Middle-Class Ambivalence

Religious Attitudes in
t h e Dianshizhai huabao

Erik Zûrcher 1

When in May 1884 the British entrepreneur Ernest Major, twelve years
after he had set up the Shenbao or Shanghai Daily, expanded his activities
in that field by publishing the first issue of the Chinese pictorial Dian-
shizhai huabao, he had every reason to expect that his new venture would
be successful. Among the educated Chinese in the cities of the Jiangnan
région there was a strong demand for printed topical information; the use
of the new technique of lithography (that had been introduced into China
in the seventies) would make the pictorial far more attractive than the
traditional xylographie "news-sheets" (xinwenzhi),2 and subscribers could
be solicited among the fast expanding Shenbao readership. The Dianshi-
zhai huabao was a typical product of nineteenth century "China coast

1 Erik Ziircher is Professor at the Rijks Universiteit Leiden, Faculty of Arts,

Sinological Institute, Arsenaalstraat I, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The
Netherland.
2 Cf. A. Lévy, "À propos des 'canards,' ou feuilles occasionnelles et des illus-
trations d'actualités en Chine prémoderne," in A. Lévy, éd., Études sur le
conte et le roman chinois, Paris: École Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1971,
pp. 57-65.

Études chinoises, vol. XIII, n° 1-2, printemps-automne 1994

Erik Ziircher

culture" — it basically was a hybrid, and that no doubt accounts for its
extraordinary success. On the one hand, Major was inspired by Western
examples, notably the Illustrated London News that had been published
since 1844, and the idea of issuing a periodical exclusively consisting of
pictures with written comments, published at regular ten days' intervais,
and treating a sélection of interesting, edifying, instructive, amazing, or
shocking topics, was quite new. On the other hand, the sélection of topics,
the writing of the comments, and the artistic production were entirely
entrusted to a Chinese director and editorial board who had a keen sensé
of the demands and expectations of the educated Chinese readership, and
although the illustrations themselves show some influence of Western
pictorial conventions (notably hatching, cross-hatching, and, occasionally,
linear perspective), they generally conformed to Chinese models. The
results of Major's initiative were impressive: during the fourteen years of
its existence, from May, 1884, to August, 1898, the Dianshizhai huabao
fascicles appeared in 528 issues, containing about 4,800 illustrations.
The main importance of the Dianshizhai huabao no doubt lies in its
qualities as a source of visual information: in spite of other pictorials that
soon entered the market, no other publication provides such an overwhel-
mingly rich panorama of Chinese life and material culture of the late
nineteenth century. In the West, it soon became a collector's item and,
at a later stage, a subject of popularizing publications and research.3 Many

3 Cf. Wu Xiangzhu, éd., Dianshizhai huabao de shifengsu hua, in the collection

Qunzhong yishu huaku, Peking, 1958; M. von Brandt, Der Chinese in der
Ôffendichkeit und in der Familie, in 82 Zeichnungen nach chinesischen Ori-
ginalen, Berlin, ca. 1910; F. van Briessen, Shanghai-Bildzeitung 1884-1898
— Eine lllustrierte aus dem China des ausgehenden 19. Jahrhunderts, Zurich,
1977; for the images concerning Westerners and western customs (about 15%
of the total), see B. Wiethoff, "Berichte iiber Europa und Europâer in einem
friihen chinesischen Bildmagasin," in Nachrichten der Gesellschaft fur Natur-
und Vôlkerkunde Ostasiens, Hamburg, 1964, pp. 113-127, and R. Voorrecht,
"Westerlingen in China; een onderzoek naar de berichtgeving in de Dianshi-
zhai huabao," unpublished master's thesis, Leiden, 1987.

110
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

sinological libraries possess a number of issues (generally in the form of

annual volumes each containing about one hundred double pages), but
complète sets appear to be extremely rare. Since 1984 the lacunae hâve
to some extent be fïlled by a photographie reprint, of médiocre quality,
of the entire séries of 44 volumes, published in Guangzhou at the occa-
sion of the Dianshizhai huabao centenary.4
In spite of the fascinating nature of the visual information offered by
the Dianshizhai huabao, this article primarily deals with the written
comments that accompany each picture. In this respect the Dianshizhai
huabao constitutes a mine of information that largely has remained
unexplored. Its importance lies in the fact that those terse comments
(sometimes no more than a few Unes) do not only describe the illustrated
topic or event in factual terms, but also contain short introductory and/
or concluding statements of a moralistic nature, expressing the editor's
judgement. Since the editors no doubt knew the tricks of their trade, and
therefore generally would take care to conform to public opinion, we must
assume that such statements generally reflected the value System, the
attitudes and préjudices of the Dianshizhai huabao readership. In this way
the thousands of comments constitute tiny pièces of information, presen-
ted in a completely disorganized and scattered way. However, once
ordered and categorized, they corne to form a cohérent image of the urban
middle-class value system, as it existed in the Jiangnan région in the late
nineteenth century, on the eve of modernization. Of course our approach

4 Dianshizhai huabao, séries I-XLIV (nrs. 1-528), photo-offset reproduction,

Guangdong renmin chubanshe, Guangzhou, 1983-1984, in 44 volumes. The
Sinological Institute at Leiden (R.H. van Gulik Collection) only possesses
séries I-X (1884-1887) in the original édition. The original numbering of the
44 volumes is extremely complicated, as it makes use of various standard
numerical séries (the "Ten Stems," the "Twelve Branches," the "Eight Notes,"
etc.). In order to keep the références simple, I hâve indicated the first twenty
volumes (on which this paper is based) by Roman numbers (I-XX); they are
followed by page références.

111
Erik Ziircher

should not be too simplistic: the comments cannot be taken to mirror the
readers' personal thoughts and sentiments. They rather represent an idéal
pattern: the average reader's idea of what a décent gentleman should think
about the topics presented; and they often read like miniature sermons or
edifying taies.
The présent article is no more than a report on work in progress. It
is based upon an analysis of the 2,022 pictures-plus-comments contained
in the first twenty volumes of the Dianshizhai huabao, concentrating
upon the type of Confucianism represented by our materials and its
relation to religious beliefs and practices described, or condemned, by the
Dianshizhai huabao commentators. In spite of its preliminary nature, I
hope that it may serve as a modest contribution to a field in which
Jacques Gernet has reached undisputed mastery: Confucian thought in its
social context, and in confrontation with various religious traditions.

