Lion and Dragon in Northern China

The work offers a compact ethnographic and historical portrait of a northern Chinese coastal district under foreign administration, combining local topography and history with close observations of village life, land tenure, legal practices, festivals, gender roles, family and graveyard customs, and folk belief. It surveys interactions between external rule and local traditions, traces religious practices from Confucian and Taoist rites to Buddhist and popular spirits, and records ghost-lore, protective charms, and theatrical and ritual performances. Illustrated chapters weave documentary description, anecdote, and analysis to consider social institutions and possible future developments.