This talk is jointly organised by the Asia Research Institute, and the GL Louis Religious Pluralism Research Cluster in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore; with funding support from the Foo Hai Ch’an Monastery Fellowship in Buddhist Studies.
CHAIRPERSON
Dr Sherice Ngaserin, Department of Philosophy, National University of Singapore
ABSTRACT
Food is ubiquitous in Xiyou ji and hunger drives the plot: Monkey steals the immortal peaches, the immortals banquet and party a lot, the demons want to eat the flesh of the Tang Monk because consuming him will supposedly bring immortality. They salivate when discussing whether they should steam, deep fry, boil, sauté, or dice him.
Meals structure many episodes: they begin with the hungry pilgrims looking for food, getting lost and trapped, and ends with a feast. The chapters cycle from famine to abundance. The pilgrims require a special diet: they are vegetarians and so their dining choices are limited. In the traditional dietetics of China, eating well is a part of self-cultivation and food should nourish both the body and the soul. How is the path to enlightenment paved with cravings? What is the ethics of food in this incandescent novel bursting with the lowest kitchen slapstick and deepest metaphysical doctrines?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Andrew Hui is Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore and also the author of three books: The Study: The Inner Life of Renaissance Libraries (2025), A Theory of the Aphorism from Confucius to Twitter (2019, translated into 5 languages), and The Poetics of Ruins in Renaissance Literature (2017). His books have been reviewed in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and London Review of Books. His newest projects are: The Marvelous Universe of Journey to the West (Princeton University Press), and The Emperor’s Maze: The Jesuits in China and the Making of a Global Age (Penguin Books).
REGISTRATION
Registration is closed. However, we welcome walk-ins to join us if there are available seats.
