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Ritual Alliances of the Putian Plain is a monumental achievement by two senior scholars in the field who have devoted the better part of their academic careers to elucidating the vibrant diversity of Chinese local cultures. Shaped in part by Annales School methodology (including the work of Fernand Braudel (1902-85)), the authors adopt the perspective of "histoire totale" to examine the Putian è[dagger]... Plain in northern Fujian in terms of its ecology, social structure and historical development (pp. 15-6). Their results have come to fruition in this two-volume magnum opus, which represents nearly three decades of in-depth field research carried out in co-operation with local villagers. Volume I treats the processes underlying the formation of 153 regional ritual alliances (variously referred to as she ..., cun æ', or jing ...) consisting of 724 villages. Volume II provides detailed survey data on these villages' demographic structures and religious life.
In terms of conceptual frameworks, Dean and Zheng deserve special credit for avoiding the tendency of much "local religion" fieldwork in China to ignore modern historical issues, except to mention beliefs and practices that have disappeared. In contrast, Ritual Alliances assesses how the people of Putian have transformed their cultural traditions in the context of modernization, urbanization, migration and relocation (pp. 3, 10, 14, 217-8). Dean and Zheng further contribute to our understanding of Chinese social life by vividly demonstrating the vital roles of temples and festivals as "living cultural centers ... [that] are continuing successfully to negotiate the forces of capitalism and nationalism while preserving a vibrant space for the celebration of local cultural...