Religion in China (eBook)

Adam Yuet Chau is University Senior Lecturer in the Anthropology of Modern China in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow at St John's College.

Map

Chronology

Acknowledgements

Notes on Orthography and Pronunciation

Introduction: Relationality at the Heart of Religion in China

1. Understanding Religious Diversity: Five Modalities of Doing Religion

2. Interacting with Gods, Ghosts and Ancestors

3. Festivals and Pilgrimages

4. Ritual Service Providers and Their Clients

5. Communities and Networks

6. State--Religion Relations

Conclusions

Notes

Suggested Further Readings

References

Index

"A wonderfully lucid and readable introduction to Chinese religious practices. Chau invites the reader to look at how Chinese people 'do' religion and presents an astonishingly wide spectrum of religious activities. A real treat!"
--Peter van der Veer, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

"In this highly readable survey of popular religiosity in contemporary China, Chau clears the path to understanding religion not through the frequently superimposed categories of scripture and faiths, but through the effervescent and solemn ways in which Chinese 'do' religion."
--Prasenjit Duara, Duke University

"[A] rich recourse for both teaching and research on Chinese religion in years to come."
--H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews Online

"Chau provides a fresh lens for understanding religious dynamics in China that [...] focuses on the important social function of religion, regardless of confessional differences, in shaping and reshaping Chinese society. An excellent piece of serious academic work that opens new doors for the study of Chinese religion. It should not be missed by serious students of the field."
--Pacific Affairs

"[A]n immense success: Chau has an undeniable talent for ethnography and because of this is able to weave various narratives pertaining to lived religious experience in China that are certain to make the reader wish to delve deeper."
--Religious Studies Review