Chapter Eight. Lineage And Territorial Connections

Abstract

This chapter presents the distribution of the most common twenty-six of over one hundred surname groups in the villages of the Putian plain. These numbers do not discriminate between separate lineages or distinct lines with the same surname, so they only provide a rough measure of the relative size of different surname groups. While many historical connections between lineage and she temples and Buddhist monasteries can be seen in the case of the Dongyang Chen lineage, the contemporary example of the Huang lineage of Shiting may be used to examine more recent interconnections between lineage and territorially based god cult worship in the Putian plains. The chapter provides Shiting village's history and its main lineage and temples. It also provides a detailed case study of the relationship between lineage segments, neighbourhood temples, and emerging new ritual movements and new neighbourhood temples.Keywords: Dongyang Chen lineage; god; Huang lineage; Putian plain; territorial cult