article

Erasing the dead in Kaixiangong: ancestry and cultural transforms in southern China

Cambridge journal of China studies10 (2) • Published In 2015 • Pages: 38-52

By: Aijmer, Göran.

Abstract
This is an examination of the ancestral cult at Kaixiangong, based on the foundational ethnography by Fei Xiaotong (1946). The author comments on the absence of village ancestral halls, the shallow genealogies of the villagers (five generations), and the above-ground cemetery among the mulberry trees growing on the dykes separating the rice fields. He also notes the importance of the stove god who protects the domestic sphere of married-in women and, by association, their natal (cognominal) agnates. These facts are seen as indicating the relative importance of affines in the village's dual economy of rice cultivation and silkworm production.
Subjects
Cereal agriculture
Religious and educational structures
Kinship terminology
Burial practices and funerals
Cult of the dead
Spirits and gods
Sacred objects and places
Prayers and sacrifices
Priesthood
culture
Han Chinese
Region
Asia
Sub Region
East Asia
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard; 2019
Field Date
not applicable
Coverage Date
1936
Coverage Place
Kaixiangong, Wujiang, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Notes
Göran Aijmer
Includes bibliographical references (p. 52)
LCSH
Peasantry--China--Yangtze River Valley
Yangtze Valley--Social life and customs
Villages--China--Yangtze River Valley