Abstract:

The “Paper Gods Collection” in the East Asian Library of Columbia University in the United States, contains a relatively organized set of “Goddess- Paper Gods”. Using this set of sacrificial ceremonial paper prints as the graphic evidence and referring to the relevant literature in the period, the outline of the fertility customs in Beijing in the 1930s can be restored. As markers of people’s fertility rituals in the early period of the Republic of China, these Paper Gods provide us with a chain of evidence for reviewing the related popular religion and social activities, which were still prosperous in daily life of the year. Via the system of “Goddess - Paper Gods” with clear division of labor and orderly hierarchy, knowledge of child-bearing, concept of clans, neighborhood communities, and other former local knowledge were revealed, which strongly proved the embedded and isomorphic relationship between popular religions and daily life in a specific historical period. Paper Gods should be valued in the dimension of “memory auxiliary” as a cultural tradition closely related to customs.

Key words: Columbia University’s “Paper Gods Collection”, Mrs. Anne Goodrich, Goddess- Paper Gods, popular religion, fertility customs