Associations of good-doing


The associations of good-doing are organised groups of the indigenous religion of Hebei province, or the "Pear Area" of China. The Congregation of the Dragon's Name is one of these movements of good-doers.
Xinghaode associations organise temple festivals and pilgrimages for the worship of certain deities, as well as other types of collective activities. Their purpose is to make rènào, that is "social living" or "social harmony".

Etymology

The designation of Xínghǎode, literally "good-doers" or "those who act well", originated with the spread of the Catholic Church in the Pear Area over the last two hundred years. Local Chinese following the native faith adopted the name in contrast with Catholics, who in the area were called Fèngjiàode. Catholics nowadays remain less than 3% of the population of the Pear Area.

Cooperation with local shamans

In Hebei folk religion, people who have the ability to mediate with the gods are known as xiāngdàode, "practitioners of the way of incense", and they cooperate with good-doing groups. The major ritual practice of xiangdaode is provide communities of good-doers with "incense reading", "incense watching" or "incense kindling". They are mostly female and are also called by the general terms shénpó or xiāngtóu.
In the Pear Area, one can acquire the ministry of the way of incense either through afflatus or acquisition. Often they claim that they are spiritual disciples of the Four Great Gates, whose specialists operated in Beijing in the 1940s, thus connecting their practice with the shamanism of northeast China.

Deities

The deities of good-doers are divided into two classes:
The Horse God has a particular importance in the religion of good-doers. Gods that are believed to be particularly powerful are dedicated independent worship halls or altars, that often start from the house and congregation of popular xiangdaode.