There can be no doubt that the dominant value system represented in

the Dianshizhai huabao is Confucian. It should, however, be stressed that
we are moving at a level of scholarship and ideological explicitness far
below that of what we may call "top-level Confucianism." We are far
removed from the world of impérial cérémonials and sacrifices, metropol-
itan institutions of learning and orthodoxy, and the académies of illus-
trious scholars. In the comments moral judgements mostly are given as
such, without scriptural support; in the rare cases in which they are
bolstered by referring to the Confucian Classics, the passages quoted are
so well-known that they rather function as proverbs. The language and
style of the comments are far from canonical: they are written in a florid,
sometimes extremely ornate wenyan (a kind of "overdoing it" that would
suggest an upstart environment) with an admixture of sometimes rather
obscure vernacular expressions. Historical références are rarely found;
whenever they occur, they belong to a stock of well-known thèmes with
which the readers must hâve been familiar through some basic reading
(such as the Tongjian gangmu), or even through the théâtre. AH this
suggests a middle-class audience, moderately educated (probably not

112
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

beyond xiucai level), fairly well-to-do, and with a wide range of interest
in contemporary affairs.
The dominance of Confucian values is clearly demonstrated by the
large number of items dealing with family affairs, family morals, and
dangers threatening the harmonious functioning of family relations. It
should, of course, be kept in mind that the Dianshizhai huabao is devoted
to "extraordinary events": the events recorded are either feats of exem-
plary virtue or warning examples of misbehaviour.
On the positive score, the main topics are, expectably, exemplary
cases of filial conduct and paternal guidance, female dévotion, and
"chastity" (notably a widow or a fiancée refusing to remarry or to be
joined to another partner, and women committing suicide to préserve their
honour or their fidelity).
Filial piety, as practised by sons, unmarried daughters, and daughters-
in-law, is of course taken for granted. However, as far as sons are
concerned, some extrême forais of filial conduct are mildly criticized.
Thus, cases in which women use their own flesh or blood to prépare a
medicine for their ailing parent or husband are reported in positive ternis,5
whereas the one case in which a filial son does so is criticized as being
excessive.6 In the same way, the commentator scorns the conduct of three
zealots who publicly torture themselves in a temple "in order to requite
the loving care they had received from their parents."7 On the other hand,
a public display of filial piety, with religious overtones, meets with
approval and officiai récognition. For full five years a son lives in a straw
hut at his mother's tomb, wearing the garb of extrême mourning; he is
provided with food and drink by passers-by, like a Confucian fakir. After
five years the magistrate in person cornes to release him; he escorts him
to the yamen where the young exemplar publicly changes his dress, and
"ail those présent were fighting to obtain the smallest pièce of his

5 iv.44"-45a; XVI.15b-16a.
6 1.9b.
7 VIII.30b-31a.

113
Erik Zûrcher

mourning costume" — obviously in order to keep it as a kind of relie

(Fig. I). 8
Female piety is less spectacular; it is exemplified by domestic prac-
tices like the girl refusing betrothal in order to go on serving her parents;9
curing her father's eye disease by licking his eyes,10 and, as mentioned
above, offering her flesh or blood as a restorative. More extrême cases
of female virtue are reported in relation to marriage: the girl who after
the prématuré death of her fiancé refuses to be married and goes on
serving her parents-in-law,11 and the public suicide of a widow (the
picture shows her hanging herself on a platform specially erected for the
purpose, in front of a large crowd of spectators).12 The comment is laconic
but not négative: "This is a widely spread custom in Fujian; at least they
will now be happy to rest in the same tomb."
On the négative score, the most destructive factors appear to be the
refusai of the arranged marriage; married women having extramarital
sexual relations; gambling, and prostitution. The attitude towards prosti-
tution is ambiguous. On the one hand, brothels are accepted as a fact of
life (the commentator actually praises the quality of some establish-
ments13). On the other hand, it is strongly condemned for its subversion
of family life, bringing fïnancial ruin upon the client, and leading to
romantic liaisons with fatal results.14 Both gambling houses and brothels

8 X.26b-27a.
9 III.332; XVI.19b-20a; an act of filial piety with interesting religious conséquen-
ces: moved by the daughter's piety and self-sacrifice, a deity appears in the
mother's dream and cures her; that (nameless) deity subsequently becomes the
object of a private family cuit.
10 VIII.48b; XVI.3b-4a: same treatment applied to a paternal aunt.
11 IX.30b-31a. The comment is somewhat ambiguous: "How respectable! [And
yet,] how pitiful!"
12 XX.44b-45a.
13 II.61b-62a: the brothels of Shenjiang are of even higher quality than those of
Yangzhou; unfortunately they hâve more and more become the scène of
violent fighting (cf. also II.60b-61a).
14 I.8b-9a; I.51b-52a.

114
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Erik Zùrcher

are described as gathering places of rowdies and gangsters where the

naive customer may easily lose his virtue, his money, and his réputation.15

A second complex of Confucian attitudes is amply illustrated by items

dealing with the ideals and practice of gpvernment. Hère, again, we are
generally operating at grass-roots' level. The centre of power is far away,
and both the emperor and the empress-dowager are invisible. Happenings
that take place at the level of the palace and the central government only
play a marginal rôle, and if they are represented, they mostly concern the
outward signs of pomp and glory that would appeal to the ordinary
citizen: the annual sélection of girls for service in the Forbidden City at
the palace gâte;16 the arrivai of Mongol envoys with their tribute horses;17
the festive décoration set up on the occasion of an impérial birthday,18 or
the cortège of the three jinshi who hâve passed the palace examination
with highest honours.19 The exercise of government at the highest level
remains outside the range of vision covered by the Dianshizhai huabao.
Even the government at the provincial level is only rarely touched upon.
In the parochial sphère of our pictorial, the administrators who most
frequently figure in our materials are those who to the average citizen
embodied government authority: the prefect and the district magistrate.
Only the district magistrate is presented with the full range of his officiai

15 I.15b-16a; II. 18b-19a (about the shameless practice of street prostitution);

III.78b-79a (about a curious custom in Nanjing brothels: the first client in the
new year is worshipped as "the God of Wealth," and is then expected to pay
generously; a client who does not know the custom is beaten up by the girls);
XVIII.33b-34a (dangers of gambling; gambling dens are officially forbidden,
but remain open due to protection in high places).
16 III.90b-91a and IV.29b-30a.
17 III.9b-10a; cf. also II.50b-51a (réception of Tibetan envoys) and II.65b-66a
(Mongol envoys).
18 II.l"-2a (impérial birthday); III.25b-26a (the Queen Dowager's 50th birthday).
19 VH.60b-61a (the three first civil jinshi); IX.7b-8a (the military zhuangyuan);
XVIII.71b-72a (the first three military jinshi).

