Miraculous Response

by Chau, Adam Yuet

• ISBN13: 9780804761000
• ISBN10: 0804761000
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-21
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

This book-length ethnography of the revival of a popular religious temple in contemporary rural China examines the organizational and cultural logics that inform the staging of popular religious activities. It also explores the politics of the religious revival, detailing the relationships of village-level local activists and local state agents wtih temple associations and temple bosses. Shedding light on shifting state-society relationships in the reform era, this book is of interest to scholars and students in Asian Studies, the social sciences, and religious and ritual studies.

Author Biography

Adam Yuet Chau is Departmental Lecturer in the Anthropology of Modern China at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Oxford.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
A Note on Units of Measurement, Romanization, and Dates	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Shaanbei History, Society, and Culture	p. 20
Shaanbei Popular Religious Landscape	p. 44
Beliefs and Practices: Shaanbei People's Religiosity and Religious Habitus	p. 59
Legends and Histories: Heilongdawang and the Heilongdawang Temple	p. 77
Provisioning Magical Efficacy and Divine Benevolence	p. 99
Modes of Social Organization and Folk Event Productions	p. 124
Red-Hot Sociality	p. 147
Temple Boss and Local Elite: The Story of Lao Wang	p. 169
Longwanggou and Agrarian Political Culture	p. 196
The Local State and the Politics of Legitimation	p. 211
Conclusion	p. 240
Notes	p. 251
References Cited	p. 273
Character List	p. 293
Index	p. 303
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