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Numinous herbs: Stars, spirits and medicinal plants in Late Imperial China 1

Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine, 2022, p.456-472

2022 selection and editorial matter, Vivienne Lo and Michael Stanley-Baker; individual chapters, the contributors ;ISBN: 9781032149776 ;ISBN: 9780415830645 ;ISBN: 0415830648 ;ISBN: 1032149779 ;EISBN: 9781135008970 ;EISBN: 0203740262 ;EISBN: 1135008965 ;EISBN: 9781135008963 ;EISBN: 1135008973 ;EISBN: 9780203740262 ;DOI: 10.4324/9780203740262-36

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  • Title:
    Numinous herbs: Stars, spirits and medicinal plants in Late Imperial China 1
  • Author: Bernardi Junqueira, Luis Fernando
  • Lo, Vivienne ; Yang, Dolly ; Stanley-Baker, Michael
  • Is Part Of: Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine, 2022, p.456-472
  • Description: This chapter looks at the intertwined relationship between herbs and occult arts in Late Imperial China (c. sixteenth to early twentieth centuries). Before the formal creation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the 1950s, astrology, divination, talismans, spells and incantations, often combined with herbs, constituted the core of healthcare cultures in China. Invoked through herbal incense, gods and spirits stood as active agents in the processes of healing, while demons, beasts and insects could be repelled using such everyday herbs as artemisia, peach flowers and ginger. Past studies have persistently dismissed this ritual knowledge of herbs as 'magical' or 'superstitious', and the worldview wherein this knowledge is rooted as 'ludicrous'. Drawing on manuscripts and printed books - alongside fieldwork with folk healers in Shanghai and Hong Kong (2014-2020) - the longstanding relationship between herbs, rituals and occult arts in traditional China is instead approached from historical and anthropological perspectives. What is the place of occult herbal knowledge in Chinese medical literature? To what extent does this knowledge relate to scholarly medicine, its theories and practices? What was its significance for everyday life? And who were the actors mostly involved with the ritual use of herbs?
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISBN: 9781032149776
    ISBN: 9780415830645
    ISBN: 0415830648
    ISBN: 1032149779
    EISBN: 9781135008970
    EISBN: 0203740262
    EISBN: 1135008965
    EISBN: 9781135008963
    EISBN: 1135008973
    EISBN: 9780203740262
    DOI: 10.4324/9780203740262-36
  • Source: Taylor & Francis eBooks Open Access
    DOAB: Directory of Open Access Books
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