116
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

activities: as a judge; as a tax-gatherer; as a supervisor of local éducation

and organizer of the preliminary examinations at district level, and, in
gênerai, as the "father-and-mother" of the people.
Almost without exception the image of the local magistrate is posi-
tive. I hâve found only two clear instances of criticism, and even in those
cases the magistrate is to some extent exonerated. The first one concerns
a district magistrate who by way of warning example has executed a parti-
cularly heinous criminal by publicly burying him alive: the commentator
stresses the gravity of the crimes, but adds that the exécution of capital
punishment is regulated by law, and that the magistrate is not free to
deviate from it.20 In the second case the magistrate is implicitly criticized
for his indifférence to the suffering of the common people. After a
hurricane has destroyed the harvest, a number of peasants are nearly
beaten to death because they cannot supply the required tax grain; in fact,
the local gentry leaders had already submitted a request for tax exemption
to the magistrate, but the latter was just then busy organizing the district
examination — too busy to be bothered with such minor matters.21 It is
interesting to note that this sad story is represented as being told by an
old peasant to the commentator's friend who happened to spend a night
in that village — a traditional literary device for expressing indirect
criticism.
For the rest the magistrate exemplifies renzheng, "humane govern-
ment," patronizing, preaching, and teaching, but also stem and inflexible
whenever necessary. In his personal conduct he is the embodiment of
gong, "impartiality" or "public spirit," and yi, "sensé of right norms." A
high officiai refuses to give his son a small sum needed for the repair of
the family mansion, while at the same time he supports the national
defence with a large voluntary contribution.22 His benevolence is exten-
ded even to the most humble and destitute: he protects beggars against

20 V.84b-85a.
21 I.44b-45a.
22 XIII.65a.

117
Erik Zilrcher

the terrorism of their guild-leaders23 and against the cruelty of his own
yamen runners;24 he tries to correct some young scoundrels by letting
them kneel down in his courtyard and listen to a xiangyue recitation of
the Sacred Edict;25 he has sleeping mats and fans distributed among the
prisoners who are waiting for the death penalty (Fig. 2),26 and he does not
hesitate to secularize a misbehaving Buddhist nun.27 He even brings order
to the proverbial places of moral disorder: when a high officiai (as a
client) pays a visit to a brothel and there discovers a Buddhist monk
enjoying himself with wine and girls, the officiai, inflamed with righteous
indignation, arrests the scoundrel on the spot and has the brothel closed
down — in the commentary not a word about the irony of the situation.28
The conception of a moralizing authority is aptly brought out by a
scène that we would expect to find among religious fundamentalists rather
than in a government office. A new district magistrate has arrived. The
next day he gathers the entire yamen personnel in before him, and treats
them to a Confucian sermon, beseeching them to be exemplars of virtue,
zeal, and incorruptibility. As he speaks, tears roll down his cheeks. The
personnel who are kneeling in front of him, are deeply impressed; they
too are weeping. The act is concluded with a joint vow, the magistrate
and his subordinates swearing to fulfil their duties in an exemplary say
(Fig. 3).29
An act, no doubt about that: a theatrical performance, for the
commentator obviously was aware of the corruption that was rampant on

23 II.29b-30a.
24 1.73".
25 X.50b-51a.
26 I.13b-14a; cf. also IX.34b-35a: condemned criminals are allowed to enjoy a
copious meal, together with their relatives, in prison on the evening before
their exécution.
27 III.15b-16a.
28 IX.20b-21a.
29 III.lb-2a; cf. XI.71b-72a, where a similar sermon, followed by a vow, takes
place on the day of the magistrate's departure (for the magistrate's grand
farewell cérémonial, see I.24b-25a).

118
Fig. 2. An exemplary act of humane government
Two convicts, their hands manacled, are allowed to enjoy a copious last dinner
together with their relatives, in the evening preceding their exécution.
(Dianshizhai huabao, IX.34b-34a)

119
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120
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

ail levels, including that of the "father-and-mother" officiai. It is rather

an expression of the belief, maintained à tort et à travers in this middle-
class culture, that the System is basically good. In order to bridge the
évident gap between the idéal and sordid reality, the Dianshizhai huabao
resorts to the classical argument of ail strongly hierarchical, bureaucratie
Systems: the boss is right; the underlings are to blâme. The rôle of the
villain is played by the yayi, the constables with their sticks and whips;
the corrupt yamen clerks, and the cruel guardsmen. The principle is stated
quite explicitly: the magistrates generally love the people; it is the yamen
runners and clerks who engage in oppression and extortion.30 A gang of
yayi "protects" a brothel in exchange for the girls' services;31 another
group of constables are running a gambling den next to the yamen
compound.32 The commentator clearly sympathizes with the victim in a
tragic scène. During a temple festival the magistrate has ordered his
guardsmen to regulate the flow of visitors in order to prevent accidents,
but they are unable to control the thronging crowd. A courtesan arrives
with her attendants in a sedan chair, and since the captain of the guard
is one of her clients she asks him to clear her a way to the temple gâte.
As the people are beaten away by the guardsmen, a boy starts shouting
terms of abuse, and he is beaten to death. Only then it is discovered that
their victim was a mentally deranged beggar boy. The conclusion of the
drama is touching: the girls take the body with them in their sedan chair,
and hâve it buried at their expense.33
However, the good magistrate is able to keep his underlings under
control; he can do so because one of his duties is to maintain the right
hierarchical order, and to prevent people from yue fen, "transgressing
one's status." He does so in various ways. Thus we see repeatedly how

30 XI.68b-69a.
31 XIX.44b-45a. One of the magistrate's personal aides (muyou), who visits the
brothel, discovers the evil practice and has the yayi whipped.
32 IX.12b-13a.
33 I.56b-57a.

