The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture

by Richard von Glahn

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. In The 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 religion―as 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.

Genres: China, Religion, History, Cultural

400 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 2004

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor von Glahn introduces his text as a "history of the cult of Wutong [who begins as a plague demon and ends up, surprisingly, as a wealth god] within the larger context of China's evolving religious culture." And as he notes, "the Wutong cult [does] demonstrate the primacy of the eudaemonistic regime of sacrifice and exorcism in Chinese veracular religion" (p. 263). But it would significantly shortchange this text if one stopped there, for the study of the cult of Wutong is a mere drop in the sea of information and insights readers will gain from this thoughtful, incredibly well researched, well-written volume that dips and surfs and then dives into the diversity of Chinese religious culture.

Although perhaps not for the general lay reader, as a student of Chinese history I couldn't put this volume down. Anyone with an interest in Chinese religions will find its overview of the ways that folk religion, Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism developed throughout the years, at times spilling over or rubbing against one another, riveting. The Sinister Way takes all the basic facts one knows of Chinese religions (pre-Shang through modern times) and ratchets them up. Von Glahn also helps readers take much of the diverse information one may have acquired over years of reading and study, and gives it a fascinating framework, making the parts form a whole that substantially adds to an understanding of how religions made their way in China. Each topic is framed in its proper historical period and geography, but then linked forward (or back) so readers can follow a sect's growth or a deity's transformation, or the rise of a new religious trend or practice.

The nine bronze cauldrons, the Queen Mother of the West, the demon-kings and immortals, Guandi and Tianhou are all here, but von Glahn has found the most extraordinary details that rend them so much more comprehensible and fascinating. Guandi's origins in an obscure local snake cult? The Demon Catcher (Zhong Kui)'s name perhaps evolving from a magical hammer? The transition of Xiwangmu from a horrific figure with tiger-sharp teeth to the graceful lady of the elixir of immortality? The money trees found in the tombs of the Han Dynasty and their relationship to the Fusang Tree? It's all here. AND easy to find.

So many books today are rich in detail that's irretrievable for lack of a good index, but this index is excellent. As are the numerous detailed notes and the extensive bibliography.

I read this book once, then immediately turned back to page 1 to re-read it, stopping to read the extensive end notes, and make my own marginal notes. What a wonderful rich find this book is. If you've gotten this far, don't hesitate, and don't let the title or its subtitle ('The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture') divert you from one of the most rewarding books on religion in China I've read in years.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 5 out of 5]

von Glahn is my hero ...
I'll definitely come back to this book again and again for inspirations in dealing with Chinese religions and literary culture of religions

[he chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://manjuorg.wordpress.com/2024/0...

江西彩禮錢的溯源：婺源就是五通神的起源地。五通神最愛姦淫人妻與少女，未婚夫和丈夫害怕受到五通神的詛咒與報復，必須繳納一筆錢破財消災，並自欺欺人五通神享受完自己的女人後會給自己一筆fxxkmemoney來加倍補償。這個入蠱模式傳銷遍了福建與吳越，家家戶戶建造私祠來拜五郎。

五通神信仰之地，大概率就是彩禮錢傳統之地。

五通神的進化之路：五通神——五顯神——五路財神。正月初四晚放爆竹祭拜的五路財神，源頭正是大魔王淫神五通。官方積極銷毀淫祠，儒學衛道士試圖拯救愚夫愚婦，在文宣上竄改五通神的淫棍背景，祠堂改官學無用後、改成關羽真武廟，最後百姓的力量是無窮無盡的，武神超進化也要變身財神。

與五通神「結陰婚」一脈相承的是「借陰債」，而後成為民間折金元寶紙錢、燒給自家亡者祖先的源頭。五通神的淫祠每朝每代要被官方大清洗，因為統戰地方神明的編制工作十分困難，江南一帶的關羽廟基本是為了填補五通信仰被毀的真空地帶。

同樣是邪神卻光明正大進入官方編制的是灶王。灶君/灶神的發家史不在姦淫婦女，而是給每家每戶的百姓帶來瘟疫與疾病。民間至今有給灶王爺嘴上塗蜜，不叫他去天庭打小報告給他們降災的傳統。你給中國百姓作惡，中國百姓就奉你為神，騙自己他會看守保佑自己的家。這就是中國人敬獻給統治者的fxxkmemoney。

這樣說對中國人民實在太不禮貌了。從來只知道賺錢就賺fxxkyoumoney的作者沒好意思破題說這個土地上的人民內心邪惡的隱密慾望創造了五通神，於是正兒八經地分析官鑄銅幣劣化與白銀世界流通大背景等貨幣金融現象，折射在地方通脹生活與安全感的喪失、出賣婦女的行為。官方在經濟上的失敗注定在信仰上輸給下等人。

本書的書名「The sinister way」根本不是漢語輕飄飄的「旁門左道」，而是字面意義上的「極悪之道」。