Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: March 17, 2021 at 10:07:51 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Buddhism]: Gildow on Yang, 'Re-enchanting > Modernity: Ritual Economy and Society in Wenzhou, China' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Mayfair Mei-hui Yang. Re-enchanting Modernity: Ritual Economy and > Society in Wenzhou, China. Durham Duke University Press, 2020. x + > 374 pp. $29.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-4780-0827-9. > > Reviewed by Douglas Gildow (Chinese University of Hong Kong) > Published on H-Buddhism (March, 2021) > Commissioned by Jessica Zu > > The book sketches an expansive portrait of religious life in Wenzhou, > China, during the revival of religion in the post-Maoist era > (1979-present), focusing on traditional Chinese religions (popular > religion, Daoism, and Buddhism) in rural areas from 1990 to 2016, > when the author conducted forty-two weeks of fieldwork over thirteen > trips to the region. In the course of her rich descriptions of > Wenzhou religious practices, and especially in the third, more > theoretical part of the book, Yang argues that religious institutions > constitute a kind of civil society, that religious beliefs are > excellent sites for analysis of women's agency, and that ritual > practices should not be overlooked in models of the economy. In the > conclusion, Yang advocates a "postsecular society" (p. 316) such as > the one in Wenzhou because, she argues, religious institutions in > this local, post-Maoist society have counteracted certain negative > effects of global political and economic systems. > > This book is a major contribution to our understanding of religion in > contemporary China, and it provides thoughtful discussion of > important theoretical issues from an anthropological viewpoint. Yang > combines extensive ethnographic data with historical > contextualization of recent practices, usually reaching back into the > late imperial (1368-1911) period. Furthermore, since the book draws > on twenty-six years of her own fieldwork, Yang is able to comment on > social changes she has witnessed since 1990. The book's content, > while largely confined to post-Maoist Wenzhou, is still quite > diverse, and therefore difficult to evaluate concisely as a whole. In > this brief review, I will center my discussion on what this book > tells us about Buddhism. > > _Re-enchanting Modernity_ is divided into three parts: (1) > "Introduction" (two chapters), (2) "Religious Diversity and > Syncretism in Wenzhou" (three chapters), and (3) "Religious Civil > Society and Ritual Economy" (five chapters). Part 1 introduces Yang's > agenda, her research setting of Wenzhou, and the religious and > economic revivals in the region. Part 2 comprises three chapters, on > popular religion, Daoism, and Buddhism. Yang pays most attention to > popular religious practices (such as deity worship, rituals, and > festivals) and emphasizes that the boundaries between these three > religions are often blurred, particularly between popular religion > and Daoism. Part 3 includes chapters on religious civil society, > family lineages, women's religious agency, theoretical issues in the > category of civil society, and the Wenzhou ritual economy. Yang > argues that chapter 7, on family lineages, in some sense covers > popular Confucianism (p. 191), with the main goal of the chapter > being to show that contemporary lineages can function for the greater > public good and are part of an indigenous civil society. > > Part 3 contains Yang's main theoretical arguments. Most central to > the book is her claim that contemporary Wenzhou manifests a kind of > indigenous civil society, which she sometimes identifies with the > Chinese term _minjian_, "the realm of the people." A restrictive > sense of the term "civil society" limits it to social institutions > which are independent of the state, focused on the public good, and > able to openly contest state policies. Yang argues for a broader > sense of civil society--and that in China, institutions which are to > a degree_ _autonomous of the state and focused on the public good, > even if they do not openly contest state policies--should also count > as a kind of civil society. It happens that in Wenzhou, it is > religious institutions which are the most dynamic components of this > civil society. They are less state controlled and state monitored > than other institutions, they receive significant donations of time > and money from local society, and they provide numerous services to > local society, including but not limited to religious services. > Related to Yang's claims about religious civil society are her > discussions of female religious agency (chapter 8) and the ritual > economy (chapter 10). For example, she shows how religious > institutions give women opportunities to support one another and even > to assume positions of leadership, as many religious groups were > founded by women. But the overall effect of local religion on women's > status is ambiguous; traditional