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Figurations of Time in Asia
The experience and the ensuing structuring of time
forms a constitutive part of human cultures. There are
many ways of coming to terms with time, calendars
and historiographies being its most common cultural
representations. The contributions to this volume deal
with lesser known figurations that result directly from
the various perceptions about time and phenomena
related to time. Diachronous investigations in various
parts of Asia (predominantly South Asia) reveal a
broad spectrum of such visual and literary figurative
manifestations.
While Hinduism recognizes a divine personification
of time and allocates the ominous factor time in an
ontological proximity to death, other cultures of Asia
have developed their own specific concepts and strategies.
This collection of essays combines perspectives
of various disciplines on figurations in which time
congeals, as it were. These figurations result from local
time regimes, and beyond demonstrating their diversity
of forms this volume offers coordinates for a comparison
of cultures.
The topics include chronograms as well as early Buddhist
topoi of the vastness of time, the Indian Jaina representation
of both temporality and non-temporality and
the teachings of a Mediaeval Zen master hinting at the
more stationary aspects of time