{"id":{"repo_id":"mo-state","oai_identifier":"oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-1323"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mo-state/oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-1323","repository":{"repo_id":"mo-state","name":"Missouri State University","base_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The Armpit Sage V. the Golden Barbarian: Zhen Luan's Response to the Taoist Conversion Narrative","abstract":"This work examines a single line of argument from a medieval Chinese dispute between the supporters of Taoism and Buddhism. Western rhetorical scholars have generally ignored Chinese argumentation. It seems that the Western understanding of China as a rigidly hierarchical society has lead to the conclusion that argumentation has not played a noteworthy role in Chinese culture. This thesis challenges that conclusion by examining a medieval Chinese dispute over the origin of Buddhism. A single text is selected and evaluated using Fisher's narrative method. Results seem to indicate that the Chinese have engaged in argument as a means of critical decision-making and that with sufficient knowledge of Chinese history and culture those arguments are comprehensible to Westerners.","abstract_html":"This work examines a single line of argument from a medieval Chinese dispute between the supporters of Taoism and Buddhism. Western rhetorical scholars have generally ignored Chinese argumentation. It seems that the Western understanding of China as a rigidly hierarchical society has lead to the conclusion that argumentation has not played a noteworthy role in Chinese culture. This thesis challenges that conclusion by examining a medieval Chinese dispute over the origin of Buddhism. A single text is selected and evaluated using Fisher's narrative method. Results seem to indicate that the Chinese have engaged in argument as a means of critical decision-making and that with sufficient knowledge of Chinese history and culture those arguments are comprehensible to Westerners.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hood, Paul"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Communication","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["John Fritch"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1998,"date_issued":"1998-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"1998-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:15:23Z","subjects":["Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Paul Hood"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/322","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["John Fritch"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hood, Paul"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Communication"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Paul Hood"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/322"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This work examines a single line of argument from a medieval Chinese dispute between the supporters of Taoism and Buddhism. Western rhetorical scholars have generally ignored Chinese argumentation. It seems that the Western understanding of China as a rigidly hierarchical society has lead to the conclusion that argumentation has not played a noteworthy role in Chinese culture. This thesis challenges that conclusion by examining a medieval Chinese dispute over the origin of Buddhism. A single text is selected and evaluated using Fisher's narrative method. Results seem to indicate that the Chinese have engaged in argument as a means of critical decision-making and that with sufficient knowledge of Chinese history and culture those arguments are comprehensible to Westerners."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Armpit Sage V. the Golden Barbarian: Zhen Luan's Response to the Taoist Conversion Narrative"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["John Fritch"],"dc:creator":["Hood, Paul"],"dc:description.abstract":["This work examines a single line of argument from a medieval Chinese dispute between the supporters of Taoism and Buddhism. Western rhetorical scholars have generally ignored Chinese argumentation. It seems that the Western understanding of China as a rigidly hierarchical society has lead to the conclusion that argumentation has not played a noteworthy role in Chinese culture. This thesis challenges that conclusion by examining a medieval Chinese dispute over the origin of Buddhism. A single text is selected and evaluated using Fisher's narrative method. Results seem to indicate that the Chinese have engaged in argument as a means of critical decision-making and that with sufficient knowledge of Chinese history and culture those arguments are comprehensible to Westerners."],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/322"],"dc:rights":["© Paul Hood"],"dc:subject":["Communication"],"dc:title":["The Armpit Sage V. the Golden Barbarian: Zhen Luan's Response to the Taoist Conversion Narrative"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Communication"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:15:23Z"}