Struggling for Legitimacy: Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies in Republican China
The Republican period was a time of radical change in which existing knowledge was questioned in light of newly introduced ideas. It seems puzzling that it was exactly during this period that the Chinese practice of spirit-writing, which had a history of more than a thousand years, experienced a boo...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book/Monograph |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Leiden Boston
Brill
2026
|
| Series: | Asian Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026
Religion in Chinese Societies 20 |
| DOI: | 10.1163/9789004752092 |
| Online Access: | Resolving-System, lizenzpflichtig: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004752092
|
| Author Notes: | Matthias Schumann |
MARC
| LEADER | 00000cam a2200000 c 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | 1960304429 | ||
| 003 | DE-627 | ||
| 005 | 20260227105731.0 | ||
| 007 | cr uuu---uuuuu | ||
| 008 | 260209s2026 gw |||||o 00| ||eng c | ||
| 020 | |a 9789004752092 |q electronic book | ||
| 024 | 7 | |a 10.1163/9789004752092 |2 doi | |
| 035 | |a (DE-627)1960304429 | ||
| 035 | |a (DE-599)KEP123102235 | ||
| 035 | |a (NL-LeKB)9789004752092 | ||
| 035 | |a (DE-627-1)123102235 | ||
| 040 | |a DE-627 |b ger |c DE-627 |e rda | ||
| 041 | |a eng | ||
| 044 | |c XA-DE | ||
| 050 | 0 | |a DS1 .A4915 | |
| 072 | 7 | |a HRAX |2 bicssc | |
| 072 | 7 | |a REL 0033000 |2 bisacsh | |
| 082 | 0 | |a 950.08 A83296 |2 23 | |
| 084 | |a 13 |2 sdnb | ||
| 100 | 1 | |a Schumann, Matthias |d 1986- |e VerfasserIn |0 (DE-588)1167865642 |0 (DE-627)103137969X |0 (DE-576)511312121 |4 aut | |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Struggling for Legitimacy |b Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies in Republican China |c Matthias Schumann |
| 246 | 3 | 3 | |a Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies in Republican China |
| 264 | 1 | |a Leiden |a Boston |b Brill |c 2026 | |
| 264 | 4 | |c ©2026 | |
| 300 | |a 1 Online-Ressource (XI, 391 Seiten) |b illustrations | ||
| 336 | |a Text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a Computermedien |b c |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a Online-Ressource |b cr |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 490 | 0 | |a Asian Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026 | |
| 490 | 0 | |a Religion in Chinese Societies |v 20 | |
| 500 | |a Includes bibliographical references and index | ||
| 505 | 8 | |a Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of Figures -- 1 Introduction -- 1 Coming to Terms with Spirit-Writing Organizations in Republican China -- 2 Legitimation Strategies within a Changing Epistemic Context -- 3 Spirit-Writing and the Appropriation of Knowledge -- 4 Overview of the Book -- 2 From Divination to Redemption: a Brief History of Chinese Spirit-Writing -- 1 The Origins of Spirit-Writing -- 2 The Proliferation of Spirit-Writing During the Ming and the Qing -- 3 Practicing Spirit-Writing to Save the World -- 4 The Emergence of Redemptive Societies -- 5 Conclusion -- 3 Members, Institutions, and Practices: from Local Spirit-Writing Altar to National Redemptive Society -- 1 A Rocky Start, or the Early History of the Wushanshe -- 2 The Emergence of the Daoyuan -- 3 Internal Unification and National Expansion -- 4 From Philanthropy to Religion -- 5 From Religion to Philanthropy -- 6 Members and Networks -- 7 Practicing Spirit-Writing -- 8 Conclusion -- 4 Between jiao and zongjiao : Religion as a Site of Appropriation and Resistance -- 1 Early Debates on Religion -- 2 Coming to Terms with zongjiao -- 3 The Dao of Religion -- 4 Religion as a Source of Unity -- 5 Adopting New Institutional Models and Building a Universal Religion -- 6 "A Great Movement to Unite the World’s Religions" -- 7 Conclusion -- 5 Reestablishing the Dao: the Confucian Dimension of Spirit-Writing -- 1 The Changing Status of Confucianism within the Wushanshe and the Daoyuan -- 2 The Confucian Classics