Daoist priests of the Li family
Subtitle: ritual life in village China
By: Stephen Jones
Publisher: Three Pines Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 406
ISBN-13: 9781931483346
Subjects: Religious life and customs; History; Rituals; Taoism
Other titles: Taoist priests of the Li family :; Ritual life in village China
Description: "Along with Jones' moving film Li Manshan : Portrait of a Folk Daoist, this engaging and original book describes a hereditary family of household Daoist priests in rural north China. It traces the vicissitudes of their lives--and ritual practices--over the turbulent last century through the experiences of two main characters: Li Manshan (b.1946), and his distinguished father Li Qing (1926-99). The story anchors changing ritual practice in the ethnography of ritual specialists and their patrons as they negotiate new challenges, giving a unique flavor of rural life in China today. A vivid portrait of a rapidly changing society, the work will fascinate anthropologists, scholars of Daoism and folk religion, world-music aficionados, and all those interested in Chinese society"--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 383-389) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : setting the scene; title: Overview of ritual practice; title: Part one. From empire to republic. Li Qing's early life, 1926-1937 : Ritual 1: delivering the scriptures; title: Occupation and warfare : the 1940s : Ritual 2: fetching water; title: The hall of auspicious virtue : Ritual 3: hoisting the pennant, and judgment of alms; title: Part two. The decades of Maoism. Liberation : the early years, 1948-1957 : Ritual 4: the invitation, and redeeming the treasuries; title: Years of trauma, 1958-1964 : Ritual 5: Transferring offerings; title: Silence descends, 1964-1978 : Ritual 6: the burial; title: Part three. The reform era. Another liberation : the 1980s' revival; title: Recopying the manuals; title: End of an era : the 1900s : Ritual 7: solo activities of the Daoist; title: Part four. Ritual manuals and texts. Mind the gap : matching manuals to ritual performance; title: The ancestry of texts; title: Thanking the earth, and temple fairs; title: Rare or obsolete funerary rituals; title: Part five. The sound of ritual. Introduction; title: The vocal liturgy; title: The percussion; title: The Shengguan melodic instrumental music : Ritual 8: the invitation revisited; title: Part six. Looking to the future. Negotiating the 21st century; title: Marching towards the world; title: A chronicle of decline; title: Encore. Things ain't what they used to be; title: Appendices. Ethnography, performance, and history in Daoist ritual studies; title: Ritual manuals of the Li family; title: The chanted scriptures.