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The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao
by Ian Johnson (Author) Format: Paperback
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (143)
The human story of the vast changes now transforming China, with religion sweeping up millions of people in ways which are a profound threat to the Communist Party.
In no society on Earth was there such a ferocious attempt to eradicate all trace of religion as in modern China. But now, following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is awash with new temples, churches, and mosques - as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty - over what it means to be Chinese, and how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality and is still searching for new guideposts.
The Souls of China is the result of some fifteen years of studying and travelling around China. The message of Ian Johnson's extraordinary book is that China is now experiencing a 'Great Awakening' on a vast scale. Everywhere long-suppressed religions are rebuilding, often in new forms, and reshaping the values and behaviours of entire communities.
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From other countries
Jean Shen
5.0 out of 5 stars A very important book, a China classic that is key to understanding this superpower today
Reviewed in the United States on 12 June 2017
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A masterpiece of reportage by one of the best reporters of China today.
Ian Johnson tackles the issue at the heart of present-day Chinese society: its lost moral compass. This is, at base, a defining characteristic of Chinese society which is still dealing with the long legacy of the Cultural Revolution and decades of this political culture. Ostensibly about religion, this book goes much deeper -- really into what makes China tick.
The China he describes with great detail, unique empathy derived from his speaking Chinese, his cultural affinity, and real immersion in the laobaixing / regular Chinese people's lives, is one locals will recognise and acknowledge is accurate. He goes deep into documenting how different groups of Chinese now are searching for a pathway out of this moral malaise, offering a heartening portrait of how China might change in time to come. This search for values will define the next chapter of life in and the behaviour of this super power. Johnson is a solid and warm, empathetic guide who takes us to meet the characters he got to know over years of reporting in pockets of China that even many of us who live here might not have encountered.
Reading this book is key to really understanding China -- its society, political life, foreign policy behaviour. It really does offer a window into this complex country's soul.
The depth of his reporting, the lyricism in his writing are unparalleled among China-based English language writers today. Very few really have invested as much time -- and emotion -- in understanding China from the very grassroots.
I can't recommend this important book highly enough. I think it will prove to be a classic in China reporting, as was Johnson's previous book Wild Grass. The book and its writing feel understated in many ways, but it really is very valuable in making sense of what China is and where it's going.
It will also be of broader interest to non-China watchers -- for those interested in religion, sociology, politics -- for it is a portrait of a society grasping with massive transformation, being lost and trying to find new ways forward.
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Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars recomendado
Reviewed in Spain on 23 February 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Buena lectura, para procesar con calma si no se tiene el background necesario. Aunque se me hace neceario contrastar con otros puntos de vista.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic insight
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 July 2021
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Fantastically detailed, humble and compassionate insight into beliefs and practices in modern China. Brilliantly written, thoroughly researched, thoughtful and engaging.
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dragonworks
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK
Reviewed in Canada on 10 November 2023
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It's been a long time since I've read something this well written. It felt like a documentary in my head. Full of colour, noise, laughter, tears, emotion and pragmatism. Gave me joy, made me think. I feel I, too, know all these people he met. I cannot praise it too highly.
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Philip Fang
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read Masterpiece on Contemporary Chinese Culture and Its Ordinary People
Reviewed in the United States on 22 June 2017
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
As a busy academic, I hardly read a book word by word. Ian Johnson’s The Souls of China, however, is one of those books that I’m willing to read so closely. This book will help you better understand – even challenge your old knowledge on – what “religion” is, what China is, and how contemporary faith is practiced by ordinary Chinese people.
The topic of the book – religion – is heavy, but the book itself is easy to read. Johnson strategically chooses three groups of ordinary people to tell a consistent story – the spiritual revival after Mao – that is big enough to reflect the “soul(s)” of contemporary China. Many readers might have read much about Chinese “Culture” (with a capitalized C), but very few books in the market do a good job detailing how Chinese “Culture” is perceived and practiced in everyday life and thus become Chinese cultures that really matter for most ordinary people. In his sophisticated writing, Johnson presents us Chinese religious beliefs through the Ni family in Beijing that makes an annual pilgrimage to a Buddhist temple that worships Our Lady of the Azure Clouds, the Li family in Shanxi that practices a form of family-based Daoism and folk religion, and a group of Protestant Christians in a house church in Chengdu led by a charismatic preacher Wang Yi. These stories Johnson brilliantly narrates in the book are so intriguing that I sometimes thought I was interacting with these people directly.
Johnson shows his wisdom from the mundane details of ordinary people’s everyday lives. He is humble and respects every person in this book, which is part of the reason why this book is so original, so special and so touching. By showing that ordinary people in China can understand “infinitely more,” Johnson allows them to speak, in their own words, about how they actively seek faith to transform and fulfill their lives on their own, instead of being led, aimlessly, by the vague slogans of the Party and the radical changes brought by modernity and globalization.
As a Chinese scholar in the West, I have been trained to criticize other colleagues’ works. But The Souls of China is so insightful that I have to drop my weapons and give it my highest compliments. I have to admit that I’ve learned a lot about my country and my people from this book. A good journalist is also a lay sociologist; Johnson is too good to be an ethnographer, as he can always easily fit into Chinese communities and provide his readers the best observations.
No matter how much you know about China – from a knowledgeable scholar of China Studies to a lay reader who is recently planning your first trip to China – you will find this book original, enjoyable, informative, intriguing, smart, and sometimes “as surprising as cold water running through your back.”
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Dilly Doe
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging book that mixes personal perspectives from worshipers with history, politics, spirituality
Reviewed in Canada on 19 March 2019
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Great book for all those interested in religion in China. I think this would be an especially good book for young foreign born Chinese or children of the Chinese diaspora that want to learn more about the religion of their ancestors and the modern landscape of religion in China today. A bit more geographically diverse coverage would be appreciated though since the book mostly focuses on people and religion n the North and very little in the South, but otherwise it is very engaging.
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Peter Donald
3.0 out of 5 stars a fascinating insight into religions in China
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2025
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Nicely written, but quite hard work to read
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on 16 May 2017
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Great Book
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M. L. Asselin
5.0 out of 5 stars A Solid, Engaging Book on the State of Religion in China Today
Reviewed in the United States on 20 November 2017
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
We’ve seen several academic books about religion in contemporary China in recent years, but this look at Chinese religious practice by the American journalist Ian Johnson is both well researched and highly accessible. Like other books by journalists living in China, “Souls of China” features first-hand accounts that bring a kind of intimacy and immediacy that the general reader finds engaging. In Johnson’s book, these passages are not ends in themselves, but serve to illustrate Johnson’s thesis about the state of religion in China today. When he joins in on a Buddhist pilgrimage or a Protestant Christmas Eve service, Johnson reveals a society hungry for meaning beyond that which a free market and Communist ideology can provide. “I know there’s something bigger than us that guides us,” says one of his subjects (p. 174).
Johnson says that the aspirations of the people in his book can be summarized by the word “Tian” or “Heaven.” By this he means that they seek justice and respect, and a well-ordered society. The author goes on to say that this yearning for justice, order, and meaning may help transform Chinese society, perhaps not in the way that Buddhism and Taoism transformed Taiwan into a democracy, but that in the long-term will influence China to embrace shared universal values and morality. President Xi, who has demonstrated a willingness to be heavy-handed in his control of Chinese society, at the same time seems comfortable with a certain level of religious practice, so long as the religion being practiced has Chinese characteristics and is overseen by one of the state bodies regulating religion (p. 356). In general, this means that Christianity, and especially Catholicism, have not fared well against the state apparatus. Nonetheless, the tolerance for some things religious has given all religious expressions a little more latitude than they may have had before.
When it comes to Western-derived religions, Johnson devotes most of his space to Protestant sects; Protestantism, because it is decentralized and isn’t tied to a foreign base of influence, is thriving relative to the state-controlled Catholic Church, with its suspicious Vatican ties. It’s unfortunate there isn’t more on Catholicism given the rich history of the Catholic Church in China. (Johnson subsequently wrote about the Catholic Church in China in the Jesuit periodical, America, October 2, 2017.) You won’t find much about Islam in “Souls of China,” either.
