Family, Fields and Ancestors:
Constancy and Change in Chinas Social and Economic History 1550-1949,
Lloyd E. Eastman, Gods, Ghosts and Ancestors: The Popular Religion,
New York: Oxford, 1988 Adapted from pp. 40 - 60.

Popular religion and traditional belief systems differ from the classical framework. In China both are able to co-exist, often supporting each other. In some cases, the more traditional “gods” have been given larger than life persona and play an active role in the lives of the common people. However, it is difficult for Westerners to understand the adaptations used in China, as well as the role of popular thought in influencing Chinese lives. In this hypothetical interview, an American teenager and a Chinese scholar talk about the role of the mystical and supernatural in Chinese history. American: We learned in school that the Chinese have traditionally been a people who follow reason, and they do not have the same prejudices and superstitions as people in the West. Our teacher told us the Chinese had no time to think about the way of the gods. Chinese: That is another misunderstanding about the Chinese. On the contrary, over the centuries Chinese of all economic classes and social rank were deeply concerned about mystical forces and the supernatural. Spirits and gods were thought to be everywhere even if they were not seen. The largest and most ornate building in every town usually was a temple and along the roadway and even paths in the fields, there were small shrines holding effigies of various deities. Virtually every house had at least one alter and place of sacrifice. Spirit gates stood just inside the entrance of family compounds to prevent the entry of evil spirits. And in any town or village, regardless of the day of the year, a visitor could see incense and spirit-money burned, food sacrificed and firecrackers exploding. American: When did the Chinese become so superstitious? Chinese: The origins of this superstition are hidden in Chinese prehistory. However, history has told us that as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1027-256 BC) the basic ingredients of popular religion were established—ancestor worship, many gods and spirits who could affect the fate of human beings and a belief in divination and sacrificing to influence these gods and spirits. By the time of the Han Dynasty, they added yin-yang and Five Elements concepts as well as taking in other gods, and the practices of local cults as they spread over the north China plain. Later on, this was further enriched by Taoism and Buddhism. American: Which religious belief became dominant among the Chinese? Chinese: Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism all had their moments of control. For example, during the Tang Dynasty China was virtually a Buddhist nation and exerted profound influence on all the Chinese. Later, the Mongols sometimes looked to Taoist priests for advice and comfort but religious Taoism had been largely abandoned by the common people. When Taoism and Buddhism declined, both Confucianism and the indigenous religion experienced a powerful resurgence but they incorporated many of the concepts and characteristics of these religions. This is known as syncretism. American: Now that you have explained how superstitious the Chinese are, could you explain that a little more. For example, how many gods did they believe in? Chinese: The popular religion was spectacularly polytheistic - animistic spirits of mountains and trees, Buddhist bodhisattvas, and Taoist mythic heroes all lived together in the pantheon. Mortals were interested in the magical quality of this or that god in responding to their appeals for help, healing or male offspring. What was really interesting was the way believers in popular religion reflected the spiritual world. It was inhabited by bureaucrats and ordinary citizens, police and soldiers, beggars and ruffians. Some were good; some were bad but all felt emotions - pride, jealousy, anger and pleasure. And they had needs - food, money and housing. They had the ability to intervene in the lives of the living so it was important for human beings to win their favor and forestall their anger. Gods, ghosts and ancestors - these were the three basic kinds of supernatural beings. Gods (shen) the most powerful and awesome of the three, were often like the bureaucrats. In fact, a good part of the pantheon was a mirror image of the Chinese imperial bureaucracy, rising in a pyramid from gods with local jurisdiction to a supreme god, like the emperor in Peking. American: That is very interesting. So many cultures create popular religions which are a mixture of more formal belief systems. But you have only spoken of gods. What about ghosts? Chinese: Less exalted than the gods were the souls of ordinary men and women, who existed either as ancestors or ghosts, depending on their fate. Actually, the number of souls residing in a living mortal was a matter of some debate. Some Chinese believed that thirty-six souls inhabited each human body. But one great Confucian scholar stated flatly that there were ten souls: seven of which were yin in nature and three of which were yang. However, simple peasants usually observed the existence of two souls. One of these, the yin soul, was essential to life, but was relatively unimportant after death. It lingered around the coffins and graves of the deceased, but eventually it dissipated and faded from existence. The yang soul, by contrast, was immortal and more complex. After the death of a human, it was dispatched to Hell, where it confronted a tribunal of spiritual mandarins, who told of the souls earthly wrongdoing and declared judgment on it. Then the soul was subjected to horrible punishments, such as being boiled in oil, sawed in half from the crotch through the head, or mashed in a rice grinder. After enduring these agonies, the soul was given a potion that erased the memory of these sufferings, and then - in an idea from Buddhism - was reincarnated on earth. American: That is pretty strong punishment. Could it be avoided? Chinese: Many Chinese believed that by performing prescribed rituals during the coffin-ing, at the funeral, and at specific times during the 49 days following death - the time needed for a soul to pass through hell - these terrible punishments could be avoided. Offerings