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- Panel 2-2 Purity and Imperial Statecraft: 13th–14th Century Buddhist Vegetarianism and the Mongol Imperial Court /Paehwan Seol
Panel 2-2 Purity and Imperial Statecraft: 13th–14th Century Buddhist Vegetarianism and the Mongol Imperial Court /Paehwan Seol
Paehwan Seol
Professor, Chonnam National University Department of History Studies, Republic of Korea
This paper focuses on women’s roles in food practices, ritual performances, and emotional interaction. The Mongol era of the 13th and 14th centuries was a time of upheaval when the diversity and competition between eating meat and vegetarianism came to the surface in Eurasia. According to Qiu Chuji (丘處機: 1148–1227), in 1221 livestock herding and hunting shaped the Mongols’ daily diet. Meat was also regarded by Mongols as a source of aristocratic authority, just as it was for Europeans.
In the 13th century, when the Mongols left the Mongolian grasslands, they encountered a variety of peoples who were very different from their accustomed economic and cultural behavior. A representative group of those peoples were professional religious figures. Significantly, Buddhists adhered to a vegetarian diet.
How did the Mongols and Buddhists, clearly distinguished by their dietary practices, interact and harmonize within the daily life and governance of the Mongol empire?
The relationship between the imperial court and Buddhist priests was crucial in understanding the empire’s culture and statecraft. The cooperation and privilege granted to Tibetan Buddhist, Daoist, Christian, and Islamic clergy for the rule of the great Qan is a major concern in Mongolian studies. However, the everyday cultural and sensorial interactions in diet and physical appearance between the Qan and monks have been overlooked by scholars. The paper analyzes how monks (and nuns) were positioned in the “political theology” and culture of the empire from the perspective of dietary practices. The Buddhist bodies and dietary behaviors not only reveal aspects of monastic identity and food culture, but also provide insight into imperial governance.
Keywords: Mongol empire, Buddhism, Food culture, Meat eating, Vegetarianism
Professor, Chonnam National University Department of History Studies, Republic of Korea
This paper focuses on women’s roles in food practices, ritual performances, and emotional interaction. The Mongol era of the 13th and 14th centuries was a time of upheaval when the diversity and competition between eating meat and vegetarianism came to the surface in Eurasia. According to Qiu Chuji (丘處機: 1148–1227), in 1221 livestock herding and hunting shaped the Mongols’ daily diet. Meat was also regarded by Mongols as a source of aristocratic authority, just as it was for Europeans.
In the 13th century, when the Mongols left the Mongolian grasslands, they encountered a variety of peoples who were very different from their accustomed economic and cultural behavior. A representative group of those peoples were professional religious figures. Significantly, Buddhists adhered to a vegetarian diet.
How did the Mongols and Buddhists, clearly distinguished by their dietary practices, interact and harmonize within the daily life and governance of the Mongol empire?
The relationship between the imperial court and Buddhist priests was crucial in understanding the empire’s culture and statecraft. The cooperation and privilege granted to Tibetan Buddhist, Daoist, Christian, and Islamic clergy for the rule of the great Qan is a major concern in Mongolian studies. However, the everyday cultural and sensorial interactions in diet and physical appearance between the Qan and monks have been overlooked by scholars. The paper analyzes how monks (and nuns) were positioned in the “political theology” and culture of the empire from the perspective of dietary practices. The Buddhist bodies and dietary behaviors not only reveal aspects of monastic identity and food culture, but also provide insight into imperial governance.
Keywords: Mongol empire, Buddhism, Food culture, Meat eating, Vegetarianism