The Historical Evolution and the Interdependent Logic of Folk Beliefs in Contemporary China

Folk beliefs in contemporary China have gone through the fate of being obstructed,forbidden and banned.With the on-going reform and social transformation,there has been a big revival of folk beliefs and they have shown indomitable vitality and great social adaptability.However,since folk beliefs are not the legal religious beliefs of the state and have often been suppressed.The management of local government over these folk beliefs are often random without much consistency,and sometimes they are even regarded as feudalistic and superstitious activities that should be elimminated and banned.Even under such social policy circumstances,folk beliefs continue to grow and there is a big room for its existence.This can be attributed to the change of social and economic system,the spiritual needs of the mass population of the countryside.It also has to do with the active seeking of the folk elite for legalizing the development of folk beliefs.