Publications

Goossaert, V. (2023), ‘The Social Networks of Gods in Late Imperial Spirit-writing Altars’, Religions 14.2, 217. 

Abstract:

The late imperial-educated Chinese interacted with a very large array of gods through various means, especially spirit-writing, for which we have abundant detailed records. While a few prominent gods have been studied in this context, there are currently no comprehensive studies of the connections between humans and gods. Using the records of thirteen different spirit-writing altars in various parts of the Chinese world between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, this paper maps the 478 gods involved using standard social network analysis visualizations, and identifies the types of gods that played central roles (connecting many different gods and humans) and those that had fewer, more exclusive sociabilities.

Jim, T. S. F. (2024), ‘Divine Naming in Greek and Chinese Polytheism’, in C. Bonnet et al. (eds), What’s in a Divine Name? Religious Systems and Human Agency in the Ancient Mediterranean (Berlin, Boston), 59–78.

Abstract:

Like the Greek gods, Chinese deities could bear names and titles signifying their divine functions; they might be given titles on the strength of their actual deeds and manifestations of their power. How, then, did the gods in Greek and Chinese polytheism acquire cult titles? What did it mean to be given cult titles in Greece and China? Given the plurality of divine names available for a given god, how did individuals decide which one(s) to use in addressing and communicating with the gods? The present study is the first attempt to bring together divine naming in Greek and Chinese polytheism. It will tackle these questions by making use of epigraphic and literary evidence in both religious systems. Its concern is not just with the theoretical and institutional aspects of the phenomenon; it hopes also to shed light on the Greek and Chinese religious worldviews and perceptions of their gods, and ultimately to open up new questions for the study of both fields.