The Religious Tradition of Overseas Sailors in Late Imperial China.

我的论文探讨了近代前中国海外商人的宗教传统。在中国向现代航运转型之前，数百年来，中国海员驾着帆船在横跨整个南海乃至更远的海上航线上航行。在此过程中，他们发展了独特的宗教信仰，如独特的众神和船载仪式，因为他们将海洋绘制为神圣的地理位置。从宋朝到清朝，水手的传统体现在航海文字、航迹和仪式手册中，它们对现代仪式的影响也很明显。考察这些广泛的资料来源，可以发现一个一致的、可理解的传统，它反映了中国海洋社会的历史信仰和观念，也增加了我们对中国现代宗教的理解。

My dissertation explores the religious traditions of pre-modern Chinese overseas merchants. Before China transitioned to modern shipping, Chinese seafarers sailed junks across far-reaching sea routes spanning the entire South China Sea and beyond for hundreds of years. In doing so, they developed unique religious beliefs, such as a distinct pantheon of deities and shipborne rituals, as they charted the seas as a sacred geography. The mariners' traditions manifest through maritime writings, rutters, and ritual handbooks from the Song to the Qing eras, and their influence is apparent in modern-day ceremonies as well. Examining this broad range of sources shows a consistent and apprehendable tradition that reflects the historical beliefs and perceptions of Chinese maritime society as also adds to our understanding of modern religion in China.