121
Erik Ziircher

commoners who prétend to be officiais (and use that rôle to enrich

themselves) are arrested and led through the city, their head and hands
locked in the cangue.34 A well-known Buddhist monk is beaten in public
because he makes use of a chic sedan chair.35
In the same way the conscientious magistrate sees to it that his
personnel know their fen. A yayi uses his ill-gotten gains to celebrate his
birthday with a sumptuous banquet, with music, actresses, and singsong-
girls. The magistrate has him arrested for "transgressing his fen"; five
hundred strokes serve to remind him of his status.36 Hère, again, we find
an interesting case of dramatization. At his arrivai a newly appointed
magistrate sees how his personnel are wearing expensive silk clothes. He
assembles them and sternly berates them: "Who do you think you are?
How could you afford this but by exploiting the people?" He orders them
to undress on the spot; he has their silk costumes burnt before their eyes
in the yamen courtyard, and then sends them into the city, each with 500
cash, in order to buy the modest cotton costume that befits their status.37

Between the private sphère of family life and the public sphère there
is the large sector of "civil Society" — the world of associations, clubs,
fraternities and professional organizations in their endless variety. The
Dianshizhai huabao pays spécial attention, in very positive terms, to
secular charitable societies that are very active in times of natural disas-
ters and famine. Many cases are presented in which societies or rich
individuals engage in the distribution of food, clothes, or coupons, and in
providing médical care. The pictures and comments suggest large-scale
activity; the Renji shantang in Shanghai is said to employ a team of ten
doctors.38 The comments are laudatory, and usually are followed by an
appeal to support the society by contributing money. There are too many

34 V.27b-28a; VII. 16".

35 11.29".
36 I.23b-24a.
37 III.94b-95a.
38 IV.91b-92a. Cf. also II.87b-88a (private distribution of rice and cotton cloth by
a rich silk merchant); X.41b-42a (horizontal tablet with impérial inscription

122
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

mouths to be fed; one Renjitang is already spending 600 dollars a

month.39
This is also the sector that most clearly enjoys récognition and encou-
ragement from the side of the government. The public spirit is rewarded
with laudatory inscriptions, and it is explicitly stated that philanthropie
commoners never should think that by such organized activity they "do
not act according to their/en": the government does its utmost to help the
destitute, but even Yao and Shun were not able to care for everybody.40
The same type of moral support from the side of the authorities is found
in educational charity: primary schools set up by the gentry for boys from
poor families. A circuit inspector in Shaanxi is especially praised for his
involvement: he regularly visits such schools, personally checks the
pupils' progress, and rewards those who hâve thoroughly memorized their
texts.41
A very curious case in which charity goes hand in hand with super-
stition and technological modernization, is worth mentioning. It concerns
a large-scale charitable action initiated by a planchette society (jitan), the
members (dizi) of which hâve received a message of the Immortal Hu of
Changbai shan (Changbai shan Hu xian). Believers are requested to go
to the telegraph offices in their respective cities and to remit their finan-
cial contributions, along with the text of their vows and prayers: Immortal
Hu will see to it that the latter will be transmitted to the higher celestial
authorities.42 This is not the only case in which supernatural powers are
helping a hand. Another planchette society receives the message that the

awarded to a charitable society in Guangzhou); IV.3b-4a (distribution of rice

gruel, clothes and medicine by a charitable society in Shanghai); IV.93b-94a
(various societies supply flood victims with food and rush-mats in the Shang-
hai région); XIX.5b-6a (distribution of coupons for money, rice and, clothes
in Peking); XVII.llb-12a (tablet with impérial inscription awarded to promi-
nent philanthropist in Jiading).
39 IV.3b-4a.
40 X.41b-42a.
41 XIII.74b-75a.
42 XIV.39b-40a.

123
Erik Zilrcher

power of "spirit-writing" should be used to help the poor; inspired by the

oracle, the society produces a steady flow of large calligraphie characters
and charms for sale, the proceeds being used for charitable purposes.43
Nothing could better demonstrate the common fallacy of relegating such
spiritualistic practices to the twilight zone of "popular beliefs" of "folk
religion." To judge from the pictures, the members of the planchette
societies are civilized and well-to-do gentlemen, operating in the rather
sumptuous premises.

The latter subject may well serve as a stepping-stone to the second

part of this paper: the attitudes towards religion and supernatural pheno-
mena that are expressed in the Dianshizhai huabao comments, and that
may be taken roughly to correspond with those of the fairly educated,
basically Confucian, middle-class Dianshizhai huabao readership. What
follows is no more than a first attempt at categorization and analysis.
However, right at the outset it may be stressed that our materials testify
of a bewildering variety of attitudes and beliefs that by no means form
a consistent whole: the statements vary with the case, and are not seldom
contradictory. The Confucian middle-class approach towards religious
matters is characterized by a degree of ambiguity that probably is not
found in any other premodern culture.

It goes without saying that in ail recorded cases beliefs and rituals
belonging to the officiai "Canon of Sacrifices" (sidian) are described with
due respect. Hère, again, we are mainly dealing with religious cérémo-
nials at the district and préfectoral levels. At the provincial level we find
an interesting description of the spring ploughing ritual that marks the
beginning of the agricultural season, a small-size replica of the metropo-
litan cérémonial performed by the emperor. Ail prefects and district
magistrates hâve corne to the temple of the First Husbandman (Xiannong)
at the provincial capital; after the ploughing, a dinner is held during which
a play is performed, the actors singing the hymn "Stimulate Agriculture"

43 XVI.5b-6a.

124
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

(quan nong ge).M The comment is typical: agriculture serves the common
cause of the people, for it créâtes gênerai prosperity and prevents the evils
of fallow land and vagrant people. In other words: the officiai cuit, also
at the local level, is gong, "public-spirited," directed towards the well-
being of the state and the community. The same kind of légitimation is
given in other cases, such as the magistrate sacrificing to the God of the
Eastern Sea; 45 the cérémonial in the local temple of Confucius; 46 the
officiai sacrifice to the God of the Granary (Cangshen) protecting the
government grain stores in the capital, 47 and the establishment of comme-
morative chapels or shrines for the worship of great scholars of the past,
the gênerai argument being that such worthies hâve contributed to learn-
ing, and hence to the spiritual well-being of the nation. 48 In spite of its
variety, the border-lines of this outer fringe of the officiai religion are
sharply drawn. In his description of the cuit of the patron deity of the
Tianjin guild of mounters (zhuangchi jia), who is worshipped in the guild
hall, the commentator indignantly remarks that that deity is no other than
Zhu Xi, whose worship is part of the officiai cuit: "What has this to do
with the people (he wu hu min)T'49

