From Female Daoist Rationality to Kundao Practice

Abstract

Abstract By presenting Cao Wenyi (1039–1119), a female Daoist in the Song dynasty, and Kundao Academy 坤道学院, a training center for female Daoists in contemporary China, this essay challenges Max Weber’s description of Daoism. This analysis criticizes two aspects of Weber’s basic position on Daoism, namely, his claims that it is irrational and egoistical. The essay argues that Weber’s account of “magical and irrational” features in Daoism is due to a deep-seated philosophical framework that fails to appreciate Daoism’s relational rationality, which takes one part in relation to many other parts, as shown in Cao’s work. Weber’s inadequate treatment of Daoism leads him not only to ignore or dismiss the roles of female Daoists in Chinese society but also to describe Daoism as egoistical and lacking in social functions. The investigation of Kundao Academy reveals a living reality in which female Daoists have a deep and immediate commitment and goal to serve the community. The study of past and present female Daoist voices invites us to rethink the very notions of man/male/masculinity and woman/female/femininity and offers a path for investigating relationships between the hegemonic power of social structures and female subjective agency through the interface of classical texts and contemporary contexts.