In this Book
- The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture
- Book
- 2004
- Published by: University of California Press
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.
Table of Contents
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- List of Illustrations
- pp. ix-x
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-15
- Introduction
- pp. 1-18
- 3. Shanxiao: Mountain Goblins
- pp. 78-97
- 4. Plague Demons and Epidemic Gods
- pp. 98-129
- 6. Wutong: From Demon to Deity
- pp. 180-221
- 7. The Enchantment of Wealth
- pp. 222-256
- Conclusion
- pp. 257-266
- Abbreviations
- pp. 267-268
- Bibliography
- pp. 323-360
- Production Notes
- pp. 386-401
Additional Information
ISBN
9780520928770
Related ISBN(s)
9780520234086
MARC Record
OCLC
56028466
Pages
397
Launched on MUSE
2014-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No