Beyond Text-to-Text: Embodied Experience in Daoist Scripture Translation – a Case Study of Livia Kohn’s Sitting in Oblivion
Method & Theory in the Study of Religion August 4, 2026 Ziqiang Zhao
This article examines the role of embodied knowledge in translating practice-oriented religious texts through a case study of Livia Kohn’s Sitting in Oblivion: The Heart of Daoist Meditation . While Kohn’s translation of the Tang-dynasty Zuowang Lun 坐忘論 exhibits clear markers of phenomenological literacy – experientially precise terminology, recognition of practice progressions, and technical...