Making the Gods Write: A Short History of Spirit-Written Revelations in China, 1000â1400

Vincent Goossaert

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ChapterÂ 2 Making the Gods Write: A Short History of Spirit-Written Revelations in China, 1000â1400

In: Communicating with the Gods

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Vincent Goossaert

Vincent Goossaert
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 39â90

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004677906_003

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Abstract

The chapter proposes a general scenario for the development of spirit-writing in its first phase, between the earliest mentions in the tenth century to the end of the Mongol period. It reviews all the available evidenceâgods involved, social setup, practitioners, techniquesâand proposes that a dominant context is that of Daoist ritual. Spirit-writing is one particular ritual technique of creating divine presence that is usually deployed by religious specialists with the same aims as other techniques: requesting blessings, obtaining cures and salvation, asking questions about the future and destiny of the deceased, and learning the intentions of the gods. In a few cases, it led to discursive teachings (revelations). It was often practiced in conjunction with other ritual techniques, as part of a ritual repertoire. All such techniques required training and initiation. During the early modern period, the variegated spirit-writing techniques were codified and routinely used by Daoists (primarily the fashi æ³å¸« exorcists) and largely associated with them. In its last section, the article offers a typology of the spirit-written texts composed during this first phase of historical development.

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Communicating with the Gods

Spirit-Writing in Chinese History and Society

Series:Â Prognostication in History, Volume: 11

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004677906

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 25 Sep 2023

Subjects
- Asian Studies
  - East Asia
  - China
  - Religion
  - Philosophy
- Religious Studies
  - Religion in Asia

Front Matter

Part 1 Overview Papers

Part 2 Changing Techniques and Practices

Part 3 Spirit-Writing and the Literati Elites in Late Imperial China

Part 4 Spirit-Writing and Redemptive Societies

Part 5 Local Communities and Transregional Networks

Back Matter

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ChapterÂ 2 Making the Gods Write: A Short History of Spirit-Written Revelations in China, 1000â1400

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Communicating with the Gods

Spirit-Writing in Chinese History and Society

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ChapterÂ 2 Making the Gods Write: A Short History of Spirit-Written Revelations in China, 1000â1400