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Author:   Mu-chou Poo
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.472kg
ISBN:  

9780791436301

ISBN 10:   0791436306
Pages:   331
Publication Date:   29 January 1998
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Replaced By:   9780791436295
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures Preface Abbreviations 1. Introduction Toward a History of the Everyday, Personal Religion of Ancient China Religion and Extra-human Powers: Working Definitions The Popular-Religion Paradigm in Earlier Research and Theory The Sources 2. Roots of a Religion of Personal Welfare Prelude The Religion of the Shang People The Religion of the Chou People 3. Personal Welfare in the Context of Mantic Technique Omens Divination Witchcraft and Exorcism Ghosts and Spirits Souls, Spirits, and the Abode of the Dead Summary 4. Newly Discovered Daybooks and Everyday Religion The Jih-shu or Daybooks Elements of Religion in the Classic of Mountains and Seas Jih-shu and Shan-hai-ching: Dealing with Domestic and Foreign Environments 5. Emperors, Courtiers, and the Development of Official Cults The Establishment of the Official Cult of the Ch'in Empire The Establishment of the Han Official Cult Personal Factors and Official Religion Reassessing Han Official Religion Conclusion 6. Beliefs and Practices in Everyday Life of the Han Dynasty Religious Activities Related to the Agricultural Cycle Religious Activities Related to the Life Cycle Religious Activities in Everyday Life Local Cults Omens and Portents 7. Immortality, Soul, and the Netherworld The Conceptions of Immortality and Soul Further Development of the Idea of the Netherworld Social Change, the Development of Burial Styles, and the Idea of the Netherworld 8. Popular Religiosity and Its Critics Literacy and the Commoners Intellectuals as Critics of Popular Religion and Local Cults Intellectuals as Reformers of Popular Religion Intellectuals as Participants in Popular Religion 9. Conclusion The Nature of Extra-Human Powers Belief in a Correlative Cosmological Order Death and the Netherworld Apotheosis Piety and Happiness Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

In many ways, this is a revolutionary book--in terms of its focus on the 'common' religion of everyday life and its discussion of the overlap and interaction between the 'elite' and 'common' levels of religion in early imperial China--and will be controversial in the best sense of the expression. There is nothing on ancient Chinese religion (in any language) that is quite like Poo's book. It is truly pioneering in this respect. -- N. J. Girardot, Lehigh University One of the most illuminating studies on early Chinese religion I have read in a long time, it is well written, cogently argued, and based upon impeccable research. Poo has been able to make use of the great mass of new archaeological material that has been accumulating through the last two or three decades in China and Japan, and he has also mastered the best Western scholarship on Chinese religion. His grasp of both sets of materials is pertinent, accurate, and fascinating. I frankly think that anyone interested in Chinese religion would want to buy this book. I believe it will become something of a standard reference. -- John Berthrong, author of All Under Heaven: Transforming Paradigms in Confucian-Christian Dialogue

Author Information

Mu-chou Poo is Research Fellow and Professor at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. He is the author of several works, including Wine and Wine Offering in the Religion of Ancient Egypt; Literature by the Nile: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Literature; and Burial Styles and Ideas of Life and Death.

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