The sinister way : the divine and the demonic in Chinese religious culture
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The sinister way : the divine and the demonic in Chinese religious culture
University of California Press, c2004
- : cloth
Available at 9 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 323-360) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
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.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Ancestors, Ghosts, and Gods in Ancient China 2. The Han Cult of the Dead and Salvific Religion 3. Shanxiao: Mountain Goblins 4. Plague Demons and Epidemic Gods 5. The Song Transformation of Chinese Religious Culture 6. Wutong: From Demon to Deity 7. The Enchantment of Wealth Conclusion Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Glossary Index
by "Nielsen BookData"