Since the 18th century, maritime trade in East Asia has developed in an orderly manner. Along with frequent economic and political exchanges, the density of religious flows is not comparable to that of previous generations. During the formation of the early globalized society, the government did not monopolize international exchanges. Whether businessmen, workers, intellectuals, charities or religious elites were non-state actors (Non-State actors) The establishment plays an important role. Since the early period of globalization, the popular world religions in East Asian countries have at least included Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, etc. Demographics, economic functioning, political forms, distribution of power, etc. The role of non-state actors in the international community since globalization is more important than in ancient times. Because of the increasingly complex forms of economic and social activities, and the difficulty for the government to bear the huge cost of "micro-management", they have obtained what was impossible in the past. event space. The cultural encounters that occur on the borders where state power is weak are often beyond our reach.

 

Since the early days of globalization, even though the Qing Empire (1616-1912) and the Edo Shogunate (1603-1868) tried their best to control maritime trade and the spread of religion (especially the Abrahamic religions), with the influence of European and American countries in the region Increasingly, with its economic, trade and political power involved in East Asia, the flow and coexistence of groups with different cultural backgrounds can be said to be an unavoidable phenomenon. "The sky full of gods and Buddhas" has become the norm in East Asian society, especially the Southeast Asian countries that have simultaneously accepted the religions of Northeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and Europe. For different regimes, the internal contradictions of a society where different cultures and multiple religions coexist can be said to be daily challenges to the rulers. When various religions coexist in different regions, regimes that wish to maintain stability in their ruled areas naturally have to find ways to deal with them. This symposium focuses on foreign or minority religions in East Asian countries, the encounters of Confucianism, Christianity, Islam and Chinese religions in Southeast Asia in foreign countries and their roles in international exchanges. We are particularly concerned about the ability of governments to deal with the phenomenon of "the sky full of gods and Buddhas" and their ability to adapt to the globalized world.

 

Dr. Gong Huixian wrote "Who is dissatisfied with Mantian Gods and Buddhas?" Religious Diversity and Religious Dialogue: A Review of the Development of Religious Diversity and Religious Pluralism. From the perspective of religious studies, Dr. Gong analyzed that religious diversity is due to the fact that the universal religious experience of human beings is limited by their unique situations, and at the same time depends on the individual's mind structure and interpretive frameworks for understanding them. Therefore, there are various forms of expression; on the other hand, from the perspective of biological evolution, it points out that the "domain of human imagination" of human beings includes "supernatural imagination". From this point of view, the "imaginary field" that is the characteristic of the human brain drives people to evolve into a religious person (Homo Religiosus). However, the form of religion is closely related to the geographical environment and biological environment of its origin, and the phenomenon of religious diversity is the evolutionary result of human beings responding to different environments. Under the phenomenon of religious diversity, Dr. Gong respectively stated the thinking of different theologians on this phenomenon. John Hick's "Different Paths to the Same Goal" framework deduces the viewpoint that "all religions display the ultimate truth in different ways". Although he abandoned the declaration of a certain religion's monopoly on truth, it ignored the unique discourses of different religions, and only constantly emphasized religion. John Cobb adopts the framework of "harmony without difference". While acknowledging that different religions have differences in doctrine, he points out that differences should not necessarily be regarded as contradictory, but can be regarded as complementary (complementary). ). Dr. Gong agrees with John Cobb's affirmation of the value of all religions and promotes inter-religious dialogue more effectively. Observing from this situation, "Mantian Gods and Buddhas" is conducive to the development of human civilization and religion. Under the premise of Process Philosophy, different religions promote creative transformation due to differences and dialogues. ), thus acting as a more mature and complex imagination. Finally, Dr. Gong quoted Lai Pinchaojian’s views based on sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, compared the characteristics of biodiversity (Bio-diversity) and religious diversity, and pointed out that "diversity" is originally "sustainable development" (Sustainable development) In other words, without the "many gods and Buddhas", it is difficult for religious imagination to develop healthily. However, as Peter Burger quoted by Dr. Gong said, there are those who criticize the phenomenon of "many gods and Buddhas" verbally and even resort to force. Many religious and scientific naturalist fundamentalists have this tendency .

