Since the economic and political reforms of the 1980s，many temples have been built or rebuilt，and pilgrimages to sacred sites，celebrations of the festivals of the gods in big temples as well as in small community temples in villages reappeared all over the country.

First，this paper will examine the revival of the cult of Xu Xun许逊（zi 敬之，trad. 239-336/374？），the major deity of Jiangxi province，and of the pilgrimage to his main temple，the Palace of the Ten-thousand-fold Longevity and of Jade Beneficence（Yulong Wanshou gong 玉隆万寿宫），in Xishan西山，a market town（zhen 镇）located in Xinjian county 新建县，about thirty kilometers southwest of Nanchang. After a brief overview of the history of the cult and of the pilgrimage，a survey of the present-day cult will provide insight into the network of local communities that has developed for several centuries around the Yulong Wanshou gong and has expanded Xu Xun’s territory. Then，the article will focus on the experience of a single village，Youjiacun 游家村，which takes an active part in the pilgrimage and in the worship of Xu Xun all year round. We will see that within religious associations，the villagers take part in ritual activities，performed by a Daoist master，that help strengthen a sense of social cohesion，of solidarity，of morality，between them. Furthermore，the renewal of the cult of Xu Xun involves the worshippers in the perpetuation of the local tradition，in the belonging to a large community venerating the same god，in the recognition of the pivotal role of the Daoist masters，and in the financial support of the cult.