The sinister way : the divine and the demonic in Chinese religious culture / Richard von Glahn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Von Glahn, Richard.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Demonology--China--History.

Demonology.

China--Religion.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (401 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The most striking feature of Wutong, the preeminent God of Wealth in late imperial China, was the deity's diabolical character. Wutong was perceived not as a heroic figure or paragon of noble qualities but rather as an embodiment of humanity's basest vices, greed and lust, a maleficent demon who preyed on the weak and vulnerable. In The Sinister Way, Richard von Glahn examines the emergence and evolution of the Wutong cult within the larger framework of the historical development of Chinese popular or vernacular religion-as opposed to institutional religions such as Buddhism or Daoism. Von Glahn's study, spanning three millennia, gives due recognition to the morally ambivalent and demonic aspects of divine power within the common Chinese religious culture.

Contents:

Ancestors, ghosts, and Gods in ancient China

The Han cult of the dead and salvific religion

Shanxiao: mountain goblins

Plague demons and epidemic Gods

The song transformation of Chinese religious culture

Wutong: from demon to deity

The enchantment of wealth.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612356834

9780520928770

0520928776

9781282356832

1282356836

9781597349017

1597349011

OCLC:

475931940