LRCCS Noon Lecture Series | A Whiff of Nirvana: On Why Chinese Buddhists Were Not Vegans

Miranda Brown, Professor of Chinese, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Michigan

Medieval Chinese Buddhists were some of the world’s most strident animal rights activists. Monks and devout lay people swore off meat and wrote moving accounts about the suffering of animals. Yet the concern with animal welfare did not make vegans out of them. Monasteries kept loads of cream in their pantries and sheep on their lands. This talk explains why.

Miranda Brown is a Professor of Chinese Studies in the Dept. of Asian Languages and Cultures who has taught Chinese history at the University of Michigan since 2002. In old age, she has discovered her true passion: Chinese food. She is now writing a book on the history of dairy in premodern China. In her free time, she chronicles her efforts to re-imagine Chinese food with lots of milk in her blog (http://www.chinesefoodhistory.org) and on Twitter (@Dong_Muda).