Chinese ritual healing and popular religion are my long-term interests. The notion of body and souls, the definition of health and illness, and the multiple behavior choices around medical issues among Han Chinese in Taiwan were my main research topics in the 1980s. The results of this research were published in a monograph (Illness and Culture, 1989). From ritual healing I turned to Chinese religion, its localization and modern transformation in Taiwan. I employed anthropological theories such as A. Van Gennep’s ritual theory and Victor Turner’s performance theory, and plumbed the historic archives to analyze the Mazu pilgrimage and understand the basic concepts of time, space and community in Chinese religious culture. The outcome was a book entitled Constructing Mazu, published in 2003.
The “Belief and Customs of Mazu” was declared a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. This has encouraged intensive communication between temples in Taiwan and China and has provided stronger incentives for promotion of the Mazu culture on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Diverse religious identities and political identities have fueled new debates among believers, temple managers, and local politician. The cultural creative industry has helped regenerate traditional industries (such as incense making, Koji pottery production, embroidery, temple painting) and rural economic development (e.g., religious tourism and ICH tourism). Consequently, more young people are returning to their hometowns as part of the process of glocalization.
I have edited two monographs that focus on this research -- Chinese Popular Religion: Linking Fieldwork and Theory (2013), and Religion in Taiwan and China: Locality and Transmission (2017). In recent years, I have also conducted fieldwork in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan Island, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore to enlarge my understanding of the relationship between overseas migrants, merchant guilds, and the cult of Mazu.
Chinese ritual healing and popular religion are my long-term interests. The notion of body and souls, the definition of health and illness, and the multiple behavior choices around medical issues among Han Chinese in Taiwan were my main research topics in the 1980s. The results of this research was published in a monograph (Illness and Culture, 1989). From ritual healing I turned to Chinese religion and its localization and modern transformation in Taiwan. I employed anthropological theories such as A. Van Gennep’s ritual theory and Victor Turner’s performance theory, and plumbed the historic archives to analyze the Mazu pilgrimage to understand the basic concepts of time, space and community in Chinese religious culture. The outcome was a book entitled Constructing Mazu, published in 2003.
The “Belief and Customs of Mazu” was declared a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. This has encouraged intensive communication between temples in Taiwan and China and has provided stronger incentives for promotion of the Mazu culture on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Diverse religious identities and political identities have fueled new debates among believers, temple managers, and local politician. The cultural creative industry has helped regenerate traditional industries (such as incense making, Koji pottery production, embroidery, temple painting) and rural economic development (e.g., religious tourism and ICH tourism). Consequently, more young people are returning to their hometowns as part of the process of glocalization.
I have edited two monographs that focus on this research -- Chinese Popular Religion: Linking Fieldwork and Theory, 2013, Religion in Taiwan and China: Locality and Transmission, 2017. In recent years, I have also conducted fieldwork in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan Island, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore to enlarge my understanding of the relationship between overseas migrants, merchant guilds, and the cult of Mazu.