Chinese shamanism

Ideograms ofwuVuin different ancientChinese scripts.

Chinese shamanism,alternatively calledWuism(Chinese:Vu giáo;pinyin:wū jiào;lit.'wureligion', 'shamanism', 'witchcraft'; alternativelyVu hịch tôn giáowū xí zōngjiào), refers to theshamanic religious traditionofChina.^[1]^[2]Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as theHongshan culture.^[3]Chinese shamanic traditions are intrinsic toChinese folk religion.^[4]

Various ritual traditions are rooted in original Chinese shamanism: contemporaryChinese ritual mastersare sometimes identified aswuby outsiders,^[5]though most orders don't self-identify as such. AlsoTaoismhas some of its origins from Chinese shamanism:^[1]^[6]it developed around the pursuit of long life (shouThọ/Thọ), or the status of axian(Tiên,"mountain man", "holy man" ).^[1]

Meaning ofwu[edit]

TheChinesewordwuVu"shaman, wizard", indicating a person who can mediate with the powers generating things (theetymologicalmeaning of "spirit", "god", ornomen agentis,virtus,energeia), was first recorded during theShang dynasty(ca. 1600-1046 BCE), when awucould be either sex. During the lateZhou dynasty(1045-256 BCE)wuwas used to specify"female shaman;sorceress "as opposed toxiHịch"male shaman; sorcerer" (which first appears in the 4th century BCEGuoyu). Other sex-differentiated shaman names includenanwuNam vufor "male shaman; sorcerer; wizard"; andnüwuNữ vu,wunüVu nữ,wupoMụ phù thủy,andwuyuVu ẩufor "female shaman; sorceress; witch".

The wordtongjiĐồng kê(lit. "youth diviner" ) "shaman; spirit-medium" is a near-synonym ofwu.Modern Chinese distinguishes nativewufrom "Siberian shaman":samanShamanorsamanTát man;and from IndianShramana"wandering monk; ascetic":shamenSa môn,sangmenTang môn,orsangmenTang Môn.

Berthold Laufer(1917:370) proposed an etymological relation betweenMongolianbügä"shaman",Turkicbögü"shaman", Chinesebu,wu(shaman),buk,puk(to divine), andTibetanaba(pronouncedba,sorcerer). Coblin (1986:107) puts forward a Sino-Tibetan root *mjaɣ"magician; sorcerer" for Chinesewu<mju< *mjagVu"magician; shaman" andWritten Tibetan'ba'-po"sorcerer" and'ba'-mo"sorcereress" (of theBönreligion). Further connections are to thebu-mopriests ofZhuang Shigongismand thebi-mopriests ofBimoism,theYiindigenous faith. Also Koreanmu무(ofMuism) is cognate to ChinesewuVu.Schuessler lists some etymologies:wucould be cognate withwuVũ"to dance";wucould also be cognate withmuMẫu"mother" sincewu,as opposed toxiHịch,were typically female;wucould be a loanword fromIranian*maghuor *maguš"magi; magician", meaning an "able one; specialist in ritual".Mair(1990) provides archaeological and linguistic evidence that Chinesewu< *m^yagVu"shaman; witch, wizard; magician" was maybe aloanwordfromOld Persian*maguš"magician;magi".Mair connects the nearly identical Chinese Bronze script forwuand Westernheraldic cross potent☩,an ancient symbol of amagusormagician

Early history[edit]

The Chinese religion from theShang dynastyonwards developed aroundancestral worship.^[1]The main gods from this period are not forces of nature in theSumerianway, butdeifiedvirtuous men.^[1]The ancestors of the emperors were calleddi(Đế), and the greatest of them was calledShangdi(Thượng đế,"the Highest Lord" ).^[1]He is identified with thedragon(KuiQuỳ), symbol of theuniversal power(qi).^[1]

Cosmic powers dominate nature: theSun,theMoon,stars, winds and clouds were considered informed by divine energies.^[1]The earth god isShe(Xã) orTu(Thổ).^[1]The Shang period had two methods to enter in contact with divine ancestors: the first is the numinous-mysticalwu(Vu) practice, involving dances and trances; and the second is the method of theoracle bones,a rational way.^[1]

TheZhou dynasty,succeeding the Shang, was more rooted in an agricultural worldview.^[1]They opposed the ancestor-gods of the Shang, and gods of nature became dominant.^[1]Theutmost powerin this period was namedTian(Thiên,"heaven" ).^[1]WithDi(Mà,"earth" ) he forms the wholecosmosin a complementary duality.^[1]

TheChu kingdom(c. 1030 BC – 223 BC) of theSpring and Autumn periodwas particularly fond of wuist practices and rituals. This is reflected in their poetry, calligraphy, artworks andlacquerware,which often portrayed ethereal and mythological elements that are not otherwise found in the relics of other contemporary states.

