Conference on
Community and Religion in Rural North China: Searching for a New
Paradigm
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, May 3-5, 2013
Sponsored by Confucius Institute of Rutgers University
also sponsored by History Department, Rutgers – New Brunswick
Organizers: Shin-yi Chao, Dept of Philosophy and Religion, Rutgers_Camden
Xun Liu, Dept of History, Rutgers _ New Brunswick
China has experienced a significant revival of religion since the early stages of the reform era that began
in 1980. Beneath this revival lies complex historical, socio-cultural, political, economic, gender, and, of
course, religious, issues. The political resources of various levels commanded by communal religious
leaders, from temple bosses to heads of voluntary religious societies, engender the complicated grassroots
operation network. In addition, the production and reproduction of vernacular tradition, mythology, and
folktale embody the negotiation among different “social actors,” borrowing the terminology of the
practice theory. While scholars have noticed and worked on religious revivalism in China, the attention,
with few exceptions, is focused on either urban or the south. We hope that this conference will offer a
new perspective of community religion and form a new paradigm to understand Chinese society.
VENUE
Van Dyck Hall, Room 301 (History Department, seminar room)
PROGRAM
May 3
Hotel check-in
May 4
8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast at the conference venue
9:00 – 9:30 Welcoming remarks by Prof. Ching-I Tu, Director of Confucius Institute of Rutgers
University
9:40-12:00 3 papers (Deming An, Yao Wang & Yongchao Chen)
Deming An
Negotiation and Dynamics among Genres – The Study of Mythology and Belief-Legend in the Worship
of Fuxi-Nüwa in Tianshui, Gansu Province 文体的协作与互动——以甘肃天水地区伏羲女娲信仰中的
神话和灵验传说为例
Yao Wang
The Combination And Expansion of Local Deities 地方神灵的组合与扩张——以山西洪洞的通天二郎
信仰为中心
Yongchao Chen
Who is the Sage King? Multiple identities of the god worshiped at he Sage King Temple in Hongdong,
Shanzi 洪洞地区“圣王庙”神主名实考
12:30 – 3:10 Lunch break
3:30 – 5:00 2 papers (Jinping Wang & Xun Liu)
Jinping Wang
Buddhist network and Local Kinship in the 13th-century China
Xun Liu
The role of the Complete Perfection Daoists in a Local Rain-praying Society in Zaoyuan, Henan Province
5:30 – 8:30 Dinner
May 5
8:30 – 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30 2 papers (Ching-chih Lin & Tao Ye)
Ching-chih Lin
Duangu qiang 端鼓腔: A Ritual Opera on the Water in North China
Tao Ye
Village religious societies: A Case Study in Qingzhou, Shandong province 山东青州一个村落的信仰结
社
10:30-10:50 Coffee break
10:50- 12:20 2 papers (Xiaofei Kang & Chun-wu Fan)
Xiaofei Kang
Women’s Liberation and Anti-superstition in Communist Shanxi: The Case of Young Blackie Gets
Married (Xiao Erhei jiehun)
Chunwu Fan
Concept and Structure of Popular Religion in North Chinese – The Case Study of the Illustration of the
Procession at Heavenly Empress Temple, Tianjin 華北民眾宗教意識與形構--以天津天后宮行會圖為
中心的考察
12:30 – 3:30 Lunch
3:30 – 5:00 2 papers (Chien-ch’uan Wang & Shin-yi Chao)
Chien-ch’uan Wang
The Veneration of Goddess Bixia Yuanju and other goddess「碧霞元君信仰」三論:兼談「王三奶奶」
崇拜
Shin-yi Chao
The Worship Circle of Temple of Our Lady Erxian in Qinyang, Northwest Henan Province
5:00 – 6:00 Conclusion / publication plan
6:00 – 8:00 Dinner