Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, Masters: Some Remarks on the Politico-Religious in China Today

Joël Thoraval (1)

1 CECMC-CCJ - Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

The starting point of this study is the perspective offered by Emilio Gentile on modern “politics as religion”. This vantage point is briefly illustrated by the case of contemporary “popular Confucianism”. However, in order to show the extent to which the Chinese religious situation does not lend itself readily to such an approach, the author considers a “popular” cult that reemerged in China after Maoism, namely, the widespread veneration of five entities: Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, Masters (tian, di, jun, qin, shi). Comparing modern interpretations (whether political, scholarly or popular) of these practices sheds some light on the problematic nature of secularizing projects targeting this enduring cosmological vision.

Mots clés: Political religion; Confucianism; Chinese cosmology; Heaven (tian 天); Chinese religion; Rite; Secularization

Domaines: Histoire

Joël Thoraval. Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, Masters: Some Remarks on the Politico-Religious in China Today. 2016. ⟨halshs-01374321⟩