 

The exclusion of alien religions is not necessarily the exclusive right of society's native religions. Dr. Luo Leran then gave a report on the process of Confucianism becoming a state religion in North Korea with the title of "Confucianism in the Joseon Era". Dr. Luo first introduced the difference between the terms "Confucianism" and "Confucianism" in Korean history, and pointed out that Korean historians followed the tradition of Japanese intellectuals since the 18th century, and used to call the Confucian tradition "Confucianism"; Zhu Zixue, which is mostly concerned by high-end intellectuals, "Confucianism" tends to be related to the "education" of common people. Dr. Luo then pointed out that "Eastern Confucianism" such as Muyin Lise (1328-1396), Puyin Zhengmengzhou (1337-1392), Yeyin Jizai (1353-1419) and other "Confucianism of the Eastern Kingdom" had inherited the The Neo-Confucianism system, and the new government also established the Confucian-style "Jingguo Dadian" with a strong Confucian color under the premise of "big things" to the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the Four Books and the Five Classics, a large number of books given by the Ming Dynasty were used in it. Books, including "Laws of the Ming Dynasty", "Zhu Zi's Family Rituals", "Encyclopedia of Nature and Principles", "Tongjian Compendium", "Spring and Autumn Huitong", "University Yanyi", "Biography of Women" and so on. In addition to religious reasons, the worship of Confucianism and suppression of Buddhism by King Taejong of Korea (1367-1422) and Zheng Daochuan (1342-1398), a famous Confucian hero who participated in the founding of the country, also included the "Zhu Zixue" imported from the Ming Dynasty to oppose "Mongolian" Buddhism. Therefore, Confucianism based on Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism has become a national religion, which is caused by multiple layers of context. Decades later, King Sejong of Joseon (1397-1450) further expanded the influence of Confucianism in academics and society from the aspects of system, education, and research institutions. spread, and made Confucianism a norm in the entire Korean society. In the future, the influence of Confucianism penetrated into the political and social aspects of North Korea. The construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace (1394), the maintenance of Sungkyunkwan and the imperial examination system all promoted the Confucian social system to take root in North Korea; in terms of international politics in East Asia, North Korea After the 17th century, the Korean government used different forms to commemorate the support of the Ming Dynasty in the Imchen-Dingyou War for a long time, and secretly prepared for the Northern Expedition to the Qing Dynasty for a longer period of time, which can be said to be a clear sign that the Korean country decided its national policy based on Confucian values.

 

Dr. Luo reminded us that the Confucianized Korean intellectuals tended to pay more attention to the moral restraint of Confucianism than the Qing Confucians. Dr. Luo quoted Yi Ruofen's point of view "Zhu Xi's "Wuyi Chaoge" and the Korean Confucianist Li Tuixi's sub-rhyme poems", pointing out that Li Tuixi (1501-1570) adopted a purely moral and ethical approach to Zhu Xi's (1130-1220) "Wuyi Chaoge" int. Although Li Tuixi did not visit Wuyi Nine Songs in person, Wuyi Nine Songs is a "conceptual landscape" learned from books and images for Li Tuixi, but Li Tuixi's appreciation of Wuyi Nine Songs is not in its beautiful scenery, but in its "sage's journey" The meaning, in the sub-rhyme poems, followed Zhu Xi, who was the source of his Wuyi Jiuqu knowledge; Li Shi then transformed Zhu Xi's verses into the sub-rhyme poems of "Wuyi Chaoge", as if infiltrating Zhu Xi's ideological spirit into his own words. Furthermore, although Confucianism, which has become the state religion, is a foreign religion in Korea, due to its strong political influence, it actually oppresses beliefs that Confucians regard as heretical. Of course, this does not mean that only Confucianism existed in the Joseon Dynasty. Dr. Luo cited the Q&A between Hong Dae-yong (1731-1783) and the missionary Liu Songling (Ferdinand Augustin Haller von Hallerstein, 1703-1774) to testify about the exchanges between Confucianists and Catholics in Korea; However, Dr. Luo also used the case of Kim Dae-gun (1821-1846), the first priest in North Korea, who became a "sinner of heresy" to illustrate Confucianism's suppression of "heretics". Jin Dajian, who studied theology at St. Paul's College in Macau after 1836, was ordained as a priest in 1845 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Jinjiaxiang, Pudong, Shanghai. He returned to North Korea to preach only a year ago, and the news spread to the government. Nai sent people to hunt him and related believers, and accused him of being a sinner who spread "evil learning", so he beheaded for North Korea at the age of 25.

