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Hong Kong University of Science and Technology E-Mail: Bzhli@Ust.Hk 630 Book Reviews patterns and correlations across a great temporal and spatial context that shed light on the basic factors driving the intensification, abatement, and innovation of the Chinese fiscal regime. Understanding the patterns and evolution of Chinese finance on the one hand and long-term global economic and political developments on the other is the main purpose of this book, and Ni has achieved this very well. Bozhong Li Hong Kong University of Science and Technology E-mail: [email protected] Lin Fushi 林富士. Wuzhe de shijie 巫者的世界 (The World of Shamans). Guangzhou: Guangdong renmin chubanshe, 2016. ISBN: 9787218112930. 490pp. CNY 65.00. DOI 10.3868/s020-006-017-0031-2 Studying the practices of wu 巫 , commonly known as “shamans” in the English-speaking world, is essential to understanding social and religious life in traditional China, as well as in other East Asian regions. However, arguably because of the prevalence of Buddhism and Daoism from the sixth century onward, the significance of wu throughout Chinese history has been insufficiently examined. Although many Chinese, Japanese, and Western scholars have made efforts to investigate the culture(s) of wu, a majority of research nonetheless focuses on either the pre-Buddhist period or contemporary societies, leaving the centuries in between somewhat understudied. Lin Fushi’s recent book shines new light on the topic, thus filling this gap in current wu literature. The book under review, Wuzhe de shijie (The world of shamans), is a collection of previously published articles. It contains seven chapters and one appendix, together with a preface, which is nothing less than an informative intellectual autobiographical essay. The book can be loosely categorized into three parts, including shamans in pre-modern China, shamans in Taiwan, and general observations on shamans. The first part, consisting of the first three chapters, deals with shamans in premodern China from antiquity (dated as early as the Shang dynasty between the seventeenth and eleventh centuries BCE) to the Song dynasty in the twelfth century CE. Chapter one examines shamans’ social roles and images in early China. Here, Lin first argues that until the end of the sixth century BCE, shamans were Book Reviews 631 essential to the ruling class. After that, however, their political and social status and image deteriorated, which can be seen in the division between state-sponsored shamans and self-sustained ones, as well as the elite’s criticisms of shamans in the pre-imperial era. Moreover, governmental actions played the most crucial role in degrading shamans in the Han dynasty, not least via the prohibition of shamanism. Chapter two discusses the role of shamans in politics from the third to the early seventh century CE. The chapter focuses on shamans’ involvement in political affairs under each emperor during the early medieval era and suggests several factors that might have contributed to shamans’ political influence at that time, including the prevalence of shamanism in the south (the Jiangnan area), the shamanistic traditions of non-Han people, the spread of disease, and the threat of warfare. At any rate, despite the rise of Buddhism and Daoism alongside the decline of shamans’ influence during the Han dynasty, shamans did undergo a certain degree of revival in early medieval China, not least in terms of their political roles. In chapter three, Lin investigates some characteristics of shamanism in the Song dynasty (960−1279) and their socio-political context. While prohibitions of shamanism were regularly institutionalized as a unique feature during this period, the author sets out to examine some other aspects and explain how they came to have such a significant place in the Song era. He argues that shamanism in the Song both inherited old elements and initiated new developments. These new developments included the worship of spirits that were formerly considered less important, as well as the prevalence of certain practices, such as the establishment of shrines, human sacrifices to ghosts, and mobile deity-receiving ceremonies. The second part of the book diverts its attention to shamanism in Taiwan. In chapter four, Lin explores shamans’ activities and social roles in Taiwan in the Qing dynasty (1644−1912). He discusses a broad range of Chinese materials for a diachronic study, paying special attention to the role of the medium, or tongji 童 乩 (dong-gi in Taiwanese). Specifically, Lin focuses on tongji’s worship of deities and ritual performances, as well as their roles in local societies. It ends with the elite’s criticisms and hatred of tongji, together with possible reasons behind them. Chapter five further examines tongji’s relationship with medicine in Taiwan. The chapter extends its scope to contemporary Taiwan, using not only written records but also field observations. Lin depicts the ways in which various agents at different times have observed tongji as practitioners of medicine, outlines their views of disease and treatments, and offers an intriguing multi-disciplinary analysis of their seemingly dual identity as both healers and patients. Chapter six turns to a related subject: tongji’s dress and appearance. By describing how tongji looked, Lin briefly discusses the religious and social implications, including a sense of liberation and inconsistency, behind their appearance, as well as their performance of self-injury with weapons. .
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