About this book:

Religious Landscapes of China: Provincial Histories of Faith offers a comparative, province‑by‑province examination of how Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Christianity, and diverse folk traditions have taken root, evolved, and interacted with local ecologies, economies, and state policies from imperial times through the reform era. Each chapter follows a common scaffold—topography, institutional infrastructure, sectarian networks, and regulation—while highlighting the economies of devotion, pilgrimage circuits, and the ways religious sites have been transformed into cultural heritage or tourist attractions under state oversight. The work emphasizes that secularization in China is better understood as a re‑configuration of religious life within a framework of “regulated pluralism,” rather than its outright disappearance.

Through detailed case studies—from Beijing’s imperial altars and post‑socialist pluralism, to Hebei’s village temples and national shrines, Shanxi’s monastic mountains sustained by merchant patronage, and Liaoning’s Manchurian frontier faiths—the book shows how proximity to political centers, trade routes, and migration patterns shape distinct religious ecologies. Chapters on the Yangtze Delta (Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang) highlight treaty‑port megachurches, literati Daoism, lay Buddhism, and entrepreneurial pilgrimage economies, while southern provinces such as Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan illustrate the power of maritime networks, diasporic remittances, and the global reach of deities like Mazu. Inland and frontier regions—Henan’s sectarian currents, Hubei’s riverine monasteries and urban house churches, Hunan’s spirit mediums, Guizhou’s ethnic ritual ecologies and Christian expansion, Yunnan’s caravan Islam and Theravada pockets, and the Tibetan plateau’s pilgrimage circuits—reveal how local traditions persist alongside state‑managed revivals and, at times, intense suppression.

The narrative culminates in the northwestern frontiers, where Gansu’s Silk Road Islam and monastic fortresses, Xinjiang’s oasis Islam, Sufism, and extensive state secularization, and Tibet’s pilgrimage circuits and monastic governance demonstrate the extreme ends of China’s religious diversity and control. Across all provinces, the author traces a recurring pattern: imperial patronage, republican fluctuation, Mao‑era eradication, and post‑1978 cautious revival under patriotic associations, with religious life increasingly mediated through heritage designation, tourism, and market‑based donation regimes. The result is a nuanced portrait of a religious landscape that is simultaneously provincial and interconnected, continually reshaped by historical legacies, economic forces, and the negotiation between faith communities and a governing state that seeks to manage rather than eradicate religiosity.

What You'll Find Inside:

• A comprehensive provincial-by-provincial exploration of China's religious landscapes, covering Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Christianity, and folk traditions across 25 regions.
• Analysis of how geography, trade routes (such as the Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road), and migration patterns shaped the development and spread of religious practices in different provinces.
• Examination of the impact of political regimes—from imperial dynasties to the Republic, Maoist era, and post-Mao reforms—on religious institutions, including suppression, revival, and state-managed 'regulated pluralism.'
• Case studies on unique regional phenomena, such as Fujian's Mazu worship and diasporic devotions, Gansu's Sufi brotherhoods, Yunnan's Theravada Buddhism, and Xinjiang's oasis Islam.
• Discussion of contemporary issues including religious heritage tourism, digital platforms in religious practice, house churches, sinicization policies, and the tension between state control and grassroots religious resilience.

Who's It For:

This book is ideal for scholars and students of Chinese religion, history, and cultural studies, as well as general readers interested in understanding the diversity and complexity of faith traditions across China. It will particularly benefit those seeking comparative insights into how local ecologies, economies, and governance structures have shaped religious life in different Chinese provinces.