The Commercialization of Ritual and Transformation of Kinship in Urban China

本项目通过考察举办葬礼和婚礼的商业企业来分析中国城市亲属关系实践的转变。通过对这些仪式中表现的亲属关系的想象的关注，它将解决三个主题的主要学术辩论：城市化与亲属关系实践之间的关系；仪式商业化的更广泛的社会影响；以及如何将中国现代性理论化。除了促进理论辩论外，该项目还将通过提供对当代城市葬礼的首次系统描述，为中国研究做出重大的实证贡献。

This project analyses transformations in the practice of kinship in urban China by examining the commercial enterprises that conduct funerals and weddings. Through a focus on the imagination of kinship performed in these rituals, it will address major scholarly debates on three topics: the relationship between urbanisation and practices of kinship; the wider social ramifications of the commercialisation of ritual; and how to theorise Chinese modernity. In addition to contributing to theoretical debates, the project will make a major empirical contribution to China studies by providing the first systematic depiction of contemporary urban funerals.