Kedao Tong

Biography

Kedao’s research and teaching focus on the history of Chinese religions, especially Buddhist engagement with nature and animals. His current book project explores the release of living animals in captive or desperate conditions, a widespread practice with strong Buddhist roots, in Chinese and transnational contexts. Building on his dissertation research and recent fieldwork, this project examines how the practice came to carry diverse ecological, social, and ethical consequences beyond the monastic walls and pursuit of karmic or worldly benefits. In addition, Kedao has published and presented on topics ranging from ritual literature on the Diamond Sūtra, Buddhist culture of remembrance, and the art endeavors of Chan/Zen monastics. He is also finishing a multi-year project on the imperially commissioned edition of Baizhang’s Pure Rules (1336–1338), a locus classicus in the history of Buddhist monasticism in East Asia.

Kedao received his PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University in 2025. He is a steering member of the Religion and Memory Unit of the American Academy of Religion.