Education

Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, 1998.9-2004.6

Master and PhD degree,

Doctoral Dissertation: The Production of Temple Festivals: Fieldwork of Present Temple Festivals in Pear Area of Zhao County of Hebei Province

Jiange Normal School, Sichuan, 1987.9-1990.7

Teaching Experience

2019.10-Present Professor of School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China

2016.7-2019.10 Professor of School of Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University

2009.7-2016.7 Associate Professor of School of Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University

2012.9-2013.9 Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge

2008.9-2009.9 Visiting Scholar, Hong Kong Baptist University

2005.7.15-7.30 COE Visiting Researcher, Kanagawa University

2004.7-2009.7 Lecturer of School of Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University

1990.7-1998.8 Teacher in the primary and middle school in Jiange County, Sichuan Province

Personal Profile

I research the contemporary Chinese popular religion and temple festival from the view of ordinary life and believers’ practice, and also focus on the urban culture of modern China, especially the evolutionary process of popular cultures such as crosstalk, the formation of folk artists’ groups, ordinary life and its changes in Beijing. I concern about theories of Chinese folklore, folk literature and art, costume customs, festival customs, and the imperial music office ( Jiaofang ) of the Tang dynasty. I enjoy writing essays as well. Currently, I am working mainly on the history of Chinese folklore studies, the history of sociology, and intangible cultural heritage.

Research Experiences

1. 2022-2026 Leader of the “Historical Process and Local Logic of Chinese Sociology” (22XNLG09), a 2022 key project of the Research Fund of Renmin University of China.

2. 2014-2019 Leader of the National Social Science Foundation project “Research on Folk Literature and Folklore at Yenching University and Fu Jen University in Peking (1937-1949)” (14BZW153), which won the Excellent Project Award.

3. 2016-2018 Leader of the project “Study on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei” (2016XCB106), a 2016 Beijing Publicity and Culture High-Level Talents Project funded by Publicity Department of Beijing Municipal Party Committee.

4. 2015-2017 Leader of the Beijing Normal University Independent Research Fund Project “Research on the Daily Life of Status Groups in the Perspective of Urban Folklore” (SKZZB2015032), which was funded by the Special Fund for Basic Research of the Central Universities.

5. 2011 Leader of the sub-project “Temple Festival and Sacrifice” of the whole project “Ethnography of Chinese Festivals ”, supported by National Social Science Fund as key project.

6. 2010-2012 Leader of the project “Temple Festival of Cangyan Mountain” of “Ethnography of Chinese Festivals”.

7. 2008-2009 Leader of the project “Temple Festival of Miaofeng Mountain” of “Ethnography of Chinese Festivals”.

Publications

Books

2023  The Transition of Culture: Essays on Intangible Cultural Heritage , Beijing: Jiuzhou Press.

2023 The Daily Life in Modern Earthbound China:  Efficaciousness· Kowtow· Legend , Guilin: Lijiang Press

2023  The End and the Beginning: Sociological Folklore (1926-1950) , Beijing: Beijing Normal University Press.

2022  “Mouth and Ear” Studies: Notes from Yenching University , Beijing: Jiuzhou Press

2021  “Vernacular” Studies: Notes from Fu Jen University , Beijing: Jiuzhou Press.

2019  Intangibility into the   I  nterval:   F  olklore   S  tudies   A  cross   B  orders , Beijing: The Commercial Press.

2019  The Zabadi of Old Beijing: the Memory and Interpretation of Sky Bridge (Revised Edition) , Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company.

2017  Pilgrimage to the mountains , Beijing: Peking University Press.

2015  Vernacular Sounds in Urban China: Folklore, Quyi and Mindfulness , Beijing: China Renmin University Press.

2014  Doing Good: The Logic of the Vernacular and the Temple   Festival , Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press.

2014  Tristes   Folklore , Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press.

2011  The Zabadi of Old Beijing: the Memory and Interpretation of Sky Bridge , Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company.

2010  Efficaciousness· Kowtow· Legend: the Double Facets of Popular Religion ，Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company.

