On Wuism in China
The wu, from the earliest records available to us from the Shang Dynasty through to the imperial writings, have been associated with a wide sphere of activities that include divination, sorcery, exorcism, rainmaking, medicine and, in its most denigrated and denounced form, what we might call ‘witchcraft’ in the West . It is often claimed on social media and in marketing schemes that the wu are the forefathers of Chinese medicine, even to the point of earning Chinese medicine the title of ‘shamanic medicine’. But can it be substantiated that the wu were the initiators of the impetus that finally lead to the founding of what is known today as Chinese medicine?
-from ‘The Role of the Wu-Physicians in the Making of Chinese Medicine’ in Legacy of Chinese Shamanism: The Wu and their Successors (Purple Cloud Press forthcoming)
Image: Siberian Yup’ik Shaman
Post-Scriptum: If you do not want to miss its release (12 scholars contributing), then sign up at: www.purplecloudinstitute.com/register
If you enjoyed reading this please consider supporting us!
When we started the Purple Cloud Institute, our aim was to make accessible educational material about traditional Chinese cultural practices. We strive to keep prices of our books as affordable as possible and the content we provide free of charge. However, there are many ongoing behind the scenes costs and the time taken to provide such content is considerable.
If you have enjoyed our offerings please consider donating and supporting us. The help will allow us to make time to bring you more in the way of book publications, podcasts and videos about tradition-based Daoist, Chinese medicine and martial arts and help keep these traditions alive.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated!
