Customer Reviews

The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture

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Pursuant to the author, the notion of divine retribution for mortal sin thoroughly permeated religious culture of the imperial era, and religious practice above all was devoted to the expiation of sin and relief from postmortem punishment, for oneself and for one's ancestors. The diabolic character of Wutong illustrates that transactions with the divine realm remained fraught with uncertainty, the Wutong cult arising as much as from fear of the god's wrath and malice as from hope of securing its aid. Although China's religious culture did not simply mirror the social order and its essential values, by examining the ever-changing world of vernacular religion we can catch a glimpse of how the lives and thoughts or ordinary Chinese were conditioned by the times they lived in, given that the conception of the divine realm in Chinese vernacular religion was very much a product of active effort by ordinary people to make sense of, and gain control over, their lives, and that conformity to the state's and ecclesiastic authorities' standards of religious belief and practice remained superficial.

All that (and much more that I do not mention in this summary) is developed in 321 pages (footnotes included), the book being divided in the following chapters: Introduction; 1. Ancestors, Ghosts, and Gods in Ancient China; 2. The Han cult of the Dead and Salvific Religion; 3. Shanxiao: Mountain Goblins; 4. Plague Demons and Epidemic Gods.; 5. The Song Transformation of Chinese Religious Culture; 6. Wutong: From Demon to Deity; 7. The Enchantment of Wealth; Conclusion.

Besides, the book is not a difficult reading (content: 5 starts; pleasure of reading: 4 to 3).

Other books I would recommend reading are the following:"In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient Chinese Religion " by Mu-Chou Poo(excellent too, but not at all engaging); "The Phenomenon of Religion", by Moojan Momen; "Vampires, Burial, and Death : Folklore and Reality" by Paul Barber; "Ecstasies: Deciphering the witches' Sabbath", by Carlo Ginzburg; and "Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints: A Prehistory of Religion" by Brian Hayden.

Professor von Glahn introduces his text as a "history of the cult of Wutong [who begins as a plague demon and ends up, surprisingly, as a wealth god] within the larger context of China's evolving religious culture." And as he notes, "the Wutong cult [does] demonstrate the primacy of the eudaemonistic regime of sacrifice and exorcism in Chinese veracular religion" (p. 263). But it would significantly shortchange this text if one stopped there, for the study of the cult of Wutong is a mere drop in the sea of information and insights readers will gain from this thoughtful, incredibly well researched, well-written volume that dips and surfs and then dives into the diversity of Chinese religious culture.

Although perhaps not for the general lay reader, as a student of Chinese history I couldn't put this volume down. Anyone with an interest in Chinese religions will find its overview of the ways that folk religion, Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism developed throughout the years, at times spilling over or rubbing against one another, riveting. The Sinister Way takes all the basic facts one knows of Chinese religions (pre-Shang through modern times) and ratchets them up. Von Glahn also helps readers take much of the diverse information one may have acquired over years of reading and study, and gives it a fascinating framework, making the parts form a whole that substantially adds to an understanding of how religions made their way in China. Each topic is framed in its proper historical period and geography, but then linked forward (or back) so readers can follow a sect's growth or a deity's transformation, or the rise of a new religious trend or practice.

The nine bronze cauldrons, the Queen Mother of the West, the demon-kings and immortals, Guandi and Tianhou are all here, but von Glahn has found the most extraordinary details that rend them so much more comprehensible and fascinating. Guandi's origins in an obscure local snake cult? The Demon Catcher (Zhong Kui)'s name perhaps evolving from a magical hammer? The transition of Xiwangmu from a horrific figure with tiger-sharp teeth to the graceful lady of the elixir of immortality? The money trees found in the tombs of the Han Dynasty and their relationship to the Fusang Tree? It's all here. AND easy to find.

So many books today are rich in detail that's irretrievable for lack of a good index, but this index is excellent. As are the numerous detailed notes and the extensive bibliography.

I read this book once, then immediately turned back to page 1 to re-read it, stopping to read the extensive endnotes, and make my own marginal notes. What a wonderful rich find this book is. If you've gotten this far, don't hesitate, and don't let the title or its subtitle (The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture) divert you from one of the most rewarding books on religion in China I've read in years.