Religious culture at the centre of social organisation 1

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Religious culture at the centre of social organisation

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our terms

please keep in mind: religious culture & social organization our terms (etic)

to analyse something else analytical terms do not necessarily represent the

entire phenomenon, just a dimensionolder terminology

diffused religion Little Traditions

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their framework

kinship in sources as: zu 族 , xing 姓 ,jia 家 etc. constructed, partly on basis of biological descent

residence in sources as: cun 村 , zhen 鎮 and so forth natural village increasingly unimportant from Song

onwards

provenance usually migration history kinship-units temporary migration (huiguan 會館 )

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networks

network: worship ancestors => group claiming shared descent deities =>group claiming shared residence or

provenance professional deity (late) => group sharing profession

(including Confucius!) All-under-Heaven => privilege Son-of-Heaven

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family and ancestors

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family

kinship unit consisted of those people who claimed common descent from a shared ancestor ≠ pure biological unit adoption exogamy based on family name potential exclusion bad elements, daughters,

prematurely deceased childrenstatus differences

family of official could build long term groups reform early Jiajing reign (1521-1567)=> every family

could construct larger units

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ancestors

lopsided research dominated by southern China and relatively recent

period (Fujian and Guangdong since the Ming) earlier periods only covered in secular terms (groups

without the ritual core)ancestors at the core

direct ancestors worshipped at home more distant ancestors worshipped elsewhere nowadays: return home to worship ancestors and

renew bonds

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relevant rituals

during the marriage-rituals: 拜天地 拜父母 crucial moment of transition , point of no ritual return 拜祖先 creating a group (family) and incorporating within larger unit NB marriage ritual also contain exorcist rites (ex. crossing of wok)

daily small-scale sacrifice at family altar (core family) refreshing sense of family

funerary rituals refreshing the larger kin unit and networking NB funerary rituals also contain exorcist rites (ex. feeding sheng–bird)

rituals for the dead 清明 鬼節 / 盂蘭盆 => 施食 rituals support Buddhist institutions to maintain post-mortem services (burning

lamps to rituals on fixed days) collective ancestor worship (continued next slide)

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拜父母 拜祖先

北干那那 , 新山 (Malaysia)

拜祖先 葬式家壇

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collective worship

larger kinship units through worship Song onwards esp. through funerary ritual and

maintaining Buddhist grave cults (elite families) Jiajing (1521-1567) reforms, esp. important in Fujian

and Cantonese cultural areas => allowed creation lineages higher order ancestor allows larger groups ancestral hall hall owns land and engages in projects (avoid taxes on

persons) common enterprises: opening up land, school

arise in regions where pre-Han cultures (esp. Yao-She) put stress on larger kinship units

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commentary

not essentially “Confucian” predecessors already documented for the Shang label (!) as “Confucian” is result Qing reappropriation of the

lineage as “Neoconfucian”/classicist and the May Fourth movement attacks on kinship

Buddhist connections funerary ritual in general Ghost Festival narrative since Tang Feeding Ghosts for Flaming Mouths since early Song

debate among Christian (Roman Catholic) missionaries Jesuit vs Dominican+Franciscan debate: Chinese Rites

controversy is it religion or commemoration

viewpoint of the Non-Action Teachings

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residential groups and deities

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village (classical cult)

outdoor worship stones and trees seem to be inhabited ( 搜神記 anecdotes) still in existence, esp. southern China-Vietnam (single cultural zone) tree worship in Jinhua 金華 (S. Zhejiang), no doubt elsewhere as

well ? living trees ( 待考 )

worship by village as a whole spring and autumn sacrifice (before and after the N. Chinese

harvest) sharing of meat and alcohol often led by mediums/shamans (still much unclear)

reinvention of tradition early Ming Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋 & Neoconfucian advisors imposition altar worship on basis of “classical” texts

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館南 (TW) 千年石母祠

深圳 (PRC)石頭公

長洲 HK

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village (premodern cult)

anthropomorphic worship God of the Earth partly instead, partly next to the older cults, their relationship

and evolution still needs study different types

named xx 府君 etc. generic 土地公，福德正神 statue of generic deity: pink face, grey hair, holds bar of gold

roofed over shrine (rich communities may have temples)worship by the village (later also street) on deity’s

birthdays (no direct link agricultural season anymore)

reporting of village deceased=> sense of membership of community

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territorial : charismatic

territorial deity controls territory and its community of

worshipperscommunal representation & benefits

ascribedformal rites (state, communal, Daoist, Buddhist)

charismaticdeity helps whoever worships

personal requests & benefitsexplains: erratic nature of benefitsvoluntaryinspired rites (shamans, mediums)

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higher territorial cults

higher territorial cults always encompassed lower level territorial units as well

Travelling Palace (Temple) of the Eastern Marchmount 東嶽行宮 & City God 城隍 underworld cult in charge of a Daoist bureaucracy of exorcist deities urban temples acme of tribute paying hierarchy of shrines and temples: enact

imperial structuremostly temples for “heroes” (see further on)territory 境

marked by processions & tribute may leave his territory spreads with the groups that worship him/her