2007  Space, Self and Society: the Formation and Genealogy of Sky Bridge Street-Entertainer in Modern Beijing , Beijing: Central Compilation &Translation Press.

Edited Books

2021 Volume “ Performing Arts  ” of “ Academic Collection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” , Beijing: China Social Sciences Publishing House.

2016 Volume  “Temple Festival of Cangyan Mountain” of “ Ethnography of Chinese Festivals ”, Beijing: Guangming Daily Press.

2014 Volume  “Temple Festival of Miaofeng Mountain” of “ Ethnography of Chinese Festivals ”, Beijing: Guangming Daily Press.

2010  Festival Studies  (Vol.2), Jinan: Shandong University Press.

2010 Volume  “Folk Literature and Art” of  The 60 years of Beijing Literature and Art in New China: 1949-2009 , Beijing: The Publishing House of the China Literary Federation.

2006 Volume “ Mentougou District ” of Chinese Folk Cultural Ethnography· Beijing ，Beijing: Central Compilation &Translation Press.

2006 Volume “Xuanwu District” of  Chinese Folk Cultural Ethnography· Beijing  ， Beijing: Central Compilation &Translation Press.

Major Journal Papers

2024 Vernacular: A New Historiography Study on the Literary and Historical Interpretation and Landscape Reconstruction,  Thinking , (1): 60-74

2023 Sociological Experiments: The Evolution of the Localization of Human Ecology (cooperate with Xiong Shi-wei),  Sociological Studies , (6)：131-152

2023 Poetry and Truth of Configurating Chinese Folklore History —— International Perspective, Disciplinary Construction and Chinese-centered Pursuit,  Journal of Tsinghua University , (6): 89-101

2023 《風俗と民俗：中国の現代民俗学における史学的性質と民族性》，宗暁蓮译，《日常と文化》（11）：79-93

2023 《풍속과 민속: 중국 현대민속학의 사학적(史學的) 근원성과 민족성》，김호걸(金鎬傑)译，《日常と文化》（11）：175-192

2023 The Transition of Culture, Personal ICH and National Community,  Folklore Studies , (1): 26-38.

2022 Doing Religion: Making China as a Method of Contemporary Chinese Religious Studies, (cooperate with Liu Shoufeng),  Studies in World Religions , (5): 88-104.

2022 The Social Work Figuration and Exploration in China in the Early 20^th Century: Discussion Centered on Jiang Zhi-ang (cooperate with Xiong Shi-wei),  Social Construction , (3): 3-28.

2022 Folkways, Community and Culture: Localizing of Yenching Sociology,  Folklore Studies , (1): 5-20.

2022 Custom and Folkway: The Historical Nature and Ethnic Characteristics of Modern Chinese Folklore,  Journal of Renmin University of China , (1): 171-182.

2021 The Folklore of Sociology: Huang Shi's Folklore Studies in the 1930s,  Sociological Review of China , (3): 101-119.

2021 Magic and Inflation: The Meaningology of Li Anzhai,  Academia Bimestrie , (2): 21-30

2021 Practical Approach to People's Life: Li Anzhai's Sociology of Culture,  Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities(Philosophy and Social Science Edition) , (2): 19-27.

2021 《FolkloreとFolkways:現代中国民俗学発展の2つの潮流—岩本通弥著「東アジア民俗学の再定立」ヘのレスポンス2点》，西村真志叶葉訳，《日常と文化》（9）：59-72、213-226.

2020 Authenticity, Liveliness and Guesthousization of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Taking Performing Art as an Example,  National Arts , (6): 79-87.

2020 Folklore and Folkways: Two Paths of Evolution of Modern Chinese Folklore-Two Responses to Professor Iwamoto Toya's “Re-Establishment of East Asian Folklore”,  Journal of Southwest Minzu University  ( Humanities and Social Science ), (7): 22-28.

2020 Engaged Scholarship in the “Vernacular:” Paul L-M. Serruys's Contribution to Research on Folkloristics in China,  Studies of Ethnic Literature , (1): 60-79.

