Cluster Leader: Jinhua Jia, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The field visits of Cluster 2.1 have been focusing on the historical sites of the traditional Chinese state sacrificial system dedicated to spirits of major mountains and waters, including Five Marchmounts 五嶽, Five Strongholds 五鎮, Four Seas 四海, and Four Waterways 四瀆, which formed a part of the most authoritative religious-ritual institutions in imperial China. Over two thousand years, the state ritual and belief have gradually integrated with other religious traditions such as Daoism, Buddhism, and local cults. From the Jin dynasty onward, Daoists have been in charge of many of the state temples, taking part in, or fully responsible for, the sacrificial ritual. Local people have produced legends, stories, songs, deities, cults, and rituals related to the age-old mountain and water spirits. Temple fairs have continued and all kinds of popular religious activities such as offerings, worships, fortune telling, and spiritual possession are present in the fairs. These historical sites present a unique perspective to observe the transformation of traditional state sacrificial ritual and its integration with Daoist, Buddhist and popular religious culture.
The field visits to these sites are the first organized investigations of this sub-tradition. The visits have provided a unique perspective to address questions such as when, where, and who has defined authoritative and authentic religion in China, and how the “authoritative” religion has interacted and integrated with “sub-authoritative” and “non-authoritative” traditions. By investigating these sites, researchers in this cluster have sought to realign the narrative of the history of Chinese religion with traditional Chinese state religion, which has been largely disregarded by contemporary traditions-based definitions of religion in China (e.g., Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism).
Teams of Cluster 2.1 visited the Jidu Temple 濟瀆廟 (Temple of Ji River, one of the four waterways) and Mount Wangwu 王屋山 in 2017, the Dongzhen Temple 東鎮廟 (Temple of Eastern Stronghold), Mount Yi 沂山, and nearby religious sites in 2018, and the Beizhen Temple 北鎮廟 (Temple of Northern Stronghold), Mount Yiwulü 醫巫閭山, Mount Haitang 海棠山, and nearby religious sites in 2019. The outcomes of the three trips include three videos, about 700 stele inscriptions and images, a database, a number of research articles and PhD dissertations, a special issue published in the journal Religions, and a book published by MDPI.
Field Visit Report
Data Collection
View 2017 digital data collection
View 2018 digital data collection
View 2019 digital data collection
Cluster Publications
Read Traditional Chinese State Ritual System of Sacrifice to Mountain and Water Spirits edited by Jia Jinhua (Religions open access special issue; open access book)
Read journal article by Bai Zhaojie and Teng Yao (English)—“Daoism and the Operation of the Eastern Stronghold Temple in the Late Imperial China”
Read working paper by Bai Zhaojie (Chinese)—“道教与元明清东镇庙的日常运作——以东镇碑刻为中心的考察”
Read working paper by Li Teng (English)—“The Jidu God contra the Dragon King: State Domination and Local Autonomy of Water God in Late Imperial China”
Read BEAR Research Briefs—“Chinese Sacred Rivers: The Four Waterways”
Read BEAR Research Briefs—“Making the Secular Sacred: Dongzhen Temple and Five Strongholds in the Traditional Chinese State Sacrifice Ceremony”
2018 field visit team
Cluster Participants
| Affiliated Researchers | Associated Researchers |
| Bratt, David (University of California Berkeley) – 2017 | Bai, Zhaojie (Shanghai Academy of Social Science) – 2018, 2019 |
| Carlton, Kelly (Princeton University) – 2019 | Cheng, Jihong (Zhejiang Ocean University) – 2017 |
| Chen, Siyu (Harvard Divinity School) – 2018 | He, Shuyue (McGill University)- 2018 (Columbia University) – 2019 |
| Jia, Jinhua (University of Macau) – 2017, (Hong Kong Polytechnic) – 2018, 2019 | Huang, Chenxi (Renmin University) – 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| La Torre, Joseph (Harvard Divinity School) – 2018 | Kong, Qingmao (Nanjing University of the Arts) – 2017 |
| Lovedahl, Nate (Yale University) – 2018 | Li, Jing (City University of Macau) – 2019 |
| Rols, Johan (École pratique des hautes études) – 2017 | Li, Lin (Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts) – 2018, 2019 |
| Rusk, Bruce (University of British Columbia) – 2017 | Li, Teng (University of Macau) – 2017 |
| Su, Shenghan (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) – 2018 | Lin, Peiying (Fu-jen University) – 2018 |
| Teiser, Stephen (Princeton University) – 2019 | Liu, Jie (Zhejiang Ocean University) – 2017 |
| ter Haar, Barend (Oxford University) – 2017, 2019 | Lu, Guobin (Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts) – 2018, 2019 |
| Tian, Menglu (University of British Columbia) – 2018, 2019 | Wang, Shixiao (Southeast University) – 2017, 2018 |
| Wang, Yue (University of Saskatchewan) – 2017 | Wang, Xiaoyang (Southeast University) – 2017, 2018,2019 |
| Xu, Yuji (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) – 2018 | Wang, Yue (University of Alberta) – 2018, 2019 |
| Yang, Zhaohua (Columbia University) – 2019 | Wu, Sijia (Southeast University) – 2017,2019 |
| Yin, Wei (Oxford University) – 2018 | Yuan, Xiaoli (Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts) – 2019 |
| Zhang, Yuanjing (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) – 2018, 2019 |
Field Visit Sites
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