Dr. Ronnie Littlejohn, professor of philosophy and director of Asian studies, has been awarded Third Prize in the International Visual Essay Competition sponsored by the Center on Religion and Chinese Society for his essay, Entering the Dark Places of Wisdom.
The prize-winning article and images focus on the Tiangu Cave on Mount Hemingshan (Crane Call Mountain) in Sichuan, China. The remote grotto is where Zhang Daoling, the founder of the Celestial Masters Daoist movement, had his experience of transformation and illumination. It is considered one of Daoism’s “Blessed Spots” (fudi 福地). The site represents one of six locales which are part of a documentary series Littlejohn is producing entitled, “Perfected Persons of Chinese History.”
At this location, his team consisted of Ms. Serena Zhang (Zhang Chunli 张春丽), research assistant; Ms. Yang Zhide 杨至德, director of Qingchengshan青城山and Hemingshan 鹤鸣山Daoist sites; Mr. Huang Chengchao 黄诚超, Daoshi道士 of Tiangu Dong, Hemingshan; and Mr. Simon Chen (Chen Qi 陈 奇), director, inbound research and foreign scholars, Sichuan International Service Co., LTD. Littlejohn’s research and the documentary is partially funded by a grant from Belmont’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
