"The Body and the Stars: Astral-Physiological Thinking in Medieval China"

Jeffrey Kotyk, Sheng Yen Education Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Chinese Buddhism at the University of British Columbia

Following the introduction of astrology from foreign sources into China during the Tang Dynasty, there emerged a new way of thinking about the body in relation to the stars. Organs, limbs, illnesses and physical processes were associated with the movements of the planets. This development is documented primarily in astrological literature from the Tang to Ming periods, and moreover shares many striking parallels with European astrology. This lecture will discuss the history and features of astral-physiology in medieval China.