Everyday religiosity in the state sphere: Folk beliefs and practices in a Chinese state-run orphanage

Qian, Linliang

doi:10.1177/0920203x15624676

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Linliang Qian’s recent research on religious beliefs of workers, including bureaucrats, at a state-run orphanage in Zhejiang reminds us that state officials are also “ordinary Chinese people” (2016: 91). This reminder is also evident in Huang Shu-min’s (1989) ethnographic account of a village party secretary in The Spiral Road .…”

Section: Theoretical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old Pastor and Local Bureaucrats: Recasting Church-State Relations in Contemporary China

Liu

White

2018

Modern China

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In examining the relationships between a state-recognized Protestant pastor and local bureaucrats, this article argues that church leaders in contemporary China are strategic in enhancing interactions with the local state as a way to produce greater space for religious activities. In contrast to the idea that the Three-Self church structure simply functions as a state-governing apparatus, this study suggests that closer connection to the state can, at times, result in less official oversight. State approval of Three-Self churches offers legitimacy to registered congregations and their leaders, but equally important is that by endorsing such groups, the state is encouraging dialogue, even negotiations between authorities and the church at local levels.

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Section: Theoretical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old Pastor and Local Bureaucrats: Recasting Church-State Relations in Contemporary China

Liu

White

2018

Modern China

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“…Zhang’s explanation seemed logical because the fear of death was widely shared in different cultures (Engelke, 2019; Palgi & Abramovitch, 1984), including the Chinese (Qian, 2016; Watson, 1982). Yet, could a 4-year-old know what death was?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnographic Imagination as an Interpretative Approach to the World of Infants and Children with Developmental Disabilities

Qian

2022

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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Reflections on children’s agency have become popular in anthropological and sociological studies of childhood. Scholars tended to treat children as independent and active social members, rather than individuals still undergoing maturity. To guarantee their right to information and participation, researchers have constantly refined their methods in hopes of involving children in research projects as much as possible and empowering their voices. Yet, because of our technological and cognitive restraints, these innovative efforts have not helped us comprehend the thoughts and experiences of infants and children with developmental disabilities. This article proposes ethnographic imagination as an alternative approach. Based on 11-month fieldwork in a Chinese orphanage, I suggest that we could utilize the clues drawn from our participatory research and caregivers’ experiences to untangle children’s ‘messy’ behaviors in an ethnographically imaginative way. Rooted in specific contexts and reliant on the collective experience of stakeholders, while also connecting broader perceptions of everyday life and the sociocultural insights of participatory observation, this interpretative approach may provide observers with a justifiable explanation to the world of nonverbal and minimally verbal children.

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“…The boundary between state and religious spheres is fuzzy, open, permeable, and sometimes overlapping. See Qian, 2016.…”

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confidence: 99%

Popular Religion Temples in Fujian, Southeast China: The Politics of State Intervention, 1990s–2010s

2020

Modern China

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This article presents an ethnographic examination of state intervention in popular religion temples in Fujian, southeast China. Specifically, it surveys the state presence in four temples, explores how and why the local state adopted a varied approach to religious organizations in the same religious tradition, and examines the mutually legitimating relations of state and religion. State-religion relations are constantly changing, highly variable, and context-bound. The state-religion interactions in Fujian demonstrate that to a certain extent the uneven revitalization of temple-based popular religion shaped, and was shaped by, the degree of state presence. I argue that the performance-based legitimacy of the nation-state has been fortified through local-state projects devoted to religious tourism, intra-religious competition, and the Taiwan issue, and that the Chinese state has the potential to influence a reemerging traditional form of authority at the local level through varying degrees of state presence in religious organizations.

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Everyday religiosity in the state sphere: Folk beliefs and practices in a Chinese state-run orphanage

Cited by 3 publications

References 24 publications

Old Pastor and Local Bureaucrats: Recasting Church-State Relations in Contemporary China

Old Pastor and Local Bureaucrats: Recasting Church-State Relations in Contemporary China

Ethnographic Imagination as an Interpretative Approach to the World of Infants and Children with Developmental Disabilities

Popular Religion Temples in Fujian, Southeast China: The Politics of State Intervention, 1990s–2010s

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