2020 Trial But Worth Attention: On Fu-ji in Modern China and its Interpretation,  Studies in World Religions , 2020(1): 29-43.

2019 Implements and Houses: A Study of Chinese Folk Implement Science,  National Arts , (4): 28-42.

2019 Zabadir: As a Method of Urban Folklore in China,  Folklore Studies , (3): 18-30.

2019 Morphology and Ecology as Approaches to Proverbs: With An Extended Review of Studies on Proverbs by Xue Chengzhi,  Studies of Ethnic Literature , (2): 54-72.

2019 “Disciplinary Tradition, Everyday Life, and Childbirth Negotiation: The Past and Present of Chinese Urban Folklore Studies”, trans. by Wenyuan Shao and Yuanhao Zhao, in Zhang Lijun & You Ziying eds.  Chinese Folklore Studies Today: Discourse and Practice , pp.27-61, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

2018 Story Stream: History, Literature and Education: A Study of the Folk Tales of Yenching University,  National Arts , (4): 36-46.

2018 Folkways of W. G. Sumner and the Folklore Studies of Yenching University,  Folklore Studies , (2): 5-14.

2018 Temple Religion, Four Sacred Animals( Sidamen ) and Grandma Wang: Rural Religion Studies of Yenching University in the Functional Perspective,  Studies in World Religions , (1): 44-60.

2018 Conservatism and Radicalism: Folk Songs and Their Historical Implications in Modern Times through Li Suying's Study,  Open Times , (1): 91-106.

2017 The ICH Movement of Temple Festivals, Academic Writing and Chinese Folklore: Thirty Years of Dragon Tablet Festival Research, (cooperate with Cai Jiaqi),  Studies of Ethnic Literature , (6): 32-48.

2017 The Alienation of Spiritual Existence: Temple Festivals and Temple Fairs of Old Beijing,  Folklore Studies , (1): 87-98.

2016 The Nation-State, the Contract Responsibility System, and the Economy of Temple Incense: The Politics and Economics of a Temple Festival on a Landscaped Holy Mountain,  Rural China:   An International Journal of History and Social Science , Vol.13, No.2, pp.240-287.

2016 The Dialectics between Etiquette and Custom of God Worshiping in Chinese Rural Religions,  Folklore Studies , (4): 54-60.

2016 The Possible Promising Future of Quyi in the Technological World,  Journal of East China Normal University(Humanities and Social Sciences) , (4): 122-129.

2015 Education, Culture and Welfare: From Destroying Temples for Education to Raising the Elderly,  Folklore Studies , (4): 124-133.

2015 Religion, Culture, and Utilitarianism: An Academic Review of Rural Temple Festivals in China,  Journal of Yunnan Normal University(Humanities and Social Sciences Edition) , (2): 147-156.

2014 Sharing, Mindfulness and Intercourse: The Changing Face of Folklore,  National Arts , (6): 129-133.

2013 Grassroots, Small Theatre and Shell Art: The Making and Aura of Contemporary Art Myths,  National Arts , (2): 47-53.

2013 Folklore Ethnography and Alternative Mini-History of Chinese Folklore,  Folklore Studies , (6): 5-13.

2012 Church Bells and Morning Bells and Evening Drums: The Landscape of Vernacular Religion in the Pear Region of North China,  Folklore Studies , (5): 72-80.

2011 Concept of Extended Spring Festival and Changes in the Spring Festival Atmosphere , Thinking,  (5): 67-72.

2011 《生活·政治·商品：文化·社会生態としてみゐ草の根の相声》，藤川美代子、白莉莉訳，《比較民俗研究》（ for Folklore Studies of ASIA ） ,  26: 125-186.

2011 Speaking and Writing: the Narratology of Beijing as Zabadi -Sky Bridge ，  Folklore Studies,  (2): 214-239.

2010  Feedback：Economy of Folk Literature and Art Market and the Folklore with its Modernity ，  Thinking,  (5): 104-109.

2009 We Are all Relatives: The Daily Expressions of the North China Rural Society,  Journal of China Agricultural University,  (4): 25-36.

