chinese shamanism

7/26/2019 Chinese Shamanism

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/chinese-shamanism 1/4

Seal script Great Seal

script

Bronzeware

script

Ideograms of wu 巫 in different ancient

Chinese scripts.

Chinese shamanismFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chinese shamanism, alternatively calledWuism Chinese! 巫教" pinyin! wū jiào"

literally! #wu religion, shamanism, witchcraft#"

alternatively 巫觋宗教 wū xí zōngjiào$, refers tothe shamanic religio%s tradition of China.&'( Itsfeat%res are especially connected to the ancient)eolithic c%lt%res s%ch as the *ongshan

c%lt%re.&+( Chinese shamanic traditions areintrinsic to Chinese folk religion, an overarchingterm for all the indigeno%s religions of China.Wu masters remain important in contemporaryChinese c%lt%re.

ario%s rit%al traditions are rooted in original Chinese shamanism! contemporary

Chinese rit%al masters are sometimes identified as wu -y o%tsiders,&( tho%gh mostorders don/t self0identify as s%ch. 1lso 2aoism has some of its origins from Chinese

shamanism!&3(&4( it developed aro%nd the p%rs%it of long life shou 壽 5寿$, or the stat%s

of a xian 仙, #mo%ntain man#, #holy man#$.&6(

Contents

' 7eaning of wu+ Shang period 8ho% period

3 See also4 9eferences6 Bi-liography: ;<ternal links

Meaning of wu

2he Chinese word wu 巫 #shaman, wizard#, indicating a man who can mediate with thepowers generating things the etymological meaning of #spirit#, #god#, or nomenagentis, virtus, energeia$, was first recorded d%ring the Shang dynasty ca. '6==0'=36BC;$, when a wu co%ld -e either se<. >%ring the late 8ho% dynasty '=340+46 BC;$ wuwas %sed to specify #female shaman" sorceress# as opposed to xi 覡 #male shaman"sorcerer# which first appears in the 3th cent%ry BC; Guoyu$. ?ther se<0differentiatedshaman names incl%de nanwu 男巫 for #male shaman" sorcerer" wizard#" and nüwu 女巫, wunü 巫女, wupo 巫婆, and wuyu 巫嫗 for #female shaman" sorceress" witch#.

2he word tongji 童乩 lit. #yo%th diviner#$ #shaman" spirit0medi%m# is a near0synonym

of wu. 2he Chinese tradition disting%ishes native wu from #Si-erian shaman#! saman 薩滿 or saman 薩蠻" and from Indian Shramana #wandering monk" ascetic#! shamen 沙門,sangmen 桑門, or sangmen 喪門.

nese shamanism 0 Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https!55en.wikipedia.org5wiki5Chinese@shamanism

e 3 ''5=65+='6 'A!'3



Berthold a%fer '':!:=$ proposed an etymological relation -etween 7ongolian bügä#shaman#, 2%rkish bögü #shaman#, Chinese bu, wu shaman$, bu , pu to divine$,and 2i-etan aba prono%nced ba, sorcerer$. Co-lin 'A6!'=:$ p%ts forward aSino02i-etan root Dmjaɣ #magician" sorcerer# for Chinese wu E mju E Dmjag 巫#magician" shaman# and Written 2i-etan !ba!"po #sorcerer# and !ba!"mo #sorcereress#of the Bn religion$. F%rther connections are to the bu"mo priests of 8h%angShigongism and the bi"mo priests of Bimoism, the i indigeno%s faith. 1lso Horean mu

무 of 7%ism$ is cognate to Chinese wu 巫.

Sch%essler lists some etymologies! wu co%ld -e cognate with wu 舞 #to dance#" wuco%ld also -e cognate with mu 母 #mother# since wu, as opposed to xi 覡, were typically

female" wu co%ld -e a loanword from Iranian Dmaghu or Dmagu# #magi" magician#,meaning an #a-le one" specialist in rit%al#. 7air '=$ provides archaeological and

ling%istic evidence that Chinese wu E Dmy ag 巫 #shaman" witch, wizard" magician# wasa loanword from ?ld ersian Dmagu# #magician" magi#. 7air connects the nearlyidentical Chinese Bronze script for wu and Western heraldic cross potent ☩☩☩☩, an ancientsym-ol of a magus or magi$ian, which etymologically descend from the sameIndo0;%ropean root.

