From Yao to now

Daoism and the imperialization of the China/Southeast Asia borderlands

Bibliographic Data

ID6039589
AuthorsEli Noah Alberts (0000-0003-4571-099X, Colorado State University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume18
Issue2
Pages156-172
Publication date2017-04-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsian Ethnicity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1463-1369 • E-ISSN: 1469-2953
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14631369.2016.1192946
OpenAlexW2419490045
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited10

This article investigates the adoption of Daoist ritual among the Yao peoples in South China and mainland Southeast Asia. The Song Dynasty imperial court patronized new Daoist ritual traditions that harnessed martial deities such as the Thunder Gods. Although these traditions were mostly southern in origin, it is not until the Qing dynasty that we find evidence for their circulation among the Yao. After discussing historical representations of Yao religion from the Song to the Qing dynasty and the specific historical contexts that gave rise to each representation, I conclude by examining how beliefs and practices derived from these same Daoist ritual traditions were active among the Iu Mien in Laos during the Second Indochina War. What is needed is an analysis that links a specific ethnographic or historiographic representation with a broader understanding of local, regional, and even transnational ritual practices in the borderlands of China and Southeast Asia

Ancient history · Archaeology · China · Ethnography · Ethnology · Geography · Mainland · Mainland China · Martial arts · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Southeast asia · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Law · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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