Daoism in Modern China

The volume combines historical research and fieldwork to investigate cases that document how certain Daoist institutions, clerics, and lay followers attempted to retain a religious and social presence in China’s big cities through the Taiping wars of the 1850s; the anti- superstition activities that began in the late nineteenth century; the restrictions and prohibitions of religious activities after 1949; the lifting of some of these prohibitions in 1982. A concise overview of patterns for temple organization and the stratification of clerics provides the background (Gossaert). The Quanzhēn clerics of the once very popular Martial Marquis Shrine in Nanyang failed in the 1980s to persuade the authorities to restore the temple (Xun Liu). In northern Zhejiāng, the J□□ngaishān network of spirit- writing temples in honor of Lǚ Dongb□□n is run by lay Daoists and relies on the members’ financial contributions. Services used to include rituals and also free clinics and schools. Forced to close down in 1955, a revival began in 1989 and is ongoing (Gossaert). A similar Lǚ Dongb□□n temple was set up in Meizhōu in Southern China, copied in Chaozhōu by Meizhōu migrants and also in Bangkok by settlers from Chaozhōu. After 1980, the temple in Meizhōu was restored with the help of the Bangkok community (Yao Chi- on). In Hangzhou, the famous Old Eastern Peak Temple was razed down in 1958 and rebuilt in the 1990s due to the initiative of religious associations that, in a private capacity, organize pilgrimages and processions that make the temple’s restoration acceptable to the local authorities (Fang Ling). In Hankǒu (Wǔhan), Zhengy□□ Daoists have been and are active in a migrant community. They perform rituals at people’s homes and in public places, train successors, negotiate the state’s changing regulatory framework, and cooperate with Quanzhēn Daoists at the local temple and the official Daoist Association (Mei Li and Xun Liu). The volume is addressed to the specialist. All contributions discover original and significant aspects of social and religious life. Barbara Hendrischke, University of Vienna The historical and ethnographic detail is this edited volume is impressive and valuable as a record of the history of modern Daoism. Scholars of Chinese religion, especially those focusing on the modern period and Daoism, will find this book worthwhile, and the book is recommended as a library acquisition. Jean DeBernardi, University of Alberta, USA The volume combines historical research and fieldwork to investigate cases that document how certain Daoist institutions, clerics, and lay followers attempted to retain a religious and social presence in China’s big cities. All contributions discover original and significant aspects of social and religious life. Barbara Hendrischke, University of Vienna, Religious Studies Review