Qing period[edit]

TheManchurulers of theQing dynasty(1644–1912) introduced substantial elements ofTungusicshamanism to China.Hong Taiji(1592–1643) put shamanistic practices in the service of the state, notably by forbidding others to erect new shrines (tangse) for ritual purposes. In the 1620s and 1630s, the Qing ruler conducted shamanic sacrifices at thetangseofMukden,the Qing capital. In 1644, as soon as the Qingseized Beijingto begintheir conquest of China,they named it their new capital and erected an official shamanic shrine there. In theBeijingtangseand in the women's quarters of theForbidden City,Qing emperors and professional shamans (usually women) conducted shamanic ceremonies until the abdication of the dynasty in 1912.

In 1747 theQianlong Emperor(r. 1735–1796) commissioned the publication of aShamanic Codeto revive and regulate shamanic practices, which he feared were becoming lost. He had it distributed to Bannermen to guide their practice, but we know very little about the effect of this policy. Mongols and Han Chinese were forbidden to attend shamanic ceremonies. Partly because of their secret aspect, these rituals attracted the curiosity of Beijing dwellers and visitors to the Qing capital. French JesuitJoseph-Marie Amiotpublished a study on theShamanic Code,"Rituels des Tartares Mandchous déterminés et fixés par l'empereur comme chef de sa religion"(1773). In 1777 the Qianlong Emperor ordered the code translated into Chinese for inclusion in theComplete Library of the Four Treasuries.The Manchu version was printed in 1778, whereas the Chinese-language edition, titledQinding Manzhou jishen jitian dianli(Khâm định Mãn Châu tế thần tế thiên điển lễ), was completed in 1780 or 1782.^[7]^[8]Even though this "Shamanic Code" did not fully unify shamanic practice among the Bannermen, it "helped systematize and reshape what had been a very fluid and diverse belief system".^[9]

Northeast shamanism[edit]

Shamanism is practiced inNortheast Chinaand is considered different from those of central and southern Chinese folk religion, as it resulted from the interaction of Han religion with folk religion practices of other Tungusic people such asManchu shamanism.The shaman would perform various ritual functions for groups of believers and local communities, such as moon drum dance and chūmǎxiān ( ra ngựa tiên "riding for the immortals" ).

Modern Shamanism[edit]

Shamanism saw a decline due toNeo-Confucianismlabeling it as untutored and disorderly.^[10]This was furthered in the 19th century with the arrival of Westernimperialism's view of shamanism as superstition,^[10]opposing their view of science andwestern religion.The final hit wasMaoist Chinacausing all religious practices to disappear from public spaces.^[10]While spirit mediums have begun reappearing (mostly in rural China) since the 1980s,^[10]they operate with a low profile, often working from their homes, relying on word of mouth to generate business, or in newly built temples under aTaoist Associationmembership card to be legitimate under the law.^[10]The term shamanism and the religion itself has been critiqued by Western scholars due to an unfair and limited comparison to more favored religions such asChristianityand other modern and more documented religions in Western society.^[11]

Today, the term shamanism has a somewhat negative stigma. Spirit mediums are often viewed as scammers, and are frequently portrayed as such in television shows and comedies.^[10]Along with the focus on science, modern medicine, andmaterial culturein China (which created serious doubt in spiritual practices), shamanism is viewed as an opposition to the modern focus of science and medicine in the pursuit of modernizing.^[10]The marginalization of shamanism is one of the reasons for it mostly being practiced in rural or less developed areas or in small towns, along with the lack of enforcement of anti-shamanism policies among authorities in rural areas (either because they believe in Shamanism themselves or "look the other way in concession to local beliefs" ). Shamanistic practices today include controlling the weather, healing diseases modern medicine can not treat, exorcism of ghosts and demons, and seeing or divining the future.^[12]

Shamanism's decrease in popularity is not reflected in all areas. It still maintains popularity in many areas in southern China (such as inChaoshan) and rural northern China. Taiwan (although Taiwan tried to ban Shamanism, in the end only restricting it) still have many who openly practice without the stigma seen in other parts of China.

References[edit]

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿLibbrecht 2007,p. 43.
^Eichhorn 1973,pp. 55–70.
^Nelson et al. 2006.
^Zhang & Hriskos 2003.
^Nadeau 2012,p. 140.
^Waldau & Patton 2009,p. 280.
^di Cosmo 1999,p. 355, note 5 (Manchu text printed in 1778, Chinese text completed in 1782).
^Rawski 1998,p. 240 (Chinese text completed in 1780).
^Rawski 1998,p. 298.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^gYang 2015.
^DuBois 2011.
^Xing & Murray 2018.

