Communism in an Enchanted World

Chinese Folk Religion under Mao Zedong
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-009-60093-4
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 394 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 231 mm, Gewicht: 500 g

Reihe: Cambridge Studies in the History of the People's Republic of China

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 oftenneglected 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. Nevertheless the survival of folk religion must be set against the secularizing forces that the regime unleashed. 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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Smith, S. A.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

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.

Über Autor(innen)

Smith, S. A.
Steve Smith is Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. His last book, Russia in Revolution, won the BASEES Alec Nove Prize and the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize.