Tero Tähtinen | Tampere University (original) (raw)
Papers by Tero Tähtinen
Tao Qian is one of the central figures in Chinese literary history and the founding father of the... more Tao Qian is one of the central figures in Chinese literary history and the founding father
of the so-called tianyuan (farmstead) poetry. Traditionally, Tao’s writings have been
read biographically, which has limited our understanding of their deeper structural and
experiential dimensions. In this article, I turn my attention to the place-consciousness
of his poetry and analyze how he repeatedly creates experiences of belonging in his
verses. As a theoretical frame of reference, I utilize the concepts “space” and “place” as
they are defined by Yi-Fu Tuan in his study Space and Place. In Tao’s tianyuan poetry,
the surrounding, indefinite space turns constantly into a lived and meaningfully orga-
nized place which functions as the epicenter of the agrarian lifestyle and worldview.
As I seek to demonstrate, a place is not only a physical location but is a complex and
multilayered phenomenon that can appear as a means of knowing, a source of truthful
living, and even as an event. In Tao’s writings, the experience of place is predominantly
positive and empowering but can also at times cause feelings of loss and grief.
Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture, Nov 1, 2022
This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape ... more This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape poems from the perspective of Buddhist metaphysics. First, the article traces Wang's Buddhist connections and surveys the Buddhist concepts, ideas, and practices of which Wang himself explicitly wrote in his essays and poems. Then it uses these ideas to analyze poems from his "Wang Stream Collection" (Wangchuan ji). The conjunctive theme of this article is the underlying emptiness of all existing phenomena, one of the main metaphysical doctrines of Mahayana philosophy and a recurrent motif in Wang's poetry. The author demonstrates that, when seen from the standpoint of emptiness, the relation of the perceiver and the perceived in Wang's short nature poems proves to be more sophisticated than usually thought. Because both the human agent and the natural objects around him are intrinsically empty, they are interrelated and interdependent in the act of perception at the deepest and the most subtle ontological level.
Jounal of Chinese Literature and Culture, 2022
This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape poems fr... more This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape poems from the perspective of Buddhist metaphysics. First, the article traces Wang's Buddhist connections and surveys the Buddhist concepts, ideas, and practices of which Wang himself explicitly wrote in his essays and poems. Then it uses these ideas to analyze poems from his "Wang Stream Collection" (Wangchuan ji). The conjunctive theme of this article is the underlying emptiness of all existing phenomena, one of the main metaphysical doctrines of Mahayana philosophy and a recurrent motif in Wang's poetry. The author demonstrates that, when seen from the standpoint of emptiness, the relation of the perceiver and the perceived in Wang's short nature poems proves to be more sophisticated than usually thought. Because both the human agent and the natural objects around him are intrinsically empty, they are interrelated and interdependent in the act of perception at the deepest and the most subtle ontological level.
AVAIN - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen aikakauslehti
Religions, 2021
In this paper, we explore the historical background and the semantic underpinnings of a central, ... more In this paper, we explore the historical background and the semantic underpinnings of a central, if marginally treated, metaphor of enlightenment and transmission in Chan discourse, “silent accord” 默契. It features centrally in Essentials of the Transmission of Mind 傳心法要, a text that gathers the teachings of Chan master Huangbo Xiyun (d. ca. 850), a major Tang dynasty figure. “Silent accord” is related to the concept of mind-to-mind transmission, which lies at the very core of Chan Buddhist self-understanding. However, Chan historiography has shown that this self-understanding was partially a product of the Song dynasty lineage records, historically retroactive syncretic constructs produced by monks and literati as efforts towards doctrinal and political recognition and orthodoxy. There are thus lacunae in the history of Chan thought opened up by the retrospective fictions of Song dynasty, and a lack of reliable, dateable documents from the preceding Tang dynasty era, possibly fraugh...