Bibliography[edit]

di Cosmo, Nicola (1999)."Manchu shamanic ceremonies at the Qing court".In McDermott, Joseph P. (ed.).State and Court Ritual in China.Cambridge University Press. pp. 352–398.ISBN 978-0-521-62157-1.
DuBois, Thomas A. (2011). "Trends in Contemporary Research on Shamanism".Numen.58(1): 100–128.doi:10.1163/156852710X514339-2.JSTOR 23045924.
Michael, Thomas (2015). "Shamanism Theory and the Early Chinese 'Wu'".Journal of the American Academy of Religion.83(3): 649–696.doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfv034.JSTOR 24488180.
Eichhorn, Werner (1973).Die Religionen Chinas.Die Religionen der Menschheit. W. Kohlhammer.ISBN 978-3-17-216031-4.
Libbrecht, Ulrich (2007).Within the Four Seas--: Introduction to Comparative Philosophy.Peeters Publishers.ISBN 978-90-429-1812-2.
Nelson, Sarah M.; Matson, Rachel A.; Roberts, Rachel M.; Rock, Chris; Stencel, Robert E. (2006).Archaeoastronomical Evidence for Wuism at the Hongshan Site of Niuheliang.S2CID 6794721.
Nadeau, Randall L., ed. (2012).The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN 978-1-4051-9031-2.
Rawski, Evelyn S. (1998).The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions.University of California Press.ISBN 978-0-520-92679-0.
Waldau, Paul; Patton, Kimberley, eds. (2009).A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics.Columbia University Press.ISBN 978-0-231-13643-3.
Waley, Arthur (1955).The Nine Songs: a Study of Shamanism in Ancient China.London.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Xing, Haiyan; Murray, Gerald (3 December 2018)."The Evolution of Chinese Shamanism: A Case Study from Northwest China".Religions.9(12): 397.doi:10.3390/rel9120397.
Yang, Mayfair (6 May 2015). "Shamanism and Spirit Possession in Chinese Modernity: Some Preliminary Reflections on a Gendered Religiosity of the Body".Review of Religion and Chinese Society.2(1): 51–86.doi:10.1163/22143955-00201001.
Zhang, Hong; Hriskos, Constantine (June 2003)."Contemporary Chinese Shamanism:The Reinvention of Tradition".Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine.27(2).

Further

Coblin, W. South (1986).A Sinologist's Handlist of Sino-Tibetan Lexical Comparisons.Steyler Verlag.ISBN 978-3-87787-208-6.
Laufer, Berthold (1917)."Origin of the Word Shaman".American Anthropologist.19(3): 361–371.doi:10.1525/aa.1917.19.3.02a00020.JSTOR 660223.
Mair, Victor H.(1990). "Old Sinitic *Mᵞag, Old Persian Maguš, and English 'Magician'".Early China.15:27–47.doi:10.1017/S0362502800004995.JSTOR 23351579.S2CID 192107986.
Schuessler, Axel (2007).An Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese.University of Hawaii Press.

External links[edit]

Max Dashu.Xi Wangmu, the shamanic great goddess of China.

[FOOTNOTELibbrecht200743-1] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿLibbrecht 2007,p. 43.

[FOOTNOTEEichhorn197355–70-2] Eichhorn 1973,pp. 55–70.

[FOOTNOTENelsonMatsonRobertsRock2006-3] Nelson et al. 2006.

[FOOTNOTEZhangHriskos2003-4] Zhang & Hriskos 2003.

[FOOTNOTENadeau2012140-5] Nadeau 2012,p. 140.

[FOOTNOTEWaldauPatton2009280-6] Waldau & Patton 2009,p. 280.

[FOOTNOTEdi_Cosmo1999355,_note_5_(Manchu_text_printed_in_1778,_Chinese_text_completed_in_1782)-7] Cosmo 1999,p. 355, note 5 (Manchu text printed in 1778, Chinese text completed in 1782).

[FOOTNOTERawski1998240_(Chinese_text_completed_in_1780)-8] Rawski 1998,p. 240 (Chinese text completed in 1780).

[FOOTNOTERawski1998298-9] Rawski 1998,p. 298.

[FOOTNOTEYang2015-10] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^gYang 2015.

[FOOTNOTEDuBois2011-11] DuBois 2011.

[FOOTNOTEXingMurray2018-12] Xing & Murray 2018.

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