Supporting data for “Apprentice of the Immortal Master: Ritual, Magic, and the Cult of Lu Ban in Southwest China”

This is the data supporting my PhD dissertation titled "Apprentice of the Immortal Master: Ritual, Magic, and the Cult of Lu Ban in Southwest China." This study investigates the history and current status of the worship of Lu Ban (魯班), the patron deity of carpenters, in terms of five aspects: history, rumors, books, rituals, and magic. About half of the research is based on textual materials (e.g., historical materials or oral stories collected by other scholars and published), and another half is based on my own fieldwork in various localities in South China. As for the former, most original texts are included in the Appendix of my dissertation, so this dataset only presents my metaanalysis. As for the latter, since it includes sensitive data (e.g., audios and videos with personal identifier and concerned about esoterical teachings), only a general demographic background of my infromants is listed, whereas the audios are remained confidential.