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山西蒲县東嶽廟

霞海城隍廟 1930

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higher territorial cults (continued)

“hero/heroine” cults evolve from successful cults for hungry ghosts (e.g. 有應公 ) to whom

divine assistance is ascribed (e.g. 關公 , 天后 ) receive socially & politically acceptable histories (ex. 天后 / 媽祖 and

郭聖王） official titles by the state in recognition of the support groups conceptualized as feudal relationship: emperor, king, duke, etc. who

rule over territory (not bureaucratic)forms of assistance

collective/communal help (examples) weather-related infectious diseases protection community against bandits etc. not at expense of individual members group

not very communicative moonblocks & prayers, maybe dreams, rarely possession

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有應公

有應公 (Taiwan)

保生大帝‘保安宮 （ (Taiwan)

真武

(Macao)

( 澎湖 )

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“membership” territorial cult

membership is conditional:residential in the territoryright to work land or shared provenancemust be expressed through contributions &

presence/participation no exceptions (treat Christian case)not everybody (treat migrants/kejia 客家 )beware for:vocabulary of belief/membership

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charismatic cults

treated in more detail in lecture five on shamans and mediums, here brief discussion to complete my analytical picture

not based on territorial units, but on personal attraction & bond Max Weber’s concept of charisma

in the eyes of the beholder, not an absolute quality: belief by followers that someone possesses extraordinary qualities

outside institutionalized structures, not bound (NB there may be cultural conventions about what counts as charismatic)

charismatic deity helps individuals personal support is always at expense of others (law of limited good) deity him/herself also typically outside the system (naughty, unruly,

disobedient) liminal figures boluo fox

liminal creatures live between here and there => can mediate between worlds (good), can come to attack us (bad)

origins: incomplete transition (hungry ghosts/demons 餓鬼 ) non-humans changing form (animals, trees/plants, stones) humans attaining life beyond life (immortals)

typically very direct communication through mediums

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boluo fox

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regional differences

little systematic study lack of local sources for the north until mid-Ming good local sources for Yangzi region from Song onwards good local sources for parts of Fujian from Song onwards,

otherwise mid-Ming onwards rest of southern China mid-Ming onwards or even later distortion by recording mostly officially recognized cults

impression based on Ming local gazetteers far more local variety in the south (reflects diverse origins

south) figures classical mythology (Tang, Shun, Yao etc.)

worshipped in regions original exploits (mostly north) supra-regional cults mostly southern origin (<= trade)

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a historical hypothesis

previous remarks largely typological, some historical comments: EXTREMELY tentative

overall historical change originally: nature worship + demons + charismatic deities late Tang onwards

nature worship replaced/superseded by anthropomorphic deities

charismatic deities start becoming territorial deities spread supra-local deities with trade, military expeditions,

some migration

no extreme standardisation pantheon Watson 1985 based on misunderstanding local gazetteers countercases: Taiwan, Yin county etc.

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professional groups

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Guilds and Kaufmannschaften

Guilds (hang 行 ) worship of mythical inventor (curiously largely late imperial

period, although guilds themselves already attested in Song period)

their centre usually located in temples (Eastern Marchmount two famous examples, in Changxing during the Southern Song and Beijing during the late imperial period)

Kaufmannschaften 會館山西會館 esp. late Ming onwards-early Republican period replaced by Chambers of Commerce (early 20th century) focus on regional deity network building, common festivals, burial sites maybe engagement in charitable activities

surprisingly little defense common interest

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山西會館

incenseburner

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“Confucians”

Classicist school & Temple for Confucius focus for officials & literati who worshipped Confucius

=> origin Western (Jesuit) term Confucians those who worship “Confucius” and other classicist

heroes as their “patriarchs” 祖師 or ancestors 祖先 through sacrifice

creation of lineages of teachers and pupils

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Temple of Confucius (Tainan), note invented rituals

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sacrificial practice

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basis of all ritual

burning incensesacrifice

alcoholic drinks: tea meat: fruit raw: cooked

pay respect (hands, bowing, kowtow)making representationscontact with extra-humans

possession ⇄ soul travel ⇄ encounters (often unaware at first) dreams (surprisingly one way) prognostication moonblocks

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society and politics

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government supervision

until Tang most local cults similar Earth deities (stones, trees

etc.) state did not care for the local world highest elites organized separately through Buddhist

and Daoist institutions=> these had to be controlledfrom late Tang or Five Dynasties onwards

economic growth in some regions led to broader elite in those regions new types of territorial cults supervising/controlling/recognizing territorial cults

means of making the loyal community & their leaders loyal to the imperial centre

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research questions

why was destroying local cults so important in the 1950s

what does destruction ancestor worship mean for kinship groups?

how do villages maintain unity in absence of worship (or did, in the Maoist period)

regional differences and their significance