Elder Gongga 貢噶老人 (1903-1997) between China, Tibet and Taiwan: assessing life, mission and mummification of a Buddhist woman

Travagnin, Stefania

Elder Gongga 貢噶老人 (1903-1997) between China, Tibet and Taiwan: assessing life, mission and mummification of a Buddhist woman

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Published Version

Date

2016

Authors

Travagnin, Stefania

Publisher

ISASR in association with the Study of Religions, University College Cork

Abstract

Elder Gongga (1903-1997), a Chinese Buddhist woman native of Beiping, played a crucial role in the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in China and Taiwan, bridged Dharma traditions, and merged Buddhist and cultural identities; she also became an eminent nun in the history of female Buddhism for life achievements and the worship of her mummified body after death. The analysis of Elder Gongga's life and works contributes to better understand history, dynamics and networks of Buddhism in twentieth century China and Taiwan: Elder Gongga's story is the story of a Chinese Buddhist woman who practiced and spread Tibetan Buddhism first in China and then in Taiwan, and therefore another portrayal of the conditions of women following Tibetan Buddhism in the Chinese region in the twentieth-century. The mummification of her body after death contributes to the debate on body and material culture in the Buddhist context.

Keywords

Elder Gongga , Tibetan Buddhism , Buddhist mummification , Buddhism in Taiwan , Buddhist women , Networks

Citation

TRAVAGNIN, S. 2016. Elder Gongga 貢噶老人 (1903-1997) between China, Tibet and Taiwan: assessing life, mission and mummification of a Buddhist woman. Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions, 3(1), 250-272.