Myth, Ritual, and Popular Religion in China

by Dr. Ori Tavor

This course will introduce students to the myths, beliefs, and rituals of Chinese popular religion from pre¬imperial times to the modern age. The fluid entity of popular or folk religion is hard to define. Existing alongside China's three main religious traditions, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, the category of “popular religion” often refers to the beliefs and practices of everyday life of China. Therefore,

rather than focusing on specific religious doctrines and institutions, this course will adopt a thematic approach. The first unit (weeks 1-3) will set the ground by discussing the main theoretical and methodological issues in the study of myth, ritual, and popular religion. In unit two (weeks 4-7) we will move on to survey key themes in Chinese mythology, such as the creation of the universe and human society. It will

also introduce the students to the major players in the Chinese ritual arena - exorcists, diviners, and priests. In unit three (weeks 8-10) we will focus on family and gender issues through a close reading of vernacular religious literature. In the fourth and final unit (weeks 11-13) we will turn our attention to the modern era and examine the role of popular religion in Mainland China and Taiwan, with particular attention

to the relationship between state, society, and religion, and the influence of popular beliefs and practices on new religious movements, such as the Falun Gong and Christian sects. The goal of this course will be to situate the variety of Chinese religious experiences in specific social and cultural contexts, and learn how the concept of “religion” is understood and practiced differently in Chinese culture. The class will be in discussion format and class readings include both primary materials in English translation and recent secondary scholarship. No knowledge of Chinese is presumed.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

• Become acquainted with the basic features of the myths, beliefs, and practices of Chinese popular religion, from the pre-imperial period to the modern age.

• Learn how to analyze primary sources and discuss their content critically through the use of modern religious theory and methodology.

• Develop analytical, as well as creative, skills by engaging a wide variety of sources and media, from written documents to visual and material sources.

READINGS:

• Lévi-Strauss, Claude. Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture. ISBN #0805210385

• Idema, Wilt. The White Snake and Her Son. ISBN #0872209954

• All additional readings are posted on Blackboard.

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

Class Attendance and Participation: 15%

Response Papers: 20%

Discussion Leadership: 10%

Book Report: 15%

Final Project: 40% (Presentation 10% + Paper 30%)

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION:

Class attendance is part of the learning process. Every student will be permitted to miss up to two lectures without their grade being adversely affected. Missing additional lecture times will lower grades. Arriving to class more than fifteen minutes late counts as an absence. If you will miss an assignment due to a legitimate absence (such as serious illnesses, religious holidays, or University-sanctioned events), you must notify me in advance of the class you will be missing. In addition, class attendance means participation. This is a discussion-based class, so you must come prepared, after having completed all assigned readings and the response paper, and be ready to discuss them in class.

RESPONSE PAPERS:

Students will be expected to post weekly response papers to the assigned readings. These should be uploaded by midnight each Monday unto the appropriate discussion thread on Blackboard. A good response paper will be between 250 and 500 words (about a page in MS Word). Discussion questions will be posted a few days before each response paper is due. You are only allowed to miss one entry without penalty. Late entries are not accepted, and your grade will be subsequently deducted. The goal of this task is to help students familiarize themselves with the assigned reading before class thus facilitating a meaningful and productive discussion.

DISCUSSION LEADERSHIP:

Each student must lead one discussion. This should entail a summary of the key points raised in the assigned readings for that week (contextualizing it against the backdrop of previous readings and discussions), followed by a critical analysis of the texts, including some questions for class discussion.

BOOK REPORT:

For their book report, students will select one week's reading from the syllabus and then, with the help of the professor, find an additional book on the same topic and review it). In addition to the written review (4-5 pages), students will have to present their book of choice to the class and discuss it against the backdrop of the week's topic.

FINAL PRESENTATION AND PAPER:

For their final project, students must write a research paper on a topic of their choice, relating to myth, ritual, and popular religion in the China. The length of this paper should be 8-10 pages (double-spaced, 12 font, in MS Word). In order to ensure the timely submission and quality of this assignment, this process will be divided into three stages:

1) On March 18, each student must submit a one-page project outline, including a short bibliography.

2) On April 22 (our last class meeting,), we will have class presentations, in which each student will explain their topic to the class in a clear and concise manner, with an emphasis on why the topic is important to our understanding of religion in modern Chinese history. The class presentation is important since it will help you organize your paper and incorporate the feedback you will receive from your classmates.

3) The final paper itself is due on May 6, and should be sent to oritavor@gwu.edu by noon.

These papers will be graded according to a four point rubric, which takes into consideration (1) grammar and style, (2) clarity of thesis, (3) structural organization, and (4) appropriate use of textual quotations. No assignment will be accepted late without prior approval (which will only be given in cases of medical or family emergency).

CLASS POLICIES

University Policy on Religious Holidays:

• Students should notify faculty during the first week of the semester of their intention to be absent from class on their day(s) of religious observance;

• Faculty should extend to these students the courtesy of absence without penalty on such occasions, including permission to make up examinations;

• Faculty who intend to observe a religious holiday should arrange at the beginning of the semester to reschedule missed classes or to make other provisions for their course-related activities

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The GW Code of Academic Integrity states: “Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS)

Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-994-8250 in the Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to: http : //gwired.gwu.edu/dss/

UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER (UCC)

The University Counseling Center (UCC) offers 24/7 assistance and referral to address students' personal, social, career, and study skills problems (202-994-5300). Services for students include:

• crisis and emergency mental health consultations

• confidential assessment, counseling services (individual and small group), and referrals

http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/CounselingServices/AcademicSupportServices

COURSE SCHEDULE

1/14 Doing Religion in China: Course Introduction

Stephen Teiser, “The Spirits of Chinese Religion”, in: Religions of China in Practice, 3-37 (Blackboard).

