Fangshi
Fangshi ( Chinese 方士 , Pinyin fāngshì ) are magic priests of ancient Chinese. The term Fangshi means "man of technology" and the Fangshi dealt with traditions that lay outside the Confucian rites and customs. Its origins can be traced back to the archivists of the Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty , in whose hands the fortune-telling lay, and of whom Laozi is said to have been one. Likewise, the Wu legacy was incorporated into the Fangshi practices.
During the Chunqiu period , the Fangshi were socially respected, as it became a custom to invite them to various courts.
At the time of the first Emperor Qin Shihuangdi , the Fangshi at court had the task of perfecting and maintaining peace (Taiping), finding a miracle drug for the emperor's immortality and establishing contacts with the gods.
The Fangshi practiced astrology , exorcism , medicine , divination , magic , geomancy , longevity techniques , and shamanism .
They were close to the school of Taiji ( Yin and Yang ) and the Five Phases of Change , and under them the importance of Heaven as a deity decreased, while religious practice shifted towards the interpretation of omina .
They were also among the forerunners of the various schools of Daoism , which adopted some of their techniques and views, e.g. B. those of longevity, the search for immortality, the forerunners of Taijiquan and Qigong , sexual practices and breathing exercises . The techniques of external and internal alchemy are also said to go back to the practices of the Fangshi, who believed that immortality could be achieved by taking drugs .
In the registers of the Fangshi on demonology and angelology , the later registers of the Heavenly Master Daoism can be found for the rule of gods , demons and spirits .
A thinker who had an important position among the Fangshi was Zou Yan .
literature
- Isabelle Robinet : History of Taoism . Diederichs, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-424-01298-X .
- W. Eichhorn : The old Chinese religion and the state cult. EJ Brill, Leiden et al. 1976, ISBN 90-04-04487-6 ( Handbook of Oriental Studies . Section 4: China . Volume 4: Religions and Customs . Section 1).