Daojiao yu Zhongguo minjian wenxue 道教与中国民间文学 by Liu Shouhua 刘守华 (review)

216 Journal of Chinese Religions Hanren zongjiao, minjian xinyang yu yuyanshu de tansuo 漢人宗教 民、間信仰與預言書的探索 Wang Jianchuan 王見川. Luzhou (Taibei county) 台北縣瀘洲市: Boyang wenhua 博揚文化, 2008. 451 pages. ISBN 978-986-6543-01-2. NT$500.00 paper. Taiwan Fojiao, Rujiao yu minjian xinyang 臺灣佛教、儒教與民間信 仰 Li Shiwei 李世偉. Luzhou (Taibei county) 台北縣瀘洲市: Boyang wenhua 博 揚文化, 2008. 437 pages. ISBN 978-986-654300-5. NT$450.00 paper. These are the first two volumes in a new series of collected essays (zixuanji 自選集) on Chinese religions by well-known scholars. The volume by the ubiquitous Wang Jianchuan gathers together nineteen previously published articles on topics representing his principal research areas: local deity cults, popular sects, historical aspects of Daoism and Taiwanese Buddhism, prophetic literature in the Chinese tradition, and folk legends and myths. Li Shiwei presents fourteen articles on Taiwanese Buddhism, popular Confucianism, popular deities, and Taiwanese religious movements. Complete bibliographies of the authors’ works as well as their personal reflections on their scholarly careers round off these useful volumes. Daojiao yu Zhongguo minjian wenxue 道教与中国民间文学 Liu Shouhua 刘守华. Beijing: Zhongguo youyi chubanshe 中国友谊出版社, 2008. 404 pages. ISBN 978-7-5057-2415-0. RMB 32.00 paper. This is the updated and expanded version of a work first published in Taiwan in 1991 by Hubei folklorist Liu Shouhua. It provides general overviews of Daoist elements in and influences on a wide range of types of popular literature, including but not limited to mythology, legend, oral literature, folk tales, songs, and local drama. We find thematic foci on stories surrounding specific deities (e.g., the Eight Immortals [ba xian 八仙], the earth god, Bixia Yuanjun 碧霞元君, the Yellow Emperor [Huangdi 黄帝]) as well as on individual texts (e.g., Taiyang jing 太阳经 and Taiyin jing 太阴经). Book Notes 217 The Fourth Fu Jen University International Sinological Symposium: “Research on Religions in China: Status quo and Perspectives” / Furen Daxue di si jie hanxue guoji yantaohui “Zhongguo zongjiao yanjiu: xiankuang yu zhanwang” 輔仁大學第 四屆漢學國際研討會「中國宗教研究：現況與展望」 Edited by Zbigniew Wesolowski 魏思齊. Xinzhuang (Taibei county) 臺北縣新 莊市: Furen Daxue chubanshe 輔仁大學出版社, 2007. 515 pages. ISBN 978986 -6922-36-7. NT$400.00 paper. This is a proceedings volume in the full meaning of this term. It contains not just the four papers given at the Fourth Fu Jen University International Sinological Symposium in November of 2006, but also the written comments of the discussants and even the Powerpoint slides shown at the conference. The result is a faithful record of the scholarly exchange between Western, Chinese, and Taiwanese academics that is the purpose of this series of symposia. In the present volume we find articles by Barend ter Haar (“The Teachings of the Dragon-Flower as a Continuation of Song-Yuan Lay Buddhism”), Philip Clart (“The Concept of ‘Popular Religion’ in the Study of Chinese Religions: Retrospect and Prospects”), Nicolas Standaert (“Christianity as a Religion in China. Insights from the Handbook of Christianity in China: Volume One [635-1800]”), and Konstantin Tertitski (“Zailijiao in Russia: A Chinese Syncretic Religion in Diaspora”). Each article is given in its English original and in Chinese translation. Conversely, the comments of the Chinese and Taiwanese discussants are provided both in their Chinese original and in English translation. This format makes for a hefty size, but at the same time enables this volume to reach both English- and Chinese-speaking readerships. Zongjiao yu shehui: Huaqiao Huaren zongjiao, minjian xinyang yu quyu zongjiao wenhua 宗教与社会： 华侨华人宗教、民间信仰与区域 宗教文化 Zhang Yudong 张禹东, Liu Sumin 刘素民, et al. Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe 社会科学文献出版社, 2008. 391 pages. ISBN 978-7-50970429 -5. RMB 59.00 paper. This is a loosely integrated collection of essays within three major subject areas: (1) Overseas Chinese religion and society; (2) popular religion and local society in Fujian and Taiwan; (3) ...