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Reflections on the Political Role of Spirit Mediums in Early China: The Wu Officials in the Zhou Li

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2015

Lothar von Falkenhausen
Lothar von Falkenhausen*
Affiliation:
Department of History of Art, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA 90024
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Abstract

Through close analysis of the traditional hermeneutics of the Zhou li sections on the Si 丽(Manager of the Spirit Mediums), Nanwu (Male Spirit Mediums), and Nüzou (Female Spirit Mediums), this article attempts to reconstruct the classical image of spirit mediums during the Zhou dynasty. It shows that spirit mediums, though grouped under the “bureaucratic” hierarchy of the Zhou li, have traditionally been assumed to be distinct in function and activities from the officials with whom they interacted duringceremonies. As specialized religious virtuousi capable of communicating with the supernatural forces, they apparently continued to play a distinguished role in political ritual — possibly derived from Shang court shamanism, and undoubtedly ancestral to the function of mediums in late traditional popular religion.

根據對《周禮》『春官』「司巫」、「男巫」、「女巫」三條經 文各家注疏的仔細分析,此文試圖對周代巫者的概念與作用進行初歩的復原.這些巫者雖然被置於《周禮》的理想化了的״官制״之中, 但學者傳統上一直認爲他們在職能、行動上皆與其在各種儀式裏經常接觸到的行政官員有異.巫者因能與「鬼」、「神」交往而成爲宗敎活動中所必不可少的專職人員.由于他們參加的儀式均俱有濃厚的政治色彩,所以巫者在《周禮》成書時期仍然有一定的重要性. 他們的此種職能很可能是從商代的宮廷巫制承繼下來的, 並在晚期的民間宗敎裏尙可看到其痕跡.

Type
Articles
Information
Early China , Volume 20 , 1995 , pp. 279 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Study of Early China 1995

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References

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6. On shamans in the Shang, see also Minao, Hayashi 林巳奈夫, “Chūgoku kodai-no shinfu 中域古神巫,” Tōhōgakuhō 38 (1966), 199–224Google Scholar. Recently, Victor Mair (in his ”Old Sinitic *Mgag, Old Persian Magus, and English ‘Magician’,” Early China 15 (1990), 27–47CrossRefGoogle Scholar) has argued that the word wu 巫 originates in an Indo-European dialect, speculating that early wu practitioners active in Shang and Zhou contexts may have been ritual experts of westerly origin. Even if this is true, it seems safe to assume that spiritmedium practices — whatever they may have been called — were part of the most basic substratum of popular religious activity in ancient China just as they are in most other areas of the world, pre-dating all known occurrences of the word wu. Generally, in Early China studies, one all too easily falls victim to the fallacy of equating a cultural phenomenon with a single lexical item.

7. All my citations are to Sun Yirang 孫飴讓, Zhou li zhengyi 周禮正義, date of preface 1900 (Sibu beiyao ed.).

8. Jiegang, Gu 顧額岡, “Zhou Gong zhi li de chuanshuo he ‘Zhouguan’ yi shu de chuxian 周公制禮的傳說和周官一書的出現” Wenshi 6(1979), 1–40Google Scholar.

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11. Broman, Sven, “Studies on the Chou Li” Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 33 (1961), 1–88Google Scholar. Of course, Broman does not mean to conclude from his findings that the Zhou li as a text is of early date. Precisely such a stance — quite untenable, in my opinon—has, however, been adopted by Xueqin, Li 李學勸, who argues (in “Zhou li yu Qinlū - Du Zhou li zhengyi周禮與秦律——讃周禮正義,” Wenzhou Shifan Xueyuan xuebao 溫州師範學院學報 1990.1, 1–9Google Scholar) that the Zhou li is itself essen-ti ally a Western Zhou text. For a useful overview on the textual history of the Zhou li, see also Boltz, William G., “Chou li周禮,” in Loewe, Michael, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide (Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China and Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1993), 24–32Google Scholar. I am grateful to Dr. Lionel Jensen for the reference to Li Xueqin's article, and to Li Xueqin for oral communication concerning this issue.

