The Dual Construction Of Power And Divine Efficacy In Chinese Folk Belief

In this thesis, I tried to analyze the nature of Chinese folk beliefs revival in modern society. I chose Liuwang belief and one of its temples for case study and utilized qualitative approaches to obtain required data. After reviewing the history of Liuwang belief and the temple, I took two core concepts:Divine efficacy and power, to bridge the history with current reviving of Liuwang belief.Divine efficacy refers to the fulfillment of people’s desire offered by gods. An efficacious god could be seemed as an efficient way for social mobilization and frequently utilized by government and individuals for their own interests. Power is connected with divine efficacy in two ways: the political power that constructed efficacy and the management power that directly control the temple.I regarded the dual construction of divine efficacy and power as approaches the government took to control folk belief and its cults. Recent "intangible cultural heritage" and "social governance" campaign appears to be liberation from restrictive rules, but they are actually enhance the controlling in a hidden but fundamental style.