Stating the sacred : religion, China, and the formation of the nation-state

Walsh, Michael J. (Michael John) 1968- (author.).

Summary: "The nation-state is for the most part the product of a European mentalit�e. What happens when it is exported, along with colonialism, to other parts of the world? What happens in China when it encounters--either through force or by willing appropriation--European categories of nation and state, along with their attendant formulations concerning science, rationality, politics, and economics, and their accompanying categories such as religion, the secular, the sacred, human rights, and freedom? How does an imperium become a nation? The central tenet of this book is that nation-states are the results of mythos and sanctified violence. Using government texts including China's constitution (which describes its sovereign domain as "sacred territory") and focusing on citizenship, religion, and territory, Walsh argues that the state sacralizes the nation and that it is this notion of the sacred, the inviolate, that frames and sustains nation-state building. It is used to justify territorial integrity and state sovereignty; with its deep religious underpinnings it shapes citizens of the state and makes them members of the nation. Sacrality, therefore, is a constitutive part of modern China, manifested in its constitution and how it engages the world"--

Record details

ISBN: 9780231193573
ISBN: 9780231193566
ISBN: 0231193572
ISBN: 0231193564
ISBN: 9780231550390
ISBN: 0231550391
Physical Description: 1 online resource (xxvii, 237 pages)
remote
Computer data.
Publisher: New York : Columbia University Press, [2020]
Copyright: �2020

Content descriptions

General Note:	CatMonthString:september.21 Multi-User.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index
Formatted Contents Note:	Territory -- Constitution -- Religion -- Reincarnation -- Contact -- Nativity
Type of Computer File or Data Note:	Text (HTML), electronic book.
System Details Note:	Mode of access: Internet.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Note:	Access requires VIU IP addresses and is restricted to VIU students, faculty and staff. Access restricted by subscription.
Issuing Body Note:	Made available online by JSTOR.
Source of Description Note:	Print version record