Chinese Sorcery Scares
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Chinese Sorcery Scares
Chinese sorcery scares refer to a series of moral panics or mass hysteria events in Imperial China, occurring in 1768, 1810, 1876, and 1908. These scares were characterized by widespread fears of sorcery practices, particularly "soul-stealing," a form of alleged magic believed to cause illness or death. Accusations were often targeted at marginalized groups, including transient monks, beggars, and stonemasons, and resulted in interrogations, torture, and executions. The 1768 scare, under the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, centered on rumors of sorcery involving the cutting of men's queues (a legally mandated braided hairstyle imposed by the Qing dynasty) to steal their souls. Another alleged practice involved attaching papers inscribed with names to concealed locations within the foundations or supports of construction projects, which was believed to enhance the sorcerer's or construction's strength at the cost of the persons named. These acts were perceived as threats to both ind ...
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Moral Panics
A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usually perpetuated by moral entrepreneurs and mass media coverage, and exacerbated by politicians and lawmakers. Moral panic can give rise to new laws aimed at controlling the community. Stanley Cohen (sociologist), Stanley Cohen, who developed the term, states that moral panic happens when "a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests". While the issues identified may be real, the claims "exaggerate the seriousness, extent, typicality and/or inevitability of harm". Moral panics are now studied in sociology and criminology, media studies, and cultural studies. It is often academically considered irrational (see Cohen's model of moral panic, below). Examples of moral panic include the belief in ...
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Ee Ja Nai Ka
was a complex of carnivalesque religious celebrations and communal activities, often understood as social or political protests, which occurred in many parts of Japan from June 1867 to May 1868, at the end of the Edo period and the start of the Meiji Restoration. Particularly intense during the Boshin War and Bakumatsu, the movement originated in the Kansai region, near Kyoto. History In West Japan, ''ee ja nai ka'' appeared at first in the form of dancing festivals, often related to public works, rain magic, or dances for the dead. When sacred amulets were said to have fallen from heaven, thanksgiving celebrations for these amulets were added that could last for several days and effectively took whole rural and urban communities away from everyday life. Gifts were exchanged, youth groups organized mass dances which included cross-dressing, elaborate costumes, or not wearing clothes at all. To express their gratitude towards the kami or buddhas who had given them the amul ...
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Five Punishments
The Five Punishments () was the collective name for a series of physical penalties meted out by the legal system of pre-modern dynastic China. Over time, the nature of the Five Punishments varied. Before the Western Han dynasty Emperor Han Wendi (180–157 BC), the punishments involved tattooing, cutting off the nose, amputation of one or both feet, castration, and death. Following the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–907 AD), these were changed to penal servitude, banishment, death, or corporal punishment in the form of whipping with bamboo strips or flogging with a stick. Although the Five Punishments were an important part of Dynastic China's penal system, they were not the only methods of punishment used. Origin The earliest users of the Five Punishments are believed by some to be the Sanmiao Clan (). Other sources claim they originated with Chiyou, the legendary creator of metalwork and weapons and leader of the ancient Nine Li () ethnic group. During the subsequent Xia ...
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Zhejiang
) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location of Zhejiang in China , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = China , named_for = Old name of Qiantang River , seat_type = Capital and largest city , seat = Hangzhou , established_title = Annexation by the Qin dynasty , established_date = 222 BC , established_title2 = Jiangnandong Circuit , established_date2 = 626 , established_title3 = Liangzhe Circuit , established_date3 = 997 , established_title4 = Zhejiang Province formed , established_date4 = 1368 , established_title5 = Republican Period , established_date5 = 1 January 1912 , established_title6 ...
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Philip A
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include List of kings of Macedonia, kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has #Philip in other languages, many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips (surname), Phillips. The original Greek spelling includes two Ps as seen in Philippides (other), Philippides and Philippos, which is possible due to the Greek endings following the two Ps. To end a word with such a double consonant—in Greek or in English—would, however, be incorrect. It has many diminutive (or even hypocorism, hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly (other)#People, Philly, Phillie, Lip (other), Lip, and Pip (other), Pip. There ...
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Pamela Kyle Crossley
Pamela Kyle Crossley (born 18 November 1955) is an American historian of modern China, northern Asia, and global history and is the Charles and Elfriede Collis Professor of History, Dartmouth College. She is a founding appointment of the Dartmouth Society of Fellows. She is author of ''The Wobbling Pivot: China since 1800: An Interpretive History'' (2010), as well as influential studies of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and leading textbooks in global history. Crossley is known for an interpretation of the source of twentieth-century identities. In her view overland conquest by the great empires of early modern Eurasia produced a special form of rulership which gave high priority to the institutionalization of cultural identity. Crossley suggests that these concepts were encoded in political practice and academic discourse on "nationalism," and prevailed till the end of the twentieth century. Life Crossley was born in Lima, Ohio, and attended high school in Emmaus, Pennsylva ...
