The Political Ecology of Death: Chinese Religion and The Affective Tensions of Secularised Burial Rituals in Singapore

This paper explores the political ecology of death and the affective tensions of secularised burial rituals in Singapore. Although scholars have recently acknowledged the roles of biopower and affect in shaping environmental politics, religion and death as socio-affective forces have not been substantively engaged with by political ecologists. We argue that death is inherently both a spiritual and ecological phenomenon, as it exposes not only the spiritual geographies that structure how people see the natural world, but also the affective tensions and struggles over what counts as a “proper” form of burial in relation to religion and nature. First, we demonstrate how the Singapore state utilises a politico-ecological discourse to secularise Chinese death rituals, such that the death can be separated from the transcendent spheres and incorporated into the environmental biopolitics. Second, we focus on how people's variegated affective inhabitations of religion and secularity condition the political ecology of death. In doing so, this paper foregrounds the roles of religion, secularity and affect in rethinking the “political” of political ecology.

Taoist Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine originated from Taoist thought in the pre-Qin period of China, especially the classic “Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic of Chinese medicine”, while Chinese Taoism also originated from pre-Qin Taoist thought. The representative figure of pre-Qin Taoist thought is Lao Tzu, and his work “Tao Te Ching” is used as a reference Representative, as a Chinese religion pursuing cultivation to become a god, Chinese Taoism respects Lao Tzu as the supreme old monarch and regards him as the leader, and uses Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching” as a classic. Therefore, Traditional Chinese medicine and Taoism share the same origin. Taoism believes that in order to become immortal, diseases must be eliminated. Therefore, Taoism in turn uses Traditional Chinese medicine to form a unique Taoist medicine, which is recorded in the Taoist classic “Tao Zang”. There are many prescriptions derived from Taoism and Traditional Chinese medicine.

Religion and the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia

This paper uses three case studies—(1) community building by Methodist Chinese in Sibu, Sarawak; (2) the construction of transnational temple networks originating in Chinese temples in Sibu; and (3) hybrid spirit medium processions in Kalimantan—to explore aspects of the role of religion within the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia. Analytic approaches to Chinese religion proposed by Weber and Mauss are discussed, and an argument is made in favor of following the spread of civilizational techniques into hybrid social and ritual formations.