Body, subject & power in China / edited by Angela Zito and Tani E. Barlow.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Contributors investigate problems of bodiliness, engendered subjectivities, and discourses of power through a variety of sources that include written texts, paintings, buildings, interviews, and observations. Taken together, the essays show that bodies in China have been classified, represented, discussed, ritualized, gendered, and eroticized in ways as rich and multiple as those described in critical histories of the West. Silk robes, rocks, winds, gestures of bowing, yin yang hierarchies, and cross-dressing have helped create experiences of the body specific to Chinese historical life. By pointing to multiple examples of reimagining subjectivity and renegotiating power, the essays encourage scholars to avoid making broad generalizations about China and to rethink traditional notions of power, subject, and bodiliness in light of actual Chinese practices. Body, Subject, and Power in China is at once an example of the changing face of China studies and a work of importance to the entire discipline of cultural studies."

Imagination of winds and the development of the Chinese conception of the body / Shigehisa Kuriyama -- Body invisible in Chinese art? / John Hay -- Multiplicity, point of view, and responsibility in traditional Chinese healing / Judith Farquhar -- Silk and skin : significant boundaries / Angela Zito -- Politicized body / Ann Anagnost -- Female body and nationalist discourse : Manchuria in Xiao Hong's Field of life and death / Lydia H. Liu -- Sovereignty and subject : constituting relations of power in Qing guest ritual / James L. Hevia -- (Re)inventing Li : koutou and subjectification in rural Shandong / Andrew Kipnis -- Classic "beauty-scholar" romance and the superiority of the talented woman / Keith McMahon -- Theorizing woman : Funü, Guojia, Jiating / Tani E. Barlow.

Local access dig.pdf. [Ebrey-Chu Hsi's Family Rituals.pdf]

Early Confucian discourse on family rites -- Redesigning ancestral rites for a new elite in the eleventh century -- Combating heterodoxy and vulgarity in weddings and funerals -- Chu Hsi's authorship of the Family rituals -- Orthodoxy of Chu Hsi's Family rituals -- Revised versions of the Family rituals written during the Ming Dynasty -- Intellectuals' reevaluation of the Family rituals in the Ch'ing Dynasty -- Confucian texts and the performance of rituals.

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/9d
Jiali hejiao lu 家禮合教錄.
By Zhang Xiangcan 張象燦.
Manuscript, folios 145–158. Chinese bamboo paper, one volume.

The only information we have about the author comes from the marginal note on folio 145 which states that he was a juren (licentiate) of Xi’an fu 西安府 (Shaanxi) and a Christian. The manuscript was presented to Father Gabiani, then Vice-Provincial of China.

According to the author the treatise was written in reply to those who criticized the Christians for their lack of the feeling of respect and reverence, because they did not act according to the traditional custom in the ceremonies of marriage and funerals. To rebut this, he tried to prove the ignorance of the adversaries by quoting the Jiali 家禮 of Zhu Xi 朱熹 whose book is a great authority on ritual ceremonies (cf. Jap-Sin I, 9; I, 31 and I, 32).

In his preface the author contends that, though one may criticize the Christians for their lack of conformity with pagan traditions, one certainly must respect the Jiali , since this is a Chinese book and had been widely used by the Chinese in their daily lives. Now, the Jiali refutes the absurdity of astrologers and also the absurdity of the Buddhists and Daoists. On this point it agrees with the teaching of the Christians. Hence the title of the manuscript.

The pagan customs mentioned in this manuscript were probably particular to the Shaanxi province. It should be of great help to folklorists who wish to study the traditional customs of the time.

The paragraph on the motives of magistrates who venerate the city gods (Chenghuang 城隍) is exactly the same as that given on ff. 83–86 of the Lishi tiaowen 李師條問 (cf. Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/2). Even the handwriting of the two passages is identical, except for the citation of the edict of the founder of the Ming dynasty (Ming Taizu 明太祖) and the remarks of Qiu Jun 丘濬 (1420–1495). These are given only in this manuscript and are written in a different hand.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 59-60.