to the officials of Hell, in the form of spirit-money burned at funerals, could ease the souls passage through these torments, as could dressing the corpses in clothing embroidered with sutras and other symbols. The ever-pragmatic Chinese thus found ways to pass through the spiritual world, just as they did through their worldly existence, and Hell thus probably held fewer terrors for them than it did for devout Christians in the West. American: Were these souls what we call "ancestor worship?" Chinese: Souls that were served by filial descendants and were well supplied with these needs were ancestors; souls that were not provided with the necessities of celestial existence became ghosts, which were by nature hungry, mean and malicious. Rituals that were intended to provide for the needs of souls in the afterlife became known as ancestor worship, aptly termed the “essential religion” of the Chinese. But the Chinese did not feel it necessary to worship all ancestors for all time. The family only worshiped especially important or powerful ancestors and those ancestors known and remembered by the living. And, of course, while living you needed to make preparations for your own death. For this, you needed at least one son whose obligation was to care for the souls of his parents. He had received the gift of life from his parents, and if he was so unfilial as to not provide for them in the afterlife, their spirits might inflict illness, death or other misfortunes on him and his family. American: If that explains ancestors, how did one become a ghost? Chinese: Souls in the underworld that received no offerings or whose human forms had died unusual or violent deaths were generally fated to be ghosts. Souls of dead infants, for instance, were customarily thought to be ghosts. Should an infant die, the parents often assumed the child had been a ghost in the guise of a child that had come to do them harm. The body of such an infant did not warrant a proper burial. In Shantung, dead infants were simply buried in shallow holes for dogs to exhume and eat. As the people of Shantung said, “An evil spirit inhabited the childs body, otherwise it would not have died so young. If the dogs eat it, the bad spirit enters the dog and cannot again enter another child who may be born to the same parents.” Others in peril of becoming ghosts were the souls of unmarried women, older youth who had died before producing a son, and those who died by suicide, drowning or sudden accident. American: Is that all we need to know about ghosts? Chinese: No. Ghosts were malevolent souls: they were hungry and mean because no one in the mortal realm provided them with the necessities of a comfortable existence in the spiritual world; or they were angry and mean because they had died a violent or unjust death. They might also be malevolent simply because they were strangers and were inherently suspect and thought to be capable of inflicting harm. Ghosts were generally conceived of as beggars, ruffians or bandits. Ghosts were not to be trifled with. In the material world, beggars were often regarded as small-scale blackmailers who, if not given alms, might inflict some form of harm. Ghosts might bring illness or misfortune on ungenerous humans who failed to propitiate them with offerings. American: So the Chinese had three kinds of supernatural beings - gods, ancestors and ghosts. How did they worship each appropriate to their importance in popular religion? Chinese: That is a good question. Ancestors are venerated members of the family, invited into the home to dine on the same foods they had when they were alive. They also get cooked rice and chopsticks. But gods are exalted and they dont get the family meal. Offerings to the gods are presented as gifts, which the gods will consume later in the privacy of their abodes. They usually get three or five kinds of cooked meals, presented whole, together with vegetables which have been neither sliced nor diced. Lowly gods get food closest to that prepared for humans; whereas offerings to the Jade Emperor were significantly larger and relatively unprepared. They also get three cups of wine and perhaps a bowl of fruit but they do not need rice nor chopsticks because they will not be eating in the presence of worshipers. Lastly, ghosts, being disreputable beings and undiscriminating eaters, could be offered food in virtually any form - cooked or sliced, raw or whole. They had to be accompanied by a wash basin because ghosts did not have their own residences where they could wash before they ate. In the 20th century, cigarettes and beer were also set out for ghosts because they were thought to like smoking and drinking. Ghosts received their offerings outside the house or temple. Like real-life beggars, they were fed outside the back door. They were also kept at a distance because they were thought to be polluted. American: What was the function of the temples? Chinese: The temples were the gods official residences where believers might individually visit to worship and beseech help. The temples were ornately decorated, and usually consisted of a large hall which one entered through a high gateway. At the rear of the hall stood the temples primary god. At his side and along the lateral walls were statues of lesser gods and of the gods wives, concubines and spiritual assistants. A large temple might have several such halls, one behind the other and interconnected. Temples, both large and mall, frequently housed dozens of gods, often in total disregard of “denominational” affiliations. So-called Taoist temples - which were the primary temples of the popular religion - were the most eclectic. American: Specifically, who took care of the temples and provided services for the people? Chinese: Worshipers, who could come to the temple at any time of the day or night, did not require a priest. They went directly to the god who could deal with their particular problem or concern. If the god developed the reputation for being especially potent, the temple would prosper but if a god failed to respond to the appeal of the worshipers, villagers would neglect the temple and it would fall into disuse. Gods that were at one time popular could fall into oblivion. American: Tell me about the festivals to honor the gods. Chinese: There was no Sabbath or regular day of rest