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13. This term is useful in the present context because the Zhou li is, in my opinion, an excellent example of a text that derives its existence essentially from other texts, and thus is amenable to the line of analysis proposed in Genette, Gérard, Palimpsestes (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1981Google Scholar).

14. “Liguan zhi Shu 禮官乏屬”, Zhou li zhengyi, 32.

15. Cf. the diagram in Zhang, and Liu, , Xi Zhou jinwen guanzhi yanjiu, 127Google Scholar.

16. Cf. “Siwuw § 1, Zhou li zhengyi, 50.15a-19b.

17. Zhou it zhengyi, 50.15a-19b.

18. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.21a.

19. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.15a-17a and 19b.

20. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.17a-19b.

21. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.21a-b.

22. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.21 a-b. Sun Yirang alludes to the Guo yu “Chu Yu xia” passage discussed by Keightley in “Shamanism in Guo Yu?” (cf. Guo yu [Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chubanshe, 1988], vol. 2, 559–560Google Scholar).

23. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.25a.

24. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.25a.

25. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.25a. Compare Guo yu, vol. 2, 559–560Google Scholar. The translation follows Keightley, , “Shamanism in Guo Yu?” 35–36Google Scholar.

26. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.25a-26a. Sun Yirang considers it significant that the word shi 仕 occurs (with the “human” radical) in connection with the dancers attached to the “Official of the Oxtail-Standard” (Maoren 旌人; Zhou li zhengyi, 46.15b).

27. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.25a-b.

28. Sun Yirang explains (Zhou li zhengyi, 32.25b) why only Male Spirit Mediums can be considered for the more elevated Spirit Medium positions: “The Female Spirit Mediums are in charge only of anointments and ablutions, as well as dancing the yu rite; they do not know the various [other] things [that have to be done].”

29. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.12b14־b.

30. Neither the Zhou li text nor the commentaries specify whether the “Instructors of Spirit Mediums” — supposedly appointed from among the Spirit Mediums — hold their aristocratic ranks hereditarily, like other ranked officials.

31. Zheng's enumeration comes from the Zhou li section on the “Grand Master of the Multitude” (Dasitu 大司徒); Zhou li zhengyi, 19.15b-17a. A similar enumeration, in a slightly different order and with the synonymous yu 奴 for yu 御(“chariotry”), appears in the section on the “Protector” (Baoshi 保氏); Zhou li zhengyi, 26.1a.

32. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.21a.

33. Shuowen jiezi zhu 說文解字注(rptv Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chubanshe, 1981), 201Google Scholar. The ellipsis reflects two short sentences left out by Sun Yirang. According to Shi Ji “Yinbenji” (rpt, Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1959), 100–101Google Scholar, Wu Xian巫咸 (Xian the Medium) and his son Wu Xian巫賢were important court officials of the Shang dynasty, under kings Tai Wu 太戊 (trad. r. 1637-1563) and Zu Yi 祖乙 (trad. r. 15251507), respectively. Sun Yirang (ap. Zhou li “Siwu2§ “, Zhou li zhengyi, 50.17a) cites Wang Zhong汪中(1745-1794) who speculates that their mediumistic practices remained a model for later Zhou wu.

34. Shuowen jiezi zhu, 202. The locus classicus for xi is Guo yu “Chu yu xia” (Guo yu, v. 2, 559); for an extensive discussion of the term, see Keightley, “Shamanism in Guo Yu?”

35. See Duan Yucai's 段玉裁 (1735-1815) commentary on Shuowen, entry xi (Shuo-wen jiezi zhu, 202).

36. See Chunqiu fanlu “Jinghua pian” (Han Wei Congshu ed.), 3:7a; for Sun's critique, cf. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.22a-b (ap. “Nüwu” §2).

37. Harbsmeier, Christoph, “Where Do Classical Chinese Nouns Come From? With Some Notes on a Syntactic Hybrid in Koiné Greek,” Early China 9/10 (1983–1985), 79–81Google Scholar. In Shuowen, “X, B ye-type definitions often seem to denote no more than mental association.