beliefs often place women in a > hierarchy below men, and successful religious institutions founded by > women often eventually transfer to male leadership. Finally, Yang > argues that religious and ritual life should be integrated into > conventional models of the Wenzhou economy, and religion > counterbalances some of the negative effects of economic growth. For > example, rituals of giving and generosity, often mediated by > religion, reduce the economic inequality resulting from the market > economy. > > Chapter 5, "Buddhist Religiosity," is the only chapter specifically > examining Buddhism. This chapter is valuable for its overview of > contemporary Chinese Buddhist practices and institutions in the > context of a local society and in relation to other religions. Here > and elsewhere in the book, we learn how, during the early stages of > religious revival in the 1980s, Buddhist communities had to struggle > to reclaim sites such as monasteries from organizations occupying > them, including military and work units. Yang finds that many popular > Buddhist teachings center on the concepts of merit, karma, and > rebirth, including beliefs that the living and dead are entangled > with one another in bonds of karmic credit and debt. Many Buddhist > practices, such as funerals and the Yulanpen Festival, aim to break > entanglements stemming from karmic debt. Other important Buddhist > practices in Wenzhou include chanting sutras, meditation, and > studying scriptures. Since the year 2000 or so, the practice of > Buddhist vegetarianism has also become more popular, as has the > _fangsheng _ritual of purchasing and releasing wildlife into nature. > One of Yang's key informants, the Buddhist abbot Hongguang, promotes > a reformist Buddhism which appeals to wealthy professionals. His > monastery has established a charitable foundation and a Buddhist > academy, and has attracted monastics from around China, mainly from > poorer regions: as two nuns there explained, the wealthier local > Wenzhounese "cannot tolerate the harsh discipline and boring routines > of monastic life" (p. 148). Lingkong, another monk, points to the > limitations of Buddhism in China, comparing prospects for its future > development unfavorably with Buddhism in Taiwan, where he notes there > are democratic elections and in which schools and public media are > open to religious influences. Owing to such obstacles, Lingkong, who > here seems to speak for Yang as well, claims that "under our current > political system, we cannot hope to produce global Buddhism like in > Taiwan" (p. 158). > > Chapters 3, 6, and 8 have sections relevant to Buddhism. Chapter 3 > shows how Buddhist elements are interfused with popular religious > practices. For example, some rituals combine Buddhist, Daoist, and > other elements, and Guanyin is among the most popular deities in > Wenzhou. Chapter 6 discusses state and quasi-state agencies that > regulate Buddhism and analyzes the modern institutional innovations > of Hongguang's Xianyan Monastery as "sprouts" of religious civil > society. And chapter 8 describes a modern community of lay Buddhist > women (in effect, lay nuns) and one charismatic Buddhist peasant > woman leader. > > _Re-enchanting Modernity _has a few limitations in terms of its > coverage of Buddhism, owing to its focus and the author's background. > As discussed above, the book focuses on popular religious practices > and institutions, so only some parts are concerned with Buddhism per > se, although this can be seen as a strength for those interested in > Buddhism's relationship to society and other religions. Also, to > maintain access to field sites, Yang intentionally chose not to study > Christianity and so there is only brief coverage of > Buddhist-Christian relations (pp. 156-157), although the rapid growth > of Christianity is the best-known story about Wenzhou's post-Mao > religious revival. Finally, there are occasional, minor mistakes in > Buddhological details and translations, such as "sangha" for _shamen_ > (Skt. _śramaṇa_) and "journey of jushi" for _jushi xingyi_ > (practices and deportment for lay Buddhists), and the author confuses > the bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation with the Buddha's disciple > Śāriputra (pp. 144, 151, and 236). > > _Re-enchanting Modernity_ offers an engaging, diachronic portrayal of > recent religious developments in Wenzhou, and stimulating arguments > about how such developments relate to civil society, women's agency, > and the effects of economic growth. I strongly recommend it to > readers interested in these topics, and I would also recommend > sections of it for certain graduate and advanced undergraduate > classes on Buddhism. > > Citation: Douglas Gildow. Review of Yang, Mayfair Mei-hui, > _Re-enchanting Modernity: Ritual Economy and Society in Wenzhou, > China_. H-Buddhism, H-Net Reviews. March, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55899 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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