Susan Naquin, "Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400-1900" (University of California Press, 2000)

Summary The book examines the social and religious history of Peking during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with particular emphasis on the city's temples, and how they were used by both the Imperial Court and the local population. The text highlights the changing nature of Peking during this period, demonstrating how the city evolved from being a solely Imperial center into a diverse and complex urban environment. Keywords: Peking Temple, Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, Religious Organization, Urban Society, Social History, Religious History Review "Susan Naquin describes Peking during the Ming (1368-1644) when powerful eunuchs surrounded the emperor and highly educated scholars fell to factional infighting over issues of doctrine involving philosophical schools and theories of government. . . . As a central theme by which to grasp some of the patterns in the mosaic of Peking over the five hundred years covered by her study, Professor Naquin has selected religious temples as her point of reference. She describes something of the hagiography of the gods honoured in these temples (indeed, Part One of the book on the organization of popular religion and temples in pre-modern urban China could in and of itself constitute an excellent and useful book if published as a separate volume) and she outlines the activities of all the major religious groups in Peking, including Buddhists, Taoists, Tibetan Buddhists, the generic gods of popular Chinese religion, Moslems, Christians, and various Christian sects including the Russian Orthodox church." --China Review About the Author Susan Naquin is Professor of History at Princeton University. Her earlier books include Millenarian Rebellion in China (1976) and Shantung Rebellion (1981); as coauthor, Chinese Society in the Eighteenth Century (1987); and, as coeditor, Pilgrims and Sacred Sites in China (California, 1992). Peking History Ming and Qing Dynasties Religious Temples in Peking Imperial Court and Temples Social History of Peking Religious Organizations in China Urban Society in Pre-modern China Chinese Popular Religion Buddhism and Taoism in China Russian Orthodox Church in Peking Susan Naquin, historian History of Religious Practices in Peking Philosophical Schools in Ming China Factional Infighting in Ming Dynasty Hagiography of Chinese Gods Peking as Imperial Center