meaningless babble; thus from

17787-401: The properties of plants and geology , diviners , early environmentalists , tribal chieftains, court scribes and commoner members of governments, members of the nobility in Chinese states, and the descendants of refugee communities. Significant movements in early Taoism disregarded the existence of gods, and many who believed in gods thought they were subject to the natural law of the Tao, in

17934-624: The religion of the Shang dynasty and the Zhou dynasty , such as their use of divination , ancestor worship , and the idea of Heaven ( Tian ) and its relationship to humanity. According to modern scholars of Taoism, such as Kirkland and Livia Kohn , Taoist philosophy also developed by drawing on numerous schools of thought from the Warring States period (4th to 3rd centuries BCE), including Mohism , Confucianism , Legalist theorists (like Shen Buhai and Han Fei , which speak of wu wei ),

18081-454: The rise of the Xuanxue (Mysterious Learning or Deep Wisdom) tradition, which focused on philosophical inquiry and integrated Confucian teachings with Taoist thought. The movement included scholars like Wang Bi (226–249), He Yan (d. 249), Xiang Xiu (223?–300), Guo Xiang (d. 312), and Pei Wei (267–300). Another later influential figure was the 4th century alchemist Ge Hong , who wrote

18228-512: The rituals that made her the "eaten one", some of her personality and her regard for life remained. She questions her faith (another theme that runs through the novel), and begins to develop a sense of self apart from it, helped in this process by Ged. She wrestles with her contradictory thoughts for a long time; keeping Ged alive would be contrary to all her teachings and the powers she serves, but sacrificing him would be contrary to her developing respect for life. An important moment in this process

18375-730: The status and influence of Taoism declined. During the 18th century, the Qing imperial library excluded virtually all Taoist books. The Qing era also saw the birth of the Longmen ("Dragon Gate" 龍門 ) school of Wang Kunyang (1552–1641), a branch of Quanzhen from southern China that became established at the White Cloud Temple . Longmen authors like Liu Yiming (1734–1821) and Min Yide (1758–1836) worked to promote and preserve Taoist inner alchemy practices through books like The Secret of

18522-412: The story goes by his common name of Sparrowhawk , only enters the novel midway through when he comes to the tombs to steal the ring of Erreth-Akbe. Where he was an adolescent in A Wizard of Earthsea , he is depicted as a mature individual in the second Earthsea volume, one who gradually transforms Tenar's view of the world. In The Tombs of Atuan , he plays the role of the wise helper to the protagonist,

18669-445: The subject and the approach. Drawing from her short stories, Le Guin began work on A Wizard of Earthsea . Le Guin has said that the book was in part a response to the image of wizards as ancient and wise, and to her wondering where they come from. Le Guin later said that her choice of fantasy as a medium, and of the theme of coming of age, was a product of her writing for adolescents. The short stories published in 1964 introduced

18816-476: The time, such as by choosing a female protagonist, and a dark-skinned leading character. The Tombs of Atuan was well received when it was published, with critics commenting favorably on the character of Tenar, Le Guin's writing, and her "sensitive" portrayal of cultural differences between the Kargish people and the people of the rest of Earthsea. The story received praise for its exploration of religious themes and ethical questions. Le Guin's treatment of gender

18963-620: The trust she has shown him. They escape together, though Manan, who has come looking for Arha, falls into a pit in the labyrinth and is killed when he attempts to attack Ged. The tombs begin to collapse in on themselves; Ged holds them off until they leave. Arha reverts to calling herself Tenar as she and Ged travel to the coast where his boat is hidden. While waiting for the tide, she feels an urge to kill Ged for destroying her life, but realizes while gazing at him that she has no anger left. Ged and Tenar sail to Havnor, where they are received in triumph. Tenar, from whose perspective The Tombs of Atuan

19110-425: The undertomb and the labyrinth beneath the Tombs, teaching her how to find her way around them. She tells of the treasure hidden within the labyrinth, which wizards from the archipelago have tried to steal. When Arha asks about the wizards, Thar tells her that they are unbelievers who can work magic. When she turns fourteen, Arha assumes all the responsibilities of her position, becoming the highest ranked priestess in

19257-573: The western parts of the Yuan dynasty's land), and Tibetan Buddhism . Under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), aspects of Confucianism, Taoism, and East Asian Buddhism were consciously synthesized in the Neo-Confucian school, which eventually became Imperial orthodoxy for state bureaucratic purposes. Taoist ideas also influenced Neo-Confucian thinkers like Wang Yangming and Zhan Ruoshui . During

19404-462: The widespread archipelago. Most of the characters of the story are of the Hardic peoples, who are dark-skinned, and who populate most of the islands. The internal universe of Earthsea has not remained constant across Le Guin's various works set in it, but has been continually adjusted and revised. Some of the North-eastern islands are populated by the white-skinned Kargish people, who see

19551-415: The wizard Ged (the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea ) in the undertomb. She traps him in the labyrinth by slamming the door on him, and through a peephole sees him unsuccessfully attempt to open the door with a spell. Trapped in the labyrinth, Ged eventually collapses out of exhaustion, and Arha has him chained up while debating what to do with him. After questioning him, she learns that he has come to