Yi Li dayi lun 逸禮大義論 : [六卷] / Wang Zongyi zhuan 汪宗沂撰-- Jingkang baishi 靖康稗史 : [七種] / Nai’an bian 耐菴編-- Xuanhe jisi fengshi Jinguo xingcheng lu 宣和己巳奉使金國行程錄 / [無名氏撰] -- Weng zhong ren yu 甕中人語 / Wei Cheng zhuan 韋承撰 -- Kaifeng Fu zhuang 開封府狀 -- Nanzheng luhui 南征錄彙 / Li Tianmin ji 李天民輯 -- Qinggong yiyu jieben 青宮譯語節本 / Wang Chengdi zhuan 王成棣撰 -- Shenyin yu 呻吟語 / [無名氏撰] -- Song fu ji宋俘記 / Kegong zhuan 可恭撰 -- Xingrensi chongke shumu 行人司重刻書目 / Xu Tu dengbian 徐圖等編 -- Fanlushanfang biji 梵麓山房筆記 : 六卷 / Wang Ruyu zhuan 王汝玉撰.

編撰者簡介..................................................................................... 6
封面圖案解說..................................................................................7
序 ----- 曾慶文神父.................................................................... 10
李亮神父.......................................................................12
古匡昌老師.................................................................... 18
陳欣雨博士................................................................... 22
謝明光博士................................................................... 26
王雪迎博士....................................................................30
前言............................................................................................. 34
梵蒂岡第二屆大公會議 --- 教會的新里程碑................................... 41
敬祖在宗教祭禮的位置..................................................................51
中西傳統文化與教會傳統文化........................................................81
孝 --- 中國傳統孝的教育與西方對孝的觀念.................................. 121
婚禮儀式與敬祖傳統....................................................................134
中國傳統民俗習慣....................................................................... 155
從墓園、墓地的設計和安排反映傳統文化的特色..........................176
天主教教會對火葬的訓令顯示禮儀、禮節的統一性..................... 200
「敬祖」在長達三百年的中國禮儀之爭的焦點............................224
死亡與離別的面面觀................................................................... 243
喪禮禮節的目的.......................................................................... 256
因翻譯和使用不適當詞彙而產生的誤會....................................... 322
迷信與忌諱在日常生活的影響......................................................359
魂與魄.........................................................................................377
共融--- 未來的挑戰......................................................................388
結語............................................................................................395
參考資料.................................................................................... 412
文中提及的部份人物簡介............................................................ 438
訪談及筆者觀察記錄................................................................... 459
前輩/ 同儕意見
--- 周永權.................................................................................... 461
--- 盧婉卿....................................................................................462
致謝........................................................................................... 463
收入分配....................................................................................466
版權頁........................................................................................ 468

Local access dig.pdf. [Tsang-Jingzu.pdf]

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/9a
Jisi wenda 祭祀問答.
By Hong Yinajue (Ignatius) 洪依納爵, Zhu Ximan (Simon) 朱西滿 and Yang Boduolu (Peter) 楊伯多綠.
Manuscript, folios 101–119. Chinese bamboo paper, one volume. 24.5 x 14.5 cm.

The cover bears a Portuguese inscription: “Sobre as controversias.” The first folio bears the title in Chinese. The upper margin bears a Latin inscription: “Tractatus datus P. Intorcettae a Christianis in Ham cheu de Che kiam sub titulo ci su uen ta.”