That being said, I truly enjoyed reading this book. Johnson is a fine stylist, his research is solid, and his understanding of Chinese culture refined. His explanation of the rise of religion in China today is very convincing. Moreover, his candor and respectfulness in dealing with his subjects makes this a very humane work, one that makes you care about the people he describes. In short, this is one of the best overall non-academic books on contemporary China and Chinese culture available in English.
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Chinese learner
5.0 out of 5 stars Critically important work
Reviewed in the United States on 6 July 2017
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
I have been following Ian Johnson's work on China for several years and have always been impressed with his insights into not only Chinese society but also to Chinese as individuals. "Souls" is a critically important work for China watchers - and for anyone is trying to understand the world's oldest and most populous civilization. It chronicles in a very personal way the reemergence of traditional Chinese values in the context of the country's breakneck pace of economic development. The well recognized "spiritual vacuum" created by China's economic rise is being filled by individual, and communal, searches for deeper meaning in life. Johnson describes well how these searches are leading to both renewal of traditional practices of Buddhist, and Daoism and legitimate growth of Christian, especially evangelical, communities. He also brings his years of living in China and extensive personal contacts to a critical view of how the Chinese government's religious policy.
"Souls" was well worth the full price I paid for the hardback; something I have never done before with Amazon.
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Charlene Fu
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly researched, reported, structured and written
Reviewed in the United States on 10 January 2019
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This book was brilliantly done. I was in absolute awe of the reporting that went into it. As a former Associated Press foreign correspondent whose time in Beijing overlapped with the author's, I know better than most readers what is involved in gathering that much first-hand material for a book of such breadth and depth and insight. AND, on top of that, the structure of the book was a stroke of genius, and the writing was captivating and engaging. I read it the summer it first came out and was too busy at the time to write a review. I recently purchased the book as Christmas presents for my mom and a friend, and decided it was time to add a review, especially because one of the main characters -- the Christian house church pastor Wang Yi -- and his church have just in recent months come under incredible persecution. The response of this pastor and his congregation has been so inspiring, and reading this book helps to explain why and how they are able to remain steadfast in their faith. I could not recommend this book more highly.
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Gordo
5.0 out of 5 stars A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Religion in China
Reviewed in the United States on 25 June 2017
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This is a fascinating book. Johnson takes the reader "behind the scenes" of the practice of religion in China, following individuals and groups as they live out their faith lives. He gains privileged access to Buddhists, Christians, Daoists, and practitioners of folk religion, watches them worship, and allows them to speak for themselves throughout the book. While weaving their stories together, he also paints a broader picture of the state of religion in China and the government's approach to religion over recent years. He also looks at phenomena that western observers may not know a lot about: Qigong, Falun Gong and Eastern Lightning. While not a history book per se, it captures the present moment of religion in China. The only critique I had was the lack of focus on Islam and Catholicism. It is written in a similar style to other "China books" by authors like Peter Hessler and Evan Osnos - if you've enjoyed those books, you'll enjoy this book too.
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Frederick Holmes, M.D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Very thoughtful review of China's five officially acknowledged religions: ...
Reviewed in the United States on 5 August 2017
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Very thoughtful review of China's five officially acknowledged religions: Buddhism, Daoism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam. The focus is largely on the return of these faiths in China since the death of Mao Tse Tung in 1976. Along with Confucianism Mao abolished all five in the 1950s. Johnson's main argument is that after Mao's death the Chinese government allowed religion to flourish - though cautiously - because its people needed systems that provided a moral foundation for their lives. Daoism gets the most coverage because it is the oldest religion in China and is uniquely Chinese. Protestantism - divided between the government's officially managed churches and the tolerated independent churches - is growing rapidly. Catholicism lags behind in growth because the government is wary of a faith with a strong foreign allegiance. Ian Johnson writes with authority because he has lived in China and is fluent in the Chinese language.
