Doing Religion with the Si Da Men: Flexibility, Efficacy, and the Work of Spirits

This paper examines the Si Da Men 四大门, or Four Animal Spirits, through the spiritual practice of Xiaoli, a woman who turns to spirit cultivation in response to family crisis and uncertainty. Drawing on ethnographic interviews, I argue that her practice reveals the flexible and pragmatic nature of Chinese popular religion. Xiaoli's altar, offerings, and relationship with her xianjia show how personal cultivation, immediate efficacy, and relational devotion overlap rather than remain separate. Her case also shows how religious knowledge circulates through kinship and practitioner networks, making spirit worship a dynamic process of negotiation, labor, and mutual benefit between humans and spirits.