Dreams and Conversions: A Comparative Analysis of Catholic and Buddhist Dreams in Ming and Qing China: Part I
Journal of Religious History October 1, 2005 R. Po-chia Hsia 5 citations
Dreams, though often viewed with suspicion by theologians and church authorities since the early Church fathers, remained a powerful and widespread form of religious expression among ordinary people. In Ming-Qing China, where European priests were scarce, lay converts relied heavily on holy dreams to build and strengthen a distinct religious subculture. This text is a version of a keynote address delivered at the Fourth Biennial Meeting of the Religious History Society in July 2004 in Newcastle, Australia.