Miraculous Response: Doing Popular Religion In Contemporary China

Miraculous Response: Doing Popular Religion in Contemporary China Adam Yuet Chau Stanford University Press Miraculous Response Doing Popular Religion in Contemporary China Miraculous Response Doing Popular Religion in Contemporary China Adam Yuet Chau stanford university press Stanford, California 2006 Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 2006 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chau, Adam Yuet. Miraculous response : doing popular religion in contemporary China / Adam Yuet Chau. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-8047-5160-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Shaanxi Sheng (China)—Religion. 2. Shaanxi Sheng (China)—Social conditions. 3. Religion and culture— China—Shaanxi Sheng. I. Title. bl1945.s52c43 2005 299.5'1'095143—dc22 2005009492 Printed in the United States of America Original Printing 2005 Last figure below indicates year of this printing: 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 Typeset at Stanford University Press in 10/13 Sabon to my parents Contents Acknowledgments xi A Note on Units of Measurement, Romanization, and Dates xv 1 Introduction 1 2 Shaanbei History, Society, and Culture 20 3 Shaanbei Popular Religious Landscape 44 4 Beliefs and Practices: Shaanbei People’s Religiosity and Religious Habitus 59 5 Legends and Histories: Heilongdawang and the Heilongdawang Temple 77 6 Provisioning Magical Efficacy and Divine Benevolence 99 7 Modes of Social Organization and Folk Event Productions 124 8 Red-Hot Sociality 147 9 Temple Boss and Local Elite: The Story of Lao Wang 169 10 Longwanggou and Agrarian Political Culture 196 11 The Local State and the Politics of Legitimation 211 12 Conclusion 240 Notes 251 References Cited 273 Character List 293 Index 303 Maps, Table, and Figure Maps 1 Shaanbei, Showing Yan’an and Yulin Prefectures and Location of Longwanggou 4 2 Schematic Map of Longwanggou and Surrounding Areas 80 3 Bird’s-Eye View of Longwanggou Temple Ground 81 Table Aspects of a Funeral and a Temple Festival Compared and Contrasted 144 Figure Chart Showing Relationship Between the Local State and Longwanggou 214 Photographs Shaanbei landscape 22 The Black Dragon King Temple 82 Plaques thanking the Black Dragon King and praising his magical efficacy 82 Statues of the Black Dragon King and his attendants 83 A worshiper consulting the Black Dragon King using the oracle roller 103 Longwanggou temple officers count donation money 113 Burning paper offerings at grave site 132 Festivalgoers enjoying opera performance 161 Worshipers climbing a flight of steep stone steps to the temple