Focusing on the Confucian transformation of Mulian opera, and especially on the interplay between the "civilizing" effect of ritual performance and the rise of

Introduction -- Cheng Minzheng and the rise of Huizhou consciousness -- A land of prominent lineages -- Wang Daokun and the promotion of mercantile lineage cult

Looking beyond the familiar trappings of the cult of female chastity—such as hagiographies of widows and chastity shrines--in late imperial China, this book e