ABSTRACT
In the social life of many local communities in north China, the 'Daoist liturgical framework', magnificent and complex as it is, may not seem to be the defining element; it is part of the fabric, but one element among many. While religious activity is widespread in north China, and I have added substantially to our list of Daoists there, it should be careful not to overstate the presence of either general religious activity or Daoist liturgy. For south Fujian and Taiwan, scholars have been able to trace the diffusion of local ritual networks in modern times, identifying Lushan or Longhushan, redhead or blackhead transmissions, on the basis of registers and ritual features. The rise of the Quanzhen sect is said to have been a response to the decline of Daoism in the occupied northern area, becoming influential around the time of the Yuan unification.
