Chinese ritual mastery traditions, also referred to as ritual teachings (, sometimes rendered as "Faism"),Yu-chi Tsao, 2012. or Folk Taoism (), or also Red Taoism (mostly in east China and Taiwan), constitute a large group of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

orders of

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

officers who operate within the

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

but outside the institutions of official

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

.Pas, 2014. p. 259 The "masters of rites", the ''fashi'' (), are also known in east China as ''hongtou daoshi'' (), meaning "redhead" or "redhat" ''daoshi'' ("masters of the Tao"), contrasting with the ''wutou daoshi'' (), "blackhead" or "blackhat" priests, of

Zhengyi Taoism Zhengyi Dao (), also known as the Way of Orthodox Unity, Teaching of the Orthodox Unity, and Branch of the Orthodox Unity is a Chinese Taoist movement that traditionally refers to the same Taoist lineage as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice and ...

who were historically ordained by the

Celestial Master This is a list of the Celestial Masters, leaders of Zhengyi Dao, continuing Wudoumi Dao (Way of the Five Pecks of Rice). After the death of the 64th Celestial Master Zhang Yuanxian in 2008, controversy arose over the legitimate succession, with ...

. Zhengyi Taoism and Faism are often grouped together under the category of "''daoshi'' and ''fashi'' ritual traditions" (). Although the two types of priests have the same roles in Chinese society—in that they can marry and they perform rituals for communities' temples or private homes—Zhengyi ''daoshi'' emphasize their Taoist tradition, distinguished from the vernacular tradition of the ''fashi''. Ritual masters can be practitioners of ''tongji'' possession, healing, exorcism and ''jiao'' ritualsLagerwey, 2010. (although historically they were excluded from performing the ''jiao'' liturgy). The only ones that are '' shamans (wu)'' are the ''fashi'' of the Lushan school.

The ''fashi''

The ritual masters ( ''fashi'') are defined, in opposition to formally ordained Taoist priests, as:Kohn, 2009. p. 9 Sarah Coakley (

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

) distinguishes ''fashi'' as " kataphatic" (of filling character) in opposition to Taoists as "

kenotic In Christian theology, ''kenosis'' () is the 'self-emptying' of Jesus. The word () is used in Philippians 2:7: " made himself nothing" ( NIV), or " eemptied himself" ( NRSV), using the verb form (), meaning "to empty". The exact meaning vari ...

" (of emptying character), and links them to other Sino-Tibetan indigenous religions: They are known by different names throughout China, other popular ones being "ritual officers" (''faguan'') as they at times call themselves,Nadeau, 2012. p. 140 or "redhead" Taoist priests ( ''hongtou daoshi''). There are also localised names, such as "orthodox lords" (''duangong''), "altar masters" (''zhangtanshi''), or "earth masters" (''tulaoshi'') in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

. They are also in competition with other orders who perform similar services: monks and tantric masters under the auspices of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, and ''tongji'' medium. The difference between ritual masters and Deities' mediums is that instead of being subject to territorial gods like the mediums, the ritual masters can marshal the powers of local Deities.

Red Taoist orders

Lushan school

The Lushan (Mount Lu) school (, also or ), also known as Sannai school (), is present in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

, southern

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

.Edward L. Davis. ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture''. �
Lüshan jiao (Sannai jiao)
/ref> It is very active nowadays, and is related to the worship of the goddess

Chen Jinggu Chen Jinggu () is a Chinese Protective Goddess of women, children, and pregnancy, and was a Taoist priestess. She is also known as Lady Linshui (臨水夫人 Linshui furen). Chen Jinggu is a deity worshipped in Fujian, Taiwan, South China, and ...

("Old Quiet Lady") the Waterside Dame ( ''Línshuǐ Fūrén''), who is very popular in the same area. It is also related to the cult of Wang Laomu, and competing with

Maoshan Taoism The Shangqing School (Chinese:上清派), also known as Supreme Clarity or Highest Clarity is a Taoist movement that began during the aristocracy of the Western Jin dynasty. Shangqing can be translated as either 'Supreme Clarity' or 'Highest Clari ...

. The tradition shows similarities with Yao and Zhuang ritual traditions, and has incorporated elements of

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

, such as the use of

mudra A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As wel ...

and

vajra The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shape ...

. Lushan ''fashi'' perform rituals as the head of celestial troops while invoking the "Three Ladies" (''sannai''): Chen Jinggu and her two disciples, Lin Jiuniang and Li Sanniang. Although Lushan ''fashi'' are men, in performance they wear the ritual red skirt of Chen Jinggu and a crown or headdress with the words "Three Ladies" painted on it. Lushan ''fashi'' also practice a

shamanic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

voyage rite called "crossing the roads and the passes" (''guo luguan'').

Pu'an school

The Pu'an school () is present in west-central

, southern

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

and Taiwan.Edward L. Davis. ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture''. �
Pu’an jiao
/ref> The historical figure of the monk Pu’an is worshipped by the practitioners as their "founding master" (''zushi''). Their texts, rituals and iconography incorporate Tantric themes adapted in a

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

style, and have elements of the Zhengyi and Lushan traditions.

Xujia school

The Xujia school () is another form of ritual masters.

Northern orders

* ''Yuehu'' * ''Zhuli'' * ''Shenjia'' , families of hereditary specialists of gods and rites * ''Yinyang'' masters or ''fengshui'' masters, using the Lingbao scriptural traditionOvermyer, 2009. p. 179

Bibliography

* Taiwan Folk Religion Society. ''Faism and Folk Religion 2009'', 2009. , Tai bei shi : Wen jin, 2011.09. * Yu-chi Tsao.
On Ritual of Pu-An Fa-Jiao (): The Case Study of Hexuan Taoist Altar in Tainan
'. Master's Thesis, Graduate Institute of Religious Studies, 2012. * John Lagerwey. ''China: A Religious State''. Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong Press, 2010. * John Lagerwey. ''Popular Ritual Specialists in West Central Fujian''. Shehui, minzu yu wenhua zhanyan guoji yantao hui lunwen ji . Taipei: Hanxue yanjiu zhongxin. 435–507. 2001 * Edward L. Davis.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture
'. Routledge, 2005. * ''The Lady Linshui: How a Woman Became a Goddess''. In: R. Weller and M. Shahar (eds). ''Unruly Gods. Divinity and Society in China''. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i. 1996 * ''Lushan Puppet Theatre in Fujian''. In:

Daniel L. Overmyer Daniel L. Overmyer (August 20, 1935 – November 24, 2021) was a Canadian historian of religion and academic who was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Asian Studies and the Centre for Chinese Research at the University of British Columbia. O ...

(ed.). ''Ethnography in China Today: A Critical Assessment of Methods and Results''. Taipei: Yuan-liou, 243–56. 2002 * Julian F. Pas, Man Kam Leung, ''Historical Dictionary of Taoism''. (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2014. ). * * Randall L. Nadeau.
The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions
'. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. * Dick van der Meij. ''India and Beyond''. Routledge, 1997. * Overmyer, Daniel.
Local Religion in North China in the Early Twentieth Century: The Structure and Organization of Community Rituals and Beliefs
'. In: ''Handbook of Oriental Studies'', Section 4: China, Vol. 22. Brill, 2009.

References

{{Religion topics Chinese folk religion Taoist schools East Asian religions