Daoist Priests of the Li Family: Ritual Life in Village China

Along with Jones' moving film Li Manshan: Portrait of a Folk Daoist, this engaging and original book describes a hereditary family of household Daoist priests in rural north China. It traces the vicissitudes of their lives-and ritual practices-over the turbulent last century through the experiences of two main characters: Li Manshan (b.1946) and his distinguished father Li Qing (1926-99). The story anchors changing ritual practice in the ethnography of ritual specialists and their patrons a...