At the end of the manuscript there is a letter addressed to Bai laoshi 白老師 by the same authors. Among the Jesuit missioners of this time there were two who had Bai for their family name in Chinese, namely, Johann Grueber 白乃心 (1623–1680) and Joachim Bouvet 白晉 (1656–1730). Since neither of them had ever been missioners in Hangzhou, it is hardly possible that either of them was the person to whom the letter was addressed: “Since your Reverence left us several years ago we have often thought of your Reverence. When will your Reverence be back with us in Hangzhou and give us another chance to listen to your teaching?” I am of the opinion that the recipient may have been Philippe Couplet whose Chinese name was Bai Yingli 柏應理 (1642–1693) and who was a missioner for some time in Zhejiang.
The content of the letter is substantially the same as that of the manuscript. It is interesting to note that the scholars had been asked by Intorcetta whether the Jesuit missioners had allowed Catholics to burn paper money or to read sacrificial odes or to perform other superstitious practices. Their reply was that such things had never happened nor had such things ever appeared in their writings. However, at the end of the letter they gave the information that in Jinhua 金華 (i.e., Lanqi 蘭谿) a certain Mr. Zhu had claimed to have heard something different and had tried to lead the faithful to change the rules. According to our three scholars this way of acting could not be tolerated.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 57-58.

JapSin I, (38/42) 39/5
Liji jizhi cuoyan 禮記祭制撮言.
By Mathias Hsia 夏瑪第亞.
Manuscript, four folios. One volume. Chinese bamboo paper. 24 x 14 cm.

The cover bears the title and a Portuguese inscription: “Libros notas nos mandou o Hia Siam Cum de Cancheu em isto de 1688 elhe as tirou do Ly Ki.”

When we come to examine the whole book of the Liji, the word xiang 饗 (to offer) is used in the ceremonies of the dead as well as in the ceremonies of guests. From this we conclude that in China the ceremonies of the dead were nothing else than this: that one venerates the dead as if they were still alive. The xiangli 饗禮 are ceremonies of guests and they are just as solemn as the ceremonies for the dead. It is divided into half or full sets of ritual utensils zu 俎 used in the offering ceremonies and all things necessary, such as the bian 籩 (basket used to contain fruits), the dou 豆 (container used for holding food in ceremonies) and the fu 脯 (dried and minced meats), can be found there. Unfortunately, the messenger is in a hurry and I have copied out only what I could and hope to send the whole manuscript to you later.

The cover gives the Chinese title: Tiaowen jida 條問集答, fu muzhu kao yitiao 附木主考一條, Fujian Yan Baolu ji 福建嚴保綠集.” The Latin inscription reads: “Tiao-uen cie ta l^o MS sinico de ritibus & ceremoniis sinicis. Responsiones Ien Ambrosii & Ien Pauli Patris et filii ad quaesita P^is Li su.”

Li shi or Master Li (mentioned in the title), for whom Yan Mo wrote the replies, was Simão Rodrigues (1645-1704). He was known by his Chinese name as Li Ximan 李西滿 (zi 受謙). He was in Fujian around the year 1682. Later he went to Jiangnan and died in Suzhou (cf. Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/5). Cf. Pfister, no. 144; Répertoire, no. 719.
This book is a collection of replies on the meaning of different problems in connection with the Chinese rites. The first three pages give a list of reference books, personal names and dynastic periods. The general remarks, which consists of only one line, gives a number of conventional signs which are used throughout the book.
The replies are given in order and clearly. Besides quoting from diverse sources, the author gives his own ideas. He makes clear distinctions between the original meaning of ancestor worship and Buddhist superstitious practices. He then points out that, although the Song scholars theoretically denied the subsistence of the human soul, yet they were quite serious on the importance of funeral and burial rites. For Yan Mo, ancestor worship was an ancient practice in China by which one expressed filial piety towards one’s ancestors. Hence the missioners need not forbid it and thus incur disapproval from the pagans.
With regard to the veneration of Confucius, Yan tries to show that Confucius was respected by the Chinese for his excellence as a teacher. In the ceremonies one did not pray to him for favors of any kind.
Finally in his study on the origin of the ancestral tablets (pp. 93–100: Muzhu kao 木主考, see also Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 41/1b), Yan Mo comes to the conclusion that the Chinese did not believe that the souls of their ancestors were actually present in the tablets. Rather, by looking at these tablets they were reminded of their beloved forefathers. Again there is no superstition involved.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 45-46.

