In Chapter 2 I argued that some Chinese rituals in which human and non-human persons interact are forms of political activity. Instead of describing these interactions with the specialized vocabulary of ‘magic’ and like terms, we should describe them in the same terms we would political processes. But perhaps one could protest that I have prejudiced the material in favor of my argument by focusing on written communication in a society where writing was traditionally the preserve of the elite, the vast majority of whom were actively involved in seeking or occupying political office. One might argue that if I had chosen ritual activities less expectedly involved with people exercising political control, I would not be tempted to conclude that Chinese ritual can be seen as an aspect of political control. Perhaps even the close parallels I argued for, between rituals involving human–non-human interaction and ordinary human–human interaction, would disappear.

In this chapter I will look at verbal communication and the exchange or transfer of material goods in ritual activities, items chosen because they are not preeminently or exclusively associated with political processes. My goal is to see whether, even in these areas that are not explicitly political, control – of a more general sort – is still being exercised.