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Introduction 1 1 INTRODUCTION C ompared to other religious movements which came out during the last century, De Jiao is small in size: in 2003 its active membership hardly reaches 230,000.1 However, the study of a small religious organization may be of great interest from the moment it highlights patterns and dynamics of a wider range. De Jiao, which appeared as a reaction to the Sino-Japanese War and against the emergence in China of secular materialism, is a fascinating example of how people may respond to chaotic conditions or ideological threats by combining local traditions to restore what they believe to be the core values of Chinese civilization. Its founders intended to promote a new synthesis made of Confucian ethics together with Buddhist compassion and Taoist beliefs. To achieve this goal they combined in an original way institutions that had proved their effectiveness in closely related contexts: the philanthropic tradition of shan tang (“halls for good deeds”), and the spirit-writing technique of fu ji (planchette divination), which allows the reception of messages from deities. De Jiao is also of special interest because it rapidly spread throughout Southeast Asian Chinese communities after the Second World War, and is the only shan tang-like association operating overseas to have acquired an international dimension. At the end of 2004, it had 142 congregations in Malaysia, 74 in Thailand, 11 in Singapore, 16 in the People’s Republic of China, 3 in Hong Kong, Laos, and Australia, 2 in the United States, 1 in Taiwan, and another 1 in Japan, with 7 to 10 new chapels being inaugurated each year. This elevated rhythm of creation apart, another sign of dynamism is the fact that top De Jiao leaders in Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong organized regular meetings and raised funds in the mid-1990s to reintroduce the movement in the PRC. Despite a ban imposed by the Beijing government, prompt at the time to equate it with the Falun Gong movement, De Jiao has steadily developed since 1997 small underground congregations of 30 to 60 adepts in different parts of the homeland. Having originated from China, this movement is now returning to its roots. What is particularly significant in 2 Introduction this “boomerang process” is the constant adjustment throughout history of De Jiao to cultural “otherness” and political adversity. Built to restore cultural meaning, moral order, and solidarity in a climate of upheaval, De Jiao was later on challenged by either communist persecution or by the segregationist and assimilationist policies conducted by Southeast Asian states against the Hua Qiao (Overseas Chinese). The growth of the movement despite such unfavourable conditions raises questions about the key factors of its adaptability and dynamism. By analyzing in this book the early history and spread of De Jiao with reference to previous studies and original materials, I assume that the answers to these questions have to do with the organizational pattern of the movement, the structure of its leadership, and the kind of mythological and ritual relationships it entertains with the motherland. One of my arguments is that part of these features result from an evolution overseas which is highly reflective of the ways the Chinese communities of Mainland Southeast Asia adjusted their activities and social structure to local economic conditions and political pressure. By discussing in Chapters II and III the spread of De Jiao throughout Thailand and Malaya, I thus show that its variable strategies of integration and its charitable activities were comprehensive responses to the assimilationist versus segregationist policies of the two states against ethnic Chinese, while reflecting the terms of the contrastive interethnic relationships of this minority with the Thai Buddhists and the Malay Muslims. Further developments make also appear that the criteria for leadership in this religious organization mirror the prominent status given to rich businessmen among the overseas Chinese, and that the strategies and other logics of action underlying its institutional expansion are strongly influenced by the Chinese entrepreneurial ethos. But De Jiao is not only worth of interest for offering valuable insights into the conditions and changes experienced by the Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia. Through the boomerang process of its spread and its spirit medium activities, it has also built original bonding with symbols of the Chinese civilization whose greatness it claims to champion from the periphery. Accordingly, a central theme of this study is the role that such a religious movement may play to promote new forms of...

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