Description
Manchuria entered the twentieth century as a neglected backwater of the dying Qing dynasty, and within a few short years became the focus of intense international rivalry to control its resources and shape its people. This book examines the place of religion in the development of Manchuria from the late nineteenth century to the collapse of the Japanese Empire in 1945. Religion was at the forefront in this period of intense competition, not just between armies but also among different models of legal, commercial, social and spiritual development, each of which imagining a very specific role for religion in the new society. Debates over religion in Manchuria extended far beyond the region, and shaped the personality of religion that we see today. This book is an ambitious contribution to the field of Asian history and to the understanding of the global meaning and practice of the role of religion.
Chapter
Neo-empire and Spiritual Engineering
1 Foundations of Religion in Society in Manchuria
Political Religion before the Qing Dynasty
Political Religion under Qing Rule
Conclusion: Faith on the Frontier
2 From the Blood of the Martyrs
Violence and the Transformation of Religious Mission
Protestant Mission to 1900
Mission Methods Following the Boxer Suppression
God’s Kingdom Comes to Manchuria
Mode, Moment, and Miracle
Conclusion: A Time to Suffer, A Time to Prosper
Manchuria and Religion in the Eyes of Asian Social Science
Indigenization of Social Science in Japan
Social Science and Social Reform in China
Universities in Manchuria: The Role of Institutions
Japanese Social Science and Manchurian Religion
Conclusion: Scholarly Formation of the Spiritual-Imperial Self
Religion in the Pages of the Manchurian Press
Nakashima Masao and Japanese Journalism in China
Religion and Social Reform: 1906–1924
Reaching the Masses: 1925–1935
Religious Patriotism and National Spirit: 1936–1944
Conclusion: Marketplace of Ideas, Ideas in the Marketplace
Law and Religion in Manchukuo
Precedents: Law and Religion in China and Japan
Manchukuo: Rule of Law under an Illegal Regime
Absolute Values: Statutory Law
Surveillance and Control: Religion in Policy
New Religions and the Birth of Public Philanthropy
New Religions in Republican China
Confucian Revival and the Turn to Charity
Conclusion: New Religions, “Redemptive Societies,” and Secular Charities. What’s Really in a Name?
7 Manchukuo’s Filial Sons
Graveside Piety and the Transformation of Popular Practice
State Perspectives on Confucian Ritual
Conclusion: Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy, or Something Else?
8 May God Bless Manchukuo
Religion and Diplomacy in Northeast Asia
Transformations of Catholic Mission in East Asia
From Paris to Rome: The Waning of National Mission
Developments in Manchuria
The Catholic Church during the Transition to Japanese Rule
The Diplomatic Stance: The Mandate of Gaspais
Rites and Religion: A Church for Manchukuo
Discourse and Differentiation
Letters and Primary Source Collections
Appendix: Major WRSS Relief Efforts 1921–1932