ABSTRACT
More than any other factor, scholarly interest in peasant protest has been responsible for the great profusion of studies on millenarianism in recent decades. Theoretically oriented social scientists may find Professor Hue-Tam Ho Tai’s study somewhat disappointing because she rarely explicitly tackles the many, often controversial, issues regarding peasant protest and the role of religion in rebellion on which her materials have a direct bearing. By approaching millenarianism from the perspective of an entire tradition, Tai is able to explore in depth the complex relationships between sectarianism and more “orthodox” forms of religious and political thinking, as well as alternative modes of peasant organization and protest. As Werner has for the Cao Dai, Tai shows the ways in selected elements of the tam-giao, the Vietnamese blend of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, were combined by the Buddha Master to mold a persuasive apocalyptic ideology that was firmly rooted in Vietnamese folk culture.
