Dialogue between Heaven and Humanity: A Study on Agricultural Rituals and Disaster Aversion in Tianshui, Gansu

Author: An Deming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: Farming and Disaster Aversion is set against the backdrop of traditional agricultural society and the history and culture of traditional farming. It combines the extraordinary event of farming and disaster aversion with daily life, presenting a comprehensive and systematic display of the nature, structure, and functions of farming and disaster aversion in the Tianshui region of Gansu Province. The author points out that the fundamental concept centered on the worship of local deities, the divine system, ritual activities, and the organizations formed thereby constitute the basic framework of farming and disaster aversion. The primary reasons for its long-term persistence are the psychological comfort it provides to people and its role in regulating social order.