Lineages Embedded in Temple Networks: Daoism and Local Society in Ming China

Elite Daoists in Ming China mediated between local networks and the state, organized clerical lineages, and controlled central temples to implement state orthodoxy. This book provides a comprehensive social history of local Daoism, illustrating how Daoism claimed a universal ideology and civilizing force that mediated between local organizations and central state institutions.

Format: Hardback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 18 October 2022
Publisher: Harvard University Press

Lineages Embedded in Temple Networks delves into the significant influence of elite Daoists in social and cultural life during Ming China, particularly through their role in mediating between local networks such as biological lineages, territorial communities, temples, and festivals, and the state. These Daoists achieved this by establishing organized clerical lineages, which were empire-wide networks for knowledge, patronage, and resource distribution. Additionally, they exerted control over central temples, which acted as hubs of local social structures.

In his comprehensive social history of local Daoism during the Ming, Richard G. Wang explores the intricate interplay between local organizations, including lineages and temple networks, and central state institutions. The first part of the book establishes a framework for understanding Daoism as a social institution, encompassing both its religious lineages and its contribution to the state's bureaucratic apparatus for enforcing state orthodoxy. The second part presents four case studies that illustrate the connections between clerical lineages and local networks. Through these examples, Wang demonstrates how Daoism claimed a universal ideology and civilizing force that mediated between local organizations and central state institutions, thereby providing meaning and legitimacy to both local society and the state.

This book offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics between religion, society, and the state in Ming China, shedding light on the role played by elite Daoists in shaping the cultural and political landscape of their time. It provides a rich and detailed account of the interactions between local and central institutions, highlighting the ways in which Daoism contributed to the formation of a cohesive and prosperous Ming society.

Weight: 686g
Dimension: 160 x 236 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674270961