Refashioning festivals in Republican Guangzhou

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Modern China

Publication Date

4-1-2004

Volume

30

Issue

2

First Page

199

Last Page

227

Keywords

Chinese festival, Common people, Guangzhou history, Popular religion, Republican China

Abstract

Influenced by the concept of evolution, the Republican regime branded popular religious beliefs and practices as "superstition," believing that the eradication of "superstition" was crucial to the making of modern citizens. Government policies not only affected the development of popular religion but also reshaped the relationship between the state and the common people. Tracing the changes of the Double Seven Festival and the Ghost Festival in Republican Guangzhou, this article aims to show the complexities of the contestations between the state and the common people in actual religious settings, particularly the interaction between official culture and traditional festivals. It argues that although new national symbols successfully found their way into common people's religious lives, helping to give a nationalistic outlook to traditional festivals, underneath the expansion of an official culture, a rich variety of local traditions persisted. By appropriating official symbols, the common people refashioned and preserved their religious traditions.

DOI

10.1177/0097700403261881

Print ISSN

00977004

E-ISSN

15526836

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2004 Sage Publications

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Poon, S. W. (2004). Refashioning festivals in Republican Guangzhou. Modern China, 30(2), 199-227. doi: 10.1177/0097700403261881

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