but there were festivals, most of which had religious overtones. The chief festival of the year was the New Year and lasted for more than half a month. This was a time for family togetherness, relaxation and feasting. Many businesses closed their doors for a week or so, debts were repaid, the spirits of the ancestors were worshiped, friends were visited and red envelopes containing money were given to children. In fact, several of the annual festivals were celebrated primarily in the home and among the family. They included: Qingming, in the early spring, when families swept and cleaned the graves of their ancestors; the Dragon-Boat Festival, in the heat of the summer, when southern Chinese staged boat races and everyone ate glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves; and the Mid-Autumn Festival, when families and friends ate moon cakes and viewed the autumnal full moon. On the other hand, temple festivals were seldom celebrated at the same time throughout the nation. Instead these were annual village festivals. Guanyin was actually feted three times during the year. These festivals of the gods tended to be the most lively, colorful and exciting events in the life of a Chinese community, often generating a carnival-like atmosphere. Families had many guests and men working in the cities returned to their villages. It could also be the occasion of an annual fair, like the state fairs in America. The religious aspects were also lively as village gods were carried around the village, preceded by young men beating drums and gongs to frighten away any ghosts. Families brought sacrifices to the temples. Traveling opera troupes often performed near the temples, supposedly performing for the entertainment of the gods - although their performances delighted the villagers. American: All of this is very interesting. However, how was this popular religion able to persist so long and penetrate into all parts of Chinese society? Chinese: I guess that question is the crux of the issue for westerners who follow more institutionalized religions - Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In China, the popular religion tended to be diffused; its theology and ritual had no existence separate from the major social institutions - family, clan and kinship, guilds and villages. The “priests” of this popular religion were normally leaders of other institutions. Popular religion lacked the independent organizational strength of Christianity, but it may have had an even more pervasive social influence. It was a major support of the Chinese family and made them a religious institution. The family was given a sacred character, and the values of the family - filial piety, respect for the aged, and the paramount importance of the family as an institution over the will and desires of individual family members - were strongly reinforced. Most interesting, is the fact that a state cult existed that was virtually indistinguishable from the religion of the commoners. American: I don’t understand what you mean by that last statement. Chinese: This is so interesting! During the imperial times, whenever the Emperors Board of Rites recognized a particularly powerful popular god, that deity was then awarded an honorific title and admitted to the pantheon of state-recognized gods. On one occasion, for example, a river was proclaimed an official deity as a reward for having assisted in the transport of grain to Peking by way of the Grand Canal. Although some especially rationalistic Confucians attempted over the centuries to debunk such beliefs in the powers of the supernatural, most emperors and officials seemed to share the popular beliefs. These officials also realized that this religion served the practical function of helping to maintain peace, order and obedience among the common people. The state encouraged popular worship of only those deities who promoted law-abiding conduct among the people. Worship of deities with a potential for promoting political unrest was sternly forbidden. American: So we can say that popular religion was able to coexist in China with other beliefs? Chinese: One thing the popular religion did not supply, as do institutional religions in the West, was a distinct and independent set of moral values. From an early time, Confucianism had been the dominant source of China’s ethical precepts, and the moral priesthood - those who were primarily responsible for interpreting the rules of morality and passing judgment on right and wrong actions - consisted of the Confucian scholars and officials. Popular religion did, however, help enforce the secular moral code. Confucians placed heavy stress on the values associated with familism, but they realized that the rationalistic philosophy of Confucianism could not enforce those values among the unlettered commoners. Ancestor worship, with its belief that angry ancestors could inflict retribution if they and their family were not well served, helped maintain the dominance of family values. American: The early twentieth century brought many changes to China. How was popular religion affected by this? Chinese: During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, popular religion came under assault from all sides. Temples and temple lands were confiscated by the ruling governments. The New Culture Movement, beginning about 1917, attacked all traditional beliefs and values. During the 1920s, a nationwide anti-Christian movement spilled over into an assault on all religions. The Nationalist government, which came into power in 1927, attempted to suppress much of the popular religion. Still, the popular disapproval of the Nationalist government had less impact on the popular religion than did the effects of modern scientific thought, increased urbanization and social change. Intellectuals in the cities were the first to be influenced by these secularizing trends. By the 1930s, craft guilds in the cities and large towns were increasingly ignoring their patron deities. But the ideas associated with science and modern materialism penetrated less into villages in the interior. Popular religion remained remarkedly tenacious. Studies undertaken in the villages during the 1930s and 1940s reveal the decline was only relative, and that religious beliefs continued to hold sway over the lives of the common people.