Fangxiangshi
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The ''fangxiangshi'' (Chinese: 方相氏) was a Chinese ritual exorcist, the meaning of whose name is obscure but has been translated as "one who sees in all (four) directions", "he who scrutinizes for evil in many directions", and "one who orients unwanted spirits in the direction to which they belong". Ancient Chinese texts record that he wore a bearskin with four golden eyes, and carried a lance and shield to expel malevolent spirits. His primary duties were orchestrating the seasonal Nuo ritual to chase out disease-causing
demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
from houses and buildings, and leading a funeral procession to exorcize corpse-eating '' wangliang'' spirits away from a burial chamber. From the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
through the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(3rd century BCE to 10th century CE), ''fangxiangshi'' were official ''wu''-shaman specialists in the imperially sanctioned Chinese
state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...
; after the Tang, they were adapted into popular folk religion and symbolized by wearing a four-eyed mask. In the present day, the ''fangxiangshi'' is a masked character in Chinese Nuo opera, and continues as the Japanese equivalent ''hōsōshi'' 方相氏 exorcist in
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
ceremonies.


Etymology

The obscure
etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of ''fāngxiàngshì'' is a subject of disagreement. The name combines three words, with the following
Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
pronunciations and meanings: *''paŋ'' "square, a regular thing, side, region, country; two boats lashed side by side, raft; just now, to begin; method, law, norm, standard" *''*saŋh'' "look at, inspect; assist, help; assistant, minister" (also pronounced ''xiāng'' < ''*saŋ'' 相 "each other, mutually") *''*geʔ''
Radical 83 or radical clan () meaning " clan" is one of the 34 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 4 strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 10 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. is also the 89 ...
"an honorific which is suffixed to place names ("the lord of X"), kinship terms ("uncle X"), feudal and official titles ("lord/lady" X); clan" Scholars agree that ''shi'' < ''*geʔ'' is the Chinese honorific suffix translating "master; lord", but construe ''fangxiang'' < *''paŋsaŋh'' in various ways.
Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...
方 is also a common
Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...
. The earliest interpretation was
Zheng Xuan Zheng Xuan (127– July 200), courtesy name Kangcheng (), was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer near the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was born in Gaomi, Beihai Commandery (modern Weifang, Shandong), and was a student of Ma Ro ...
's (2nd century CE) ''Zhouli'' commentary (see below). Zheng explains ''fāngxiàng(shì)'' as ''fàngxiǎng'' 放想, substituting ''fàng'' "put away; banish" for ''fāng'' 方 and ''xiǎng'' "think; imagine" for ''xiàng'' 相. This ambiguous ''fàngxiǎng'' 放想 gloss is translated as "expellers of formidable things", "to give release to one's thinking . . . so as to have an awesome and terrifying appearance", and "to cause visions to be forthcoming; to conjure up visions". Boltz says Bodde misunderstood this term because Zheng was reaffirming that ''xiàng'' 相 means not just "observe; scrutinize", but "vision; image; phantasy", cognate with ''xiǎng'' 想 "to draw up a mental image; vision", as well as with ''xiàng'' "image; representation". Therefore, Boltz concludes it was not the appearance of the ''fangxiangshi'' that is important, but "the visions which he brings forth (and which presumably only he can see) that are crucial. In this sense he should be called the Master of Visions, or Imaginator, or Phantasmagoricist." Zheng Xuan's commentary to the ''Zhouli'' description of a ''fangxiang'' striking the four corners of the burial chamber with his lance and expelling the ''fangliang'' (see below) identifies this ''fangliang'' 方良 demon with the '' wangliang'' 罔兩 demon, also known as ''wangxiang'' 罔象. Ying Shao's (c. 195 CE) ''
Fengsu Tongyi ''Fengsu Tongyi'' (), also known as ''Fengsu Tong'', is a book written about 195 AD by Ying Shao, who lived during the later Eastern Han period. The manuscript is similar to an almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is ...
'' quotes this ''Zhouli'' passage with ''wangxiang'' for ''fangliang'' in explaining the origins of Chinese customs of placing
thuja ''Thuja'' ( ) is a genus of coniferous tree or shrub in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia. The genus is monophyletic and sister to ''Thujopsis''. M ...
(arborvitae) trees and stone tigers in graveyards.
On the tomb a thuja is planted and at the head of the path a stone tiger. In the Chou li, "On the day of burial the ''fang-hsiang'' chief enters the pit to drive out the ''Wang-hsiang''." The ''Wang-hsiang'' likes to eat the liver and brain of the deceased. People cannot constantly have the ''fang-hsiang'' stand by the side of the tomb to bar it. But the ''Wang-hsiang'' fears the tiger and the thuja. Thus the tiger and thuja are placed before the tomb.
The common interpretation of the ''fang'' in ''fangxiang'' is that it denotes the ''sìfāng'' 四方 "the four quarters/directions; every side/direction", as ritually symbolized by the four golden eyes on the bearskin signifying the ability of a ''fangxiangshi'' to see in all directions. According to Dallas McCurley, the early Chinese believed that "the forces of rain, wind, flood, and drought often came to the climatically vulnerable Yellow River Valley from the ''sifang''." Boltz's review of Bodde's book agrees that taking the fundamental sense of ''fangxiang'' as "seer" is generally accurate, but believes that the
binomial Binomial may refer to: In mathematics *Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms * Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials *Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition ...
term ''fangxiang'' < Old Chinese *''pjwang-sjang'' originated as a dimidiation of the word *''sjang-'' < Proto-Chinese **''bsjang-'' "seer". Thus meaning "not so much "one who sees in all directions" (though it may well have already been semanticized as that very early) as "one who conjures up visions, or images, phantasies." Many writers have noted the remarkable phonetic similarities among the names for the ritual ''fangxiangshi'' and the ''fangliang'', ''wangliang'', and ''wangxiang'' demons he exorcised; and some scholars such as Chen Mengjia, Kobayashi Taichirō, and William Boltz have theorized that the ''fangxiangshi'' exorcist was a personification of these demons, and was "in effect exorcising himself". In this understanding, the devouring exorcist and devoured creatures were ultimately identical. Boltz suggests the possibility that the matching names ''fangxiang(shi)'', ''fangliang'', ''wangliang'', and ''wangxiang'' are all derived from the same Proto-Chinese ''**BZjang'' "see" etymon, with him as a "Master of Visions" or "Imaginator" and them as "visions" or "specters" from the Latin ''
spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
'' "appearance; apparition", and to use the same root, the ''fangxiangshi'' "was in fact exorcising ''images'', or ''visions'', of himself."


Translations

While it is comparatively easier to transliterate Chinese 方相氏 alphabetically than to elucidate it, some scholars have made translations. The first in a Western language may have been French sinologist
Édouard Biot Édouard Constant Biot (; July 2, 1803 – March 12, 1850) was a French engineer and Sinologist. As an engineer, he participated in the construction of the second line of French railway between Lyon and St Etienne, and as a Sinologist, publ ...
's "''inspecteurs de region''" or "''preservateur universel''". English translations include *"Rescuer of the Country; inspectors or rescuers of the country to the four quarters" *"a 'doctor' who has two functions, he prescribes medicines, and practises the art of physiognomy" *"he who scrutinizes for evil in many directions" *"one who conjures up visions ... Master of Visions, or Imaginator, or Phantasmagoricist" *"one who sees in all (four) directions" *"square-faced exorcist" *"direction (''fang'')-orienting master; one who orients unwanted spirits in the direction to which they belong" Laufer's interpretation takes ''fang'' to mean '' fangshi'' 方士 "alchemist; doctor; exorcist" and ''xiang'' to mean ''rénxiàng'' 人相 "look at and appraise; practice physiognomy". Bodde's translation "he who scrutinizes for evil spirits in many directions" is based upon taking ''fang'' as meaning ''sifang'' "four/all directions" and taking ''xiang'' in its verbal sense of "observe, scrutinize" comparable with "physiognomize".


Early references

According to the
Chinese classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
, ''fangxiangshi'' originated in the late
Eastern Zhou dynasty The Eastern Zhou (; zh, c=, p=Dōngzhōu, w=Tung1-chou1, t= ; 771–256 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the second half of the Zhou dynasty. It was divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States. History In 770 ...
(771-256 BCE), were officially employed by emperors from the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(206 BCE-220 CE) through the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(618-907), and subsequently continued as a private practice up to the present day.


Han dynasty

The earliest detailed description of ''fangxiangshi'' is found in the (c. 3rd century BCE) ''Zhouli'' "
Rites of Zhou The ''Rites of Zhou'' (), originally known as "Officers of Zhou" () is a work on bureaucracy and organizational theory. It was renamed by Liu Xin to differentiate it from a chapter in the ''Book of History'' by the same name. To replace a lost ...
" ''Xiaguan'' 夏官 "Offices of Summer" section. The first context details the types and numbers of assistants for each official rank, including over 40 to support the ''fangxiangshi'': 4 ''kuángfū'' 狂夫 "crazy men; mediums", 8 diviners with 6 subordinates, 2 accountants, 2 scribes, 2 menials, and 20 runners. The second ''Zhouli'' context includes the ''fangxiangshi'' under the section describing official duties of the ''nánwū'' 男巫 "male shaman/medium":
At the annual Great Exorcism ('' nuo'' 儺), when the ''Nanwu'' play a central role: after either presenting offerings or shooting arrows (which of the two remains unclear) at the evil spirits in the four directions, they (according to Zheng Xuan) accompany them outside, away from human habitations"
The received ''Zhouli'' text has ''zèng'' 贈 "to present" but Zheng Xuan mentions an old variant of ''zèng'' 矰 "to shoot arrows". The subsequent ''fangxiangshi'' context says,
In his official function, he wears ver his heada bearskin having four eyes of gold, and is clad in a black upper garment and a red lower garment. Grasping his lance and brandishing his shield, he leads the many officials to perform the seasonal exorcism (''Nuo''), searching through houses and driving out pestilences. ... When there is a great funeral, he goes in advance of the coffin, and upon its arrival at the tomb, when it is being inserted into the burial chamber, he strikes the four corners f the chamberwith his lance and expels the ''Fang-liang''. (48)
Zheng Xuan's commentary glosses ''méng'' 蒙 "cover; dark; blind; ignorant" as meaning ''mào'' 冒 "to cover; see", that is "to wear over one's head"; and explains "the bear skin worn over one's head to expel the demon of pestilences is hat is knowntoday as ''qitou'' 頭 "ghost head; demon mask"" As mentioned above (see Etymology), Zheng's commentary identifies the ''fangliang'' 方良 demon with the ''wangliang'' 罔兩 or ''wangxiang'' 罔象 demon. ''Zhouli'' scholars concur in interpreting the four golden eyes on the bearskin to symbolize the ability of a ''fangxiangshi'' to see simultaneously in all ''sìfāng'' 四方 "four directions", as well as striking all ''sìyú'' 四隅 "four corners" of the tomb with a lance to scare away the corpse-eating ''wangliang''. However, ''Zhouli'' interpreters differ whether the ''fangxiangshi'' was covered by a bearskin cloak or mask, owing to the ambiguous
Classical Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...
phrase 熊皮黃金四目 literally "bear skin yellow gold four eyes", and Zheng Xuan's comparison with a ''qitou'' "demon mask". Translations are frequently a bearskin ("don the hide of a young bear ornamented with four eyes of gold"), sometimes a bearskin mask ("four-eyed bear mask", McCurley, or even both ("covered with a bear's skin and donning a face mask with four golden eyes"). The Han polymath
Zhang Heng Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, ma ...
's (2nd century CE) "Dongjing fu" poem about the capital
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
contemporaneously describes ''fangxiang(shi)'' at the ''Nuo'' ritual.
At the end of the year the great no takes place for the purpose of driving off all spectres. The fang-siang carry their spears, wu and hih hold their bundles of reed. Ten thousand lads with red heads and black clothes, with bows of peach wood and arrows of thorny jujube shoot at random all around. Showers of potsherds and pebbles come down like rain, infallibly killing strong spectres as well as the weak. Flaming torches run after these beings, so that a sparkling and streaming glare chases the red plague to all sides; thereupon they destroy them in the imperial moats and break down the suspension bridges (to prevent their return). In this way they attack ch‘i and mei, strike at wild and ferocious beings, cleave sinuous snakes, beat out the brains of fang-liang, imprison keng-fu in the clear and chilly waters, and drown nü-pah in the waters animated by gods. They cut asunder the khwei and the hü, as also the wang-siang; they mutilate the ye-chung, and exterminate the yiu-kwang . The eight spirits (cardinal points of the Universe) thereby quiver; how much more must this be the case with the ki, the yuh and the pih-fang. The land of Tu-shoh, affords protection by peach branches, the effects of which are enhanced by Yuh-lei and Shen-tu, who on the other side, with ropes of rush in their hands, by means of their sharp eyesight spy out the darkest corners, in order to catch the spectres which still remain after the chase. The houses in the capital thus being purged to their most secluded parts, and delivered from everything undesirable, the Yin and the Yang may unite harmoniously, and all beings and things thus be produced in due time.
The (5th century) ''
Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...
'' also describes ''fangxiangshi'' in the ''Nuo'' exorcism.
One day before the sacrifice of the end of the year the great no is celebrated, called expulsion of epidemical disease. The ritual of it is the following — From among the apprentices of the inner Yellow Gate of the Palace, one hundred and twenty of ten, eleven or twelve years are selected to act as 'lads'; they are dressed with red bonnets and black coats, and they carry large hand-drums. The fang-siang shi with four eyes of gold and masked with bearskins, wearing black coats and red skirts, grasp their lances and wield their shields. There are also twelve animals with feathers or hairs, and with horns. These people start their work at the inner Yellow Gate, under command of a Chamberlain in general employ, to expel maleficent spectres from the Forbidden Palace. [Shortly before dawn, the 120 boys and all the court officials gather together and repeat a chant listing 12 demon-eating spirits, "''Jiazuo'' 甲作 devours calamities, ''Feiwei'' 胇胃 devours tigers ..."] These twelve divinities are herewith ordered to chase away evil and misfortune, to scorch your bodies, seize your bones and joints, cut your flesh in pieces, tear out your lungs and bowels. If you do not get quickly away, the stragglers among you will become their food. Now the fang-siang are set to work. Together with those twelve animals (representing these twelve demon-devourers) they lump about screaming, making three tours round about the inner Palace buildings in front and behind, and with their torches they escort the pestilential disease out of the front gate. Outside this gate, swift horsemen take over the torches and leave the Palace through the Marshal’s Gate, on the outside of which they transfer them to horsemen of the fifth army-corps, who thereupon drive the spectres into the Loh river. In every mansion of the official world, men with wooden masks and representing animals may act as leaders of the performers of the no. When the ceremony is finished, keng of peachwood are put up, with Yuh-lei and ropes of reed, after which the performers and the officers in attendance on the throne stop their work. Ropes of reed, lances, and sticks of peach wood are presented by the emperor to the highest ministers, commanders, and special and general feudal rulers.
The syntax of this ''fangxiangshi'' description differs from the ''Zhouli'': 方相氏黃金四目蒙熊皮 "the ''fangxiangshi'' earsfour golden eyes ndis covered by a bearskin".


Southern and Northern dynasties

Han-era ''fangxiangshi'' and ''Nuo'' ritual traditions continued to be followed during the turbulent Southern and Northern dynasties period (420-589), which was an age of civil war and large-scale migration. The ''
Book of Qi The ''Book of Qi'' (''Qí Shū'') or ''Book of Southern Qi'' (''Nán Qí Shū'') is a history of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi covering the period from 479 to 502, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories of Chinese history. It was written by ...
'' history of the
Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succeede ...
dynasty (479-502) records that Nuo rituals were
performed on the last day of the year by two groups, each of 120 lads, and twelve animals headed by drums and wind instruments. The gates of the wards and of the city walls were flung open, and the emperor in everyday attire contemplated the no from his throne, in the midst of his offices. With rolling drums the procession entered the Palace through the western-gate, passed through all parts of it in two divisions, even mounting the storeys and towers; the fang-siang and the twelve animals hopped, jumped, and cried, and having passed through the south gate, they spread in six directions till they reached the city-walls.
During the
Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
(581-618 CE), the official ritual restricted using ''fangxiangshi'' exorcists to funerals of higher-ranking ''shi'' "
scholar-officials The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...
"; officers of the 1st-4th degrees could use ''fangxiang'', but those of the 5th-7th degrees could only use ''qitou'' ghost masks.


Tang dynasty

The
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(618-907) was a golden age in Chinese history during which the
state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...
continued ''fangxiangshi'' traditions and further regulated their details. The (732) ''Great Tang Ritual Regulations of the Kaiyuan Era'' (713-742,
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early ...
) says that in funeral processions, "behind the carriage in which the soul-tablet was conveyed, came the carriage of the fang-siang, which, however, was to be replaced by a carriage with an ugly head 'qitou''at funerals of officers of any grade below the fifth." This ritual text also gave instructions for celebrating the ''Nuo'' ritual in the provinces.
Four fang-siang were to be used, with four precentors 'chàngshuài'' 唱率 "song leaders" and by chiefs of first class governments sixty lads besides; chiefs of governments of the second or the third order might employ forty lads, and in the districts no more than twenty lads might be employed, with one fang-siang and one precentor; besides there might be four drummers and four whip-bearers. Such purification of official mansions and cities was to be accompanied by a sacrifice at the gates to the yin spirits, and concluded by burial of the sacrificial flesh and wine.
Duan Chengshi Duan Chengshi () (died 863) was a Chinese poet and writer of the Tang Dynasty. He was born to a wealthy family in present-day Zibo, Shandong. A descendant of the early Tang official Duan Zhixuan (, ''Duàn Zhìxuán'') (-642), and the son of Duan ...
's (8th century) ''
Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang The ''Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang'' () is a book written by Duan Chengshi in the 9th century. It focuses on miscellany of Chinese and foreign legends and hearsay, reports on natural phenomena, short anecdotes, and tales of the wondrous an ...
'' differentiates ''qitou'' 魌頭 "ghost mask" types, those with four eyes are named ''fangxiang'' and those with two eyes are named ''qī'' 僛 "dancers". The ''Da Tang liudian'' book of Tang institutions states that a person who performed the task of ''fangxiangshi'' would put on "a mask with four golden eyes and wear a bear-skin outfit." The (1060) ''
New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...
'' notes that for Nuo rituals, "the lads should be between twelve and sixteen years old, masked, and arranged in four groups of six, and that, besides the whip-bearers, drummers and trumpeters, there should be two wu hamansin the procession. The exorcising song was to the very letter that of the Han dynasty."


Later periods

After the Tang dynasty, the official Chinese state religion discontinued performances of Nuo rituals led by professional ''fangxiangshi'', and popular folk religion adapted them into local Nuo festivals. During the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(960-1279), the tradition of burying protective wood or pottery figures of ''fangxiangshi'' in tombs was changed into figures made of perishable straw or bamboo. The Tang-Song handbook on burial practices, the ''Bicanq jing'', says the ''fangxiang'' figures were "woven in five colors, had four eyes and held tree branches in their hands". The official ritual of the Song dynasty said funerals for officers of the four highest ranks could have one ''fangsiang'' exorcist, and those below in rank could only have a ''qitou'' ghost mask. This text also records that in 970, Emperor Taizu of Song decreed that for funerals in the capital of
Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
, "it was forbidden to all families who had a burial to perform, to occupy themselves with Taoist and Buddhist observances, or to employ a van of men masked as strange men or animals." Similarly, during
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
(1368-1644) funeral ritualsTr. . were delimited to four-eyed ''fangxiang'' for officers of the 1st-4th ranks, two-eyed ones for officers of the 5th-7th ranks, and none for lower-ranking officers. De Groot describes popular exorcising processions as "noisy, and even amusing, agreeably breaking the monotony of daily life" on the last day of the year, with boys wearing ghost-masks of old and young people and numerous gods and spirits, men dressed in costumes of fearsome door gods to scare away evil spirits, and male and female ''wu''-shamans dancing with drums, all under the guidance of men and women acting as "fathers and mothers of the Nuo" ritual. In the 1980s, the Chinese government officially recognized Nuo rituals as the folk religion of the
Tujia people The Tujia ( Northern Tujia: ''Bifjixkhar'' / ''Bifzixkar'', IPA: , Southern Tujia: ''Mongrzzir'', ; ) are an ethnic group and, with a total population of over 8 million, the eighth-largest officially recognized ethnic minority in the People's ...
, who primarily live in the Wuling Mountains of Central China.


Interpretations

Lisa Raphals Lisa Ann Raphals (born May 15, 1951) is an American professor of Chinese and comparative literature at University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university i ...
suggests that the
Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
ritual ''fangxiangshi'' 方相氏 may have been a predecessor of the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
professional '' fangshi'' 方士 "recipe masters". Bodde identifies the ''fangxiangshi'' with the demonic "God of War" Chiyou, who, according to legend, opposed the
Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
, citing
Zhang Heng Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, ma ...
's (2nd century CE) ''Xijing fu'' poem that describes Chiyou similarly with how other texts portray the appearance and behavior of the ''fangxiangshi''.


Japanese ''hōsōshi''

During the
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
(794-1185), the Japanese adopted many
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(618-907) Chinese customs, including the ''fangxiangshi'' known as ''hōsōshi'' 方相氏 who would lead a funeral procession and exorcise demons from a burial mound. This practice was amalgamated with traditional Japanese exorcism customs such as the Shinto '' ofuda'' "talisman with the name of a ''
kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
''". The earliest record was the (c. 797) ''
Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the ''Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi ...
'' history, which mentions a ''hōsōshi'' exorcist officiating at the burial ceremonies for
Emperor Shōmu was the 45th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, during the Nara period. Traditional narrative Be ...
(756),
Emperor Kōnin was the 49th emperor of Japan, Emperor Kōnin, Tahara no Higashi Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Kōnin's reign lasted from 770 to 781. Traditional narrative The personal name of ...
(781), and
Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...
(806). The Kyōgen actor Nomura Mannojō noted that Chinese Nuo rituals 儺 were the 8th-century source for the Japanese ''tsuina'' 追儺 or ''
setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', referring to the day just before the first day of spring in the traditional calendar, known as ; though previously referri ...
'' "ritual to exorcise evil spirits on the last day of winter", and proposed that supernatural power links the Chinese ''nuo'' performer ''fangxiangshi'' and the Japanese ''
gigaku , also known as , p.357-8, on ''gigaku men" (mask) refers to an extinct genre of masked drama-dance performance, imported into Japan during the Asuka period. History Records state that was introduced during the 20th year of reign of Empress Suik ...
'' masked character ''Chidō'' 治道 "govern the way" who leads a. In Japanese tradition and art, the ''hōsōshi'' wears a four-eyed mask rather than the original four-eyed bearskin.


References

* * * * * * * Footnotes {{reflist, 25em, refs= {{cite book , last=Schuessler , first=Axel , date=2007 , title=ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese , location=
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
HI , publisher=University of Hawai'i Press , at=pp
231531466
, isbn=9780824829759
{{cite book , last=Laufer , first=Berthold , author-link=Berthold Laufer , date=1914 , title=Chinese clay figures. Part I. Prolegomena on the history of defensive armor , series=Anthropological series vol. 13.2 , location=
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, publisher=Field Museum of Natural History , a
p. 198 n2
Harper, Donald (1985), "A Chinese Demonography of the Third Century B. C.", ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'', 45.2: 459-498. p. 482. McCurley, Dallas (2005), "Performing Patterns: Numinous Relations in Shang and Zhou China", ''The Drama Review'' 49.3: 135-156. p. 137. Biot, Édouard (1881)
Le Tcheou-li ou Rites des Tcheou
2 vols., Imprimerie nationale. vol. 1 p. 6.
Benn, Charles D. (2002), ''Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty'', Greenwood. p. 270. Li, Lan (2006), "The Changing Role of the Popular Religion of Nuo (傩) in Modern Chinese Politics", ''Modern Asian Studies'', 45: 1-23. Raphals, Lisa (2009), "Divination in the ''Han Shu'' Bibliographic Treatise", ''Early China'' 32: 45-101. p. 61. Gras, Alexandre (2004),
追儺における呪文の名称と方相氏の役割の変化について
, ''Issues in Language and Culture'' 5: 35-53. p. 45.
Chinese classic texts Practices in Chinese folk religion Exorcism