Fuji () is a method of "

planchette A planchette ( or ), from the French for "little plank", is a small, usually heart-shaped flat piece of wood equipped with two wheeled casters and a pencil-holding aperture pointing downwards, used to facilitate automatic writing. The use of ...

writing", or "

spirit writing Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged spir ...

", that uses a suspended sieve or tray to guide a stick which writes

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

in sand or incense ashes.

Development

Beginning around the

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 CE), the ''fuji'' method and written characters changed from "support the sieve" (spirit-writing using a suspended sieve or winnowing tray) to "support the planchette" (directing a stick or stylus, typically made from a willow or peach branch, and roughly resembling a dowsing-rod).

Vocabulary

Chinese ''fuji'' spirit-writing involves some specialized vocabulary. ''Luan'' () "a mythical phoenix-like bird" is used in synonyms such as (, "support the phoenix"), ( "flying phoenix," and (, "descending phoenix"). The ''fuji'' process involves specialized participants. The two people (or rarely one) who hold the sieve or stylus are called (, "planchette hands"), only one of whom is ostensibly possessed by a ''shen'' (, "spirit; god") or ''xian'' (, "immortal; transcendent"). Their assistants include a ''pingsha'' (, "level sand") who smooths out the (, "sand table"), a (, "planchette reader") who interprets the characters, and a (, "planchette copyist") who records them. ''Jiwen'' (, "planchette writing") is a general reference to texts produced through Chinese ''fuji'' spirit-writing.

Folk history

Spirit-writing has a long history in

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 ...

, and is first recorded (Chao 1942:12) during the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

(420-479 CE). ''Fuji'' planchette-writing became popular 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), when authors like

Shen Kuo Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Shen wa ...

and

Su Shi Su Shi (; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song dynasty. A major personality of ...

associated its origins with summoning

Zigu Zigu (), also known as Maogu, is a goddess representing toilets in Chinese folk religion. She was believed to be the spirit of a concubine who had been physically abused by a vengeful wife and died in the latrine. It is believed that her cult orig ...

(, "Purple Maiden"), the Spirit of the Latrine. ''Fuji'' divination flourished during the Ming dynasty, and the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu You ...

(r. 1522–1566) built a special ''jitan'' (, "planchette altar") in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

(Despeux 2007:428). Although the practice of ''fuji'' planchette-writing was prohibited by the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644-1912)

Legal Code A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...

, it has continued and is currently practiced at Daoist temples in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia as well as folk shrines in China. Planchette writing is also mentioned in translations of the Golden Flower meditation

manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...

that is used in modern practice in the United States as well.

Uses

''Fuji'' is particularly associated with the

Quanzhen School The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn''), also known as Completion of Authenticity, Complete Reality, and Complete Perfection is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Taoism in mainland China. It originated in Northern China i ...

of Daoism. The ''

Daozang Daozang (), meaning 'Taoist Canon', consists of around 1,400 texts that were collected (after the ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi'' and Liezi which are the core Taoist texts). They were collected by Taoist monks of the period in an attempt to brin ...

'' "Daoist Canon" contains several scriptures supposedly written through spirit-writing. Two examples are the ''Zitong dijun huashu'' (, "Book of Transformations of the Divine Lord of Zitong").

References

External links

Planchette writing (Fuji)
Taoist Culture & Information Centre
Spirit-writing and Hakka Migration in Taiwan – A Case Study of the Canzan Tang in Puli , Nantou County
Paul R. Katz

Museum of Talking Boards

''Fuji'' Altar at Kam Lan Koon , Hong Kong

''Fuji'' Altar at Che Sui Khor, Malaysia

''Fuji'' at {{lang, zh, 世界紅卍字會臺灣總主會, Taiwan Chinese mythology Taoist practices Chinese culture Chinese words and phrases Mediumship Eastern esotericism