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Holy Shit I got a first on my Dunhuang essay!!!! (That's an A to you Americans) I'm so excited and happy! I didn't do that well in history for my GCSEs. It was a 71, a "low first" but he said that was because I didn't put in subheadings, and if it had that it would have been a strong first. My first post graduate history essay and it's top marks. What amazing encouragement.
Unruly gods: Divinity and Society in China is a collection of essays, mostly on late Imperial Chinese religion, edited by Meir Shahar and Robert P. Weller. The essays focus on the non-bureaucratic side of Chinese religion. Looking at the gods who are outside what has been looked upon, as the traditional hierarchy of Chinese religion but who nonetheless remain important. The essays were interesting and insightful, in a way breaking the stereotypes of many of the western images of Chinese religion.
The first essay was "Personal Relations and Bureaucratic Hierarchy in Chinese Religion: Evidence from the Song dynasty" by Robert Hymes. Hymes draws his research from Taoist immortal cults that he has studied in the Song, and modern ethnography. His essay is full of stories translated from original sources which he uses to illustrate the difference between bureaucratic religious approaches, frequently involving a paid professional, and personal approach, the direct appeal to deities. A difference similar to clerical and lay. He illustrates his arguments with several examples of people who appeal directly to the deities and are saved. He also gives examples of deities who interacted directly with people in the form of visitations. He also gives examples of when personal relations between deities and mortals are considered to be illegitimate, such as cases where a deity tries to convince a man to let him marry his daughter. He concludes with the idea that there are two competing vocabularies at work, that which is the bureaucratic, and that of personal relations.
"Enlightened Alchemist or Immoral Immortal? The growth of Lu Dongbin's Cult in Late Imperial China" by Paul R. Katz Katz begins with a brief description of the history of the cult to Lu, which began in the Song. He focuses his study on one temple to illustrate how the cult changed over time, and how the different views of Lu interacted. By focusing on the murals in the temple he uses a source which he claims has been under-utilised in the study of Chinese religion. It's interesting to note how the words included in the text don't match with the pictures drawn on the walls. Katz also points out how due to the location of the writing, most people would have had a hard time reading them. Katz doesn't limit himself to these sources entirely he also draws from other sources such as the rich popular literature, and more traditional hagiographies in the Taoist canon. He stresses in his conclusion that though there are differing interpretations of Lu, all the portrayals are non-bureaucratic. He also argues that Lu's popularity came not from his conformity to common ethical values but because of his challenge to them
"Lady Linshui: How a Woman Became a Goddess" by Brigitte Baptandier. Baptandier looks at the cult which is the third biggest cult in Fujian. The cults origins go back to the Tang. I found the essay fascinating, particularly the myth of the deity. There was a fascinating part where Guan Yin's hair turned into a snake demon that the Lady had to defeat and in order to do so she had to abort her foetus, which the snake ate. The article was full of very interesting imagery and different approaches to gender in Chinese religion. It was also interesting to see that the male mediums of the cult would dress up as female mediums in imitation of the deity. It was an interesting look at a deity and cult that I knew nothing about, and is one of the main reasons I want to buy a copy of this book.
"Myths, Gods and Family Relations" by Steven Sangren, takes a "psychoanalytic and structural approach to anthropology" of Chinese myth. Therefore it is just a bit too Freudian for my tastes. However he does a good job of pointing out the family relationship side of Chinese gods as opposed to the bureaucratic side.
"Vernacular Fiction and the Transmission of Gods' cults in Late Imperial China" by Meir Shamar is another very interesting essay. Shamar looks at the role of popular fiction in spreading beliefs in different gods. These stories more often than not take part outside of the bureaucratic framework. While analysing the popularity of these novels he points out that they were written in vernacular Chinese, not classical, intended for a much wider audience than just the elite. He also links the novels to both oral traditions and opera and dramatic traditions. Rather than seeing them as pure fantasy, he looks at the role of these novels in their religious context. He also draws the very interesting conclusion about the Chinese world of the supernatural being an upside down world, where those who have no power in real society become powerful in the supernatural, such as women and warriors,
"Transmission in Popular Religion: The Jiajiang Festival Troupe of Southern Taiwan" by Donald Sutton is an in-depth look at theatrical religious traditions as practised today in Taiwan. He focused more on an anthropological approach. But was an interesting look at the difference between performance and mediumship.
