Ma Lin remembered that the temple festivals at the Dog-God Temple in the Sand Dog Country used to be very simple affairs.
But now they have become so lively, on such a large scale.
Newspapers have many features on them, radio broadcasts include live interviews and commentary shows, and televisions in wealthy households play related news reports and videos.
Temple festivals vary from place to place and have now become a cultural phenomenon. Just as much cultural creation was devoted to loyalty and serving the country in the past, now there is as much creation centered around the faith in the Dog-God Temple. People used to express their worship for the Emperor with grand ceremonies, and now they conduct even grander ones for the Dog-God Temple.
There's no emperor anymore; society is, in fact, ruled by the Dog-God Temple.
Fortunately, this new ruler is somewhat reliable.
