208
BOOK REVIEWS
at the end of the chapter on the worship of supernatural beings, where they state: "The impact of the new urban environment is resulting in changes both in the villagers' belief in supernatural beings and in related worship." In fact, this chapter does not indicate that any such changes have taken place, except that the agricultural and local guardian deities associated with the old villages are no longer worshipped; and it certainly does not support their description of these changes as a "breakdown of traditionalism in ritual practices." Similarly, the authors' assertion that the present "very wide variety of attitudes and practices" was produced by "the impact of the new environment" is questionable because they offer no proof that attitudes and practices were not equally varied in the rural setting.
The materials given in the substantive chapters of the book offer an interesting overview of Chinese religious practices and an introduction to the practices of one sub-cultural group which has until now been little studied. The information is for the most part clearly presented, although there are a few very unclear passages, especially as the more technical materials, of interest primarily to sociologists, are confined to the extensive footnotes. A wide variety of topics is covered, some in greater depth than others. The materials might have been more vivid if more of the villagers' own opinions, descriptions, and interpretations of the meaning of their religious practices had been directly or indirectly quoted, but perhaps the interviews were conducted in such a way as to make the recording of such information impossible.
The final chapter is concerned with ancestor worship and fêng shui. Information on the fate of the lineages which existed in the six Plover Cove villages would provide important clues not only to possible changes in the villagers' religious practices, but also to changes in their social organization, as the lineages had been the basis of their social organization in the rural setting. But the information provided is not adequate to form any definite conclusions about either the past or the present situation. Of the six original villages, two had their own ancestral halls, while the inhabitants of the other four villages went back to the village of Wu Kau Tang (from which their ancestors had come) to worship at halls there. The authors give us no information as
208
BOOK REVIEWS
at the end of the chapter on the worship of supernatural beings, where they state: "The impact of the new urban environment is resulting in changes both in the villagers' belief in supernatural beings and in related worship." In fact, this chapter does not indicate that any such changes have taken place, except that the agricultural and local guardian deities associated with the old villages are no longer worshipped; and it certainly does not sup- port their description of these changes as a "breakdown of tradi tionalism in ritual practices." Similarly, the authors' assertion that the present "very wide variety of attitudes and practices"" was produced by "the impact of the new environment"s is ques- tionable because they offer no proof that attitudes and practices were not equally varied in the rural setting.
The materials given in the substantive chapters of the book offer an interesting overview of Chinese religious practices and an introduction to the practices of one sub-cultural group which has until now been little studied. The information is for the most part clearly presented, although there are a few very unclear passages, especially as the more technical materials, of interest primarily to sociologists, are confined to the extensive footnotes." A wide variety of topics is covered, some in greater depth than others. The materials might have been more vivid if more of the villagers' own opinions, descriptions, and interpretations of the meaning of their religious practices had been directly or indirectly quoted, but perhaps the interviews were conducted in such a way as to make the recording of such information im- possible.
The final chapter is concerned with ancestor worship and fêng shui. Information on the fate of the lineages which existed in the six Plover Cove villages would provide important clues not only to possible changes in the villagers' religious practices, but also to changes in their social organization, as the lineages had been the basis of their social organization in the rural setting. But the information provided is not adequate to form any definite conclusions about either the past or the present situation. Of the six original villages, two had their own ancestral halls, while the inhabitants of the other four villages went back to the village of Wu Kau Tang (from which their ancestors had come) to worship at halls there. The authors give us no information as
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