Each chapter of this book offers a biography of a religious leader and a detailed discussion of his or her rise to sainthood over the course of China's twentieth century. Throughout, emphasis is on the creative and largely successful strategies deployed in the face of state indifference or hostility.

Preface List of Contributors Introduction Chapter 1: The Charismatic Monk and the Chanting Masses: Master Yinguang and his Pure Land Revival Movement (Jan Kiely) Chapter 2: Zhang Yuanxu: The Making and Unmaking of a Daoist Saint (Vincent Goossaert) Chapter 3: Chan Master Xuyun: The Embodiment of an Ideal, the Transmission of a Model (Daniela Campo) Chapter 4: Duan Zhengyuan and the Moral Studies Society: "Religionized Confucianism" during the Republican Period (Fan Chunwu) Chapter 5: Two Turns in the Life of Master Hongyi,a Buddhist Monk in Twentieth-Century China (Raoul Birnbaum) Chapter 6: Yiguandao's Patriarch Zhang Tianran (1889 - 1947): Hagiography, Deification and Production of Charisma in a Modern Religious Organization (Sébastien Billioud) Chapter 7: Sainthood, Science, and Politics: The Life of Li Yujie, Founder of the Tiandijiao (David Ownby) Chapter 8: Subtle Erudition and Compassionate Devotion: Longlian (1909-2006), "The Most Outstanding Bhiksuni" in Modern China (Ester Bianchi) Chapter 9: Comrade Zhao Puchu: Bodhisattva under the Red Flag (Ji Zhe) Chapter 10: The "New Clothes" of Sainthood in China: The Case of Nan Huaijin (1918-2012) (Catherine Despeux) Chapter 11: Jingkong: From Universal Saint to Sectarian Saint (Yanfei Sun) Chapter 12: Ren Fajiu : A Living Daoist Immortal in the People's Republic (Adeline Herrou) Bibliography Index

"a well-formatted, high quality book... there is not one chapter in this book that could not stand on its own." -- Erik Hammerstrom, Journal of Chinese Religions "This book showcases the recent considerable advancements in the field of modern Chinese religious studies, and it will be of great interest to specialists and nonspecialists alike. For the specialist, there are a number of new avenues of research, and fresh archival and ethnographic materials spanning a fairly wide geographical field. For the nonspecialist, it portrays the surprisingly varied, lively, interconnected, and at the same time deeply rooted modern religious geography of China, providing a useful introduction to the field."--Elena Valussi, JAAR "The book is highly recommended to scholars and students of Chinese religion, both of whom are certain to learn something they did not know about its modern transmitters." -- Brian J. Nichols, Mount Royal University "Making Saints is a singular and unique contribution to the study of Chinese religion and modern history. Unusually, for an edited book this volume deserves to be read in order, from beginning to end."--Reading Religion "This pioneering study of charismatic Chinese religious leaders presents the fruits of cooperative research work undertaken by a highly qualified group of academics representing a diverse range of disciplines and interests. Making Saints should be of immense interest to scholars of Chinese religions as well as the students they teach. In addition, its thoughtful comparative perspectives on issues such as hagiography will ensure its place in courses about religious traditions worldwide." --Paul R. Katz, Distinguished research fellow, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica "The specialist will find here superb studies of the impact of twelve major figures in Chinese religious life of the 20th century, figures that he or she has probably encountered numerous times in various texts and contexts, but could never place exactly-until now. For the non-specialist, this volume offers fascinating case-studies of the interplay of individual religious agency with the enabling and restricting conditions imposed by the social, cultural, and political contexts that shifted so frequently throughout this turbulent century in Chinese history; it is this interplay that lifted these twelve to prominence, while relegating others to obscurity." --Philip Clart, Professor of Chinese History and Culture, University of Leipzig "Modern China, in the midst of turbulent change, has never ceased producing charismatic religious figures. Through its comparative approach, this book offers a wealth of insights about how spiritual virtuosity and religious accomplishment have been enacted, experienced, interpreted, and narrated across religious traditions, and how modern 'saints' embody, through their lives, the tensions, contradictions, and powerful forces that have been shaping modern Chinese society. It is essential reading for students of Chinese religion and society, and for the comparative study of charisma and religious leadership." --David A. Palmer, co-author of Dream Trippers: Global Daoism and the Predicament of Modern Spirituality

Selling point: Innovative within the growing subfield of Chinese religious history for its focus on religious leadership and religious biography Selling point: Each chapter incorporates both narrative (the life of the saint under discussion) and comparative analysis of the saint-making process Selling point: Includes the work of several European and Chinese scholars, some of whose work has been made available in English for the first time in this volume

David Ownby is Professor of History at the University of Montreal. Vincent Goossaert is Professor of Religious Studies at the Ecole pratique des hautes études (EPHE) in Paris. Ji Zhe is Associate Professor of Chinese Studies at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO) in Paris.

Selling point: Innovative within the growing subfield of Chinese religious history for its focus on religious leadership and religious biography Selling point: Each chapter incorporates both narrative (the life of the saint under discussion) and comparative analysis of the saint-making process Selling point: Includes the work of several European and Chinese scholars, some of whose work has been made available in English for the first time in this volume