The Evolution of Chinese Shamanism: A Case Study from Northwest China
Haiyan Xing, Gerald Murray
Religions December 4, 2018 DOI: 10.3390/rel9120397 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Tu ethnic group of Qinghai Province, Northwest China |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Keywords | Shaman Religious system Chinese ethnic groups Historical materialism Cultural materialism |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Argues that changes in Tu shamanism—a decrease in private healing rituals and an increase in shamanic leadership in collective rainfall rituals—are caused by a cluster of techno-economic, sociopolitical, and ideational factors exogenous to the religious system. |
Abstract
This paper presents information on the shamanic religious system practiced among the Tu ethnic group of Qinghai Province in Northwest China. After presenting ethnographic information on the spirit beliefs, rituals, and shamanic specialists of the Tu, the paper will use a systemic definition of religion to (1) identify changes that have occurred in the focus of Tu shamanism and the role of the shaman, and (2) identify a cluster of causal factors—techno-economic, sociopolitical, and ideational—exogenous to the religious system itself that appear to have played a role in generating these changes. The paper will focus on two specific changes: (1) a decrease in the frequency of private shamanic healing rituals, and (2) a corresponding increase in the importance of shamanic leadership in collective rainfall rituals that affect the entire community. The explanatory paradigm utilized is a modified adaptation to contemporary Chinese reality of the Historical Materialist paradigm pioneered by Marx and Engels and the Cultural Materialist paradigm developed by Marvin Harris. While continuing to emphasize the causal power of technological and economic factors, the Chinese experience, both at the macro level of transformations of the Chinese economy and at the micro level of Tu shamanism, forces analytic attention on the causal impact of socio-political and ideological variables.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Chinese Wu, Ritualists and Shamans: An Ethnological Analysis Religions June 29, 2023
- Contemporary Northeast Chinese Shamanism in the Interaction Between Public Heritage and Private Belief Religions May 30, 2025
- Five Great Families and Telepathy: Folk Religion and Buddhism in Neo-Dongbei Fiction by Zheng Zhi Al-Adyan Jurnal Studi Lintas Agama February 14, 2022
- A Cultural Pathway to Addressing Contemporary Mental Illness: Construction and Healing Logic of the “Virtual Illness” Concept in Shamanism in the North of China Religions April 1, 2026