Kiinalainen luontorunous tunnetaan yleisesti hyvin konkreettisesta kuvastostaan. Tassa artikkelis... more Kiinalainen luontorunous tunnetaan yleisesti hyvin konkreettisesta kuvastostaan. Tassa artikkelissa kasittelen kahden Tang-dynastian (618-907) aikana elaneen runoilijan Wei Yingwun ja Wang Wein runoja, joissa realistinen luontokuvaus murtuu ja antaa tilaa laajemmalle ja monimuotoisemmalle kokemukselle, joka ylittaa silkan nakyvaisen pinnan. Analyysieni perusteella realistinen luontokokemus voi halveta esimerkiksi mielikuvituksen, pilvien kaltaisen yhta aikaa peittavan ja paljastavan elementin seka ”tyhjyyden” kokemusten kautta. Aluksi kasittelen runoja, joissa luonnonmaisema sijaitsee runon puhujan mielessa, sitten runoja, joissa todellisuus nayttaa hetkellisesti katoavan, ja lopuksi runoja, jotka kurottavat kokonaan olemisen ja olemattomuuden ontologisen rajan tuolle puolen. Runoluentojen myota pyrin osoittamaan, etta perinteinen kasitys kiinalaisen luontorunouden kuvallisesta konkreettisuudesta antaa hyvin rajoittuneen kuvan kiinalaisen runoperinteen poeettisista keinoista ja sisa...
AVAIN - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen aikakauslehti, 2019
Artikkelini käsittelee maiseman käsitettä kiinalaisessa, erityisesti Tang- ja Song-dynastioiden l... more Artikkelini käsittelee maiseman käsitettä kiinalaisessa, erityisesti Tang- ja Song-dynastioiden luontorunoudessa. Toisin kuin länsimaisessa perinteessä, missä maisema määrittyy udein visuaalisesti havaittuna staattisena "tauluna", kiinalainen perinne näkee maiseman energeettisenä kenttänä, jossa vastakohtaiset voimat tulevat päättymättömään "korrelaatioiden leikkiin" keskenään. Yhtenä keskeisenä pyrkimyksenäni on osoittaa, että kiinalaisessa maisemaorientaatiossa ihminen ei ole vain passvinen tarkkailija ("katsoja") vaan olennainen osa villin luonnon kosmologiaa. Teoreettisena taustana hyödynnän erityisesti ranskalainen sinologin François Jullienin teosta Living off Landscape, joka on ensimmäinen länsimaisen tutkijan yritys ymmärtää ja hahmottaa kiinalainen käsitys "vuorten-vesien" holistisesta kokonaisuudesta. Jullienin teoriat ovat ajoittain sangen korkealentoisia, ja yksi artikkelini pyrkimyksistä on havainnollistavien runoesimerkkien avull...
AVAIN - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen aikakauslehti
Tao Qian is one of the central figures in Chinese literary history and the founding father of the... more Tao Qian is one of the central figures in Chinese literary history and the founding father
of the so-called tianyuan (farmstead) poetry. Traditionally, Tao’s writings have been
read biographically, which has limited our understanding of their deeper structural and
experiential dimensions. In this article, I turn my attention to the place-consciousness
of his poetry and analyze how he repeatedly creates experiences of belonging in his
verses. As a theoretical frame of reference, I utilize the concepts “space” and “place” as
they are defined by Yi-Fu Tuan in his study Space and Place. In Tao’s tianyuan poetry,
the surrounding, indefinite space turns constantly into a lived and meaningfully orga-
nized place which functions as the epicenter of the agrarian lifestyle and worldview.
As I seek to demonstrate, a place is not only a physical location but is a complex and
multilayered phenomenon that can appear as a means of knowing, a source of truthful
living, and even as an event. In Tao’s writings, the experience of place is predominantly
positive and empowering but can also at times cause feelings of loss and grief.
Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture, Nov 1, 2022
This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape ... more This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape poems from the perspective of Buddhist metaphysics. First, the article traces Wang's Buddhist connections and surveys the Buddhist concepts, ideas, and practices of which Wang himself explicitly wrote in his essays and poems. Then it uses these ideas to analyze poems from his "Wang Stream Collection" (Wangchuan ji). The conjunctive theme of this article is the underlying emptiness of all existing phenomena, one of the main metaphysical doctrines of Mahayana philosophy and a recurrent motif in Wang's poetry. The author demonstrates that, when seen from the standpoint of emptiness, the relation of the perceiver and the perceived in Wang's short nature poems proves to be more sophisticated than usually thought. Because both the human agent and the natural objects around him are intrinsically empty, they are interrelated and interdependent in the act of perception at the deepest and the most subtle ontological level.