 

The implementation of Confucianism was maintained until the late Joseon Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the intellectuals of the "Shi Da School" naturally tended to maintain the influence of Confucianism in society; however, the Kaihua School of "Huangcheng Shimbun" and "Daehan Daily News" also tried to imitate Christianity and try to make Confucianism Reformed to a religion that unites the nation. In 1900, Minister Gojong Cui Yixuan (1833-1906) presented "Fifteen Current Affairs", the first of which was to "establish Confucianism as a religion." Representatives of this trend of thought include Park Yin-sik (1859-1925) who advocated Yangming studies/the theory of the unity of knowledge and action, and Zhang Zhiyuan (1864-1921) who directly advocated that Confucianism is not a "teaching" of "education" but a "teaching" of "religion". etc., all believe that religion plays a great role in the prosperity of the country and the consolidation of the mind. The influence of Confucianism in the rule of Korean society and the extension of royal power is so clear that observers often forget the identity of Confucianism as a foreign religion. Dr. Luo's sharing shows the coexistence of love and hatred for Confucianism among Korean intellectuals. Confucianism, which became the state religion, also exerted multi-layered influence in North Korea.

 

Also maintaining a close relationship with the local government, the Taiwan Presbyterian Church has not had a smooth relationship with the suzerain Empire of Japan, which is also an outsider. Dr. Cheng Mu-Chun pointed out in his report "Taiwan Presbyterian Churches during the Japanese Occupation Period" that there was indeed quite fierce resistance from the civil society in Taiwan during the early days of the Japanese Occupation, which of course included the Presbyterian Churches that entered Taiwan as early as the 19th century. After the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895), the Empire of Japan was granted the jurisdiction over Taiwan by the Qing Empire. In the early days of the Japanese occupation, Taiwanese residents responded violently. On May 25, 1895, Taiwanese residents established the Taiwan Democratic Republic in Taipei, but the Japanese government basically wiped out the local government 184 days later, and the resistance movement was only sporadic guerrilla warfare. The Presbyterian Church has its strongholds in the south and the north of Taiwan. The former was introduced by the British Presbyterian Church in 1865, and the latter was founded by the Canadian Presbyterian Church in 1872. During the Qing Dynasty, the Presbyterian church had made great progress. (By the way, the two established the influential General Presbyterian Church in 1951, which has political influence both at home and abroad in Taiwan.) The Presbyterian Church naturally suffered casualties during the Japanese government's suppression and occupation. The society generally believes that Christianity originated in Europe and the United States cannot coexist with the Great Japanese Empire, but Dr. Zheng pointed out that the Japanese Government House suppressed Taiwanese residents, business travelers from the Qing Dynasty, and other national forces in various ways, but it seldom interfered with various religions. Regarding the historical materials of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Zheng also pointed out that the priests at that time tended to think that the Great Japanese Empire, which had undergone the Meiji Restoration, was easier to get along with than the officials of the original Qing Empire. From the perspective of the colonists, both the government of the Japanese Empire and the Church of the British Empire were outsiders on Taiwan Island, and the two sides naturally had an incentive to get close to Taiwan, which has a large Chinese population. Referring to the international situation at that time, the British Empire experienced the Three Kingdoms Intervention before the Sino-Japanese War, the Boer War, the "Triple Alliance" formed by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Kingdom of Italy at the end of the 19th century, and the "French-Russian Alliance" formed by France and the Russian Empire. Deliberately abandoning the policy of "glorious isolation" since 1815, it formed an alliance with the Empire of Japan in 1902 until 1923. In this context, the Presbyterian Church from the British Empire had more reasons to communicate with the Japanese government in Taiwan, so there were many cooperations in education and social welfare in Taiwan during the early days of Japanese rule.

