In the vast expanse of the Azure Sky Prairie, the sky was covered in a haze. The biting cold gale swept through the entire prairie, causing layers of grass to turn over, causing people to be unable to open their eyes. Dark clouds also accumulated in the sky, and the clouds intersected and overlapped with each other. A thunderstorm that covered the entire prairie was about to arrive. Such weather was extremely rare in this famously sunny prairie.
Korea has one of the most diverse religious cultures in the world today, with a range and breadth of religious practice virtually unrivaled by any other country. This volume in the Princeton Readings in Religions series is the first anthology in any language, including Korean, to bring together a comprehensive set of original sources covering the whole gamut of religious practice in both premodern and contemporary Korea. The book's thirty-two chapters help redress the dearth of source materials on Korean religions in Western languages. Coverage includes shamanic rituals for the dead and songs to quiet fussy newborns; Buddhist meditative practices and exorcisms; Confucian geomancy and ancestor rites; contemporary Catholic liturgy; Protestant devotional practices; internal alchemy training in new Korean religions; and North Korean Juche ("self-reliance") ideology, an amalgam of Marxism and Neo-Confucian filial piety focused on worship of the "father," Kim Il Sung. Religions of Korea in Practice provides substantial coverage of contemporary Korean religious practice, especially the various Christian denominations and new indigenous religions. Each chapter includes an extensive translation of original sources on Korean religious practice, accompanied by an introduction that frames the significance of the selections and offers suggestions for further reading. This book will help any reader gain a better appreciation of the rich complexity of Korea's religious culture.
The study of modern Chinese history has developed rapidly in recent decades and has seen increased exploration of new topics and innovative approaches. Resulting from a special issue of Modern Chinese History Studies, this volume is devoted to showcasing the healthy development of Chinese modern history studies, and has already been revised twice in the original language. This three-volume set exhibits major achievements in the study of modern Chinese history and shows how the role of history has been in debate, transformation, and re-evaluation throughout this tortuous yet prosperous period. This volume investigates the critical movements, such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese aggression, that contribute to the establishment of the People's Republic of China. In addition, it includes valuable summaries of various perspectives in modern Chinese history studies, such as the translation of overseas studies, and pioneering topics that historians have examined between 2009 and 2019. This book will benefit scholars and students of Chinese history, especially those who are interested in modern Chinese history.
