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Exorcism and Money: The Symbolic World of the Five-Fury Spirits in Late Imperial China (review)

Exorcism and Money: The Symbolic World of the Five-Fury Spirits in Late Imperial China (review) Reviews 105 Qitao Guo. Exorcism and Money: The Symbolic World of the Five-Fury Spirits in Late Imperial China. Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley, China Research Monograph 55. Berkeley: The Regents of the University of California, 2003. 227 pp. Paperback $18.00, isbn 1­55729­077­6. Qitao Guo's study of a group of exorcistic deities known as the Five Furies (Wuchang ) successfully explores the complex factors underlying the growth of communal religious traditions in late imperial China. The book's topic is a challenging one, as relatively little data exists on the Wuchang, and the history of their cult remains murky to this day. Guo is eminently qualified to conduct research on these deities, however, having written a Ph.D. thesis on Mulian operas in late imperial Huizhou (Anhui), which was also the area of China where the Wuchang cult flourished. His efforts have resulted in a work that clearly shows the Wuchang to be "Janus-faced" deities that could be represented as either ghosts or gods. In exploring the significance of this highly ambiguous cult, Guo focuses on what he defines as processes of "integration" and "gentrification" promoted by local elites, arguing that "By containing the demonic deity http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png China Review International University of Hawai'I Press

Exorcism and Money: The Symbolic World of the Five-Fury Spirits in Late Imperial China (review)

Katz, Paul R.
China Review International , Volume 11 (1) – Jan 18, 2004
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University of Hawai'I Press
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Copyright © 2004 University of Hawai'i Press.
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1527-9367
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Abstract

Reviews 105 Qitao Guo. Exorcism and Money: The Symbolic World of the Five-Fury Spirits in Late Imperial China. Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley, China Research Monograph 55. Berkeley: The Regents of the University of California, 2003. 227 pp. Paperback $18.00, isbn 1­55729­077­6. Qitao Guo's study of a group of exorcistic deities known as the Five Furies (Wuchang ) successfully explores the complex factors underlying the growth of communal religious traditions in late imperial China. The book's topic is a challenging one, as relatively little data exists on the Wuchang, and the history of their cult remains murky to this day. Guo is eminently qualified to conduct research on these deities, however, having written a Ph.D. thesis on Mulian operas in late imperial Huizhou (Anhui), which was also the area of China where the Wuchang cult flourished. His efforts have resulted in a work that clearly shows the Wuchang to be "Janus-faced" deities that could be represented as either ghosts or gods. In exploring the significance of this highly ambiguous cult, Guo focuses on what he defines as processes of "integration" and "gentrification" promoted by local elites, arguing that "By containing the demonic deity

Journal

China Review International – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Jan 18, 2004

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