Jounal of Chinese Literature and Culture, 2022
This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape poems fr... more This article discusses the dialectics of subject and object inWang Wei's short landscape poems from the perspective of Buddhist metaphysics. First, the article traces Wang's Buddhist connections and surveys the Buddhist concepts, ideas, and practices of which Wang himself explicitly wrote in his essays and poems. Then it uses these ideas to analyze poems from his "Wang Stream Collection" (Wangchuan ji). The conjunctive theme of this article is the underlying emptiness of all existing phenomena, one of the main metaphysical doctrines of Mahayana philosophy and a recurrent motif in Wang's poetry. The author demonstrates that, when seen from the standpoint of emptiness, the relation of the perceiver and the perceived in Wang's short nature poems proves to be more sophisticated than usually thought. Because both the human agent and the natural objects around him are intrinsically empty, they are interrelated and interdependent in the act of perception at the deepest and the most subtle ontological level.
AVAIN - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen aikakauslehti
Religions, 2021
In this paper, we explore the historical background and the semantic underpinnings of a central, ... more In this paper, we explore the historical background and the semantic underpinnings of a central, if marginally treated, metaphor of enlightenment and transmission in Chan discourse, “silent accord” 默契. It features centrally in Essentials of the Transmission of Mind 傳心法要, a text that gathers the teachings of Chan master Huangbo Xiyun (d. ca. 850), a major Tang dynasty figure. “Silent accord” is related to the concept of mind-to-mind transmission, which lies at the very core of Chan Buddhist self-understanding. However, Chan historiography has shown that this self-understanding was partially a product of the Song dynasty lineage records, historically retroactive syncretic constructs produced by monks and literati as efforts towards doctrinal and political recognition and orthodoxy. There are thus lacunae in the history of Chan thought opened up by the retrospective fictions of Song dynasty, and a lack of reliable, dateable documents from the preceding Tang dynasty era, possibly fraugh...
Kiinalainen luontorunous tunnetaan yleisesti hyvin konkreettisesta kuvastostaan. Tassa artikkelis... more Kiinalainen luontorunous tunnetaan yleisesti hyvin konkreettisesta kuvastostaan. Tassa artikkelissa kasittelen kahden Tang-dynastian (618-907) aikana elaneen runoilijan Wei Yingwun ja Wang Wein runoja, joissa realistinen luontokuvaus murtuu ja antaa tilaa laajemmalle ja monimuotoisemmalle kokemukselle, joka ylittaa silkan nakyvaisen pinnan. Analyysieni perusteella realistinen luontokokemus voi halveta esimerkiksi mielikuvituksen, pilvien kaltaisen yhta aikaa peittavan ja paljastavan elementin seka ”tyhjyyden” kokemusten kautta. Aluksi kasittelen runoja, joissa luonnonmaisema sijaitsee runon puhujan mielessa, sitten runoja, joissa todellisuus nayttaa hetkellisesti katoavan, ja lopuksi runoja, jotka kurottavat kokonaan olemisen ja olemattomuuden ontologisen rajan tuolle puolen. Runoluentojen myota pyrin osoittamaan, etta perinteinen kasitys kiinalaisen luontorunouden kuvallisesta konkreettisuudesta antaa hyvin rajoittuneen kuvan kiinalaisen runoperinteen poeettisista keinoista ja sisa...
AVAIN - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen aikakauslehti, 2019
Artikkelini käsittelee maiseman käsitettä kiinalaisessa, erityisesti Tang- ja Song-dynastioiden l... more Artikkelini käsittelee maiseman käsitettä kiinalaisessa, erityisesti Tang- ja Song-dynastioiden luontorunoudessa. Toisin kuin länsimaisessa perinteessä, missä maisema määrittyy udein visuaalisesti havaittuna staattisena "tauluna", kiinalainen perinne näkee maiseman energeettisenä kenttänä, jossa vastakohtaiset voimat tulevat päättymättömään "korrelaatioiden leikkiin" keskenään. Yhtenä keskeisenä pyrkimyksenäni on osoittaa, että kiinalaisessa maisemaorientaatiossa ihminen ei ole vain passvinen tarkkailija ("katsoja") vaan olennainen osa villin luonnon kosmologiaa. Teoreettisena taustana hyödynnän erityisesti ranskalainen sinologin François Jullienin teosta Living off Landscape, joka on ensimmäinen länsimaisen tutkijan yritys ymmärtää ja hahmottaa kiinalainen käsitys "vuorten-vesien" holistisesta kokonaisuudesta. Jullienin teoriat ovat ajoittain sangen korkealentoisia, ja yksi artikkelini pyrkimyksistä on havainnollistavien runoesimerkkien avull...
AVAIN - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen aikakauslehti