38. Yuan, Ruan, ed., Shisanjing zhushu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1981), vol. 2, 2205Google Scholar.

39. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.21a.

40. For the original locus, see Guo yu, vol. 2, 559–560Google Scholar; tr. Keightley, , “Shamanism in Guo Yu?,” 35–36Google Scholar. In my understanding, this phrase refers not merely to the Spirit Me diums: it generalizes about the function of all sorts of ritual specialists, including zhu “Invocators” and zong 宗 “Temple Officials.”

41. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.20a-21b

42. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.21b-23a

43. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Nanwu” §1 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.20a-b. The commentators elaborate on the “Dazhuw section (Zhou li zhengyi, 49.6b), which states: “They (sc. the Dazhu) distinguish between the six kinds of honorific titles. The first are called ‘titles of spirits.’ The second are called ‘titles of ghosts.’ The third are called ‘titles of earth-deities.’ The fourth are called ‘titles of sacrificial animals.’ The fifth are called ‘titles of sacrificial vessels.’ The sixth are called ‘titles of sacrificial silks.’ The kinds of prayers in which these titles are to be used are listed in the “Zuzhu” section (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.14a).

44. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Nanwu” §2 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.20b21־a). The present Zhou li text has zeng 贈 “to present,” but Zheng Xuan mentions an old variant that reads zeng 贈 “to shoot arrows.” In the Han dynasty, at the Da Nuo 大灘 exorcism that preceded the New Year's celebration, spirit mediums do appear to have taken part in a shooting ritual (see Bodde, Derk, Festivals in Classical China [Princeton and Hong Kong: Princeton University Press, 1975], 84–85Google Scholar). Both commentators refer to the section on the Exorcists (“Fangxiangshi 方相氏,” Zhou li zhengyi, 59.19b), who, at the nuo ritual, “don the hide of a young bear ornamented with four eyes of gold, a dark jacket and a red skirt, holding a dagger-axe (ge 戈)and wielding a shield; thus they lead a hundred menial officials in carrying out the nuo at the appointed times. With them they search the buildings and expurgate diseases [from them],”

45. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Nüwu” §1 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.21b-22a). Zheng Xuan links this passage to the Lustration Festival of the Han dynasty (see Bodde, , Festivals in Classical China, 273–288Google Scholar); Sun Yirang extends the reference of this passage to all other occasions when anointments and ablutions are performed throughout the year.

46. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Nanwu3” §3 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.21 a-b). Sun Yirang approvingly quotes the commentary by Hui Shiqi 惠士奇 (1671-1741), who, after briefly paraphrasing portions of the “Dazhu,” “Xiaozhu,” “Nanvvu,” and “Nüwu” sections which, to him, indicate that these respective officials each possess specific healing techniques, cites Huainan Zi “Shuoshan xun” (Sibu congkan ed.), 16.14b: “When sick persons are lying on their mats, physicians (yi醫), using [metal]-needles and stone-needles [for acupuncture], and mediums, using purified grains (xu 精)and reeds (ji 藉)save them.”

47. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Nanwu” §4 and “Nūwu” §3 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.21b and 22b). Sun links this passage with the section on the “Invocator of Funerals” (Sangzhu 喪祝), which states (Zhou Li zhengyi, 50.10a): “When the king offers condolence, they together with the mediums precede him.” This may be derived from an episode in Zuo Zhuan Xiang 29 (Shisanjing zhushu ed.), vol. 2, 2004: When Xiang Gong of Lu was offering condolence on the death of Kang Wang of Chu, “a medium first purified the unburied corpse in its coffin, using a branch of a peach tree and a straw-broom (taolie ).” From a variety of other sources. Sun Yirang concludes that the Spirit Mediums follow the king or queen inside the residence of the bereaved family only when the corpse has not yet been washed.

48. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Siwu” §5 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.19b); for further discussion, see below.

49. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Siwu” § “ and “Nūwu2§ “ (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.15b-17a and 22a-b). The participation of Male Mediums in this ritual is nowhere made explicit in the Zhou li text, but Sun Yirang, to show that males were in fact involved, quotes, inter alia, He Xiu's commentary on Gongyang zhuan Huan 5 (Shisanjing zhushu ed.), vol. 2, 2216), where the yu is described as follows: One lets children, eight boys and eight girls, dance, shouting ‘yu 雩! Hence it is called yu.” In the same context, Sun refutes attempts to justify the use of Female Spirit Mediums through yin/yang speculation (see above).

50. See Zheng Xuan and Sun Yirang ap. “Siwu” §2 and “Nüwu” §4 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.17a and 22b-23a). Against Jia Gongyan, who had postulated that Spirit Mediums perform only in the case of droughts, Sun Yirang thinks that they officiated at a large spectrum of calamities, arguing that neither when the section on the Lesser Ministers of Rites (“Xiaozongbo” 小司樂; Zhou li zhengyi, 36.21a) mentions “great calamities of Heaven and Earth,” nor in the case of the “great miracles, extraordinary happenings, and calamities” mentioned in the section on the Great Managers of Music (“Dasiyue” 大司樂; Zhou li zhengyi, 43.15a) does the context suggest any specific connection with droughts.

51. In what may additionally reflect ritualists' conception of gender rôles (such as a perceived need for females to be directed), the Siwu are associated especially closely with the Nüwu, and somewhat less so with the Nanwu.

52. Zhou li zhengyi, 32.21a.

53. See Zhou li zhengyi, 32.25a.

54. This translation reflects Zheng Xuan's understanding of the term. For alternative explanations of this term, see Sun Yirang ap. “Siwu” §2 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.17a). If Zheng is correct, these “long-standing practices” are likely to be “praying by singing, and wailing” mentioned in an identical context in “Nüwu” §4 (Zhou li zhengyi, 50.22b-23a). Significantly, none of the commentators sees any connection with a locus in Lun-yu “Zi Lu” (Shisanjing zhushu ed.), vol. 2: 2508, where Kongzi approvingly quotes a saying of the “Southerners” (nanren 南人)according to which heng 恒 “constancy” is a key quality of both spirit-mediums and physicians (or, according to Zheng Xuan's Lunyu commentary [ibid.], of their patients). On heng see Carr, Michael, “Shamanic Heng 恆 ‘Constancy’,” Otaru Shōka Daigaku jinbun kenkyū 83 (1992), 93–159Google Scholar.

55. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.19b.

56. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.19b.

57. Chu ci buzhu, 2. For a sensitive analysis, see Waley, Arthur, The Nine Songs: A Study of Shamanism in Ancient China (London: Allen & Unwin, 1955)Google Scholar.

58. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.20b-21a.

59. Cf. Eliade, Mircea, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964)Google Scholar.

60. Zhou li zhengyi, 50.20a-b.

61. Cf. Tambiah, Stanley J., Culture, Thought, and Social Action (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1985)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

62. Carr, Michael, “Personation of the Dead in Ancient China,” Computational Analysis of Asian & African Languages 24 (1985), 1–107Google Scholar.

63. Shisanjing zhushu, vol. 1, 467–470Google Scholar. See also Karlgren, Bernhard, The Book of Odes (Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 1950), 161–163Google Scholar. For a more extensive interpretation of the ritual process as described in this ode, see Falkenhausen, Lothar von, Suspended Music: Chime-bells in the Culture of Bronze Age China (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 25–32Google Scholar.

64. Zhou li zhengyi, 49.18a-20a.

65. In a different context, this has also been suggested by Ichirō, Kominami 小南一 郞, “Sha-no saishi-no shokeitai-to sono kigen Koshi shunjū 4 (1986), 17–37Google Scholar.

66. See Chang, K. C., “Some Dualistic Phenomena in Shang Society,” Journal of Asian Studies 24 (1964), 45–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar.