Tianyu Lei
An Explorer of the Cult of Cundī in China
tianyulei@hotmail.com
Hello
My name is Tianyu Lei
I study Ming-Qing (1368-1911) Buddhism (明清佛教) and Buddhist Literature (佛教文學). Especially, I have spent over ten years exploring the cult of Zhunti 准提 (Cundī) in China.
More About Me
At the tender age of seven, my journey into Peking Opera began, guided by my grandmother who had learned from the esteemed Master Zhu Ruxiang 諸茹香 (1891-1974). Even earlier, at five, my grandfather introduced me to the enchanting world of Sichuan Storytelling 四川評書 (Transmission Lineage: Chen Wenpu 陳文譜(?-1947) (my great-great-grandfather) → Chen Renyi 陳仁義 (1934-2017) (my grandfather) → Lei Tianyu). Under their loving tutelage, I grew up immersed in the vibrant world of Chinese performing arts, igniting a lifelong passion for these ancient and captivating art forms.
Education
2019-2023
PhD
University of Arizona
Major: Chinese Literature and Religion
Minor: Geographic Information Systems
Thesis: The Mother of All Buddhas: The Formation and Transformation of the Cult of Zhunti (Cundī) in China
2014-2017
MA
National University of Singapore
Major: Chinese Studies
Thesis: The Cult of Zhunti in Ming-Qing Literature
2010-2014
BA
Sichuan University
Major: Chinese Language and Literature
Teaching
Courses Taught
University of Arizona
CHN/RELI 245 Introduction to Chinese Religions
RELI 160A1 Gods, Goddesses, and Demons: Divinity in South Asia (TA)
RELI 359 Buddhism and Healing (TA)
EAS 160A1 Worlds of Buddhism (TA)
RELI 367 Yoga (TA)
HUMS 150B1 Mind-Altering Substances in the Ancient World (TA)
JPN RELI 220 Religion in Japanese Society
Publications
Books (chapters)
Editor for the Encyclopedia of Hangzhou Buddhism. (Forthcoming by Brill in late 2023)
“A study on the geomancy culture of Hakka: Focusing on the Hakka ancestral halls in Singapore.” In Interdisciplinary and Transnational Hakka Studies, edited by Wong Sin Kiong, 181-200. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, 2015.
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
“The Making of a Goddess: Rethinking the History of the Cult of Zhunti in China,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (forthcoming 2023) (A&HCI)
“Formation, Efficacy and Wordless Scriptures: The Tales of the ‘Great Canon’ in the Ming-Qing Novels,” Trames 26, no.2 (June 2022):157-168 (A&HCI)
“The Trajectory of Revival: Wenshu Monastery 1978–2006,” Religions 12, no. 1: 18 (A&HCI)
<秽迹金刚信仰与唐五代剑侠传奇>，《浙江学刊》，2022年第1期，133-142 (CSSCI)
<明清小说中的“大藏经”信仰初探>，《海峡人文学刊》，2022年第1期，124-132 (中国人民大学复印报刊资料《中国古代、近代文学研究》2022年第7期全文转载)
<浅析元明清准提镜之功用—从国立故宫博物院藏准提镜谈起>，《故宫文物月刊》，2022年第8期，110-117
<圣像与咒语：准提女神以及图像在中国密教中的作用>（译稿）, 《佛学研究》，2022年第1期，248-266（CSSCI扩）
<明清佛教信仰生活中的仪式研究综述>，《佛学研究》，2021年第1期，304-313（CSSCI扩）
<京剧中的“托兆”初探>，《中国京剧》，2022年第9期，32-36
<评书中的戏曲因子——以四川评书为例>，《文史知识》，2022年第7期，96-102
<浅谈四川评书<碧血双枪>的历史价值与艺术价值>, 《曲艺》，2021年第12期，52-54
<从新加坡客家祠堂看客家风水文化：以嘉应五属义祠、丰永大三邑祠为例>，收入黄贤强编《跨域研究客家文化》（新加坡：八方文化创作室，2015）
Translations & Editing
Sheng Kai 聖凱. Zhongguo hanchuan fojao liyi (Ritual, Ceremony, and Everyday Life in Chinese Buddhist Monasteries 中國漢傳佛教禮儀. (Chapter 6 Forthcoming in 2024 Chinese to English)
Wu, Jiang. Leaving for the Rising Sun: Chinese Zen Master Yinyuan and the Authenticity Crisis in Early Modern East Asia 蹈海東瀛: 隱元隆琦與前近代東亞社會的本真危機 (Beijing: Zongjiao wenhua chubanshe, 2021). English to Modern Chinese