Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter I
2. Contents VII
3. Acknowledgments IX
4. Note on Conventions and Usage XI
5. Introduction 1
6. 1. Background: Rural Cang County 15
7. 2. Religious Life and. the Village Community 39
8. 3. Spirits, Sectarians, and Xiangtou: Religious Knowledge in Local Culture 65
9. 4. Monastic Buddhism: The Limits of Institutional Religion 86
10. 5. Pseudomonastic Sectarians: The Li Sect in Town and Country 106
11. 6. Apocalyptic Sectarians: The Way of Penetrating Unity and the End of Days 127
12. 7. Village Sectarians: The Most Supreme and Heaven and Earth Teachings 152
13. Conclusion: Cang County and Chinese Religion 187
14. Appendices
15. Appendix A 197
16. Appendix B Votive Prayer from the Precious Scripture of the Five Sages (Wusheng Baojuan) 199
17. Appendix C 201
18. Appendix D Scriptures of the Heaven and Earth Teaching 207
19. Notes 211
20. Character glossary 247
21. Bibliography 255
22. Index 271
23. About the Author 276