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Mair provides archaeological and linguistic evidence that Chinese wū < *m y ag 巫 "shaman; witch, wizard; magician" was a loanword from Old Persian *maguš "magician; magus". [26] Mair connects the bronze script character for wū 巫 with the " cross potent " symbol ☩ found in Neolithic West Asia, suggesting the loan of both the symbol and ...
At the heart of ancient Taoism there was an artisanal element, for both the wizards and the philosophers were convinced that important and useful things could be achieved by using one's hands. They did not participate in the mentality of the Confucian scholar-administrator, who sat on high in his tribunal issuing orders and never employing his ...
Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion (Yang et al 2005, 4). Many stories regarding characters and events of the distant past have a double tradition: ones which present a more historicized or euhemerized version and ones which presents a more mythological version (Yang et al 2005, 12–13).
In ancient times, magic played a significant role in societies such as ancient Egypt and Babylonia, as evidenced by historical records. In the Middle East , references to magic can be found in the Torah and the Quran, where witchcraft is condemned due to its association with belief in magic , as it is within other Abrahamic religions .
Chinese shamanism, alternatively called Wuism (Chinese: 巫教; pinyin: wū jiào; lit. 'wu religion', 'shamanism', 'witchcraft'; alternatively 巫觋宗教 wū xí zōngjiào), refers to the shamanic religious tradition of China. [1] [2] Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan culture. [3]
The 121 CE Shuowen Jiezi, the first important dictionary of Chinese characters, does not enter 仙 except in the definition for 偓佺 (Wòquán "name of an ancient immortal"). It defines 僊 as "live long and move away" and 仚 as "appearance of a person on a mountaintop".
Modern and ancient Chinese culture had plenty of room for both religion and mythology. Certain deities or spirits receive special attention. These include divinities of wealth, longevity, fertility. Mythologically, it is possible to attain many desires through ritual activity involved with mythological themes.
Chinese Bronzeware script for wu 巫 "shaman" Victor H. Mair (1990) suggested that Chinese wū (巫 "shaman; witch, wizard; magician") may originate as a loanword from Old Persian *maguš "magician; magi". Mair reconstructs an Old Chinese * m y ag. [35] The reconstruction of Old Chinese forms is somewhat speculative.