"Matricidal Magistrates and Gambling Gods: Weak States and Strong Spirits in China" by Robert Weller. Weller argues that gods that are decidedly unbureaucratic come when a state has poor control over an area, people have greater control and the state looses it's grip. He argues that gods and goddesses represent social tension. While rather short the essay gives an interesting look at the interactions between state and religion.
The first essay was "Personal Relations and Bureaucratic Hierarchy in Chinese Religion: Evidence from the Song dynasty" by Robert Hymes. Hymes draws his research from Taoist immortal cults that he has studied in the Song, and modern ethnography. His essay is full of stories translated from original sources which he uses to illustrate the difference between bureaucratic religious approaches, frequently involving a paid professional, and personal approach, the direct appeal to deities. A difference similar to clerical and lay. He illustrates his arguments with several examples of people who appeal directly to the deities and are saved. He also gives examples of deities who interacted directly with people in the form of visitations. He also gives examples of when personal relations between deities and mortals are considered to be illegitimate, such as cases where a deity tries to convince a man to let him marry his daughter. He concludes with the idea that there are two competing vocabularies at work, that which is the bureaucratic, and that of personal relations.
"Enlightened Alchemist or Immoral Immortal? The growth of Lu Dongbin's Cult in Late Imperial China" by Paul R. Katz Katz begins with a brief description of the history of the cult to Lu, which began in the Song. He focuses his study on one temple to illustrate how the cult changed over time, and how the different views of Lu interacted. By focusing on the murals in the temple he uses a source which he claims has been under-utilised in the study of Chinese religion. It's interesting to note how the words included in the text don't match with the pictures drawn on the walls. Katz also points out how due to the location of the writing, most people would have had a hard time reading them. Katz doesn't limit himself to these sources entirely he also draws from other sources such as the rich popular literature, and more traditional hagiographies in the Taoist canon. He stresses in his conclusion that though there are differing interpretations of Lu, all the portrayals are non-bureaucratic. He also argues that Lu's popularity came not from his conformity to common ethical values but because of his challenge to them
"Lady Linshui: How a Woman Became a Goddess" by Brigitte Baptandier. Baptandier looks at the cult which is the third biggest cult in Fujian. The cults origins go back to the Tang. I found the essay fascinating, particularly the myth of the deity. There was a fascinating part where Guan Yin's hair turned into a snake demon that the Lady had to defeat and in order to do so she had to abort her foetus, which the snake ate. The article was full of very interesting imagery and different approaches to gender in Chinese religion. It was also interesting to see that the male mediums of the cult would dress up as female mediums in imitation of the deity. It was an interesting look at a deity and cult that I knew nothing about, and is one of the main reasons I want to buy a copy of this book.
"Myths, Gods and Family Relations" by Steven Sangren, takes a "psychoanalytic and structural approach to anthropology" of Chinese myth. Therefore it is just a bit too Freudian for my tastes. However he does a good job of pointing out the family relationship side of Chinese gods as opposed to the bureaucratic side.
"Vernacular Fiction and the Transmission of Gods' cults in Late Imperial China" by Meir Shamar is another very interesting essay. Shamar looks at the role of popular fiction in spreading beliefs in different gods. These stories more often than not take part outside of the bureaucratic framework. While analysing the popularity of these novels he points out that they were written in vernacular Chinese, not classical, intended for a much wider audience than just the elite. He also links the novels to both oral traditions and opera and dramatic traditions. Rather than seeing them as pure fantasy, he looks at the role of these novels in their religious context. He also draws the very interesting conclusion about the Chinese world of the supernatural being an upside down world, where those who have no power in real society become powerful in the supernatural, such as women and warriors,
"Transmission in Popular Religion: The Jiajiang Festival Troupe of Southern Taiwan" by Donald Sutton is an in-depth look at theatrical religious traditions as practised today in Taiwan. He focused more on an anthropological approach. But was an interesting look at the difference between performance and mediumship.
"Matricidal Magistrates and Gambling Gods: Weak States and Strong Spirits in China" by Robert Weller. Weller argues that gods that are decidedly unbureaucratic come when a state has poor control over an area, people have greater control and the state looses it's grip. He argues that gods and goddesses represent social tension. While rather short the essay gives an interesting look at the interactions between state and religion.
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