Contents: Lunheng 論衡 / Wang Chong zhuan 王充撰 -- Fengsu tongyi 風俗通義 / Ying Shao zhuan 應劭撰 -- Feng shi wenjianji 封氏聞見記 / Feng Yan zhuan 封演撰 -- Shangshu gushi 尚書故實 / Li Chuo zhuan 李綽撰 -- Guanqi xiayu 灌畦暇語 / bu zhuzhuanren 不著撰人 -- Chunmingtui chaolu 春明退朝錄 / Song Minqiu zhuan 宋敏求撰 -- Song Jingwen biji 宋景文筆記 / Song Qi zhuan 宋祁撰 -- Dongyuanlu 東原錄 / Gong Dingchen zhuan 龔鼎臣撰 -- Wangshi tanlu 王氏談錄 / Wang Qinchen zhuan 王欽臣撰 -- Zhushi 麈史 / Wang Dechen zhuan 王得臣撰 -- Wenchang zalu 文昌雜錄 : buyi 補遺 / Pang Yuanying zhuan 龐元英撰 -- Mengxi bitan 夢溪筆談 : bu bitan 補筆談 / Shen Kuo zhuan 沈括撰.

Chinese practices related to ancestors have long been the subject of conflicting interpretations. These practices are rooted in the lived experience of practitioners, and therefore need to be considered as embodied expressions of the quest for existential meaning. For practitioners, the achievement of existential meaning requires the inclusion, implication and mediation of the ancestors. When gestures in ancestor rites are analysed from this perspective it is possible to appreciate their essence as constitutive of 'ancestor religion'. This book uses an inquisitive method that investigates the discrepancies between foreign and local explanations, and proposes another hermeneutic framework for ancestor related praxes.--OCLC note.

Rites Controversy: An Illustration of Power Relations in InterpretationConclusion; Chapter 4: "Our" Perspective: The Indigenous Explanation of Ancestor Rites; Introduction; Church- or Christian-Related Native Responses; Chinese Catholic Converts' Contribution to the Rites Controversy; The Sacrifices Were Not Religious; A Lexicology; Apologetics; The Historical Impact of Chinese Converts' Writings; 祭天敬祖: A Chinese Catholic Response to a Crucial Point in the Rites Controversy; Protestant Responses to Ancestor Rites; Awareness of the Problem; Historical Development.

Intro; Preface; Acknowledgments; Contents; Chapter 1: Introduction: Are Ancestors a Problem?; Chapter 2: The Hermeneutic Challenge of Ancestor- Related Practices; Introduction; Conceptual Issues; Hermeneutics; Why Hermeneutics?; Ad hoc or Implicit Hermeneutics; Nicolas Standaert's Hermeneutics of Cultural Encounters; Ancestors; Plural Naming of the Celebrated Remembrance of the Dead; Ancestor Rites; Ancestor Ritual; Ancestor Worship: Ancestor Cult or Ancestor Veneration?; Traditional Religion? Why Not Ancestor Religion ... ; Built-In Structure of Ancestor Rites; Three Interpretative Ingredients.

Interpretation of Ancestor Rituals and Tradition Interpretation and Power; Salvation/Wholeness/Integrity; Conclusion; Chapter 3: The Conflict of Interpretation of Chinese Ancestor Rites; Introduction; Stages of Encounter between Christianity and Chinese Culture; Early Chinese Christianity and the Problem of Ancestor Rites; Ancestor Rites in the Stories of Christian Visitors to the Yuan Dynasty; Matteo Ricci's Perception and Appraisal of Ancestor Rites; Information Related to Ancestor Rites; The Methodological Ground of Ricci's Appraisal of Ancestor Rites.