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Charles
5.0 out of 5 stars a well-written and well-searched high-quality book
Reviewed in the United States on 8 May 2017
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as a Chinese, when i first picked up his book, i was amazed by his approach. the book started with the lunar calendar, i was carious about what this book is about, isn't it about all forms of religions in China? kept on reading it, you will gradually find all connection. this, I believe, is a smart move, and a nice approach. it would, to certain degrees, wisely explain those folk religions which have been regarded as superstition from 1949. as a Chinese, Ian used lots of poems, ancient books, some of them, the Chinese people would be familiar. all the translation are precise. i think, more importantly, this book would enlighten people to have better understanding of China, not only about its people, its politics, its society and the ongoing events, but more in depth. however, Ian is slightly optimistic... it is a great book about contemporary China, worthy of buying and reading, if the readers want to know more.
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William Nee
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book that captures dramatic social changes in China
Reviewed in the United States on 29 December 2017
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China watchers can easily get tired of books and articles that rehash top line macro trends about China’s contested economic data, dismal demographic trends, unfettered consumerism, and the worrying orientation of the Communist Party. In this sense, veteran journalist Ian Johnson’s “The Souls of China” - a book about the resurgence of religion in China - is refreshingly different.
With an eye akin to a well trained anthropologist, but the pen of an engaging novelist, Johnson profiles a warm family of folk religion pilgrims in Beijing, a diligent family carrying on traditional Daoist funeral services in Shanxi, a vibrant congregation of Protestants in Chengdu, and various Buddhist and qigong masters.
Johnson writes with clear empathy for his subjects, who in their drive for justice, their striving for community building, and desire for spiritual growth, help give even the most jaded some newfound reasons for hope.
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Russell O. Redman
5.0 out of 5 stars Faith is alive and struggling in China.
Reviewed in the United States on 25 August 2019
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Officially, the People's Republic of China is an atheist state. Under Mao, that atheism was enforced with all the power of the state. Monasteries were bulldozed or converted into factories, monks and priests were forced to recant, and religious literature was burned. After Mao, however, the deep need of the people for purpose in their lives led to a reawakening of religion. This books looks at contemporary Chinese faith through the lives of the people who practice it. It focuses on Daoism, Buddhism, and Christianity, to understand how these religions have survived the challenges of modern life, and why some of them are flourishing.
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lynnette wright
5.0 out of 5 stars but he delivers a great deal more than a snapshot or series of snapshots
Reviewed in the United States on 30 March 2018
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A sort of Canterbury Tales meets the New York Times. Ian Johnson is a journalist, to be sure, but he delivers a great deal more than a snapshot or series of snapshots. The book is filled with humor, compassion, insight and honesty. Johnson's voice is masterfully consistent and never became the story. I did not begin the book with a comprehensive China orientation but was engaged and captivated from the start. The book was far more personal and compelling than any stale academic exercise in cultural anthropology. This is a timely must read for those who seek context. I look forward to Johnson's next.
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Yun Rou
5.0 out of 5 stars a genuine masterwork
Reviewed in the United States on 3 May 2017
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I am going to keep this review short for fear of gushing over the writer's masterful prose, grit and clarity both, and the broad conceptual umbrella he spreads over developments in China that would take a smorgasbord of academic essays to cover. Suffice to say Mr. Johnson has both the breadth of intellect to see what's going on in macro terms and the compassionate humanity and insight to make his observations personal, tangible, and memorable. Despite my voracious appetite for books about Chinese culture, history, and philosophy, I can't say I've ever read a better one. If you want to understand rarely covered but real and important undercurrents in China today, buy this book and devour it.
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ward serrill
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book!
Reviewed in the United States on 29 August 2022
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Ian Johnson's account of the contemporary spiritual soul of China is absolutely fascinating. Written from a talented journalist's eye for story and character, it is a captivating and illuminating journey into a China little known or understood outside the country.
