Popular Religion in China

The Imperial Metaphor

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies
Cover of the book Popular Religion in China by Stephan Feuchtwang, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stephan Feuchtwang ISBN: 9781135791643
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: September 2, 2003
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Stephan Feuchtwang
ISBN: 9781135791643
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: September 2, 2003
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

The institution of local festivals and temples is not as well known as that of ancestor worship, but it is just as much a universal fact of Chinese life. Its content is an imperial metaphor, which stands in relation to the rest of its participants' lives as the poetry of collective vision, theatrically performed, built and painted in temples, carved and clothed in statues. Stephan Feuchtwang has brought together unpublished as well as published results of his own and other anthropologists' fieldwork in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan and put them into an historical, political and theoretical context.
Students of anthropology will be intrigued. This is not a religion of a Book. Nor is it one of the named religions of China. Popular religion includes some elements of both Buddhism and the former imperial cults, more of Daoism, but it is identifiable with none of them. It is popular in the sense of being local and true of the China of the Han, or Chinese-speaking people, where every place had or has its local cults and the festivals peculiar to them. Its rites, in particular offerings of incense and fire, suggest a concept of religion. It is quite different from theories of religion based on doctrine and belief.
Students of politics will also find here vital and new perspectives. Politics is never far from religion, least of all in the People's Republic of China or colonial and post-colonial Taiwan. In the People's Republic of China, there is continuing conflict between the state and the growth of congregational and lo

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The institution of local festivals and temples is not as well known as that of ancestor worship, but it is just as much a universal fact of Chinese life. Its content is an imperial metaphor, which stands in relation to the rest of its participants' lives as the poetry of collective vision, theatrically performed, built and painted in temples, carved and clothed in statues. Stephan Feuchtwang has brought together unpublished as well as published results of his own and other anthropologists' fieldwork in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan and put them into an historical, political and theoretical context.
Students of anthropology will be intrigued. This is not a religion of a Book. Nor is it one of the named religions of China. Popular religion includes some elements of both Buddhism and the former imperial cults, more of Daoism, but it is identifiable with none of them. It is popular in the sense of being local and true of the China of the Han, or Chinese-speaking people, where every place had or has its local cults and the festivals peculiar to them. Its rites, in particular offerings of incense and fire, suggest a concept of religion. It is quite different from theories of religion based on doctrine and belief.
Students of politics will also find here vital and new perspectives. Politics is never far from religion, least of all in the People's Republic of China or colonial and post-colonial Taiwan. In the People's Republic of China, there is continuing conflict between the state and the growth of congregational and lo

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Humour in the Arts by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book European Developments in Corporate Criminal Liability by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Trickster in Tweed by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book The Religions of India by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Students, Places and Identities in English and the Arts by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Speech Sounds by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Music, Experiment and Mathematics in England, 1653-1705 by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Challenging Medicine by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book The History of the Book in the West: 400AD–1455 by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Encoding Capital by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Assessing Pain and Communication in Disorders of Consciousness by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Developments in the Call Centre Industry by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book The Shakespeare Inset by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Hidden Hands by Stephan Feuchtwang
Cover of the book Re-imagining Milk by Stephan Feuchtwang
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy