Separation and Reunion in Modern China

Rituals concerning separation and reunion and their impact on Chinese and Taiwanese society and culture.

Charles Stafford explores the Chinese fascination with separation and reunion, based upon his field studies in Taiwan and mainland China. He gives a vivid account of everyday rituals, and examines how they help people settle into communities, and to explain the passions aroused by the possibility of national culture.In this original and readable book, Charles Stafford describes the Chinese fascination with separation and reunion. Drawing on his field studies in Taiwan and mainland China, he gives a vivid account of raucous festivals of reunion, elaborate rituals for the sending-off of gods (and daughters), poetic moments of leave-takings between friends, and bitter political rhetoric about Chinese national unity. The idioms and practices of separation and reunion - which are woven into the fabric of daily life - help people to explain the passions aroused by the possibility of national division. In this book, the discussion of everyday rituals leads into a unique and accessible general introduction to Chinese and Taiwanese society and culture.