Heroic Śāktism with Chinese Characteristics: The Female Warrior Sovereign Prophecy, the Navarātri, and a Trio of Devīs of War in the Accession of Female Emperor Wu Zhao
†Norman Harry Rothschild (1969–2021): For twenty years, the focus of Norman Harry Rothschild’s research is Wu Zhao (624–705), better known as Wu Zetian or Empress Wu.
關鍵詞
Heroic Śāktism; Wu Zhao=Wu Zetian; Navarātri; Durgā; Mārīcī; Commentary on the Great Cloud Sūtra; vyākaraṇa
摘要
In a previous publication, I argued that China’s first and only female emperor Wu Zhao 武曌 (624–705) developed an assemblage of female divinities and dynastic mothers from Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist traditions that she tactically deployed at different stages of her half-century career in governance to enhance her visibility and political amplitude; this strategy effectively imbued herself with the aggregate cultural resonance, maternal potency, demiurgic energy, and traditional charisma of these female ancestors. It seems that I overlooked several important devīs from the Hindu tradition: the indomitable radiant warrior queens Durgā, Cundī (Ch. Zhunti 准提/準提/准胝), and Mārīcī (Ch. Molizhi tian 摩利支天). This paper argues that the timely confluence of ‘heroic Śāktism’ and esoteric Buddhism—newly arrived and nascent yet influential religious and cultural currents in late seventh century China—which, in conjunction with the opportune circulation of a cryptic prophecy concerning a ‘female ruler and martial king’, enabled Wu Zhao to use this trio of Hindu goddesses as an integral part in the construction of her sovereignty— including playing a particularly central role during her accession in 690. The late Antonino Forte’s brilliant translation of the Commentary on the Great Cloud Sūtra contains a number of prophecies that provide vital clues and insights into the roles that these devīs played.
目次
Introduction 302 1.1. The Rise of ‘Heroic Śāktism’ in Sixth and Seventh Century India 306 1.2. The Navarātri and the Warrior Goddess 309 1.2a. Connecting the Warrior-Goddess Durgā to the Devīmāhātmya and the Navarātri 318 1.3a. Durgā 321 1.3b. Caṇḍī 324 1.3c. Mārīcī 326 1.4. Key Elements of Heroic Śāktism and the Navarātri related to Wu Zhao’s Accession 327 1.4a. Heroic Śāktism: Warrior-goddess Connected to Sovereignty and Legitimation 327 1.4b. Warrior Class/identity 328 1.4c. The Cakravartin 329 1.4d. Luni-solar Light 329 1.4e. Gender 330 1.4f. Numerology: The Power of Nine 331 2.1. Setting the Context: Sino-Indian Connections in the Early Tang 332 2.1a. Female Ruler as Mahādevī 336 2.2. Prophecy of a ‘Warrior Queen’ in East Asia 338 2.2a. A Korean Kṣatriyan 338 2.2b. The Warrior Queen Prophecy in the Early Tang: A Narrow Escape for Wu Zhao 344 2.2c. Li Chunfeng and Wu Zhao 355 2.2d. A Physiognomist’s Initial Prediction of Wu Zhao’s Future Ascendancy 358 2.2e. The Chen Shuozhen Rebellion of 653 359 2.3. Cundī Enters Wu Zhao’s Pantheon 362 2.3a. Caṇḍī-Cundī Connection 362 2.3b. Esoteric Buddhism, Divākara, and the Cundī Dhāraṇī 364 2.4. The Presence of Mārīcī in Wu Zhao’s Era 370 2.4a. Mārīcī’s Connection to the Ninth Day of the Ninth Lunar Month 375 2.5. The Harivaṃśa Hymn in a Buddhist Sūtra during Wu Zhao’s Reign 377 2.6. Commentary on the Meaning of the Prophecy about Divine August in the Great Cloud Sūtra 384 2.7. Amplifying the Power of Her Martial Wu Name 387 2.7a. Projecting and Embodying Warrior: Military Examinations and Martial Motherhood 396 2.8. Wu Zhao and the ‘Two Nines’ in the Commentary on the Great Cloud Sūtra 398 2.9. Wu Zhao’s Enthronement and Dynastic Inauguration on the Navamī 401 Disclaimers on Wu Zhao’s ‘Heroic Śāktism’ and Celebrations of the Navarātri 419 Conclusions 420 Bibliography 424
