Paul R. Katz is Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, and Program Director of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange. His research centers on modern Chinese religious life, with his most recent monograph (Religion in China and its Modern Fate) published in early 2014.

1. Western Hunan: An Overview 2. Temple Cults 3. Ritual Specialists 4. Ritual Violence and the Judicial Continuum: 5. Female Mediums and Rites of Resistance 6. The Incense Dancing Festival 7. Repaying a Nuo Vow

This book explores how beliefs and practices have shaped the interactions between different ethnic groups in Western Hunan, as well as considering how religious life has adapted to the challenges of modern Chinese history.