The Sinister Way The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture [Hardcover]

The most striking feature of Wutong, the preeminent God of Wealth in late imperial China, was the deity's diabolical character. Wutong was perceived not as a heroic figure or paragon of noble qualities but rather as an embodiment of humanity's basest vices, greed and lust, a maleficent demon who preyed on the weak and vulnerable. InThe Sinister Way,Richard von Glahn examines the emergence and evolution of the Wutong cult within the larger framework of the historical development of Chinese popular or vernacular religionas opposed to institutional religions such as Buddhism or Daoism. Von Glahn's study, spanning three millennia, gives due recognition to the morally ambivalent and demonic aspects of divine power within the common Chinese religious culture.

Richard von Glahnis Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the coeditor ofThe Song-Yuan-Ming Transition in Chinese History(2003) and the author ofFountain of Fortune: Money and Monetary Policy in China, 1000-1700(California, 1996) andThe Country of Streams and Grottoes: Expansion, Settlement, and the Civilizing of the Sichuan Frontier in Song Times(1987).

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments

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

Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Glossary
Index

A fascinating story of the origins and development of the Wutong cult and the demonic in Chinese religion. From the Shang Dynasty down to late imperial times, Von Glahn lays before us an engaging wealth of knowledge and never-before presented data. Stephen R. Bokenkamp, Indiana University, authlS“