Rethinking Mediumship in Contemporary Wenzhou
The study of spirit mediums has drawn the attention of international scholars from the 1960s onward, and the topic continues to thrive. Yet little work has been done on spirit mediums in mainland China, which have mainly been glimpsed through studies of mediumship in Taiwan. This article draws on et...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2019]
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| In: |
Review of Religion and Chinese Society
Year: 2019, Volume: 6, Issue: 2, Pages: 229-252 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Wenzhou
/ Folk religion
/ Belief in spirits
/ Medium
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion AZ New religious movements KBM Asia |
| Further subjects: | B
Spirit Possession
B 附身 B Mediumship B 靈媒 B Cultural Diversity B Wenzhou B 文化多樣性 B 溫州 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The study of spirit mediums has drawn the attention of international scholars from the 1960s onward, and the topic continues to thrive. Yet little work has been done on spirit mediums in mainland China, which have mainly been glimpsed through studies of mediumship in Taiwan. This article draws on ethnographic research to explore the diverse traditions of spirit mediums in Wenzhou. While spirit mediums are viewed with ambivalence, they play a significant role within broader Chinese folk religions. It is crucial to understand spirit mediums through the appropriate cultural context in order to understand their diverse practices and roles in local society. I discuss why Wenzhou’s mediumship should be regarded as a form of shamanism in spite of differences between its discourse and practices and those of Minnan mediumship, as well as those of Siberian or Korean shamanism. |
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| ISSN: | 2214-3955 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of Religion and Chinese Society
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/22143955-00602005 |