Religion and Religious Practices in Rural China

Name: Religion and Religious Practices in Rural China
Brand: Taylor & Francis

Taylor & Francis

Religion and Religious Practices in Rural ChinaAuthor(s): Mu Peng\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9780367347772, 978-0367347772\nSynopsis\nThis book explores how, unlike in the West, the daily religious life of most Chinese people spreads without institutional propagation. Based upon more than a decade of field research in rural China, the book demonstrates the decisive role of rites of passage and yearly festival rituals held in every household in shaping peoples religious dispositions. It focuses on the family, the unit most central to Chinese culture and society, and reveals the repertoire embodied in daily life in a world envisioned as comprising both the yin world of ancestors, spirits, and ghosts, and the yang world of the living. It discusses especially the concept of bai, which refers to both concrete bodily movements that express respect and awe, such as bowing, kneeling, or holding up ritual offerings, and.