44 VI.92b-93a.
45 IV.57b-58a (cérémonial in the City Temple of Suzhou, attended by ail civil and
military officiais, praying for the protection of grain transport); V.74b-75a
(cérémonial performed at a large altar on the dike at the mouth of the Wusong
river, facing the water; a detachment of soldiers firing their rifles and chanting
"Let the sea not raise its waves" [hai bu yang bo]).
46 IV.lb-2a.
47 XIII.18b-19a (annual ritual performed by an officiai and his assistants in a
chapel attached to the government granaries on the 25th day of the first lunar
month).
48 XIII.12b-13a (the shrine of Immortal Zheng, Zhengxian ci, at Guangzhou,
being transformed into a shrine devoted to the "three worthies": the loyal
minister Yu Fan of the early 3rd century state of Wu, Han Yu, and Su Shi);
XIX.38b-39a (a shrine at the tomb of Su Shih's favourite concubine, in
Huizhou); XX.74b-75a (the prefect of Suzhou establishes an academy with a
shrine in which the Han scholar Zheng Xuan is worshipped).
49 XX.26b-27a.

125
Erik Zurcher ——

However, the involvement of the local administrator in religious

cérémonials is by no means restricted to the officiai cuits. Especially in
times of crisis the magistrate not only invokes the assistance of Daoist
and/or Buddhist religious professionals, but also actively takes part in the
worship. Three or four very large and strange turtles seem to be respon-
sible for the water rising in the Tongzhou canal; in order to prevent a
flood the prefect has the monsters propitiated with incense, prayers, and
kowtowing.50 When talking about a locust plague, the commentator first
appears to make a clear distinction between "secular" measures taken by
the government (constant alertness and crop watching; extermination, and
rewards being given for each pound of killed locusts). However, he goes
on to describe how in the Wenzhou région a Daoist exorcistic ritual has
been organized, the master in full attire dancing on top of a high wooden
structure, wielding his sword and symbolically imprisoning the locusts in
a sealed vessel — and the magistrate is présent with his whole retinue
(Fig. 4).51 In the same way, during a terrible drought in the Nanking area
the magistrate organizes a double ritual (a Buddhist mass and a Daoist
rite) in the temple of the Dragon King, the magistrate himself ascending
the stairs to the main hall in order to worship at the altar. The comment-
ator notes that it worked: shortly afterwards it rained abundantly.52
The involvement of Confucian state servants — not as individual
believers, but in their officiai functions — in Daoist and Buddhist reli-
gious rites is only one aspect of the blurring of border-lines between the
various religious traditions, especially at the local level. It is a situation
of ambiguity that is reflected by the complicated pattern of attitudes
towards religious phenomena that is found in the comments of the
Dianshizhai huabao.
It should be remarked that those statements are made on the basis of
a firm belief in supernatural powers and phenomena — a remark that may
not be superfluous, in view of the still common assumptions about the

50 I.87"-88\
51 VIH.22t'-23a.
52 V.25b-26a.

126
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127
ErikZûrcher

"down-to-earth rationality" of Confucianism. There is abundant évidence

that the Dianshizhai huabao commentators view the world as filled with
benevolent or malicious powers, hidden, or manifested in many différent
forms. They fïrmly believe in the efficacy of spells and amulets, and in
the bénéficiai or harmful influence of ri tuais. There are many items
dealing with protective spirits, démons, revenants, and possessed mé-
diums. But, on the other hand, the attitudes rarely are consistent and
unequivocal. Daoist practitioners generally are swindlers — but they do
hâve mysterious powers. The spirits of the departed do not return to this
world — yet some people encounter spectres. However, in that tangle of
more or less explicitized value judgements we can recognize a few clear
trends, which may be summarized as follows.

In the first place, the attitude towards certain large-scale public céré-
monials is generally rather positive, in particular if such religious mani-
festations hâve a communal and protective function. There are several
descriptions, in very positive terms, of huge (and very expensive) proces-
sions organized to avert the plague, which the commentator tries hard to
associate with the classical nuo ritual,53 although he sometimes also com-
plains that it has lost much of its original solemnity, and that it is not
performed at the right time. Other communal mass-ceremonials that are
described with enthusiasm are the Buddhist Ail Soûls' célébration (Yulan-
pen) with its array of offerings, its chanting, and the huge crowds that
take part in it;54 the large-scale gatherings for "Releasing living beings"
(fang sheng);55 the gaudy procession of a "Society for saving written
texts" (xi zi wen huï) in Taipei,56 and the grand inauguration of the temple
of the Heavenly Empress and Holy Mother (Tianhou shengmu) in Shang-
hai.57 Such manifestations are praised as "auspicious signs of peace"

53 IV.69b-70a; V.41b-42a; XIV.23b-24a; XIV.28b-29a; XX.42b-43a.

54 I.159a; II.23b-24a.
55 X.67b-68a (associated with the Confucian principle of ren min ai wu); XX.20b-
21e.
56 XÏK.9Cf-9l'.
57 I.52b-54a.

128
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

(taiping zhi jingxiang), and, moreover, as splendid spectacles. In some

cases the emphasis is on the picturesque, and occasionally the cérémonial
is said to be tolerable because of its long standing: the gentleman may
as well conform to popular customs as long as they are harmless.58 But
in gênerai the tone is positive, the reason probably being that such
communal activities serve a public purpose, averting épidémies and
natural disasters, and furthering the happiness of ail beings, dead or alive.
Another motivation may be that they are "above board," accessible to ail,
and not taking place inside a temple. They are, in their own way, gong.