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Carol R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Helped me understand my experience in China
Reviewed in the United States on 28 December 2017
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In May 2017, my husband and I went to China to visit churches where his grandparents served as missionaries in the 1920s and 1930s. After we returned, a friend tipped us off about this book. As I read it, I had a lot of "aha" moments - "Yes, I remember seeing that;" and "so that's why ..." The writing and insights are superb, but for me this was also a personally illuminating and delightful read that helped me understand my experience better.
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C. M. Clarke
5.0 out of 5 stars A badly needed objective look at the state of religion in China today
Reviewed in the United States on 24 September 2017
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Johnson has written a fascinating and much needed book on the state of religion and its plight in today's China. Most people think of "communist" China, but China has more Muslims than Saudi Arabia, one of the largest Christian communities in the world, and a vast, enduring, and intricate array of native and "Asian" religions. Johnson contributes mightily to describing this vital part of Chinese life.
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Alberto Buzzola
5.0 out of 5 stars What does religion really mean to the people of China.
Reviewed in the United States on 7 August 2023
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A must read if you want to understand what religion really means to Chinese people.
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rgmississippi
5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful book
Reviewed in the United States on 28 June 2020
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Its many vignettes, running down three story lines, compose an image rather than a theme.
When you come to the end, and especially the reburial in Chapter 29, you understand more about our Chinese neighbors than you would have imagined. Quite wonderful.
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Retired Shipbuilder
5.0 out of 5 stars Really slow reporting
Reviewed in the United States on 29 January 2019
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Someone from my church teaches in China. With the coming of the societal grading for each individual, I decided to do some research. Another reviewer characterized the book as "slow reporting". It seems to be a perfect technique, but understanding a completely different society is way beyond my ability, but this book helps.
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Julie S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatment and presentation of status of religion in post-Mao ...
Reviewed in the United States on 1 September 2017
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Excellent treatment and presentation of status of religion in post-Mao China. Johnson deftly weaves a lot of history into his narrative about China's search for "core values" since the destructiveness of the Cultural Revolution.
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GBaker
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for China Scholars
Reviewed in the United States on 2 August 2017
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Very well researched and insightful into what is happening to "the souls of China." Serious students of today's China need to read and understand the dynamics that the author has reported.
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Hailey Dumeny
5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived on time!
Reviewed in the United States on 7 November 2021
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Perfect book for college students arrived on time!
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BillinBoston
5.0 out of 5 stars Deep insights, wonderfully written
Reviewed in the United States on 17 January 2018
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Ian Johnson combines deep personal experience with the religious groups he discusses, knowledge of history, a broad understanding of contemporary China, and wonderful writing to produce a magnificent book.
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars A deep analysis of Chinese cultural, political and religious interplay, perhaps but awfully written and rambling all the way.
Reviewed in the United States on 30 January 2020
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The author apparently is an China expert with many years of studying the people and society but his effort to convey the current interplay between the old and the new and the religious and cultural scene under a godless communist system is not successful, at least not to most readers. It is so boringly told that few can muster two chapters. I muscled through the whole book hoping some revealing and inspiring passages will eventually appeared but was disappointed. Should have quit after chapter three.
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Roxie's mom
5.0 out of 5 stars Inclusive and penetrating
Reviewed in the United States on 6 August 2017
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Extensively researched. The intimate insights gathered in conversations with various characters lightened and brightened this book.
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Gail Pellett
5.0 out of 5 stars The search for meaning and identity
Reviewed in the United States on 5 August 2017
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Essential to understanding the space that many Chinese are seeking to find identity, meaning, truth and morality.
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Samuel Gregg Smyrl
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 5 May 2017
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Well written. Gave me a lot of information about the current Faith experience in China
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Rev. Luther C. Pierce
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 8 September 2017
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An important study as we interact with China in our world
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Yue Seong Swee
5.0 out of 5 stars Getting back the souls ...
Reviewed in the United States on 19 July 2017
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A great insight to what's happening in China.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 31 August 2017
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Fantastic book, meticulous reportage, wonderful detail.
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Michael L. Friedmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Great and valuable book on an important subject.
Reviewed in the United States on 31 August 2017
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Compelling, important book.
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Douglas W. Holmes
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 27 June 2017
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thought provoking
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