19698-452: The world of Earthsea and important concepts in it, such as Le Guin's treatment of magic . Le Guin's depiction of Earthsea was influenced by her familiarity with Native American legends as well as Norse mythology . The influence of Norse lore can be seen in the characters of the Kargs, who are blonde and blue-eyed, and worship two gods who are brothers. Influential in The Tombs of Atuan

19845-443: Was Taiqing (Great Clarity), which was a tradition of external alchemy (weidan) that sought immortality through the concoction of elixirs, often using toxic elements like cinnabar , lead , mercury , and realgar , as well as ritual and purificatory practices. After this point, Taoism did not have nearly as significant an effect on the passing of law as the syncretic Confucian - Legalist tradition. The Three Kingdoms period saw

19992-792: Was Zhang Boduan, author of the Wuzhen pian , a classic of internal alchemy, and the founder of the southern branch of Quanzhen. During the Song era, the Zhengyi Dao tradition properly developed in Southern China among Taoists of the Chang clan. This liturgically focused tradition would continue to be supported by later emperors and survives to this day. In the Yuan dynasty, Taoism in Northern China took inspiration from Tibetan cultural practices, Chinese folk religion (often from

20139-486: Was a Newbery Honor Book in 1972, but did not win any other major awards before being a runner-up for the International Children's Literature Association's Phoenix Award twenty years after its first publication. Upon its publication British critic Naomi Lewis called it an "extraordinary book", while scholar Andrew Wolk called the series a masterpiece of fantasy. The prose in the novel received praise;

20286-409: Was a Newbery Honor Book in 1972. Set in the fictional world of Earthsea , The Tombs of Atuan follows the story of Tenar, a young girl born in the Kargish empire, who is taken while still a child to be the high priestess to the "Nameless Ones" at the Tombs of Atuan. Her existence at the Tombs is a lonely one, deepened by the isolation of being the highest ranking priestess. Her world is disrupted by

20433-502: Was a religious tradition from the beginning." Philosopher Chung-ying Cheng likewise views Taoism as a religion embedded into Chinese history and tradition, while also assuming many different "forms of philosophy and practical wisdom". Chung-ying Cheng also noted that the Taoist view of 'heaven' mainly from "observation and meditation, [though] the teaching of [the Tao] can also include the way of heaven independently of human nature". Taoism

20580-457: Was an influential school of thought at this time. The Huainanzi and the Taipingjing are important sources from this period. An unorganized form of Taoism was popular in the Han dynasty that syncretized many preexisting forms in multiple ways for different groups existed during a rough span of time throughout the 2nd century BCE. Also during the Han, the earliest extant commentaries on

20727-536: Was called the Northern Celestial masters , and their main scripture was the Xisheng jing ( Scripture of Western Ascension ). During the sixth century, Taoists attempted to unify the various traditions into one integrated Taoism that could compete with Buddhism and Confucianism. To do this they adopted the schema known as the "three caverns", first developed by the scholar Lu Xiujing (406–477) based on

20874-553: Was criticized by several scholars, who stated that she had created a female protagonist, but within a male-dominated framework. Nonetheless, the novel has been described by scholars and commentators as "beautifully written", and a "significant exploration of womanhood". Ursula K. Le Guin 's universe of Earthsea first appeared in two short stories, " The Rule of Names " (1964) and " The Word of Unbinding " (1964), both published in Fantastic . These stories developed early concepts for

21021-416: Was published at the behest of the Chinese emperor . Thus, according to Russell Kirkland, "in several important senses, it was really Lu Hsiu-ching who founded Taoism, for it was he who first gained community acceptance for a common canon of texts, which established the boundaries, and contents, of 'the teachings of the Tao' (Tao-chiao). Lu also reconfigured the ritual activities of the tradition, and formulated

21168-496: Was syncretic, combining elements from Buddhism and Confucianism with Taoist tradition. According to Wang Chongyang, the " three teachings " (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism), "when investigated, prove to be but one school". Quanzhen became the largest and most important Taoist school in China when master Qiu Chuji met with Genghis Khan who ended up making him the leader of all Chinese religions as well as exempting Quanzhen institutions from taxation. Another important Quanzhen figure

21315-508: Was termed daojiao (the teaching of the Tao). The Tang was the height of Taoist influence, during which Taoism, led by the Patriarch of Supreme Clarity, was the dominant religion in China. According to Russell Kirkland, this new Taoist synthesis had its main foundation in the Lingbao school's teachings, which was appealing to all classes of society and drew on Mahayana Buddhism. Perhaps

21462-471: Was the main dynastic protector deity of the Ming. The Ming era saw the rise of the Jingming ("Pure Illumination") school to prominence, which merged Taoism with Buddhist and Confucian teachings and focused on "purity, clarity, loyalty and filial piety ". The school derided internal and external alchemy, fasting ( bigu ), and breathwork. Instead, the school focused on using mental cultivation to return to

21609-425: Was the most influential of the Taoist hermits. Some scholars holds that since he lived in the south, he may have been influenced by Chinese shamanism . Zhuang Zhou and his followers insisted they were the heirs of ancient traditions and the ways of life of by-then legendary kingdoms. Pre-Taoist philosophers and mystics whose activities may have influenced Taoism included shamans, naturalists skilled in understanding

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