The Transformation of Yiguan Dao in Taiwan
Adapting to a Changing Religious Economy
By (author) Yunfeng Lu
Publication date:
25 February 2008Length of book:
214 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9780739117194
The most influential sect in the Chinese mainland in the 1940s, Yiguan Dao was largely destroyed in mainland China in 1953. Yiguan Dao not only survived, however, but developed into the largest sect in Taiwan, despite its suppression by the Kuomintang state. In 1987, through relentless efforts, the sect finally gained legal status in Taiwan. Today, Yiguan Dao not only thrives in Chinese societies, but has also become a world-wide religion which has spread to more than sixty countries.
This book, based on fieldwork conducted in 2002 in Taiwan, is the first English-language scholarly study exclusively focusing on Yiguan Dao. Lu includes a history of Yiguan Dao in mainland China, but focuses on the sect's evolution in Taiwan in the past few decades. Specifically, he probes the operation of Yiguan Dao under suppression in the past twenty years, and examines the relationship between Yiguan Dao and its rivals in Taiwan's religious market. The Transformation of Yiguan Dao in Taiwan develops the religious economy model by extending it to Chinese societies.
This book, based on fieldwork conducted in 2002 in Taiwan, is the first English-language scholarly study exclusively focusing on Yiguan Dao. Lu includes a history of Yiguan Dao in mainland China, but focuses on the sect's evolution in Taiwan in the past few decades. Specifically, he probes the operation of Yiguan Dao under suppression in the past twenty years, and examines the relationship between Yiguan Dao and its rivals in Taiwan's religious market. The Transformation of Yiguan Dao in Taiwan develops the religious economy model by extending it to Chinese societies.
Yunfeng Lu describes how a Chinese sect, Yiguan Dao, developed in Taiwan from being outlawed as an evil religion to being wooed by political leaders. We are shown how, initially, state suppression was a crucial variable in preventing any ‘sect-to-church' development, creating an environment in which the sects, often operating in secrecy, underwent frequent schisms with a series of charismatic leaders. Once the suppression was removed, however, the movement was able to establish a stable organization, socialize second and subsequent generations, train a professional clergy and, in several other ways, reduce previous tensions between itself and the wider society. This is an excellent monograph that should be read for both its fascinating ethnographic detail and its undoubted contribution to sociological theory.