Nan Ouyang

This project examines grassroots state-religion dynamics on the renowned pilgrimage mountain Mount Jiuhua during the Mao Era. Despite the Chinese Communist Party’s —CCP— atheist ideology, the majority of the Chinese population adhered to Buddhism. After 1949, the CCP implemented comprehensive policies to transform Buddhism for power consolidation. While the government exerted its power to interfere in religious affairs, the clergy leveraged the mountain’s reputation and their role in united front work to renegotiate the boundaries of legitimate religious activities. Adopting a bottom-up perspective and primarily using local archives, this study provides insights into the resilience and vitality of Buddhism, as well as the processes of its modernization and secularization in modern China.