 

Regarding the operation of religious groups, Dr. Zheng also pointed out that although the clergy of the Presbyterian Church have theological education of the island, their focus is on the pastoral level. Therefore, the more mature theological education in the early 20th century relied mostly on Tokyo The University of Theology and the close interaction between Christian believers in the two places in theology and education have made Japan an alternative home country for the Presbyterian Church to export theological ideas. The close relationship between the Presbyterian Church and the Japanese imperial government was maintained until the Pacific War. After the war with the Republic of China in 1937, the Konoe Fumimaro (1891-1945) government of Japan immediately promoted the "National Spiritual Mobilization Movement" with the goal of "unity of the whole country, loyalty to the country, and perseverance"; The "Imperial Civilization Movement" echoed the wartime mobilization of the mother country. However, Taiwan's Governor-General's Office did not carry out the "Imperial Civilization Movement" in the early days. Dr. Zheng pointed out the "ambiguity" in it, which prevented the religious life of the Presbyterian Church from being seriously challenged, so it still maintained its close relationship with the Japanese Empire. thick relationship. The relationship between the Presbyterian Church and the Japanese government reached its peak in 1940 during the celebration of the "Kingji 2600". In order to implement the national education centered on the emperor during the war, the Imperial Japanese Government held the "Epoch 2600 Ceremony and Blessing Ceremony" at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in November of that year. A total of 758 representatives from various industries in Taiwan were invited, including elites from different religions. , the Presbyterian Church, which is close to the imperial government, was naturally invited, and church members also regarded it as an honor to attend the grand ceremony.

 

However, the patriotic enthusiasm of the Presbyterian Church ushered in a turning point in 1942. At the beginning of the Pacific War, due to the pressure of the war, the Governor-General of Taiwan urgently needed to "accelerate" assimilation of the homogeneity between Taiwan Island and Japan itself. Dr. Zheng pointed out that the most important organization among them is the "Huangmin Fenghui" established in 1941 to cooperate with the "New System Movement" and "Dazheng Wing Praise Association" in the country. The central headquarters of the "Huangmin Feng Guild" is located in the Governor-General's Office in Taiwan, and then has branches in various places and different social classes. Among them, the Presbyterian Church is also within the scope of the "acceleration" of the "Huangmin Fenggui". However, due to the "accelerated" project of the "Huangminfeng Guild" and the pressure of the Pacific War, under the full mobilization of Taiwan's resources, the Presbyterian Church, which has always maintained a friendly relationship with the Governor's Office, was also suppressed; As a national policy, Christianity in Taiwan is naturally also under control. Due to repeated oppression by the Japanese government and the "Imperial People's Guild" in terms of church activities, ministry, and education, the Presbyterian Church naturally has an increasingly bad perception of the empire. Therefore, the Presbyterian Church had a basis of mutual trust with the government of the Republic of China, which was allied with the United States, Britain and other Western countries immediately after the war. Dr. Zheng quoted the "Hymn" "Jubilee Restoration" written by Wu Yuande in the "Church Bulletin" of the post-war Presbyterian Church, explaining that the Presbyterian Church had shifted from "Big Japan" to "China" at that time. Dr. Cheng's report explained the turn of the Presbyterian Church from friendship to the Imperial Japanese Government. The key point was the "accelerated" actions of the Taiwan Governor-General after the start of the Pacific War to drive the "patriotic" religious group into an enemy of the empire.

 

Dr. Kong Dewei, who also dealt with monotheistic religions in East Asia, focused on Muslims in Guangzhou trade records, and discussed a topic starting from historical data. Guangzhou Muslims have neither become a state religion like Confucianism in North Korea, nor have they become a pro-government religious group like the Presbyterian Church. However, due to the skills and networks of Muslims in globalizing East Asian maritime trade in the early days, they were able to persist in pagan countries for a long time. At the beginning of his report, Dr. Kong introduced four paradoxical phenomena concerning Islamic studies in East Asia: First, the Islamization of modern Southeast Asia occurred from the 15th to the 17th centuries, that is, when European forces had arrived there. Referring to the case of the Banten Sultanate (Banten Sultanate, 1527–1813), its rise was due to the fact that Banten replaced the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century to occupy the commercial port of Malacca, attracting business travel from non-Catholic countries to the Sunda Strait (Sunda Strait). ) converging transactions; secondly, although Southeast Asian countries experienced Islamization after the 15th century, the trade records of Guangzhou after the 15th century gradually showed few traces of Muslims. Dr. Kong cited his paper "After Diu: The Forgotten Islamic Trade in Early Nineteenth Century Cantonese Confucian Historiography", pointing out that the "Guangdong Customs Chronicles" based on the first-hand historical materials of Guangdong Customs has only a few records related to Muslim trade. The obvious watershed was the Battle of Diu (Battle of Diu, 1509) and the Tuen Mun Naval Battle (1521). Later scholars such as John King Fairbank (1907–1991) discussed the "Guangzhou (Trade) ) System” (Canton System), nor does it seem to assume that international interaction only includes the two main players of the Qing Dynasty and the “West”; third, although Muslim trade activities after the 15th century are almost However, the Portuguese Macao built a mosque and a Muslim cemetery commonly known as the "Kai La Garden" in 1854 at the latest; finally, according to the "Macau Chinese-speaking Muslim Oral History and Archives Examination and Research Project" funded by the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau, Dr. Kong According to preliminary investigations, in the memory of the existing Muslims in Macau, their religious relatives have been living in Portuguese Macau.

