會議地點：越南胡志明市；時間：2009.12.18 - 2010.01.03；大會主題：傑出的女性修行者與典範=Eminent Buddhist Women
關鍵詞
曉雲法師
摘要
Bhiksuni Hiu Wan (1912-2004) was born in Nanhai, Guangdong. Recognized as an eminent Buddhist nun in Taiwan, she also achieved international renown. She had a profound impact and made outstanding contributions to Buddhist art, literature, and education, especially in Taiwan. She also founded Huafan University, the first university established by the Buddhist community in Taiwan, which emphasized “Awakening Education” and students’ cultivation of virtues. She completed a “Grand World Tour” through dozens of countries, from Southeast Asia to Japan, Europe, and the United States. Although she is not the first woman who traveled and recorded her voyage in the modern period, she was the first Buddhist nun who traveled the world alone and bequeathed a record of her travels in a variety of media – poems, diaries, prose, and paintings.
Today, in a climate flourishing with women travel writers and Buddhist women exploring the world, Bhiksuni Hiu Wan’s Grand World Tour stands as a significant model. The diverse texts that record what she saw and heard are significant contributions to a genealogy of alternative female travel writing. In this paper, I will explore Bhiksuni Hiu Wan’s motivation and goal in traveling, the cultural value of her texts, her aesthetic achievements, and historical significance. I will also discuss the values evident in her views of the world and the significance of creating a genealogy of Buddhist travel literature within contemporary women’s travel writing.
