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Chinese spirit possession is a practice performed by specialists called '' jitong'' (a type of
Chinese spirit possession is a practice performed by specialists called '' jitong'' (a type of shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
) in Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
involving the channeling of Chinese deities
Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (''Tian'' ), whi ...
who are invited to take control of the specialist's body, resulting in noticeable changes in body functions and behaviour. The most famous Chinese spirit possession practitioners took part in the Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
in the 1900s, when boxers claimed to be invulnerable to the cut of a sharp knife, bullets, and cannon fire.
History
TheState of Qi
Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong.
Qi was founded shortly ...
had shamans who claimed to be possessed by gods, and they were criticized as heterodox by Confucians
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...
. Movements by shamans practicing spiritual possession often led peasant rebellions against the ruling dynasty during Chinese history. The Boxer Rebellion was one of many peasant movements led by shamans who claimed to be possessed by spirits. For the Boxers during the Boxer Rebellion, spirit possession was used for protective purposes.
Larry Clinton Thompson, in his book "William Scott Ament and the Boxer Rebellion: Heroism, Hubris and the ”Ideal Missionary”, has a description of the spirit possession practiced by Chinese boxers:
Spiritual possession practitioners during the Boxer Rebellion and 20th century warfare claimed that once these incantations were chanted, Chinese deities would descend to offer protection, so that cannon fire or gunshots would not harm the human body.
See also
* Chinese spiritual world concepts *Fuji (planchette writing)
Fuji () is a method of "planchette writing", or "Automatic writing, spirit writing", that uses a suspended sieve or tray to guide a stick which writes Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes.
Development
Beginning around the Ming dynasty (1 ...
* Tangki
Tongji (; Tâi-lô: tâng-ki) or Jitong () is a Chinese folk religious practitioner, usually translated as a "spirit medium", "oracle", or "shaman".
This word compounds ''tong'' "child; youth; boy servant" and ''ji'' "to divine" (cf. '' fu ...
* Wu (shaman)
References
{{Reflist Paranormal Chinese mythology Spirit possession