Spirits are Drunk

Jordan Paper is an Associate Professor in the Religious Studies, East Asian Studies, and Women's Studies Programs at York University, Toronto.

• Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: The Study of Chinese Religion The Understanding of Religion in ChinaThe Understanding of Chinese Religion in the WestRecent Trends in Western Studies of Chinese ReligionTraditional Chinese Elite Values and MarxismReligion in Contemporary ChinaThe Study of Religion in ChinaThe Study of Religion in Taiwan 2. The Essence of Chinese Religion Chinese Ritual and Cultural ContinuityRitual and Religion in Chinese CultureRitual and Myth in Chinese Religion: Digression IProtohistoric Clan RitualEarly Historic Clan RitualEarly Historic Family RitualEarly Traditional RitualReligious and Secular Ritual: Digression IILate Traditional RitualFood in Chinese CultureModern TransformationsThe Ritual Core of Chinese Religion 3. Ecstatic Functionaries in Chinese Religion I: Shamans Shamanism in Early Chinese TextsThe Roots of Late Zhou Shamanism: Shang ReligionConclusions 4. Ecstatic Functionaries in Chinese Religion II: Mediums Shamanism and Mediumism (Spirit Possession)The Enigma of Protohistoric Chinese MediumismHistoric MediumismMediums in Modern ChinaMediums in Modern ChinaConclusions 5. The Mystic Experience in Chinese Religion I: Transformation The ProblemFrom Shamanism to Mysticism in the Zhuangzi From Shamn to Mystic in Anishnabe ReligionCausative Factors for the Transformation 6. The Mystic Experience in Chinese Religion II: Expression Aesthetics and the Wenren History of Aesthetic ExpressionsAesthetics and ReligionContemporary China 7. The Fundament of Religio-Aesthetic Expression: Stones and Seals A History of Seals in ChinaReligio-Aesthetics of StonesSeal StonesContemporary China 8. Female Spirits and Spirituality in Chinese Religion EarthThe Failure of PatriarchalizationThe Variability of PatriarchalityFemale and Male Religious Roles and IdeologyComparative Cosmology and Values 9. Christianity from the Perspective of Chinese Religion Hong XiuquanA Contemporary Chinese InterpretationConclusions PostfaceComparative ApproachesNeeded StudiesExpending the Notion of Religion Appendix: Analysis of Bronze Vessels and Decor Relevant to Chapter 4 References Index

"Paper consistently deals with a coherent body of beliefs and practices, pointing out that traditional categories such as the 'three teachings' (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) obscure the degree to which a common system of belief and practice pervaded Chinese traditional culture."The approach taken here is comparative both across time and across cultures. For example, the author's deep understanding of shamanism and related phenomena in a variety of cultural and historical contexts allows him to write about Chinese religion in a particularly illuminating way."Even when I don't agree with Paper, he provides me with interesting material to grapple with. The world is full of safe, boring books; here is one that is adventurousand intellectually exciting." — John S. Major