Communicating with the Gods
Spirit-Writing in Chinese History and Society
Published on 11. October 2023
Book
Hardback
670 pages
978-90-04-54904-3 (ISBN)
Description
Few religious innovations have shaped Chinese history like the emergence of spirit-writing during the Song dynasty.
From a divinatory technique it evolved into a complex ritual practice used to transmit messages and revelations from the Gods. This resulted in the production of countless religious scriptures that now form an essential corpus, widely venerated and recited to this day, that is still largely untapped by research.
Using historical and ethnographic approaches, this volume for the first time offers a comprehensive overview of the history of spirit-writing, examining its evolution over a millennium, the practices and technologies used, and the communities involved.
From a divinatory technique it evolved into a complex ritual practice used to transmit messages and revelations from the Gods. This resulted in the production of countless religious scriptures that now form an essential corpus, widely venerated and recited to this day, that is still largely untapped by research.
Using historical and ethnographic approaches, this volume for the first time offers a comprehensive overview of the history of spirit-writing, examining its evolution over a millennium, the practices and technologies used, and the communities involved.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
1108 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-54904-3 (9789004549043)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Matthias Schumann is postdoctoral research fellow at Heidelberg University. His research deals with the interconnections between religion, society and politics in modern Chinese history. He is author of several articles and co-editor of Protecting the Weak in East Asia: Framing, Mobilisation and Institutionalisation (Routledge, 2018).
Elena Valussi is a senior Lecturer at Loyola University Chicago. She has published extensively on the intersection between religion, gender and the body in China, on Daoist intellectual history and on spirit writing in China. She is the Vice- President of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions.
Elena Valussi is a senior Lecturer at Loyola University Chicago. She has published extensively on the intersection between religion, gender and the body in China, on Daoist intellectual history and on spirit writing in China. She is the Vice- President of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions.
Content
Acknowledgments
List of Figures and Tables
Note on Formal Conventions
Dynastic Table
1 Introduction to the Volume
?Matthias Schumann and Elena Valussi
Part 1 Overview Papers
2 Making the Gods Write: A Short History of Spirit-Written Revelations in China, 1000-1400
?Vincent Goossaert
3 Spirit-Writing Practices from the Song to Ming Periods and Their Relation to Politics and Religion
?Wang Chien-chuan ? ??
4 Women, Goddesses, and Gender Affinity in Spirit-Writing
?Elena Valussi
Part 2 Changing Techniques and Practices
5 Terminology and Typology of Spirit-Writing in Early Modern China: A Preliminary Study
?Hu Jiechen
6 The Transcendent of the Plate
The Lingji zhimi ???? (Instructions on the numinous stylus) and the Reform of Spirit-Writing Techniques during the First Half of the Twentieth Century
?Fan Chun-wu ? ??
Part 3 Spirit-Writing and the Literati Elites in Late Imperial China
7 Instantiating the Genealogy of the Way: Spirit-Writing in the Construction of Peng Dingqiu's Confucian Pantheon
?Daniel Burton-Rose
8 A Credulous Skeptic: Ji Yun on the Mantic Arts and Spirit-Writing
?Michael Lackner
9 The Liu-Han Altar: Between a Literati Spirit-Writing Altar and Popular Religion
?Zhu Mingchuan ? ??
Part 4 Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies
10 "Protecting the Dao and Transmitting the Classics"
The New Religion to Save the World and the Confucian Dimension of Spirit-Writing in Republican China
?Matthias Schumann
11 Spirit-Writing and the Daoyuan's Gendered Teachings
?Xia Shi
12 The Phoenix Perches in the Land of the Kami: Spirit-Writing from Yiguandao to Tendo
?Nikolas Broy
Part 5 Local Communities and Transregional Networks
13 The Nineteenth Century Spirit-Writing Movement and the Transformation of Local Religion in Western Guangdong
?Ichiko Shiga
14 The Rise of Spirit-Writing Cults in Chaozhou: Reassessing the Role of Charitable Halls
?Li Guoping ? ??
15 Spirit-Writing Altars in Contemporary Hong Kong: A Case Study of Fei Ngan Tung Buddhism and Daoism Society
?Luo Dan ? ?
16 A Motley Phoenix? On the Diversity of Spirit-Writing Temples and Their Practices in Puli, Taiwan
?Paul R. Katz
Index
List of Figures and Tables
Note on Formal Conventions
Dynastic Table
1 Introduction to the Volume
?Matthias Schumann and Elena Valussi
Part 1 Overview Papers
2 Making the Gods Write: A Short History of Spirit-Written Revelations in China, 1000-1400
?Vincent Goossaert
3 Spirit-Writing Practices from the Song to Ming Periods and Their Relation to Politics and Religion
?Wang Chien-chuan ? ??
4 Women, Goddesses, and Gender Affinity in Spirit-Writing
?Elena Valussi
Part 2 Changing Techniques and Practices
5 Terminology and Typology of Spirit-Writing in Early Modern China: A Preliminary Study
?Hu Jiechen
6 The Transcendent of the Plate
The Lingji zhimi ???? (Instructions on the numinous stylus) and the Reform of Spirit-Writing Techniques during the First Half of the Twentieth Century
?Fan Chun-wu ? ??
Part 3 Spirit-Writing and the Literati Elites in Late Imperial China
7 Instantiating the Genealogy of the Way: Spirit-Writing in the Construction of Peng Dingqiu's Confucian Pantheon
?Daniel Burton-Rose
8 A Credulous Skeptic: Ji Yun on the Mantic Arts and Spirit-Writing
?Michael Lackner
9 The Liu-Han Altar: Between a Literati Spirit-Writing Altar and Popular Religion
?Zhu Mingchuan ? ??
Part 4 Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies
10 "Protecting the Dao and Transmitting the Classics"
The New Religion to Save the World and the Confucian Dimension of Spirit-Writing in Republican China
?Matthias Schumann
11 Spirit-Writing and the Daoyuan's Gendered Teachings
?Xia Shi
12 The Phoenix Perches in the Land of the Kami: Spirit-Writing from Yiguandao to Tendo
?Nikolas Broy
Part 5 Local Communities and Transregional Networks
13 The Nineteenth Century Spirit-Writing Movement and the Transformation of Local Religion in Western Guangdong
?Ichiko Shiga
14 The Rise of Spirit-Writing Cults in Chaozhou: Reassessing the Role of Charitable Halls
?Li Guoping ? ??
15 Spirit-Writing Altars in Contemporary Hong Kong: A Case Study of Fei Ngan Tung Buddhism and Daoism Society
?Luo Dan ? ?
16 A Motley Phoenix? On the Diversity of Spirit-Writing Temples and Their Practices in Puli, Taiwan
?Paul R. Katz
Index