dynasty dominant religion people northeast asia descendants people early dynasty conducted ceremonies called kinds entered trance let possessed spirits conducted regular sacrifices heaven clan ancestors clan protective spirits unified tribes rule early seventeenth century imposed protective spirits clan clans destroyed early placed center state ritual sacrificing heaven engaging military campaigns son successor renamed officially founded dynasty practices service state notably forbidding erect new ritual purposes ruler conducted sacrifices capital soon seized beijing begin conquest china named new capital erected official shrine beijing women quarters emperors professional usually women conducted ceremonies dynasty eighteenth century core spiritual life differentiated han chinese garrisoned chinese cities adopting aspects chinese lifestyle commissioned publication code revive regulate practices feared lost distributed guide practice know little effect policy han chinese forbidden attend ceremonies partly secret aspect rituals attracted curiosity beijing visitors capital code translated chinese published outsiders little understanding practices populations 1910s russian found surviving practices build theory shaped later theoretical debates late 1980s theories criticized relation state historians arguing practices northeast asia tied establishment states analysis fits case background religion typical peoples word language appears language origins common religion ancestors practiced long leaders conquered china emperors dynasty historical origins early shrine altar spirits chinese equivalent means hall derived chinese start translated rendered chinese temple term originated portable god boxes placed god mobile hunters bands started settle villages typical kind settlement permanent fixtures village clan village association villages claimed share common ancestors sacred protective spirits woman charge spirits dead ancestors contacting seek good hunt harvest quick healing success battle favors point contact community spirits spirit pole chinese pinyin played crucial role early communities authority clan depended kinds rituals corresponding kinds common domestic ritual ritual based sacrifices heaven clan ancestors conducted hereditary clan primitive ritual hand performed people undergone illness seen sign chosen spirits entering trance let possessed animal spirits sought help spirits purposes like healing set altar houses received different kind training hereditary typically wore apron cap denoting ability fly spirit world belt bells carried knife wooden sticks bells drum ceremonies attributes observed early twentieth century rise practices transformed rise founder started unify tribes destroyed defeated tribes replaced protective deities animal clan tribes voluntarily joined allowed gods absorption clans rituals clan started process state religion continued eighteenth century transformation mirrored process political state traditional belief multiple heavens replaced heaven called han new heaven object state cult similar rulers cult heaven dynasty worship thirteenth century state sacrifice early counterpart chinese worship heaven early appealed heaven right wrong heaven shrine leaving campaign tribe belonged rival confederacy annals report announced seven great grievances dynasty april conducted ceremony burned oath heaven written piece yellow paper ceremony deliberately omitted later chinese translation event court son renamed forbade officials ritual purposes making monopoly ruler banned treating illness albeit little success chronicle documenting history state rituals held capital commanding banner troops china early prince regent newly led princes heaven personal purposes eldest son supposedly tried entire lineage help state beijing months seized city beijing peasant rebels pushed emperor dynasty suicide constructed new city modeled capital sanctuary octagonal building shape specific clan located outside southeast occupied making convenient imperial visits emperor offerings heaven deities including horse spirit chinese strictly forbidden entering ritual area state main ritual performed emperor day new year eras ceremony emperor activity day new year era fell second rank private sacrifices ancestors somewhat diminished importance rites continued end dynasty destroyed foreign powers aftermath month siege international quarter new shrine rebuilt inside palace december site expanded italian notes today beijing old located avenue directly opposite modern wing palace daily rites conducted women quarters palace chinese pinyin building located near north gate central axis palace complex palace served empress residence dynasty converted ritual use installing spirit pole present sacrifices heaven changing style windows setting large cook food palace women era sacrifices performed wives men emperor selected wives imperial guards chinese pinyin high officials belonging households registered upper banners belonged directly emperor chinese pinyin assisted managed chinese pinyin bureau authority members imperial clan attend ceremonies role emperor promote dynasty legitimacy peoples lived near northeastern borders empire taught language fashion legends founder assisted spirits exploits emperors adopted different images address different subjects multi ethnic empire khan presented incarnation universal buddhist ruler protector buddhism emperor china sponsored civil examinations based classics altar heaven aspect flexible view community healing rituals state ritual resorted treat illness brother helped conquer southern china fell ill smallpox highly disease particularly called named ritual failed died april age began sacrifices performed imperial sons survived attempted cure sixth son rites june son died days later code emperor worried traditions lost especially lived garrisons empire fight trend commissioned code based rites imperial clan explain use instruments meaning ritual transmitted fluent point completed title scholars translated variously commissioned rituals sacrificing deities heaven rites worship heaven spirits commissioned code rituals sacrifices code attempted practices sees attempts cultural spiritual life taking practices imperial clan model code kept manuscript form french study des par chef religion published amsterdam emperor ordered code translated chinese inclusion version printed chinese language edition titled completed compilation code opened bureaucratic review modified practices ordinary code distributed guide practices commercial editions produced sale common public editions dated survived code fully unify practice banners helped fluid diverse belief system diversity practices little evidence concerning practices common garrisons know publication code clans like tribes like wrote rituals showing court model followed sacrifices ordinary households simpler imperial clan noble beijing erected spirit poles private homes households forbidden having private offerings spirit small altar called installed portraits ancestors clan worship heaven chinese imperial tradition paralleled sacrifices emperor offerings chinese heaven ordinary worship heaven chinese heaven encompassing principle cosmic order human destiny state legitimacy ceremonies number gods including deities buddhist handful chinese gods integrated rituals state palace ritual sites large hall received offerings times year including new year ordinary households rarely sacrificed buddhist deities association war identity eighteenth century served strengthen ethnic identity forming spiritual core life emperors shape identity dated april opposed jesuit attempts convert chinese catholicism singled converts criticism emperor lord heaven jesuit god chinese heaven chinese convince nobles use existing rituals heaven explained empire temple honoring heaven sacrificing day year burn paper honor heaven particular rites honoring heaven know french translation court refers literally spirit jumping chinese ceremony according historian proficiency qualities promoted old way attempted heritage late reign countered seen listed qualities court expected documents formally way comments rituals codified formal regulations mere ancestral lost place center spiritual life clans nonetheless persistence practices court twentieth century suggests automatically sole fact ruled china argues contributed identity constructing obvious boundary han chinese residents visitors forbidden observe rituals performed shrine saw rites different mysterious secret alien visitor beijing early remarked things didn ask capital difference rites chinese rituals aroused significant interest korean visitors instance asked questions secret rites writers wanted satisfy readers curiosity exotic practices speculate rely late eighteenth century code nineteenth century chinese accounts rituals error prone explanations ritual language positively confusing scholarly interpretations peoples russian found surviving practices develop influential theory noted northern heavily influenced language culture wore clothing read books conducted weddings according customs discovered buddhist deities northeast asian buddhism thesis widely accepted definition widely discussed equipped specific ritual enters trance gain control harmful spirits cause illness clan tribe role recognized society explicit explanation masters spirits claimed true existed despite warnings understood relation elements culture findings serve develop general interpretation ideas shaped theoretical debates social student drew work emphasize social roles lewis influential analysis spirit possession directly inspired historian religion borrowed russian build seminal theory presented based french original dated notion classic strict proper sense based models emphasized control spirits chief function rituals stated visionary spirit journey induced trance central aspect views centered individuals role small groups instance considered eighteenth century authentic historians northeast asia criticized interpretations neglect political roles relation state claim essence archaic socially led followers neglect historical contexts fulfilled political functions served needs state
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty