A basic fact of Chinese social life and history is the institution of territorial cults and their festivals. High-points of social life, they portray and punctuate a sense of life and death and present a whole picture of Chinese political relations as seen at their popular roots. The images of demons and ghosts and those of protectors against them which festivals and their temples display, are an organization of Chinese local identification and provide an insight into everyday life and belief in China. It has come to be expected that religions can be named like identities of nations and cultures, or at least knowable doctrines, but Chinese popular religion has no name. It is not a religion of a book, nor is it the named religion of China - Taoism. The popular religion includes some elements of both Buddhism and the imperial cults, more of Taoism, but it is identifiable with none of them. It is a religion of common people, but not "of the people" in the sense of a national population's mass culture. This book should be of interest to students and lecturers of religious studies, anthropology and Asian studies.
- ISBN10 0415021464
- ISBN13 9780415021463
- Publish Date 5 December 1991
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 8 November 2009
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Imprint Routledge
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 240
- Language English