1/21 What is “Popular Religion?”

Philip Clart, “Chinese Popular Religion,” in: The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions, 219¬235 (Blackboard).

Adam Yuet Chau, “Modalities of Doing Religion,” in: Chinese Religious Life, 67-84 (Blackboard).

1/28 Decoding Myth and Ritual: Methodologies and Theories

Claude Lévi-Strauss, Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture.

Catherine Bell, “Ritual,” in: The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, 397-411 (Blackboard).

2/4 A Beginning: Mythology and the Creation of the Universe

Norman Girardot, “The Problem of Creation Mythology in the Study of Chinese Religion,” History of Religions 15.4 (1976): 289-318 (Blackboard). Paul R. Goldin, “The Myth That China Has No Creation Myth,” Monumenta Serica 56 (2008): 1-22 (Blackboard).

Anne Birrell, “Origins,” in: Chinese Mythology: An Introduction, 23-39 (Blackboard).

REL/EALL3832.80 Myth, Ritual, and Popular Religion in China 2/11 Ritual and the Creation of the Human Social World

Jonathan Z. Smith, “The Domestication of Sacrifice,” in: Understanding Religious Sacrifice, 325-341 (Blackboard).

Michael Puett, “Ritualization as Domestication Ritual Theory from Classical China,” in: Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual, 365-376 (Blackboard).

Anne Birrell, “Cultural Bearers,” in: Chinese Mythology: An Introduction, 40-66 (Blackboard).

2/18 Exorcists and Bureaucrats: Ritual, Spirits, and Ghosts

Angelika Cedzich, “Ghosts and Demons, Law and Order,” in: Taoist Resources 4.2 (1993), 23-35 (Blackboard).

Donald Harper, “Spellbinding,” in: Religions of Asia in Practice, 376-385 (Blackboard).

Peter Nickerson, “The Great Petition for Sepulchral Plaints,” in: Early Daoist Scriptures, 230-274 (Blackboard).

2/25 Off the Grid: Transcendence-seekers and Recluses

Robert Campany, “Narrative in the Self-Presentation of Transcendence-Seekers,” in: Interpretation and Literature in Early Medieval China, 133-164 (Blackboard).

Alan Berkowitz, “Social and Cultural Dimensions of Reclusion in Early Medieval China”, in: Religion and Philosophy in Early Medieval China, 291-318 (Blackboard).

Kenneth DeWoskin, Doctors, diviners, and Magicians of Ancient China, 76-82 (Blackboard).

Anne Birrell, “Immortality,” in: Chinese Mythology: An Introduction, 181-188 (Blackboard).

3/4 Piety beyond the Grave: The Chinese Ghost Festival

Stephen Teiser, The Ghost Festival in Medieval China, 3-42, 113-139 (Blackboard).

“Transformation Text on Mahämaudagalyayäna Rescuing His Mother from the Underworld,” in: The

Shorter Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, 607-642 (Blackboard).

3/11 SPRING BREAK

3/18 Religion and Folk Literature

Wilt Idema, The White Snake and Her Son.

Green Snake (Wte, dir. Tsui Hark, 1993)

FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE IN CLASS

3/25 Family, Gender, and Chinese Popular Religion Beata Grand, “Gender,” in: The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions, 397-417 (Blackboard). P. Steven Sangren, “Myths, Gods, and Family Relations,” in: Unruly Gods: Divinity and Society in China, 150-183 (Blackboard). Glen Dudbridge, The Legend of Miaoshan, (Blackboard).

Anne Birrell, “Goddesses,” in: Chinese Mythology: An Introduction, 160-180 (Blackboard). 4/1 New Gods: Religion and Modernity in Taiwan

Philip Clart, “Chinese Tradition and Taiwanese Modernity: Morality Books as Social Commentary and Critique,” in: Religion in Modern Taiwan, 84-97 (Blackboard).

Mayfair Yang, “Goddess across the Taiwan Strait: Matrifocal Ritual Space, Nation-State, and Satellite Television Footprints,” in: Chinese Religiosities, 323-347 (Blackboard).

Dancing for the Dead (Dir. Marc L. Moskowitz, 2011)

4/8 Redemptive Societies and Evil Cults in Mainland China

David Palmer, “Heretical Doctrines, Reactionary Secret Societies, Evil Cults: Labeling Heterodoxy in Twentieth-Century China,” in: Chinese Religiosities, 113-134 (Blackboard).

Emily Dunn, “Cult, Church, and the CCP: Introducing Eastern Lightning,” Modern China 35.1 (2009): 96-119 (Blackboard). “The Eastern Lightning Cult,” Asia Harvest 66 (2002): 5-12 (Blackboard).

4/15 Saints and Preachers: Christianity and Popular Religion in Contemporary China

Lian Xi, “A Messianic Deliverance for Post-Dynastic China,” Modern China 34.4 (2008): 407-441 (Blackboard).

Henrietta Harrison, “Global Modernity, Local Community and Spiritual Power in the Shanxi Catholic Church,” in: Religious Revitalization in Contemporary China, 203-221 (Blackboard).

Fangshan Church (Dir. Xu Xin, 2005)