(sudden awakening), contrasting with 'illumination graduelle' (gradual awakening). It gained currency in this use in English from the work of sinologist Paul Demiéville. His 1947 work 'Mirror of the Mind' was widely read in the U.S. It inaugurated a series by him on subitism and gradualism.

The Chinese term dun ?, as used in dunwu ??, translated as "subite," sudden, has a broader meaning than "sudden." It is more