 

Based on these four phenomena, Dr. Kong believes that the academic community should ask two questions: First, did Muslims play a role in the early globalization of East Asia? Second, if Muslims existed in this series of trades, why is it difficult to see them in Chinese historical materials? In his report, Dr. Kong quoted Fu Sinian's words that "modern historiography is just historiography", pointing out that the absence of Muslims in the Chinese historical records even though they participated in the early global trade in East Asia is not only a problem of historiography, but also a reflection of historiography. question. Dr. Kong’s explanations for the above phenomenon can be divided into four points: First, Liang Tingjuan’s recording method in Guangdong Customs Chronicles is based on “country” and he identified the “country” of European colonies in East Asia and South Asia as Sovereign country, that is to say, even if Muslims from Malaya or India are on board the boats entering Canton, they will only be recorded as "𠸄Karya" or "Bordugarya" and do not specify their origin. Second, after the Battle of Diu in 1509, the Muslims in West Asia lost their hegemony in the Indian Ocean, and the Muslim countries in Southeast Asia were replaced by Chinese and Europeans after the 17th century due to internal and external difficulties. Small boats of about 10 tons were used for short-distance trade (see The hybrid maritime actors of Southeast Asia); third, in the 17th century when immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong moved southward on a large scale, the trading markets of the Ming Dynasty (and later the Qing Dynasty) and Europe were different. Then for Guangzhou, in Southeast Asia, such as Banten mentioned above, has become a transit port for global trade; fourth, the Muslim community spreads all over East Africa. Their participation in global trade is not necessarily the same as previous generations, as ship owners or cargo owners. Dr. Kong cites Abdul Rahman Al-Salimi and Eric Staples according to the Núcleo Antigo section No. 60 of the Portuguese National Archives (Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo; also known as the Portuguese Torre do Tombo Archives) in Lisbon, 1520-1521 The sailing records of Santa Maria do Monte indicate that the Portuguese Empire invaded the maritime trade circle of the Indian Ocean by force and seized several important ports, and indeed "occupied" the "economic sea" of West Asia and South Asia politically, but From the perspective of shipping trade history, Portugal only joined a huge local trade circle. The Portuguese Empire, like the later Europeans, used the industrial and commercial networks of Asian Muslims for a long time to maintain local economic activities. And when Asian Muslims participated in the early globalized trade network through warehousing, manufacturing and maintenance of ships and seaports, and as crew members of merchant ships, it was difficult for them to be seen in the historical narrative centered on cargo owners or ship owners.

 

Different from the cases in North Korea, Taiwan and Guangzhou, in his report "Chinese Temples in Modern Communities in Malaysia", Dr. Bai Weiquan introduced the forms of minority religious activities that have relatively little interaction with the society of the host country, that is, the continuation of Chinese religions and their temples, And its limited and steady penetration of influence in a democratic system. Dr. Bai first pointed out that the research on Chinese temples in Malaysia is mostly related to the space in which they are located. Among them, the form of settlement has a lot of influence on the form of religious expression, and fishing villages, towns, ports, mining areas, etc. are different. On the other hand, the background category of temple believers is also a determinant of religious form. The characteristics of religious groups formed by geography, industry, blood and altar are often different. In this report, Dr. Bai focused on the rapid population movement in Malaysia from the late 1980s to the 2010s. Due to the domestic economic transformation in Malaysia and the different economic growth rates of Southeast Asian countries at that time, settlements in different regions would disintegrate. Dr. Bai then proposed whether the settlements and their religious beliefs would still be organized after the settlements were disintegrated and reorganized. In this regard, the questions that need to be concerned are "Who organizes?", "Why organize?", "How to organize?" and so on.

