This session consists of the best individual papers submitted to the Chinese Religions Unit. Through topics that include spirit medium, spirit writing, Bible work, and political mourning, panelists address the multiple religiosities in the rapidly changing socio-political landscape of the twentieth and twenty-first century.
This paper aims to illustrate the history of the Bible Society Service for Overseas Chinese (1955-1957), a short-lived programme of the British and American Bible societies to continue their presence among Chinese-speaking communities outside China following their withdrawal from the People’s Republic of China. Based on relevant archival materials of these Bible societies, this paper will examine how Ralph Mortensen, a Bible society staff member with China experience, worked with the secretaries of the Bible societies’ East and Southeast Asian agencies to develop a series of measures and promotional activities to increase Bible distribution among the Chinese residents in the regions. It will also pay attention to the role of Hong Kong in the Service. It will conclude with a discussion on the legacies of the Service to the institutional indigenization of Bible societies in the Chinese-speaking world.
The Beigang Wude Temple in Taiwan utilizes cutting edge technology in its divination practices and on its temple grounds. This paper uses textual sources and ethnographic methods to explore the temple's integration of traditional divinatory practices (i.e., Chinese spirit writing, divination) with a robust online presence, including an extensive website and social media.
The temple's construction of a virtual world with 500,000 Facebook followers and a comprehensive website and YouTube! presence is augmented onsite by the organization's use of artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize characters in spirit written text using optical character recognition as well as its use of other technologies. The temple further integrates technology with its onsite operations through the use of customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage the flow of visitors to the temple and to gain an accurate accounting of those numbers.
The temple demonstrates a commitment to existing traditions while engaging in technological innovation.
This study is based on fieldwork conducted between 2023 and 2025 around Mount Tai, with a particular focus on incense associations and spirit mediums, to examine the roles of contemporary religious groups in terms of practice, memory, and salvific functions. While Chinese salvationist religions have been widely studied, they are often seen as unique to the Republican and early PRC eras. This research argues that incense associations and spirit mediums continue to perform salvific functions akin to earlier groups, helping individuals navigate uncertainty amid social change. These groups offer spiritual solace and social support via ritual healing and community mutual aid. Furthermore, by reconstructing traditions and historical narratives, they reassert orthodoxy and legitimize their practices in contemporary society. Thus, they represent both a continuation of salvationist memory and a departure from their stigmatized past, illustrating the dynamic interplay of continuity and change in daily religious life under social transformation.
This paper examines the annual June 4 candlelight vigils in Hong Kong as an example of how political mourning can manifest as ritual protest, particularly in response to the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Despite the Chinese government's efforts to suppress public remembrance, Hong Kong citizens organized these vigils to honor the victims, establishing a tradition that lasted over three decades.
By engaging with theories on ritual and mourning, this paper develops an analytical framework to explore the intersections between political mourning and ritual protest. Drawing on historical documents and video recordings, it investigates religious and ritualistic elements of the vigils, including their incorporation of Chinese funeral practices. It emphasizes the vigils' liminal nature, explains the symbolic meaning of those rites, and illustrates their sociopolitical functions. To conclude, this paper argues that a grassroots-driven political mourning/ritual protest can transform collective grief into acts of resistance and foster a counter-narrative to state propaganda.
This research explores the Opening the Horse Servant (kai matong 開馬僮) of Huashan jiao ritual masters in Liuyang, Hunan, through which the ritual masters transform individuals into spirit mediums. The Teaching of Mount Hua in Liuyang's Hakka community serves as a cornerstone for the creation and consecration of divine statues, highlighting the key role of these masters in local religious life. Revered as both sculptors and custodians of consecration rituals, Huashan jiao masters are revered as the architects and animators of the gods themselves, infusing wooden statues with divine vitality. The Opening the Horse Servant (kai matong 開馬僮), alongside other rituals, is dedicated to creating spirit mediums for the consecrated temples. The unique approach in Liuyang, where spirit mediums are created as needed, is similar to conventional transmission tradition and suggests nuanced ties to Daoism and Buddhism. Through a meticulous reconstruction of the Opening the Horse Servant ritual, this research aims to illuminate the intricate spiritual milieu of Liuyang.
| Wei Wu | wei.wu@emory.edu | View |