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Religious Revival in Rural China: Ethnographic Reflections on the State and Morality

Religious Revival in Rural China: Ethnographic Reflections on the State and Morality The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 2014 Vol. 15, No. 5, 391–395, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2014.955564 INTRODUCTION Religious Revival in Rural China: Ethnographic Reflections on the State and Morality Yongjia Liang The assembly of three papers in this themed section offers ethnographic reflections on religious revival in rural China. In the last three decades, anthropological studies of this topic have produced some of the most impressive accounts in the studies of Chinese societies (Feuchtwang 2001; Dean 1998; Yang 2012; Yoshiko and Wank 2009; Goossaert and Palmer 2011; Chau 2006). Multiple forces are identified as the impetus of the revival: spiritual emptiness; the erosion of grassroots organisations; the easing of regulations; local state incentives to generate revenue; the economic interests of temples, merchants and ritual specialists; or the fun-seeking spirit of the believers. The revival is widely examined as an ‘invented tradition’ drawn from communal memory (Chao 1999; Faure 1989; Guo 2000). Major attention is paid to the survival or renewal of traditional practices. For example, Helen Siu (1990) conceptualises the revival of Chrysanthemum Festivals in the Pearl River delta as an example of ‘recycled tradition’, an entire accommodation to the activities of market economic reform and their political institutions. Discussing the rebuilding http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology Taylor & Francis

Religious Revival in Rural China: Ethnographic Reflections on the State and Morality

Liang, Yongjia
The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology , Volume 15 (5): 5 – Oct 20, 2014
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References (28)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2014 The Australian National University
ISSN
1740-9314
eISSN
1444-2213
DOI
10.1080/14442213.2014.955564
Publisher site
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Abstract

The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 2014 Vol. 15, No. 5, 391–395, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2014.955564 INTRODUCTION Religious Revival in Rural China: Ethnographic Reflections on the State and Morality Yongjia Liang The assembly of three papers in this themed section offers ethnographic reflections on religious revival in rural China. In the last three decades, anthropological studies of this topic have produced some of the most impressive accounts in the studies of Chinese societies (Feuchtwang 2001; Dean 1998; Yang 2012; Yoshiko and Wank 2009; Goossaert and Palmer 2011; Chau 2006). Multiple forces are identified as the impetus of the revival: spiritual emptiness; the erosion of grassroots organisations; the easing of regulations; local state incentives to generate revenue; the economic interests of temples, merchants and ritual specialists; or the fun-seeking spirit of the believers. The revival is widely examined as an ‘invented tradition’ drawn from communal memory (Chao 1999; Faure 1989; Guo 2000). Major attention is paid to the survival or renewal of traditional practices. For example, Helen Siu (1990) conceptualises the revival of Chrysanthemum Festivals in the Pearl River delta as an example of ‘recycled tradition’, an entire accommodation to the activities of market economic reform and their political institutions. Discussing the rebuilding

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The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology – Taylor & Francis

Published: Oct 20, 2014

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