Professor Terry Kleeman, of Religious Studies and Asian Languages and Civilizations, was recently interviewed by the New York Times about his new book "Celestial Masters: History and Ritual in Early Daoist Communities." Of Professor Kleeman the New York Times states:
Terry F. Kleeman is a leading scholar of the early texts and history of China’s only indigenous religion, Taoism. A professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, he is the author of the recently published “Celestial Masters: History and Ritual in Early Daoist Communities.” This is the first work in any Western language on the founding of Taoism as a formal religious movement, rooted in earlier philosophical teachings like the Tao Te Ching, also known as the Daodejing and sometimes translated as “The Way and Its Power.”
In an interview, Professor Kleeman discussed how Taoism provided an alternative political model to the Confucian-based imperial order, how Taoist texts can help deepen our understanding of early Chinese history and why today’s Communist government seeks to control Taoist practices.
The entire interview with Professor Kleeman can be found on the New York Times website.