heres_the_thing's review against another edition
3.0
A thoughtful examination of religion and culture in post-Mao society. Johnson is deeply interested in the people he encounters in his travels, and the discussion of cultural religions (Taoism, Confucianism, etc.), as well as underground Protestant Christianity, is interesting in terms of how faith is practiced by people in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. My biggest takeaway was how Johnson discussed that contemporary Chinese relate more to the concept of faith/spiritual practice as opposed to a more formal (Western) structure of religious life.
ludicucek's review
5.0
An outstanding insight into the values systems, culture and beliefs of Chinese people. The books is written in the form of short stories following multiple families from different religious and cultural backgrounds. The structure of the book offers a greater inside into the way Chinese understand their belief systems which couldn't be achieved if the book was written in the form of a manual or textbook. The context of each belief system is shown through the eyes of a real person which makes it all the more interesting. All in all a great book for understanding the way Chinese people perceive religion and how and why it differs from the western approach. Besides that, the author also offers an insight into the wider historical, social and political context of religion in China, which is also really helpful.
booksrachelreads's review against another edition
4.0
Stories of religion in China from four different perspectives/religious systems. Felt like the author was genuinely sharing others stories with little of his own western influence coming through. Didn’t love the way the book hopped around though, was kinda hard to keep up with when listening to the audio
alpho's review
3.0
The big downside of this book is it is written exactly like an in depth article, spun out into a book. All the interviews and journalist spin might have been the best way to try to address a topic as huge and variable as contemporary Chinese spirituality, I’m not sure. But I found it distracting the entire book.
But, interesting topic, done by someone with a clear wealth of contact with China and its people.
But, interesting topic, done by someone with a clear wealth of contact with China and its people.
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