Communism in an Enchanted World : Chinese Folk Religion under Mao Zedong (Cambridge Studies in the History of the People's Republic of China)

Smith, S. A.

Cambridge University Press（2026/05発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 415 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781009600934

Full Description

Drawing together decades of research, Steve Smith explores the survival and adaptation of folk beliefs in Mao's China in the face of seismic social change and growing political repression. Bringing an often-neglected aspect of modern Chinese history to the fore, he shows how folk religion maintained a vital presence in everyday life. In myriad ways, through Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism, spirit mediums and spirit healing, divination, geomancy, and the reform of traditional marriage and funeral rites, rituals and beliefs provided resources for adaptation and resistance to the regime. This unique history gives readers a vivid sense of life under Mao Zedong as vibrant, contentious and resilient - a far cry from stereotypes of a secular, regimented and monochrome society.

Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Ancestor worship: household and lineage; 2. Temple religion; 3. Worshipping the Gods; 4. Folk religion and the three teachings; 5. Ghosts and demons; 6. Marriage, fertility and folk religion; 7. Death and funeral ritual; 8. Searching for sacred medicine; 9. Health and spirit healing; 10. Spirit mediums and witchcraft; 11. Geomancers and Yinyang masters; 12. Divination and fortune-telling; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.