On the other end of the scale we find the utter rejection of what
apparently is considered the most primitive forms of popular religion: the
worship of inanimate objects of any kind. Our materials contain many
interesting instances of such "animistic" practices, and in ail those cases
the tone is one of ridicule, contempt, and indignation. They concern a
wide range of beliefs and practice: the ignorant women who worship the
two stone lions at the entrance of the Five Immortals temple (Wu xian
guan) in Guangzhou, hoping to get maie offspring;59 the cuit that has
grown up around a "sacred cave" under the vault of a bridge in Nantai
(actually a cavity caused by the collapse of the brickwork),60 the ubiquit-
ous belief in the protective power of the "Stone (from Mt. Tai) Daring
to Stand Firm" ([Taishan] shi gan dang), that is erected at "stratégie"
spots and is worshipped by simple-minded people (Fig. 5),61 and the cuit
of a small "supernatural tree" that has suddenly appeared in Wuhu.62 In
ail those cases the origin of such cuits is attributed to unscrupulous
swindlers who make money by exploiting the credulity of the common
people. It should be added that the condemnation of worshipping inani-

58 I.85"-86a.
59 IV.55"-56a.
60 VII.47b-48a, the deity worshipped (called Zhou Sixiang gong) is said to
"bestow life or death upon persons," in exchange for some sticks of incense.
61 I.88b-89a.
62 X.58b-59a.

129
130
 Religions Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

mate objecte is extended to the cuit of religious images: "dolls made of

clay and wood" that hâve no conscience, let alone spiritual power.63

Countless épisodes deal with Buddhism, both lay and monastic. As far
as monastic Buddhism is concerned, a clear distinction is made between
the purity of the doctrine and of the monastic idéal as such, and the moral
depravity of most Buddhist monks and nuns. It is a perennial argument,
that goes back to the earliest times of Confucian-Buddhist controversy.
The commentators fully accept the existence of Buddhist monasteries
as places of purity, méditation, and mental and bodily discipline. In the
large and well-organized monasteries that hâve officiai status (chijian,
"established by impérial decree"), the monastic way of life is practised
according to the rules. There is a strict hierarchy. Monks can perform
rituals on behalf of lay believers, but they are not obliged to do so.64 In
spite of the generally very négative image of Buddhist nuns, some
convents and some individual sisters are praised for their strict discipline
and ascetism.65 There can be no doubt that the Buddha himself has the
power to bestow happiness in the beyond (mingfu zhi quart); rituals are
efficacious because of that power. The Buddhist monk may lead a solitary
life of purity and ascetism, and he may assist lay believers in the per-
formance of rites (especially for the benefit of their deceased parents), but
they cannot claim to possess the powers of a Buddha.66 At first sight there

63 I.73l>-74a (people "punishing" the cast iron image of the god Zhang dadi in
case of a bad harvest); V.63b-64a (ridiculing a rich pharmacist who after a
burglary places two Daoist images in his shop); XI.66b-67a (ironical comment:
one arm of the image of a Daoist deity has fallen off; the priest tells the
ignorant people that this has happened because the deity has been engaged in
a battle with the démon of pestilence).
64 VIII.13b-14a.
65 II.53t>-54a (words of praise for a convent in Penglai); V.81b-82a (a frivolous
nun severely punished); XX.64b-65a (very positive description of an ascetic
nun who has spent three years in complète isolation in order to attain purity).
66 IV.75b-76a.

131
Erik Zùrcher

appears to be a rather positive attitude towards Buddhist monachism per

se — but it is a highly inconsistent one. Elsewhere, cases of religious zeal
leading to "leaving the household" and entering a monastery are criticized
as being unfilial and unnatural.67
In spite of the récognition of the Buddha's saving power, one of the
most essential beliefs in popular Buddhism, the force of karman and the
infernal punishment of sinners, is rejected as a silly superstition, designed
to intimidate the common people.68
Likewise, in spite of a few positive comments about Buddhist purity,
in the overwhelming majority of cases the reader is confronted with the
dark side of the Buddhist sangha — in fact, no other subject is more
frequently encountered in the Dianshizhai huabao. The criticism mainly
concerns three topics: abuses found in Buddhist temples; malpractices in
Buddhist monasteries and convents, and misbehaviour of individual
monks and nuns. It is a saddening picture of moral dégradation, greed,
exploitation and lust, full of stéréotypes of long standing. Hère only a few
characteristic examples can be given.
Criticism of religious cérémonials in temples, both Buddhist and
Daoist, is mainly directed against two types of abuse: the présence of
women, and financial exploitation of the believers. A mass pilgrimage is
an occasion where the two sexes are mixed, and where fanatics torture
themselves; prostitutes like to attend the rite of "bathing the Buddha" in
a temple near Shanghai, after which scandalous things take place in the
teahouses that surround the monastery. The priests are moved by greed:
even the rather innocent ceremony of "sunning the scriptures" (shai jing)
on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month is said to be intended to attract

67 IX.8b (if the son's désire to become a monk is extrême, the father finally has
to give in, being a monk is unfilial, but not outright criminal); IV.86b-87a
(becoming a nun goes against human feelings); X.51b-52a (normally, women
should be married; monastic life is only fitting for young widows who also
hâve lost their parents).
68 X.6b; IX.55b-56a.

132
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

many people to the temple in order to exploit them.69 At Daoist temple

cérémonials the priests also try every trick to get their share, even going
so far as to stage disgusting spectacles like walking bare-footed through
glowing embers, or distributing money-boxes to be filled by their (as
usual, largely female) clientèle.70
In spite of those négative examples, temple cuits are not rejected as
such; the abuses are rather the resuit of immoral or heterodox practices
that hâve crept into the System. In gênerai, religion (shendao) is useful
and even indispensable as a complément to the rule of law (xingfa,
xingzheng). Both serve to discipline the common people. That is why,
apart from the canonical rites, popular religious cérémonials hâve a right
to exist, as long as they do not belong to the category of "deluding the
masses by heretical teachings" (zuodao huo zhong),11 or by performing
"immoral sacrificial rites" (yinsi). Examples of the latter make clear that
in that context yin (lit. "lascivious") does not necessarily hâve sexual
connotations. There is one interesting case in which a popular cuit is
branded yin because of its status-undermining, "Robin Hood-like"
character: in Peking, outside the Zhangyi Gâte, there is a temple of the
Five Illustrious Gods of Wealth (Wu xian caishen) who originally were
"righteous bandits" who robbed the rich to give to the poor, like the
heroes of the Shuihu zhuan. It draws large crowds on the birthdays of the
gods and on new year's day: mainly traders, yamen runners, clerks, and
people of the lower classes: "Gentry and distinguished persons only rarely
go there."72
The degeneration of religious cérémonial is ubiquitous: processions
are like theatrical spectacles; some Buddhist chanting sounds like frivol-
ous songs, and it also happens that temples attract the public by flower

69 III.77b-78a (pilgrimage to Jiuhua shan); VI.59b-60a (bathing the Buddha);

I.96b-97a (sunning the scriptures).
70 I.50a (crowds of believers presenting garments); XIX.61b-62a (walking on hot
embers); IV.31b-32a (distribution of "piggy-boxes").
71 1.57"; IV.62b-63a.
72 IV.53b-54a.