Shang period

2he Chinese religion from the Shang dynasty onwards developed aro%nd ancestral

worship.&:( 2he main gods from this period are not forces of nat%re in the

Indo0;%ropean way, -%t deified virt%o%s men.&A( 2he ancestors of the emperors werecalled %i 帝$, and the greatest of them was called Shang%i 上帝, #the *ighest

ord#$.&( *e is identified with the dragon &ui 夔$, sym-ol of the %niversal power

Ji$.&'=(

Cosmic powers dominate nat%re! the S%n, the 7oon, stars, winds and clo%ds were

considered informed -y divine energies.&''( 2he earth god is She 社$ or 'u 土$.&'+(

2he Shang period had two methods to enter in contact with divine ancestors! the first isthe n%mino%s0mystical wu 巫$ practice, involving dances and trances" and the second

is the method of the oracle -ones, a rational way.&'(

Zhou period

2he 8ho% dynasty, s%cceeding the Shang, was more rooted in an agric%lt%ral

worldview.&'3( 2hey opposed the ancestor0gods of the Shang, and gods of nat%re

-ecame dominant.&'4( 2he %tmost power in this period was named 'ian 天, #the Great

?ne#$.&'6( With (i 地, #earth#$ he forms the whole cosmos in a complementary

d%ality.&':(

See also

Chinese folk religion

Chinese rit%al mastery traditions

)%o rit%als2aoism

References


e 3 ''5=65+='6 'A!'3



i--recht, +==:. p. 3. F%rther! Cf. Werner ;ichhorn, (ie )e*igionen +hinas, ':, pp.440:=.

'.

)elson, 7atson, 9o-erts, 9ock, Stencel. +==6.+.)adea%, +='+. p. '3=.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.3.Walda%, atton. +==. p. +A=4.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.6.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.:.

i--recht, +==:. p. 3.A.i--recht, +==:. p. 3..i--recht, +==:. p. 3.'=.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.''.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.'+.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.'.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.'3.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.'4.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.'6.i--recht, +==:. p. 3.':.

BibliographyKlrich i--recht. Within the ,our Seas---. /ntro%u$tion to +omparative 0hi*osophy .eeters %-lishers, +==:. ISB) =3+'A'+ASarah 7. )elson, 9achel 1. 7atson, 9achel 7. 9o-erts, Chris 9ock, 9o-ert ;.

Stencel. 1r$haeoastronomi$a* 2vi%en$e 3or Wuism at the 4ongshan Site o3 5iuhe*iang. +==6.9andall . )adea%. 'he Wi*ey"6*a$we** +ompanion to +hinese )e*igions. LohnWiley M Sons, +='+.a%l Walda%, Him-erley atton. 1 +ommunion o3 Subje$ts. 1nima*s in )e*igion7

S$ien$e7 an% 2thi$s. Col%m-ia Kniversity ress, +==. ISB) :A=+''631rth%r Waley, 'he 5ine Songs. a Stu%y o3 Shamanism in 1n$ient +hina. ondon,'44. &'( https!55archive.org5stream5ninesongsst%dyof==J%y%

5ninesongsst%dyof==J%y%@dNv%.t<t$

Further

Co-lin, W. So%th. 'A6. 1 Sino*ogist!s 4an%*ist o3 Sino"'ibetan 8exi$a* +omparisons. 'A6. Steyler erlag.a%fer, Berthold. '':. #?rigin of the Word Shaman#, 1meri$an 1nthropo*ogist '.! 6'0:'.

7air, ictor *. '=. #?ld Sinitic D9yag, ?ld ersian 9agu# and ;nglish 9agi$ian,O 2ar*y +hina '4! +:P3:.Sch%essler, 1<el. +==:. 1n 2tymo*ogi$a* (i$tionary o3 :*% +hinese. Kniversity of *awaii ress.

External links

*ong 8hang, Constantine *riskos. Contemporary Chinese Shamanism! 2he9einvention of 2radition http!55www.c%lt%rals%rvival.org5p%-lications5c%lt%ral0s%rvival0J%arterly5china5contemporary0chinese0shamanismthe0reinvention0

traditi$. ?n! Shamanisms an% Surviva* iss%e +:.+ S%mmer +==$.

7a< >ash%. ;i Wangmu7 the shamani$ great go%%ess o3 +hina<http.==www-suppresse%histories-net=go%%ess=xiwangmu-htm*> .


e 3 ''5=65+='6 'A!'3



9etrieved from #https!55en.wikipedia.org5w5inde<.phpQtitleRChinese@shamanismM oldidR6A=4A36#

Categories! Chinese folk religion Shamanism in China

2his page was last modified on '' Septem-er +='4, at '3!+.

2e<t is availa-le %nder the Creative Commons 1ttri-%tion0Share1like icense"additional terms may apply. By %sing this site, yo% agree to the 2erms of Kse andrivacy olicy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Fo%ndation,Inc., a non0profit organization.


e 3 ''5=65+='6 'A!'3

chinese shamanism

Documents