In the Land of Tigers and Snakes

The question of how humans treat, and should treat, non-human animals has become more urgent in the face of biodiversity loss, and we might find some answers by considering how we have lived with animals in other times and places. Huaiyu Chen’s In the Land of Tigers and Snakes. . . provides openings to do so. * The Times Literary Supplement *
Huaiyu Chen makes a significant contribution to our understanding of human–animal interactions in medieval China…[He] tells a fascinating story of the changing boundaries between the “wild and untamed” and the “civilized” world. Particularly rich and cohesive…In the Land of Tigers and Snakes would be an excellent reading for either an undergraduate- or a graduate level class in religious studies and Asian history. * Journal of Chinese History *
By learning from the work presented in this book, we can promote deeper conversations and mutual understandings between religions, allowing scholars across multiple disciplines other than religious studies to gain inspiration for their respective fields of study. * Religion *
...by learning from the work presented in this book, we can promote deeper conversations and mutual understandings between religions, allowing scholars across multiple disciplines other than religious studies to gain inspiration for their respective fields of study. * Religion *
In addition to its importance for the history of Chinese religions, In the Land of Tigers and Snakes is a valuable text for both comparative medieval studies and animal studies. Chen has compiled an impressive array of historical sources, while also making a commendable effort to communicate with scholars beyond his field of study. * H-Environment *
Huaiyu Chen has paved the way for future comprehensive studies of medieval Chinese religious and political culture. [In the Land of Tigers and Snakes] constitutes a significant contribution to the field of animal studies within a historical context and marks a new direction of medieval Chinese intellectual history by correcting the past neglect of animals and human-nonhuman interactions. * Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies *
. . . engaging and rich in detail. In all, this is a much-needed addition to the ever-growing field of Chinese animal studies, demonstrating the applicability and range of the “animal lens” in scholarship. * School of Oriental & African Studies *
In the Land of Tigers and Snakes is meticulously researched, richly documented, and well contextualized. Chen shows excellent command of his source materials, and I really learned a tremendous amount from reading this book. A must-read for anyone interested in animals and religion! -- Barbara Ambros, author of Bones of Contention: Animals and Religion in Contemporary Japan
An unprecedented survey of some very rich sources, In the Land of Tigers and Snakes is a major contribution to the study of the interactions between the human and animal realms in a pivotal period of Chinese history. -- T.H. Barrett, author of Taoism Under the T'ang: Religion and Empire during the Golden Age of Chinese History
In this fascinating and important study, Huaiyu Chen overturns facile beliefs that Buddhism and Daoism have long promoted ecologically beneficent attitudes and practices toward wild animals. Instead, he shows the complex ways religious leaders and laypeople viewed, controlled, killed, and according to legends, tamed and converted wild animals, in processes producing religious hierarchies, involving interreligious competition, and contributing decisively to the spread of agricultural civilizations at the expense of wildlife and wildlands. Highly recommended. -- Bron Taylor, Author of Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future and editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature
Offers a well-written and theoretically sophisticated introduction to the topic of animals and religion. Chen’s investigation is rooted in textual analysis, but he acknowledges that any treatment of this subject must be interdisciplinary in nature and he therefore employs additional insights drawn from environmental history, anthropology, and material culture. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
The strength of the book lies in its skillful and time-consuming perusal and scholarship in primary sources. * Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture *