Month January 2021

The Book of Xian and Shen (BOXS), a Catalog of Chinese Gods

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

I recently learned about an interesting website called the Book of Xian and Shen (BOXS), which catalogs information and pictures for Chinese gods from all over the world. There are currently 2,000 listings and counting.

https://www.bookofxianshen.com/

It is based on the work of religious scholar Keith Stevens (d. 2016), who wrote the amazing Chinese Gods: The Unseen Worlds of Spirits and Demons (Collins & Brown, 1997) (fig. 1). I recently volunteered to help the project. So far, I’ve written two articles (see reference no. W1001 and W1011) and updated two other existing listings with information and pictures (see the bottom of W8620 and W9305).

Fig. 1 – My well-worn personal copy of Chinese Gods (larger version).

Due to the great number of listings, there are no direct links. Instead, the site has adopted a somewhat confusing (but necessary) cataloging system based around reference numbers, pinyin, Mandarin, and Wade-Giles. However, it’s easy to use once you get used to it. For example, if you were going to search for Sanqing, the “Three Pure Ones,” using, say, Pinyin, I recommend first getting the reference number (RefNo). 

Deities —> Tabular Listing of Xian Shen Deities —> Field: Pinyin —> Type: Contains —> Value: San qing (you may have to play around with the spacing like I did here) —> Filter —> Then look for the correct listing (since other listings mentioning them might appear in the list) —> ☰ —> copy the “RefNo”, in this case W5540 (fig. 2) —> Deities —> Deities Page with Full Listing Side Bar —> Field: RefNo —> Type: Contains —> Value: W5540 —> Filter (fig. 3) —> The listing (fig. 4)

If you know the Mandarin or Wade-Giles for the deity you are looking for, the process would be similar. You would just need to change the field to “Mandarin” or “Wade-Giles”. You could just jump to “Deities Page with Full Listing Side Bar” to search using pinyin, mandarin, and Wade-Giles, but it’s been my experience that a different listing will pop up first based on a higher RefNo or Romanized spelling. First finding the reference number seems to be the easiest method for me.

I can’t recommend this website enough. New gods, as well as new stories or beliefs associated with more established deities, are appearing all the time, so it is very important to catalog everything as soon as new information becomes available. If you would like to volunteer in some way, please contact Ronni Pinsler using the “contact” form on the BOXS website.

Fig. 2 – How to acquire the reference number (RefNo) (larger version). Fig. 3 – How to navigate to the listing (larger version). Fig. 4 – The listing as seen from the top of the page (larger version).

My Qitian Dasheng Monkey King Talisman Block

Jim R. McClanahan 2 Comments

In August of 2020 I happened upon an online listing for a carved wooden talisman block bearing Sun Wukong’s divine, rebellious title Qitian Dasheng (齊天大聖) (fig. 1). The seller was located in Singapore, so I asked my local friend to meet with them to make sure it was legitimate. Two weeks later I had the block in hand (thank you Antz). It measures 8.5 x 2.125 x 1 in (21.59 x 5.397 x 2.54 cm) and is made from some kind of light-colored, smooth-grained wood. The face contains a series of intricately carved Chinese characters and magic symbols.

Fig. 1 – The talisman block and a print (larger image). The image has been enhanced slightly for clarity. Fig. 2 – The talisman legend (larger version). See here for a version without the numbers.

I. Meaning

Here I will explain the various symbols as I understand them (fig. 2). I am by no means an expert, so I am open to comment. I’d like to thank members of the “Talismans of Asia” Heritage Group (亞洲符咒文化資訊網) on Facebook for their suggestions.

1. 齊天宮 (Qitian gong) – The “Equaling Heaven Temple”, a house of worship in Singapore dedicated to Monkey. The characters are written backwards according to traditional fashion.

2. These three checkmark-shaped symbols refer to the 三清 (Sanqing, “Three Pure Ones“), the three highest gods of Daoism. An informant also told me that they can represent heaven, earth, and man.

3. 奉齊天大聖 (Feng Qitian dasheng) – “Revere the Great Sage Equaling Heaven”, the main deity of the Qitian Temple.

4. These barbwire-like designs may represent symbolic weapons of some kind. [1]

5. 六甲 (Liujia) – Refers to the “Six Jia“, protector spirits of Daoism. They are grouped with the Six Ding (Mugitani, 2008).

6. 六丁 (Liuding) – Refers to the “Six Ding” spirits.