 

Dr. Bai's sharing is mainly concerned with the modern community "garden" in Malaysia: Jasmine Garden. Jasmine Garden is a low-cost garden settlement featuring mixed ethnic groups outside the city center of Malaysia. After the 1980s, due to the above-mentioned internal and external industrial changes and urbanization in the local area, all ethnic groups across the country moved from settlements that were originally grouped according to geographical location to newly developed "garden" residential areas around major economic towns. As a result, residents of various ethnic groups lived in the emerging "garden". The Jasmine Garden located in the Johor Bahru area also broke the original living tradition of ethnic group space separation. Mixed living, but Jasmine Garden is mostly Chinese. Dr. Bai observed that the gardens where various ethnic groups live together provide a platform for ethnic groups to interact, but the ethnic groups still roughly maintain the characteristics of "intra-ethnic" relations since the colonial period of the British Empire.

 

 

 

 

In the urbanized environment of Johor Bahru, Jasmine Garden, where Chinese are the main residents, is made up of different occupations, most of whom are low-income earners of the middle and lower classes. Dr. Bai's sharing mainly introduced the Guanyin Pavilion built by the Jasmine Garden Chinese Residents' Community. The Guanyin Pavilion mainly worships Guanyin, and also worships gods such as Dabogong and Datogong. Residents took the opportunity of the Zhongyuan Pudu ceremony to build temples. Dr. Bai further clarified the identities and motivations of the participants in the temple sacrifice, pointing out that the Guanyin Pavilion is not just a religious place (temple), its structure and organization include the Guanyin Pavilion Celebration Council, the Guanyin Pavilion Council, and the Jasmine Garden Mahua Branch , Jasmine Garden Residents Association, Jasmine Garden Neighborhood Planning Committee. The Guanyinting Celebration Zhongyuan Council is mainly responsible for the Zhongyuan Purdue Festival, the month’s safe dinner and tokens, etc.; the Guanyinting Council is responsible for temple management, welcoming the God of Wealth in the New Year, and Guanyin’s birthday (including wandering gods, safe dinners, and tokens), etc. Daily temple affairs and festivals other than Chung Yuan Purdue; Jasmine Garden MCA Branch is a local organization of the Malaysian Chinese Association (Malaysian Chinese Association). The Malaysian Chinese Association is a Malaysian Chinese political party established in 1949. It has been regarded as the main political representative of the Malaysian Chinese for many years. It has long had different local organizations, such as the MCA Branch, the MCA Youth League, and the MCA Women’s Group. The organizers of the Avalokitesvara Pavilion in Jasmine Garden assisted the MCA in local activities during the election, while the temple obtained land and subsidy for activities, and from time to time relied on the support of political figures related to MCA; the Jasmine Garden Residents Association and the Jasmine Garden Neighborhood Planning Committee It provides community services, such as Mid-Autumn Festival fairs, travel arrangements, etc. As a community unit, Guanyin Pavilion will also connect with temples in other gardens, and participate in national Chinese religious organizations such as the Johor Temple Fellowship. The Guanyin Pavilion has multiple roles of religion, local community organization and political agency. In fact, Dr. Bai also explained the functions of religion, community and politics by pointing to the overlapping positions of participants in various organizations under the Jasmine Garden Guanyin Pavilion. The situation that mixes in Kannon Pavilion.

 

However, due to Jasmine Garden being a low-middle-income community, local residents gradually moved out after the 2010s due to population flow, and the multi-layered functions of the Guanyin Pavilion were gradually lost due to the lack of successors of the organizers. In the final part, Dr. Bai reviewed the organizational history and recent changes of the Guanyin Pavilion in the Jasmine Garden, and clarified that even as a minority, the Chinese will still migrate to continue the inertia of their religious life; In the process of continuous disintegration and reorganization, the inertia of life, the spirit of the neighborhood, and the need to create a livable life have prompted believers to take gods as the core, repeatedly holding festivals, neighborhood activities, and interacting with the government. Dr. Bai believes that the Garden Temple is an object of sustainable observation, and the experience of building temples can help us understand the process of belief activities from "nothing" to "something". The continuous reconstruction of Malaysian Chinese beliefs echoes the process of reorganization of Chinese settlements. Under the political context of multi-ethnic coexistence in Malaysia, the "country" and one of the ethnic groups interact on the platform of faith. The experience of the Guanyin Pavilion in Jasmine Garden can be regarded as one of the models of modern community temples.

 

The case of the Avalokitesvara Pavilion in the Jasmine Garden is a discussion centered on a single religious place in the Malaysian Chinese community. Dr. Mok Jiahao also shared the beliefs of the Malaysian Chinese with geographically defined objects of concern. The topic of his sharing was "The Spiritual World of Chinese in Johor Rural Areas ——Country Stories of Pengeran Siwan Island>. Dr. Mok’s report explained the Chinese community, local governance and industrial development in Pengerang, Johor from the colonial period of the British Empire to the middle of the 20th century, and explored how the religious beliefs of the Chinese community in Pengerang, Johor affected their views on The imagination of local community order and economic activities. By examining the regional identity concept and boundary shaping process of the Chinese in Pengerang during the Johor Temenggong regime, the British colonial period, and the Japanese occupation period, Dr. Mok analyzed the local governance power from the government and the people and the impact of the industrial economy on the countryside. The influence of the Chinese community in the area. Although Pengeran's innate geographical location has kept the local area in a double border state of administration and economy for a long time, it has instead prompted the local Chinese to have a different social structure and regional identity shaping process than the Chinese in other colonial cities.

 

All in all, the key to the shaping of Chinese society in rural areas lies in how to adjust the characteristics of local government governance and industrial development in different stages of history. The local knowledge, experience cognition, and historical narrative gradually accumulated in the above-mentioned adjustment process have become the cornerstone of the regional identity of the local Chinese. Dr. Mok's report revolved around the multi-religious beliefs in Pengerang, Johor, thinking about the coexistence of multiple religions, "whose gods and Buddhas are in the sky?". Dr. Mok analyzed the similarities and differences of local Chinese beliefs from different perspectives from different identities such as villagers, ritual experts and foreigners, and put them in the context of globalization, pointing out that as a minority religion, Chinese beliefs are anti-trend The rebelliousness, but also the adjustment in the local society.

 

Compared with Dr. Bai's analytical framework that emphasizes the interaction between "region" and "whole", Dr. Mok's narrative is more concerned with the continuation of local discourse. Qingshan Temple and Fengshan Palace. Dr. Mo unearthed two versions of the origin of the Baoan Palace, "The First Edition of Bao'an Palace Mansions (1998)" and the oral accounts of the residents of Xinwan and Siwan. There are three or four elders in Pu village who meet to sail south to Shilat Island (Siwan Island) because the people are struggling to survive and eat three meals. Incense from the Guling Temple in Keng Village spread to the four Guizun princes in Dongpu Village, and they came to Siwan Island, and temporarily placed the whole body of the palace in the old wooden house hall of the late Qiu Huachang to worship. At that time, all the fellow villagers in Fujian went to worship, and the royal palace was very powerful. In the year of Guiyou (probably 1813, 1873 or 1933), it raised funds to lay the groundwork for the construction of the temple; It was temporarily enshrined in Xinwan Shun'an Palace (mainly enshrined in the three palaces), but later a group of Fujian immigrants did not want to live under the fence of Chaozhou landlords, so they moved to Siwan to live, accompanied by the three palaces and four palaces They went to Siwan together. After arriving in Siwan, the four palaces expressed that they would stay and protect the newly moved Fujian believers, so they stayed in Siwan and then built a temple, while the three palaces returned to Xinwan.