and the Transmission of the Dao -- 3 Spirit-Writing and the Restoration of the Dao -- 4 Making Known the "Divine Way" (shendao) -- 5 The Political Value of Confucianism and Confucian Learning -- 6 Conclusion -- 6 Reconfiguring Philanthropy ( cishan ): Religion, the Red Cross, and New Forms of Philanthropic Activism -- 1 Debating the Reform of Philanthropy in the Late Qing -- 2 The Implementation of "Fundamental Relief Aid" -- 3 Philanthropy and the Spread of the Red Cross Movement to China -- 4 Taking Up the Model of Red Cross Disaster Relief -- 5 Disaster Relief Corps within the Red Swastika Society -- 6 The Professionalization and Internationalization of Disaster Relief -- 7 The Religious Appropriation of Philanthropic Activism -- 8 Conclusion -- 7 Limits of Legitimacy: Adapting to the Changing Political Context -- 1 The Politics of Religion in Early Republican China -- 2 Philanthropy and the Early Republican State -- 3 Social Stability and the Dangers of Radicalism -- 4 The Prohibition of Spirit-Writing Under the Nationalist Government -- 5 The Philanthropic Turn -- 6 Regrouping Under the New Life Movement -- 7 Conclusion -- 8 General Conclusion -- 1 Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies -- 2 The Limits of Legitimation -- Bibliography -- Index. | |
| 520 | |a The Republican period was a time of radical change in which existing knowledge was questioned in light of newly introduced ideas. It seems puzzling that it was exactly during this period that the Chinese practice of spirit-writing, which had a history of more than a thousand years, experienced a boost in popularity. This book sets out to explain this puzzle. Focusing on the study of two newly founded redemptive societies, the Wushanshe and the Daoyuan, it shows how spirit-writing practitioners legitimized the practice by combining it with ideas and activities drawn from the fields of religion, Confucianism, and philanthropy. These legitimation strategies not only enabled spirit-writing practitioners to gain political acceptance, but also turned them into important actors in the social, cultural, and intellectual history of modern China | ||
| 546 | |a English | ||
| 650 | 0 | |a Asian Studies | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Philosophy | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Religious Studies | |
| 776 | 1 | |z 9789004727229 |c print | |
| 776 | 0 | 8 | |i Erscheint auch als |n Druck-Ausgabe |a Schumann, Matthias, 1986 - |t Struggling for legitimacy |d Leiden : Brill, 2026 |h XI, 391 Seiten |w (DE-627)1963019849 |z 9789004727229 |
| 856 | 4 | 0 | |u http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004752092 |m X:BRILL |x Resolving-System |z lizenzpflichtig |7 1 |
| 912 | |a GBV-95-EBA | ||
| 912 | |a ZDB-95-BOC | ||
| 951 | |a BO | ||
| 992 | |a 20260227 | ||
| 993 | |a Book | ||
| 994 | |a 2026 | ||
| 998 | |g 1167865642 |a Schumann, Matthias |m 1167865642:Schumann, Matthias |d 70000 |d 72100 |d 72140 |e 70000PS1167865642 |e 72100PS1167865642 |e 72140PS1167865642 |k 0/70000/ |k 1/70000/72100/ |k 2/70000/72100/72140/ |p 1 |x j |y j | ||
| 999 | |a KXP-PPN1960304429 |e 4923314389 | ||
| BIB | |a Y | ||
| JSO | |a {"titleAlt":[{"title":"Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies in Republican China"}],"title":[{"subtitle":"Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies in Republican China","title_sort":"Struggling for Legitimacy","title":"Struggling for Legitimacy"}],"language":["eng"],"recId":"1960304429","type":{"media":"Online-Ressource","bibl":"book"},"note":["Includes bibliographical references and index"],"id":{"isbn":["9789004752092"],"eki":["1960304429"],"doi":["10.1163/9789004752092"]},"origin":[{"dateIssuedDisp":"2026","publisherPlace":"Leiden ; Boston","dateIssuedKey":"2026","publisher":"Brill"}],"person":[{"role":"aut","given":"Matthias","display":"Schumann, Matthias","family":"Schumann"}],"physDesc":[{"extent":"1 Online-Ressource (XI, 391 Seiten)","noteIll":"illustrations"}],"name":{"displayForm":["Matthias Schumann"]}} | ||
| SRT | |a SCHUMANNMASTRUGGLING2026 | ||