7. 令雷 (Ling lei) – “Commanding thunder” refers to the 雷法 (Leifa, “Thunder Ritual”), a corpus of ritual magic that enables the user to command heavenly beings to exorcize malevolent forces (Reiter, 2010). These characters are usually reversed, 雷令 (Lei ling). This essentially commands the Ding and Jia spirits to execute the order (see #9).

8. 甲將軍 (Jia jiangjun) – “Jia generals”, a reference to the Six Jia spirits.

9. 扶身保命 (Fushen baoming) – “Support the body and save life” is the order to be executed by the Ding and Jia spirits.

10. 爪 (zhao/zhua) 罡 (gang) 卩(jie) – Two halves of the character for 印 (yin, “print”), referring to the talisman, sandwich that for “firm”. 罡 (gang) increases the intensity of the command (#9).

11. This angular symbol is the 符胆 (fu dan), the talisman’s locus of power. [2]

II. Use

Unlike Western stamps which are pressed face down onto paper, the paper itself is pressed onto the face of the talisman block like Japanese woodblock prints (Leffman, 2020). This enables a popular temple to mass produce protective talismans without having to handwrite each one. The talisman is then consecrated with a spell and/or blood from a tangki (童乩) spirit-medium.

Note:

1) See #17 in Chan, 2014, p. 35.

2) Again, see #17 in Chan, 2014, p. 35.

Source:

Chan, M., Goh, R., Choo, P., & Tan, B. (2014). Tangki War Magic: The Virtuality of Spirit Warfare and the Actuality of Peace. Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice, 58(1), 25-46. Retrieved January 23, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24718290

Leffman, D. (2020). Paper Horses: Woodblock Prints of Chinese Gods from 1930s Beijing. [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Horses-Woodblock-Chinese-Beijing-ebook/dp/B08QZTLF3H

Mugitani, K. (2008). Liujia and Liuding. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism: Vol. 1 & 2 (pp. 695-697). Longdon: Routledge.

Reiter, F. C. (2010). Taoist Thunder Magic (五雷法), Illustrated with the Example of the Divine Protector Chao Kung-ming 趙公明. Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 160(1), 121-154. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.160.1.0121

Archive #20 – The Xiyou ji in Its Formative Stages: The Late Ming Editions (1981)

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Not many people know that there are three main editions of Journey to the West from the Ming Dynasty. The best known is the standard 1592 edition, Newly Printed, Illustrated, Deluxe and Large Character, Journey to the West (Xinke chuxiang guanban dazi Xiyou ji, 新刻出像官板大字西遊記) in 20 scrolls and 100 chapters (minus the current chapter nine). The second is the “Zhu edition”, Newly printed, Completely Illustrated, Chronicle of Deliverances in Sanzang of the Tang’s Journey to the West (Xinqie quanxiang Tang Sanzang Xiyou shi ni (e) zhuan, 新鍥全像唐三藏西遊释尼(厄)傳) in ten scrolls (with three to ten chapters each) by Zhu Dingchen (朱鼎臣) of Yangcheng (羊城, i.e. Guangzhou). The third is the “Yang edition”, Newly Printed, Complete Biography of Sanzang’s Career (Xinqie Sanzang chushen quanzhuan, 新鍥三藏出身全傳) in four scrolls and 40 chapters by Yang Zhihe (陽至和) of Qiyun (齊雲).

For decades, various scholars have debated the relationship between these three editions. Points raised in this discussion suggest the following: the 1592 edition is based on Yang; Zhu and Yang are based on the 1592 edition; Yang is based on Zhu and the 1592 edition came later, using Zhu as a source; Zhu is based on Yang; Zhu and Yang predate the 1592 edition but all three are based on an earlier, extinct version; Yang is based on Zhu, which is based on the 1592 edition; and the 1592 edition is based on the Yang version, which is based on the extinct version.

Koss (1981) performs an in-depth analysis of all three editions, showing that the 1592 edition is an expansion of Zhu, and Yang is a later abridgement of the former. Zhu being the oldest, with portions likely predating 1450, is based on its earlier style phrasing and chapter structure; the use of vernacular language with simplistic two-person dialogue and fewer and less literary poems, suggesting a reliance on oral literature; and Zhu illustrations serving as the basis for many pictures from the 1592 edition. This two volume tome is a fascinating, though extremely technical, read for anyone interested in the development of Journey to the West.

An image from the Zhu version (larger version).

Archive link:

Click to access the-xiyou-ji-in-its-formative-stages-the-late-ming-editions.pdf

Disclaimer:

This has been posted for educational purposes. No malicious copyright infringement is intended. Please support the official release.

Source:

Koss, N. (1981). The Xiyou ji in Its Formative Stages: The Late Ming Editions (Vols. 1-2). (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 8112445)