Religion, Society, and the Economy in Huizhou (Anhui)

While Huizhou 徽州is well-known to social and economic historians, very little research has been done on the religious development of the six counties of traditional Huizhou. This project featured close cooperation with local scholars and cultural affairs bureaus to produce integrated studies of all county seats as well as selected townships and villages, which provided detailed data on the local economy, customs, temples, festivals, and lineages. Sources used included ritual manuscripts, stele inscriptions, contracts, lineage registers, and archives. Project members also compiled oral histories of community elders. Three monographs have been published so far.