Concluding Summary of Ricci's Appraisal of Ancestor Rites: One of the Points of the Chinese Rites Controversy; Sinology and the Quest for the Meaning of Chinese Ancestor Rites; An Interpretation in View of Mission; Ancestor Rites: An Attraction for Human Sciences; A Practical Answer to a Theoretical Problem; The Methodological Contribution; The Protestants' Assessment of and Responses to Ancestor Rites; Power Relations and the Appraisal of Ancestor Rites; Political and Institutional Power Relations; Conceptual and Ideological Conditioning.

A Three-Step Pattern in Indigenized Christian Responses-The Three-Step Structure at Work; Concluding Observations on the Protestant Indigenous Response; The Academic Environment; The Core of Chinese Religion (s); Chinese Mainland Scholars' Responses to Foreign Assessments of Ancestor Rituals; Direct Responses; Indirect Responses; A Critical Enrichment of Foreign Interpretations; Concluding Summary of Chinese Indigenous Responses; Chapter 5: Existential Practical Hermeneutics of Ancestor Religion; Introduction; Why Practical or Existential Hermeneutics?--[See OCLC #1020790434]

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/3
Minzhong Jiangle Xian Qiu xiansheng zhi zhuwei shenfu shu 閩中將樂縣丘先生致諸位神父書.
By Qiu Sheng 丘晟.
Manuscript, six folios. One volume, Chinese bamboo paper, with red ink punctuation. 24 x 14 cm.

The cover bears the title: Shuzha 書札 (letter) and a Latin inscription: “Epistola unius Kiu gin [舉人] Christiani dicti Kieu Chim de Fo Kien, praemissa suo libro circa has controversias sinicas.”
The same epistle is given separately in one and one-half sheet (56 x 24 and 14 x 24 cm). At the end there are two lines of an inscription in Latin: “Epistola unius litterati Christiani in Fo Kien dicti Kieu Chim praemissa libello a se facto.”

Qiu Sheng felt aversion toward those who tried to belittle the teaching of Confucius. He pointed out that the Chinese respected Confucius as a great master because he recognized that there is a God to be served and that there are commandments to be kept, and because his writings exhorted people to do good. In one word, what Confucius teaches all agrees with the Catholic doctrine. For this reason Chinese boys study his books at the age of six or seven.
Finally, Qiu Sheng admitted that he embraced the Catholic faith because he saw that the teaching of the Catholic Church agreed with the teaching of Confucius. Now, if the missioners began to revile Confucius as superstitious, the Chinese scholars will no doubt answer back and cast against the Catholic Church the same accusation. He warns that if one inveighs against the veneration of ancestors and the respect paid to Confucius, one would be closing the door of the church to Chinese scholars. In conclusion, he says, “Your Reverences who study our Chinese books ought to know when to change and adapt (to the Chinese custom). It is not expedient to stick to a word or to a phrase so woodenly to the detriment of the welfare of the mission.” At the end he mentions his book, the Shuwen pian 書文篇 (cf. Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/4), which he wrote with the intention of helping the propagation of the Catholic faith.

