Daniel L. Overmyer
Folk Buddhist Religion: Dissenting Sects in Late Traditional China.
Harvard University Press, 1976. Harvard East Asian series, 83. 0674307054 xi/295 pages.
Volume, measuring approximately 6.5" x 9.5", is bound in white cloth, with stamped black lettering to spine. Book displays light shelfwear, with mild foxing to spine. Binding is firm. Previous owner's name and date (Sept. 1980) can be seen at top of front flyleaf. Pages are clean and bright. Dust jacket shows shelfwear, with staining to spine panel. Jacket is perserved in mylar cover.
"This unusual book is a survey of Chinese folk religious sects from the Han era to the twentieth century, with an emphasis on those of Buddhist orientation. Focusing on the rituals and beliefs of such prominent groups as the White Lotus (which staged the great rebellion of the eighteenth century), the author describes how many of these sects, although regarded as illegal, developed their own traditions of organization, leadership, and scripture, and maintained active congregational life over long periods of time. In a new convincing interpretation, Overmyer proposes that the White Lotus and Lo or Wu-wei associations were religiously as well as politically oriented with distinctive ideas and goals of their own. Thus these sects can be properly -- and precisely -- distinguished from the secret societies of the Ming and Ch'ing periods."