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High Qing Era
The High Qing era (), or simply the High Qing, refers to the golden age of the Qing dynasty between 1683 and 1799. China was ruled by the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Emperors in this period, during which the prosperity and power of the empire grew to new heights. Coming after the collapse of the Ming dynasty, the High Qing era saw China transform into a commercial state with nearly twice the population of its predecessor due to high political stability. Improvements in literacy also took place during this period, and the territory of China was greatly expanded north and west compared to the previous Ming dynasty. During the High Qing, the trend of imitating Chinese artistic traditions, known as ''chinoiserie'', gained great popularity in Europe due to the rise in trade with China and the broader current of Orientalism. Characteristics of the High Qing The three emperors of the High Qing combined the strengths of their Manchu culture in addition to a level of sinici ...
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Great Qing Legal Code
The Great Qing Legal Code (or Great Ching Legal Code), also known as the Qing Code (Ching Code) or, in Hong Kong law, as the ''Ta Tsing Leu Lee'' (), was the legal code of the Qing empire (1644–1912). The code was based on the Ming legal code, the , which was kept largely intact. Compared to the Ming Code, which had no more than several hundred statutes and sub-statutes, the Qing Code contained 1,907 statutes across over 30 revisions between 1644 and 1912. One of the earliest of these revisions was in 1660, completed by the Qing official Wei Zhouzuo and the noble Bahana. The Qing Code was the last legal code of Imperial China. By the end of the Qing dynasty, it had been the only legal code enforced in China for nearly 270 years. Even with the fall of the imperial Qing in 1912, the Confucian philosophy of social control enshrined in the Qing Code remained influential in the subsequent German law-based legal system of the Republic of China, and later, the Soviet-based system of ...
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Supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages and did not exist in the ancient world. The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts, but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal. The term is attributed to non-physical entity, non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods and ghost, spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including Magic (supernatural), magic, telekinesis, levitation (paranormal), levitation, precognition and extrasensory perception. The supernatural is hypernymic to religion. Religions are standardized supernaturalist worldviews, or at least m ...
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Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, antiquity, but different Churches accept different creeds and councils. Such differences of opinion have developed for numerous reasons, including language and cultural barriers. In the Christian world, Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy are sometimes referred to simply as ''"the Orthodox"'' or ''"Orthodoxy"''. In some English-speaking countries, Jews who adhere to all the contemporarily-applicable 613 commandments, commandments legislated in the Torah, Written and Oral Torah are often called Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews. As this can include many Jews that may not necessarily identify with the term ''"Orthodox"'', such as many Conservative Judaism, Masorti Jews, Jewish religious movements, Jewish communi ...
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Religion In China
Religion in China is diverse and most Chinese people are either non-religious or practice a combination of Buddhism and Taoism with a Confucian worldview, which is collectively termed as Chinese folk religion. The People's Republic of China is officially an atheist state, but the government formally recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism are recognized separately), and Islam. In the early 21st century, there has been increasing official recognition of Confucianism and Chinese folk religion as part of China's cultural heritage. All religious institutions in the country are required to uphold the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, implement Xi Jinping Thought, and promote the sinicization of religion. According to 2021 estimates from the CIA World Factbook, 52.1% of the population is unaffiliated, 21.9% follows Chinese Folk Religion, 18.2% follows Buddhism, 5.1% follow Christianity, 1.8% follow Islam, and 0.7% fol ...
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Queue Order
A queue or cue is a hairstyle historically worn by the Jurchen and Manchu peoples of Manchuria, and was later required to be worn by male subjects of Qing China. The top of the scalp is shaved and the back portion of hair on the head is often grown long and is braided. The distinctive hairstyle led to its wearers being targeted during anti-Chinese riots in Australia and the United States. The edict that Han Chinese men and others under Manchu rule give up their traditional hairstyles and wear the queue, the ''Tifayifu'', was met with resistance, although opinions about the queue did change over time. Han women were never required to wear their hair in the traditional women's Manchu style, liangbatou, although that too was a symbol of Manchu identity. Predecessors and origin The queue hairstyle predates the Manchus. The Chinese word for queue, ''bian'', meant plaited hair or a cord. The term ''bian'', when used to describe the braid in the Manchu hairstyle, was originally a ...
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