The Guanyin Fertility Cult and Family Religion in Late Imperial China: Repertoires across Domains in the Practice of Popular Religion
This study examines the unprecedented growth of the late imperial Chinese cult of Guanyin, “Bestower of Children.” Focusing on a fertility manual written by a sixteenth-century Confucian official, I show how the author combined the Guanyin cult with Daoist bio-spiritual discourse and Confucian moral...
| Published in: | Journal of the American Academy of Religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
Journal of the American Academy of Religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
China
/ Guanyin
/ Fertility cult
/ Folk religion
/ Family
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| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BM Chinese universism; Confucianism; Taoism TJ Modern history |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This study examines the unprecedented growth of the late imperial Chinese cult of Guanyin, “Bestower of Children.” Focusing on a fertility manual written by a sixteenth-century Confucian official, I show how the author combined the Guanyin cult with Daoist bio-spiritual discourse and Confucian morality, using a discursive frame unique to the vernacular religious literature of the time. Theoretically, the study engages with scholars of ancient Mediterranean religions and theorists of religion who emphasize social ontology, practice theory, religion as repertoire, and “lived religion.” In the conclusion, I offer ways of thinking about religious appropriation in terms of categories such as family religion, popular religion, and syncretism. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4585 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American Academy of Religion, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jaarel/lfy026 |