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Popular Religion, a Chinese Superboy, and “The Investiture of the Gods”

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Filial Obsessions

Part of the book series: Culture, Mind, and Society ((CMAS))

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Abstract

This chapter introduces the keynote story of Nezha and provides ethnographic and sinological context. In particular, the author surveys scholarship on the story of Nezha and delves into some of the knotty intellectual and methodological issues that distinguish anthropological analyses of Chinese myth and religion from most sinological studies. In addition, the chapter provides an interpretive overview of Chinese popular religion by reviewing the author’s own fieldwork. A focal issue revolves around comprehending Chinese gods—the social dimensions of their multivocality and cultural construction of their efficacy or power.

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  1. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    P. Steven Sangren

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Sangren, P.S. (2017). Popular Religion, a Chinese Superboy, and “The Investiture of the Gods”. In: Filial Obsessions. Culture, Mind, and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50493-3_2

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