From the historic times, FU Ji has been a way of communicating with ghosts in China. Not only to contact your dear deceased, but also to obtain medical advice and spiritual tips on the other side.
If you think that the Ouija plate is the peak of spine communication with the dead, by fastening-China has already mastered these centuries of art before anyone even whispered “farewell” over the infamous Parker Brothers board.
Read more: Check all stories about ghosts from China
Enter Fu Ji (扶乩), the historic form of “spirits”, which Taoist monks, mystics and spiritually risky recalling from afar. Cryptic, disturbing and often wrapped in layers of a poetic metaphor, FU Ji was considered a direct line of the dead, heavenly beings and even Taoist deities.
Supernatural leap – FU JI origin
Dating from the song dynasty (960-1279 ne), although some sources follow her even earlier to the Tang dynasty. Perhaps reaching up to 400 ne Taoist practice was also called FU-Luan (扶鸾) or Jiang-Bi (降筆) and is still performed in Taoist temples in Taiwan and China. For comparison, automatic writing to contact the dead, perhaps for the first time initiated in Europe by 1600 by those who practice Enochian magic.
And vice versa, most altars of spirits promoted the syncretic nature of Chinese religious beliefs and ritual practices, combining Confucian morality, daoist concepts of immortality and the Buddhist liturgical method for the widespread salvation of the dead.
Fu ji was a practice of divination that combined mysticism with the written word. This technique included a suspended wooden or bamboo stylus (often in the shape of Y or T) maintained by one or two participants – thinking it as historic planning with your own mind. Stylus would then be directed by a tray of sand or later, above the sheets of paper, creating symbols, characters and even full news allegedly dictated by ghosts.
Unlike the amazing approach to the management of Ouija, Fu Ji sometimes provided entire sentences in a complicated calligraphy-apparently ghosts in historic China had a perfect scene.
Calling Lady of the Train
Writing Planchette began as a method of recalling a secret lady (異苑 yiyuan) during six dynasties and flourished in Tang and Song dynasties.
It is said that she was a concubine, and her wife's head hated her, always making her the most challenging and challenging work.
Most likely, the murdered died on the fifteenth day of the first month. Every day that day people honored her, making her an idol and worshiping her in the toilet or next to the pig. If the idol made it harder, it was a sign that she was there. People offered her juices, fruit and idol allegedly began to move.
It is said that she had proposed the future, and people asked her about their good and unlucky.
People think that she was the first spirit with which they tried to contact Planchette, because there were letters in which they noticed how they worshiped her. Although it started to be only 15 in the first month, it ended that it can be recalled every day. He was used for years in the Chinese folk religion before he was in Daoist magazines.
Read the whole story: ZIGU (紫姑): Lady of Latryna – the most disturbing spirit and goddess in China
Who was at the other end of the line?
I believe that various ghosts could communicate through Fu Ji, but not only no wandering ghost could kidnap a stylus. Taoist monks and practitioners often called:
Blue beings and Taoist deities – if you were lucky, you can get words of wisdom from an enlightened immortal, not some spectral problem. This practice was used by many Daoistic practitioners to save essential books and magazines of Daoistic Saints. It was even said that some instructions came from the ladies of the initiated.
Działa takie jak kompletne dzieła patriarchy Lü (呂祖全書序 Lüzu Quanshu Xu) i dzisiejsza nieskończona cenna skruszenie patriarchy Lü (呂祖無極寶懺 Lüzu Wuji Baochan) były niektórymi z pism świętych, o których mówi się, że pochodziło z automatycznego pisania.
The ancestors died – because sometimes the family will simply not let you go, even in the afterlife.
The spirits of the restless dead – this is where things become bone. Messages can be covered from thrilling rules to cold warnings or vindictive curses.
Ritual – a exquisite dance with dead
Fu Ji was never just a free game you pulled out at parties – she required a carefully constructed ritual, often performed in Taoist temples to obtain answers, divination and poems. Usually, the screening takes place in the internal sanctuary of the temple, the area in front of the central image of the deity, fenced by a low wooden balustrade.
The space was cleaned, the incense was burned, and the participants (often the medium and writer) entered the concentrated, meditative state. By chanting, prayers or specific spells, the spirit was invited to take control of the stylus. Stylus, seemingly guided by undetectable arms, moved smoothly to enter messages in the sand or ink. Schryb would then transcribe and interpret mysterious answers.
After the session, the Spirit was rejected with respect (because you do not want the duration of the guests from the afterlife), and the messages were analyzed in terms of deeper meaning.
And if you think that people did not take it seriously – historical records suggest that Fu Ji was even used in imperial courts to consult the gods in political matters. Yes, there were actual emperors made national decisions based on ghostly feathers' buddies.
No FU JI
Fu Ji does not have the same terrifying connotations as the Ouija management today. Also in the case of a film, an exorcist and how the Church decided that it was a work of demons.
However, writing Fu Ji had other problems because it was simply banned for other reasons.
In the case of practice so intertwined with Taoist spirituality and folklore, one might think that Fu Ji will remain a eternal element in Chinese culture. But through the deceased Qing dynasty (1644–1912) the authorities began to break the writing of ghosts, perceiving this as a threat to social order. Fear? That people could pretend to be message because of this to manipulate others.
Later, in communist times, FU JI and other mystical practices were explicitly banned as superstition. All types of superstitions were prohibited, ghost stories, religion and communication with ghosts. After establishing the People's Republic in 1949, these sectarian communities were stigmatized as “reactionary secret societies” and forced to resign from all public activities. That is why writing ghosts has
It has long been abolished in continental China.
On the other hand, the altars of writing ghosts (Jitan 乩壇) or Phoenix Halls (Luantang 鸞堂) have still spread in many Chinese communities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and North America with the Chinese diaspora.
Is Fu Ji still practiced today?
While Fu Ji is no longer the mainstream, especially after the ban on supernatural practices, the remains of its influence can still be seen in some Taoist ceremonies and spiritual communities. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, there are reports that practitioners exploit modified versions of spirits to search for divine tips.
In the contemporary Hong Kong Kong Planchette Marquis Zhuge (諸葛武侯乩文 諸葛武侯乩文 諸葛武侯乩文 Zhuge Wuhou Jiwen) were very popular. It was a collection of forecasts written in the 1930s, many thought many of them came true. Regardless of whether it is true or mostly meaningful, it belongs to the debate.
Final thoughts – a message from the past
Fu Ji was not just a supernatural salon's trick; It was a deeply spiritual practice in which people really believed that they had connected them with her. Regardless of whether you see it as a fascinating cultural relic, justified mystical art, or simply an historic way to get scared, one thing is certain – mystical writing China carries a legacy that refuses to remove.
So if you ever come across an senior Taoist temple with a wooden stylus colored with ink, which constantly rests on the signs of sand … Maybe think twice before you raised it. After all, some messages remain unread.
References:
Taoist Sorcery: Chinese Planchette / Spirit Writing-Fu-Ja (扶乩)
A strange story about how China lost stories about ghosts
Image Source: Pixabay.com
