Negotiating Religion in Modern China

Shuk-wah Poon traces the history of the Chinese state's relationship with religion from 1900 to 1937. Pinning the nation's failure to modernize on the backwardness of religious worship, the revolutionary regime condemned religious practice in the early twentieth century, suppressing 'superstitious' belief in favor of a secular, more enlightened society. Drawing on newspapers and unpublished official documents, this book focuses on the case of Guangzhou, largely because of the city's sustained involvement in the revolutionary quest for a 'new' China. Shuk-wah Poon traces the evolution of the modern state's attitude toward popular religion, paying particular attention to the implementation of policy and the acts of adaptation and resistance of common citizens.