2009 Merry and Misery: The Life of Jiaofang Artiste in Tang Dynasty， Folklore Studies,  (3): 58-98.

2008  Folk Art, Merchandise and Cultural Self-Awareness: Rethinking the Flourishing of Modern China Folklore Cultural Market， Korean Journal of Folk Studies , Vol.22, pp.137-159.

2008 Holding Temple Festival at Home: the Living Idiosyncrasy of Chinese Popular Religion， Open Times,  (1): 101-121.

2007 A Hemline Class in Modern City: Parentage, Identity and Transcribe of Beijing Sky Bridge Entertainers， Folklore Studies,  (1): 92-120.

2006 Urban Physiology and the “Lower Body ”Characteristic of “Zabadi”: A Case Study of the Sky Bridge District of Modern Peking， Journal of Chinese Ritual Theatre and Folklore(Min-su ch’  ü  -i) , 154: 201-252.

2005 Temple Festivals and Their Multivocal Discourse: A Study of the Folklorism of Dragon Plaque Festival of Fan Village in North China , Min-su ch’  ü  -i,  147: 101-160.

2004 Restriction and Regeneration of Living Space: The Festival of the Water Temple Goddess in Changxin Village， Min-su ch’  ü  -i,  143: 213-269.

2003 Separation and Incorporation: Construction of Modern City Street-Entertainers’ Identity—Tianqiao Street-Entertainers of Beijing as A Case ，  Min-su ch’  ü  -i,  142: 207-272.

Book Reviews

2013 The End of Water and the Rise of Clouds: The Temper of Zhou Zuoren,  Reading , (10): 138-146.

2011 All That is Solid Melts Into Air ，  Reading  , 2011(9): 159-162.

2011 The Multi-facet Fox and the Other Eye: A review of “The Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China”,  Open Times , (9):148-158.

2009 Chinese Popular Religion: Stand for Whose Impire—— A Review on “The Imperial Metaphor: Chinese Popular Religion”,( cooperate with Li huawei)， Religious Anthropology, Vol.1,  Beijing：The Ethnic Publishing House, pp.404-414.

2008 The Transition and Lost in Recognition of Time and Space—After Reading “The Otherness of Self: A Genealogy of the Self in Contemporary China”,  Journal of China Agricultural University, 1: 187-193.

Awards and Honors

Aug. 2017  Doing Good: The Logic of the Vernacular and the Temple   Festival  won the First Prize of the 14th Beijing Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences.

Dec. 2015  Vernacular Sounds in Urban China: Folklore, Quyi and Mindfulness  won the 2015 “Tencent - Business Daily Chinese Excellent Book Award” in the Social Sciences category.

Oct. 2012  The Zabadi of Old Beijing: the Memory and Interpretation of Sky Bridge  won the Second Prize of the 12th Beijing Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences.

Dec. 2011  Efficaciousness· Kowtow· Legend:: the Double Facets of Popular Religion (2010) won the Shanhua Award (10^th ) as “Outstanding Work in Folk Literature and Art” by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association.

Oct. 2009  Space, Self and Society: the Formation and Genealogy of Sky Bridge Street-Entertainer in Modern Beijing, and Volume  Mentougou District of Chinese Folk Cultural Ethnography· Beijing (edited) both won the Shanhua Award （9th）as “Outstanding Work in Folk Literature and Art” by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association.

Professional Membership

Editorial Board Member of  Folk Culture Forum

Editorial Board Member of  Festival Studies

Editorial Board Member of  Anthropology Studies

Editorial Board Member of  Sociology of Religion

Editorial Board Member of  Anthropology of Religion

Editorial Board Member of  Ethnography of   Chinese Festivals

Editorial Board Member of  Ethnography of   Chinese Folklore

Vice Chairman of Beijing Literary and Art Critics Association (2018-present)

Director of Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association

Director of Beijing Folk Literature and Art Association

Member of China Quyi Artists Association

Member of Chinese Balled Singers Association