Features Podcast

Buddhist Poet-Monks in Medieval China with Thomas J. Mazanec

Last week was all about Christian monks, but naturally, there were a whole lot of monks in different traditions across the medieval world. And some of them were even poets. This week, Danièle speaks with Thomas J. Mazanec about the Buddhist poet-monks of medieval China, why they chose to write poetry, and why their art was so controversial.

Thomas J. Mazanec is Associate Professor of Premodern Chinese and Comparative Literature at the University of California – Santa Barbara. You can follow him on BlueSky @tommazanec.bsky.social. His new book is Poet-Monks: The Invention of Buddhist Poetry in Late Medieval China

The creator and host of The Medieval Podcast is Danièle Cybulskie. Click here to visit her website or follow her on BlueSky @5minmedievalist.bsky.social

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Top Image: Photo by Gary Todd / Wikimedia Commons