Qiu Sheng (zi 振新) was a native of Jiangle (Fujian). The family seems to have settled down in Changshu 常熟 (Jiangsu). In Jap-Sin 134, the annual letter of 1663, we read that there was a church of Our Saviour and Our Lady in the town of Changshu in the province of Nanjing. François de Rougement (Lu Riman 魯日滿) was superior of the house and there were more than ten thousand Catholics (folio 345v). In Jap-Sin 112 there is a biography of Qiu Sheng’s father written by Qiu Sheng himself (folios 160–161). This was done at the request of de Rougement. According to this biography Qiu Sheng’s father’s zi was Shuliang 叔良 and his hao was Tianran 天然. From the preface he wrote for Brancati’s Shengjiao sigui 生教四規 (cf. Jap-Sin I, 106) we know that his ming was Yuezhi 曰知. He was baptized in 1638 (Chongzhen 11) by Francesco Sambiasi (Bi Jinliang 畢今梁) and took the name Augustine. For twenty-six years he lived an exemplary life. In 1662 (Kangxi 1) some ungrateful person laid hold of his property and robbed him of his possessions. It seems that this injustice was the result of hatred for the Christian religion. We are told that de Rougement exhorted him to forgive his enemy for God’s sake. This good man took his advice with great resignation. However, the blow was too heavy: overcome by grief he died in the following year (1663). De Rougement himself gave an account of this (see Jap-Sin 112). The Latin inscription on folio 160v informs us that Augustine Qiu was a xiucai 秀才: “Christitiana mors et vita Augustini jîu Xo Leam [Qiu Shuliang] baccalaurei Ecclesiae Cham Xo conscripta meo jussu ab eius filio item Baccalaureo.” About the life of Qiu Sheng himself we have far less information, except that he owed his religion to his father and the missioners (cf. Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/4).
Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 46-48.

Consists chiefly of papers presented at a conference sponsored by the Subcommittee on Research on Chinese Society of the Joint Committee on Contemporary China and held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, Calif., Oct. 11-15, 1971.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-358) and index.

On the sociological study of Chinese religion / Maurice Freedman -- Religion and ritual in Lukang / Donald R. Deglopper -- Religious organization in the history of a Chinese town / Wang Shih-Ch'ing -- Village alliance temples in Hong Kong / John A. Brim -- Domestic and communal worship in Taiwan / Stephan Feuchtwang -- Gods, ghosts, and ancestors / Arthur P. Wolf -- Taiwanese architecture and the supernatural / Wang Sung-Hsing -- When a ghost becomes a god / C. Stevan Harrell -- Cantonese shamanism / Jack M. Potter -- Cosmic antagonisms: a mother-child syndrome / Marjorie Topley -- Ancestor worship and burial practices / H.G.H. Nelson -- Affines and the rituals of kinship ./ Emily M. Ahern -- The written memorial in Taoist ceremonies / Kristofer M. Schipper -- Orthodoxy and heterodoxy in Taoist ritual / Michael Saso -- Afterword / Robert J. Smith.

JapSin I, (38/42) 39/3
Shengci gushi 生祠故事.
Compiled by Mathias Xia 夏瑪第亞.
Manuscript, five folios. One volume. 24 x 14 cm.

The cover has only the inscription: “贛州夏相公 (Xia xianggong of Ganzhou).”

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 41.

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/4
Shuwen pian 述聞篇.
By Qiu Sheng 丘晟.
Manuscript, ninety-two folios. One volume, Chinese bamboo paper. 24 x 14 cm.

The cover bears the title, the author’s name and a Latin inscription: “Xo uen pien sive capita S.^ae legis ex Philosophia Sinica & auctoritatibus demonstrata, auctore Kieu Chim, kiu gin de Fokien Ciam Lo Sien.”

1. Fate.
2. Fortune-telling.
3. Geomancy.
4. The choice of lucky days and divination.
5. Buddhism and Daoism.
6. Witches, wizards and fairies.
7. The disreputability of temples of idols.
8. Angels and demons.
9. There must be a Lord in heaven.
10. Confucius knew how to serve God.
11. The soul must have its final resting place.
12. A repentant sinner can also merit heaven.
13. The Incarnation and Ascension are true facts.
14. Fasting.
15. Western scholars.
16. There should be ceremonies for the worship of ancestors.

