Sakurako KOMUKAI

Abstract This paper examines the characteristics of the Fellowship of Goodness ( Tongshanshe 同善社 ) religious network and its Guandi ( 關帝 ) faith and analyzes how the society’s morality books were disseminated in East Asian regions in the early twentieth century. Tongshanshe, one of the redemptive societies, had a spirit-writing movement based on the Guandi faith. In the 1930s, Tongshanshe embraced the Guandi faith in the form of the Jade Emperor, emphasizing the rule of the Guandi Jade Emperor over a religious world that integrated the three doctrines (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism). These ideas, which were transmitted through morality books, promoted the formation of cross-border religious networks and simultaneously played a role in the publication culture of overseas Chinese communities in the confused post–World War II period. This article shows how redemptive societies such as Tongshanshe contributed to the formation of a modern religious network linking China to East Asia and to the establishment of a public religious sector.