133
134
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

contests or by an exhibition of curios. 73 It has even affected some cuits

that by themselves are canonical. That praying for a good harvest is
combinée with a kind of exorcistic pantomime still can be tolerated, 74 but
it should not be permitted that a concubine is offered to the God of Walls
and Moats (expecting that she will bear maie offspring), 75 or that an
insane girl, who claims to be the bride of the Earth God, is brought to
his temple (since the girl died on her way to the temple, the god was
offered a life-size clay image instead). 76
The reason why the commentator disapproves of such intimate relat-
ions between human beings and gods associated with the hereafter (as
both Tudi gong and Chenghuang are) is stated quite clearly: the worlds
of the living and of the dead are to différent domains: any mixing of the
two must be considered nefas. That is no doubt also why "shamans" (wu,
professional médiums who transmit messages of the dead) are condemned
as dangerous swindlers. 77
The Dianshizhai huabao abounds with anecdotes about the misbeha-
viour of individual Buddhist monks and nuns. Only in very few cases
violations of the common law such as robbery or seducing a married
woman are reported; by far most items deal with clérical hypocrisy,
monks and nuns sinning against their own rules of monastic conduct.
Both monks and nuns are accused of "worldly" behaviour, especially in
sexual matters (Fig. 6); 78 we also find instances of nuns engaging in

73 XIV.23b-24a (gaudy procession); VIII.31b-32a (frivolous Buddhist chanting);

I.10 b -ll a (exhibition of chrysanthemums); VII.3b-4a (an enterprising monk
attracts the gentry by exhibiting Shang and Zhou bronzes in his temple).
74 I.85b-86a.
75 VII.62b-63a.
76 II.79b-80a.
77 V.21b-22a; XI.75b-76a.
78 E.g. II.21b-22a (monk in théâtre, with singsong-girls); V.60"-61a (monk patro-
nizing a troupe of lewd adresses); IX.31b-32a (monk buying méat); VIII.4b-
5a, IX.20b-21a (monks in brothels); XVII.84b-85a, XVIII.30b-31a, XIX.12M3 a
(monks keeping women in their monasteries); XI.3b-4a (monk misbehaving
with women during a religious festival); II.64b-65a (nuns keeping much money
in the convent); VI.53"-54a (nuns using make-up and wearing wigs).

135
Erik Zùrcher

outright prostitution, certain convents actually being brothels in pious

disguise.79 It is of course a well-known thème that largely may hâve been
inspired by maie fantasies; in the Dianshizhai huabao it is, however,
given at least the semblance of "hard facts," since often the name and the
location of the convent are specified. In spite of ail those cases of clérical
misbehaviour, the culprits are mainly guilty of deviating from the purity
of Buddhism — at the worst, they may also be said to undermine public
morality.
The attitude vis-à-vis Daoist priests is quite différent: there no doubt
are swindlers among them, but at least some of them possess secret
powers and spells — they may be dangerous. Daoist charms may be
efficacious and bénéficiai, as in the case of the quarrelling wife and
concubine who became models of domestic harmony after having drunk
the ashes of a fuwen dissolved in water,80 or the Daoist priest who by
looking into the smoke curling from a censer can exactly describe the
address and the interior of the home of a burglar (although he fails to
pinpoint the location of the stolen goods).81 Some practitioners are
especially dangerous because they hâve the power to make money
disappear (afterwards to cash it in by magical means);82 others practise
black magie, cursing people by distributing images of armed démons
drawn on pièces of paper.83 Their power is real, but not always superior.
A skipper has engaged a Daoist priest to drive away the démon who has
repeatedly raped his wife; at first, the exorcistic ritual seems to be
successful, but suddenly the démon appears again; he knocks the priest
down, and the woman becomes insane. The comment is significant:

79 VIII.75b-76a (nuns, using make-up and dressed like singsong-girls, act as very
chic and expensive prostitutes; very popular among dissolute young men);
XVI.19b-20a (men's clothes and other corpora delicti found in a convent).
80 XI.3b-4a.
81 VII.9b-10a.
82 II.8"; IV.22b-23a (a thief-magician of the type called tie suanpan, "iron aba-
cus").
83 V.10b-lla.

136
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

something like that can happen, if the priest has not really mastered his
art (cao shu wei jing).M
Private practitioners are most severely condemned if they are active
in public: the "roaming Daoist masters" (you fang daoshi) who sell
charms and recipes, foretell disasters (while selling amulets to escape
from them), and solicit attention by self-torture.85 They are elusive and
dangerous, especially since such a guru could become the nucleus of a
new heterodox cuit. Some time ago a mysterious old woman wearing a
tattered frock and a rosary has appeared in Peking, inside the Dongan
Gâte. She is sitting on a reed-mat, chanting incompréhensible words. The
ignorant people worship her as a divine Immortal. She distributes square
pièces of yellow paper; those who concentrate upon them will see a sheen
of light and smell incense. People believe that she is able to cure diseases,
and she is becoming very popular. The comment that is prompted by this
rather insignificant act of religious fraud is telling: it is a very dangerous
form of zuodao, especially so since it takes place in the capital, and the
authorities must repress it most severely.86 The contrast between the very
négative image of the Daoist magician and its Buddhist counterpart, the
roaming monk who moves among the people, is clearly brought out by
the report about a "mad monk" (kuangseng) in Suzhou: he does not
conform to the monastic rules; walks around with two dogs, and writes
charms; he is very popular among the shopkeepers, who support him
because ail shops that he fréquents make a threefold profit. After his death
his mummified body (roushen) is preserved in the Zhuming temple. The
comment is unequivocal in its praise: "Those who say that he was a mad
monk themselves are mad!"87

84 I.90a.
85 1.7l"-72a (selling charms and predicting disasters); V.66b-67a (exorcism);
X.8b-9a (selling "long life" recipes); XI.6b-7a (walking the streets torturing
themselves); XIII.33"-34a (abducting a child).
86 11.72".
87 XVI^-S".