In the middle of each folio the first word of each chapter is marked on the top and below the number of the chapter given can be found.
As far as we can see, this manuscript has never been published. In his letters to the missioners (Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/3) Qiu Sheng wrote:

The literati of our time keep on arguing and will not embrace the faith, contending that such words (i.e., words of missioners who had studied Chinese writings without thoroughly understanding them) are not convincing. Many doubt about the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption and regard fate, fortunetelling, geomancy etc. as not entirely fictitious. They believe in Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and doubt the Christian fast. For this reason, I did not spare myself but wrote this book, the Shuwen pian, in order to solve one by one the doubts of the Chinese. Some of the things I wrote have already been said by missioners, others are entirely new. They are all written in correct Chinese so as to increase the interest of the readers. . . . Both the doctrine and the expressions were carefully studied to make sure that there should be no errors. There is no need to alter any of the words, to do so might damage the Chinese style. All I plead is to have the manuscript printed as soon as possible so that we may propagate our holy religion. As there are no good engravers in Jiangle [who could make the blocks], we do not intend to do it here. Once it is printed we should like to have some copies for our church at Jiangle. Please drop me a line to let me know your opinion . . .

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 48-49.

內容簡介：
本論文集是2008年5月在香港中文大學舉辦的一次會議的文章之結集。會議後經海外匿名學者審稿後從38篇會議論文中，選取16篇論文結集出版。

大量的田野調查研究，使我們認識到儀式專家對地方社會中的社會生活所扮演的重要角色和中國農村社會的儀式傳統之多樣性，可惜相關的研究缺乏系統性的學術分析及討論，會議主辦單位希望透過舉辦研討會及出版論文集，邀請不同的學者，包括道教專家、佛教專家、人類學家和歷史學家，對中國地方社會儀式傳統中的佛教及道教元素和中國地方社會儀式的多樣性兩方面進行深入的研討。論文集的16篇論文分成兩個主題：「醮儀：歷史與現況」和「地方信仰與儀式」，冀能為從事相關研究的學者及對中國農村社會宗教有興趣的讀者提供第一手的田野調查研究材料及報告。論文集的作者包括李豐楙、勞格文（John Lagerwey）、譚偉倫、蔡志祥、王振忠、丁荷生（Kenneth Dean）、康豹（Paul R. Katz）、葉明生、呂鵬志等資深的學者。

中國農村裡的宗教儀式活動往往是地方上最隆重的活動及節慶聚會，儀式楺合了佛教、道教甚至是儒家的傳統，部份更吸納了民間的傳統、巫教及其本土的文化特色，是組成當地宗教文化的重要部份。研究中國農村社會的儀式傳統無疑幫助我們尋找地方社會歷史中遺失的一頁——神明的地方中國社會。

目錄:
醮儀篇：歷史與現況

早期道教醮儀及其流變考索（呂鵬志）
道法二門：台灣中、北部的道、法複合（李豐楙）
粵北及贛西北山區鄉村醮儀的佛教元素（譚偉倫）
現代中的傳統：中國地方社會信仰的文化多樣性——以廣西賀州浮山陳侯祠醮儀為例（劉泳斯）
屏南縣龍潭村上元「請奶」醮儀與道壇科儀研究（葉明生）
福建詔安的道教傳統與儀式分類（林振源）
儀式與身份轉換：香港新界北約地區的醮（蔡志祥）
春祈年例：一個高州鄉村社區的遣疫與集福（韋錦新）

地方社會儀式篇
Gods and Ancestors: Cases of Crossover（John Lagerwey）
Spirit Mediums as Global Citizens: Tracing Trans-national Ritual Networks from the Village Temples of Shiting (石庭), Putian (莆田) to Southeast Asia（Kenneth Dean）
Spirit-writing and Hakka Migration in Taiwan: A Case Study of the Canzan Tang (參贊堂) in Puli (埔里), Nantou (南投) County（Paul R. Katz）

宗教民俗與地域社會：閩贛兩個鄉村聚落遊神活動的比較研究（劉勁峰、楊奕）
「接珠」「回佛」與婦女生活——以福建省寧化縣石壁鎮為中心的初步探討（鍾晉蘭）
明清以來徽州的禮生與儀式（王振忠）
道教傳度奏職儀式比較研究——以台灣南部的奏職文檢為中心（丸山宏）
宋元時代的普渡文獻（松本浩一）