The Anthropology of Religion, Charisma and Ghosts
eBook - PDF

The Anthropology of Religion, Charisma and Ghosts

Chinese Lessons for Adequate Theory

  1. 220 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Anthropology of Religion, Charisma and Ghosts

Chinese Lessons for Adequate Theory

About this book

It has been said that Chinese government was, until the republican period, government through li. Li is the untranslatable word covering appropriate conduct toward others, from the guest rituals of imperial diplomacy to the hospitality offered to guests in the homes of ordinary people. It also covers the centring of self in relation to the flows and objects in a landscape or a built environment, including the world beyond the spans of human and other lives. It is prevalent under the republican regimes of China and Taiwan in the forming and maintaining of personal relations, in the respect for ancestors, and especially in the continuing rituals of address to gods, of command to demons, and of charity to neglected souls. The concept of ‛religion’ does not grasp this, neither does the concept of ‛ritual’, yet li undoubtedly refers to a figuration of a universe and of place in the world as encompassing as any body of rite and magic or of any religion.
Through studies of Chinese gods and ghosts this book challenges theories of religion based on a supreme god and that god’s prophets, as well as those like Hinduism based on mythical figures from epics, and offers another conception of humanity and the world, distinct from that conveyed by the rituals of other classical anthropological theories.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Anthropology of Religion, Charisma and Ghosts by Stephen Feuchtwang in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Comparative Religion. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
De Gruyter
Year
2010
Print ISBN
9783110223552
eBook ISBN
9783110223569
Topic
Theology & Religion
Subtopic
Comparative Religion

Table of contents

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Contents
  3. Chapter 1. Introduction
  4. Chapter 2. ‘Religion’ and its historical transfer into China
  5. Chapter 3. ‘A Chinese religion exists’
  6. Chapter 4. A theory of religious ritual as deference and communicative excess
  7. Chapter 5. The Organisation of Extravagance as Charismatic authority and Self-government
  8. Chapter 6. Charismatic self-healing: a case of spirit-writing in Taiwan under Japanese occupation
  9. Chapter 7. Charisma in China
  10. Chapter 8. The avenging ghost
  11. Chapter 9. Between temporalities: a case study of the transmission of loss in Taiwan
  12. Chapter 10. Between death and life: a location of ghosts and demons
  13. Chapter 11. ‘Religion’ in the government of the People’s Republic of China: policy-led redefinition and openings in political space
  14. Backmatter