137
Erik Zùrcher

The rich and bewildering panorama of religious beliefs, practices and

attitudes presented by the Dianshizhai huabao may serve as a useful
antidote against the fallacious idea that Confucianism, unlike Buddhism
and Daoism, was a more or less monolithic block. It shows to what extent
Confucianism, like any other doctrine, was a stratified phenomenon.
Hère we clearly are dealing with an intermediate layer, between the
canonical top level (represented by the impérial state cuit, the metropo-
litan curial organs, and the highly educated élite engaging in scholastic
studies) and the much less articulate complex of Confucian ideas and
attitudes that existed among the mass of the people.
One of the most outstanding characteristics of this middle-class
Confucianism is that we hardly find any trace of a metaphysical or reli-
gious superstructure of its own — no sign of "Confucianism as a religious
expérience." It is a pragmatic, "truncated" Confucianism, in which
théories about Heaven as a metaphysical principle, spéculations about li
and qi, about human self-perfection and introspection do not appear to
play any rôle. Wherever Heaven appears in the Dianshizhai huabao, it
means no more than one's fate in life, and as far as human nature is
concerned, we are told that "Being fond of richness and high position and
hating poverty and low status: that is our Nature (xing),m — a statement
that is hard to reconcile with the Confucian dogma.
As we hâve seen, the attitude of Dianshizhai huabao commentators
vis-à-vis religious ideas and practices is rather ambiguous. On the one
hand, the image of practices prevailing in Buddhist, Daoist, and popular
cuits is mainly négative. On the other hand, the reality of the supernatural
and of the hereafter is fully accepted, and in particular, Buddhism is
considered, in principle, to be a doctrine of purity and release. Some
religious rituals are considered useful and efficacious; others are rejected
as pure swindle. The Dianshizhai huabao mentions several cases of spirits
of the deceased manifesting themselves in this world; yet elsewhere we
are told quite explicitly that ail those stories about revenants are only the
products of the imagination of poets and storytellers.89

88 VII.8b.
89 XIV.2b-3\

138
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

It would appear that the Confucianists of the type that we are dealing
with hère do not hâve the opportunity to turn to a consistent religious and
philosophical System of their own to gratify their religious needs; for that
purpose they rather turn to certain ideas belonging to other religious tra-
ditions, but they do so on a limited scale, inconsistently, and at a low level
of intellectual sophistication. This situation of religious ambiguity may be
significant for a quite différent field of research: the Chinese response to
the early Jesuit mission, for we hâve corne to realize that the late Ming
Jesuits, in spite of their high aspirations, mainly operated at a level
comparable to the one reflected by the Dianshizhai huabao: the lower
fringe of the urban gentry. But that hypothesis concerns another field to
which Jacques Gernet has made a major contribution, and it would take
another article to substantiate it.

139
Erik Ziircher

Chinese Characters

Cangshen J r # muyou H ; £
cao shu wei jing M^^W Nantai ^îlE
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dizi B ? Qunzhong yishu huaku
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mingfu zhi quan ^^ÏÂÈlS Tudi gong ±*fefi

140
 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

wenyan ~JC g
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Yaofl

141
Erik Zurcher

Abstract

Erik ZURCHER: Middle-Class Ambivalence. Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai

huabao

The article contains an analysis of religious attitudes underlying the written com-
ments that accompany the illustrations in the first twenty volumes of the first
Chinese pictorial, the Dianshizhai huabao (Shanghai, 1884-1898). The more than
2,000 comments written by the editors (no doubt in conformity with the opinions
and préjudices of their urban, fairly educated readership) represent a basically
conservative "middle class" Confucian value System, far removed from the
canonical tradition of orthodox Confucianism. An attempt is made to clarify the
rather ambiguous attitudes towards non-Confucian religious beliefs, practitioners,
and cérémonials. Large-scale cérémonials of a public nature are fully accepted,
especially if they hâve a communal and protective function. On the other end of
the scale, manifestations of popular religion involving magie objects and private
practitioners are utterly rejected as harmful and superstitious. The institutionalized
religions (Buddhism and Taoism) occupy an intermediate position: the attitudes
are ambiguous, not well-defined, or even self-contradictory.

Résumé

Erik ZURCHER : Ambivalence du comportement dans les classes moyennes.

Attitudes religieuses dans le Dianshizhai huabao

Cet article présente une analyse des attitudes religieuses qui sous-tendent les
commentaires écrits accompagnant les illustrations des vingt premiers volumes du
plus ancien périodique illustré chinois, le Dianshizhai huabao (Shanghai, 1884-
1898). Ces commentaires — plus de deux mille — écrits par les éditeurs (sans
aucun doute en conformité avec les opinions et les préjugés de leur lectorat,
urbain et ayant un bon niveau d'instruction) représentent le système de valeurs
confucéen d'une « classe moyenne » fondamentalement conservatrice, très éloi-
gnée de la tradition canonique du confucianisme orthodoxe. L'auteur tente de

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 Religious Attitudes in the Dianshizhai huabao

clarifier les attitudes plutôt ambiguës manifestées envers les croyances religieuses
non confucéennes, envers ceux qui les pratiquent et envers les rituels qui y sont
associés. Les rituels à grande échelle ayant un caractère public sont pleinement
acceptés, notamment s'ils remplissent une fonction bénéfique pour la communau-
té et ont un rôle de protection. À l'autre bout de l'échelle, les manifestations de
la religion populaire impliquant des objets magiques et des personnes privées sont
entièrement rejetées, en tant que pratiques nuisibles et superstitions. Les religions
institutionnalisées (bouddhisme et taoïsme) occupent une position médiane : les
attitudes sont ambiguës, pas très bien définies, ou même elles se contredisent.

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