 

The deity enshrined in Qingshan Temple is Qingshan Bogong. Its temple is located on the north side of Siwan New Village. Qingshan Temple was built no later than the 1950s. According to local oral records, many people saw fires floating in the woods on the side of the hillside on the side of the road, so they first built a small temple under the trees in the forest, which was the prototype of Qingshan Temple. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Cai Gu of Longnan Temple in Singapore was invited to come to Qingshan Temple to perform Zhongyuan Purdue, and gave birth to the child with the Goddess of Guanyin in white clothes, but it was still a meat offering, which lasted about 10 years and was interrupted. The worship of Uncle Qingshan ushered in another change in 1989. At that time, the landlord surnamed Yang was decorating, and a worker from other places suddenly called himself Uncle Qingshan. Indicates that it is time to offer vegetarian sacrifices, and correct the birthday of Uncle Qingshan to be the second day of February instead of Lantern Festival. The foreign worker continued to give children enlightenment until the renovation work was completed. By 2004, the incense in the Qingshan Temple was not continuing, and the sacrifices were transferred to the following Fengshan Palace Fushi in Siwan Harbor as the agent of Pudu. The original owner of Fengshan Palace, Fengtian, held large-scale ceremonies and celebrations every year on Tin Hau's Christmas, and there was also a theater. Most of the believers were residents of the surrounding areas related to "sea".

 

Dr. Mok's sharing described the close relationship between the worship of the Pengerang Temple and its worshipers and maintainers, and the changes they encountered were often related to the identity, character, background, and ability of the worshipers and maintainers. The beliefs of local Chinese gods also have to be affected by local social and economic changes, commercial activities and political changes. From his rich fieldwork experience, Dr. Mo learned that believers often think that various changes in palaces and temples are related to changes in local power: "Due to the river widening project, there was no ceremony when the Fengshan Palace stage was demolished, so the temple has been kept for a long time since then. Disharmony", "Petronas wants to repair the relationship with the new village head of Siwan New Village of Pakatan Harapan, who proposed to run Purdue, and Petronas will pay for it", "The blessings of Purdue will be given to the disadvantaged groups in Siwan New Village and Liuwan ". Dr. Bai's introduction reflects that in local narratives, the enshrined gods and their myths reflect various subtle changes in the local social structure. Although worshiping not every god or every temple is valued, and many temples in Pengerang do not continue to burn incense or are constantly relocated, but even though the forms of beliefs are constantly changing, the basic structure of festivals, rituals, and gods remains the same. has remained unchanged. This phenomenon is called by Dr. Mok as "the gods and Buddhas who escaped from the rule". In Malaysia, where there are many religions, the ever-changing Chinese religions clearly show the history of the Chinese community in the local area. To study minority religions in a changing society is to tell the history of "people without history."

 

This conference introduced the interaction of religious people as non-state actors in East Asian countries since the early period of globalization. As a foreign religion, Confucianism became the national religion of North Korea, and then squeezed out local paganism; the Presbyterian Church, which originated in the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century, coexisted friendly with the Japanese Empire in Taiwan under the Japanese rule, and even stood on the sidelines of the Great Japanese Empire in the early days of World War II. The position of the Japanese empire was critical of Britain and the United States; regarded as heresy by the Qing Dynasty and European colonial empires, Muslims maintained their place in the international trade network for hundreds of years, but remained unknown; as a floating population belief Chinese temples have played a role in maintaining the community and linking political power in Malaysia, and have become an important part of the democratic election system; while in the Pengerang area of Johor, the unidentified gods have difficulties in the sacred space, worship rituals and mythological history. Under the previous topic, it makes the helpless local Chinese residents feel that they and the group they are in are not alone, but in an orderly universe. Several scholars have pointed out that in the era of globalization, there is a more detailed division of labor at the economic and political levels. No political entity, religious group, ethnic group or class can monopolize production, trade or political power distribution, and believe in the same religion. It is no longer a necessary prerequisite for coexistence. If so, groups with different beliefs and worldviews and the gods they believe in converge due to the globalization of the human world, forming an East Asia where the sky full of gods and Buddhas has become the norm. Minority or foreign religions are not necessarily the targets of persecution. This meeting demonstrated four ways of maintaining religion after arriving in a foreign country: 1. Becoming a national religion; 2. Becoming a pro-government religion; 3. Serving the country with special contributions Tolerance; 4. Under the premise of maintaining connection with the country, connecting with the community of believers can maintain the faith but it is difficult to call it stable. Just as scholars of different religious studies have discovered, after the 18th century, at least a group of elites who participated in or benefited from international interactions did not magnify the issue of gods and Buddhas in the sky, and instead thought about finding the coexistence of various religions in their own worldview. The space truly advances the story of the harmony and prosperity of human society in East Asia.

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Record: Condewi