<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This article* examines the origins and development of notions about <italic>jian</italic> spirits, beings into which, according to Chinese folk tradition, the souls of the dead transform after their demise. An analysis of the few available references to <italic>jian</italic> in Chinese literature and folklore suggests that the first mention of <italic>jian</italic> as ‘ghosts of ghosts’ appears relatively late, in the 13th century, as the result of a combination of two independent traditions: the written <italic>jian</italic> formula used in apotropaic practices from at least the Tang period (618–907), and a complex of ideas about the mortality of ghosts and their posthumous fate that took shape in the early Middle Ages, possibly under the influence of Buddhism. A detailed development of the ghosts of ghosts motif occurs as part of High Qing supernatural discourse in the works of writers Pu Songling and Yuan Mei. By the end of the 19th century notions that had been created by such literary representation were inherited by the popular belief system. The evolution of ideas about <italic>jian</italic>, which continues to the present, as far as one can judge from the supply on the market of magical paraphernalia and the material of modern supernatural web novels, provides a vivid example of how new concepts of Chinese folk religious tradition emerge and transform.</p>
</abstract>

This article* examines the origins and development of notions about jian spirits, beings into which, according to Chinese folk tradition, the souls of the dead transform after their demise. An analysis of the few available references to jian in Chinese literature and folklore suggests that the first mention of jian as ‘ghosts of ghosts’ appears relatively late, in the 13th century, as the result of a combination of two independent traditions: the written jian formula used in apotropaic practices from at least the Tang period (618–907), and a complex of ideas about the mortality of ghosts and their posthumous fate that took shape in the early Middle Ages, possibly under the influence of Buddhism. A detailed development of the ghosts of ghosts motif occurs as part of High Qing supernatural discourse in the works of writers Pu Songling and Yuan Mei. By the end of the 19th century notions that had been created by such literary representation were inherited by the popular belief system. The evolution of ideas about jian, which continues to the present, as far as one can judge from the supply on the market of magical paraphernalia and the material of modern supernatural web novels, provides a vivid example of how new concepts of Chinese folk religious tradition emerge and transform.

Death Beyond Death: <italic>Jian</italic> Spirits in Chinese Popular Belief

Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Death Beyond Death:  Spirits in Chinese Popular Belief

This article* examines the origins and development of notions about jian spirits, beings into which, according to Chinese folk tradition, the souls of the dead...

Death Beyond Death: Jian Spirits in Chinese Popular Belief

Publié en ligne: 14 juin 2023

Pages: 68 - 82

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2023-0006

Mots clés
ghosts, exorcism, netherworld, Chinese folklore, Chinese popular religion

© 2023 Elizaveta Volchkova, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Death Beyond Death: Jian Spirits in Chinese Popular Belief

Publié en ligne: 14 juin 2023

Pages: 68 - 82

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2023-0006

Mots clésghosts, exorcism, netherworld, Chinese folklore, Chinese popular religion

© 2023 Elizaveta Volchkova, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
ghosts, exorcism, netherworld, Chinese folklore, Chinese popular religion