Fuji (planchette writing)
Fuji is a form of automatic writing that often uses a suspended sieve or tray called a planchette, which is filled with sand or incense ash where characters are written using a pen or stylus.
This practice aims to fulfill personal requests, promote healing, provide moral guidance on individual or societal matters, and, in some cases, assist in the pursuit of loftier spiritual goals.
[2] During the fuji session, the deity communicates by descending into a medium's body and dictating responses—ranging from brief messages to extensive scriptures—using various writing utensils on paper, sand, or ashes.
[2] The practice of fuji has played a significant role in Daoist, folk Chinese, and Buddhist religious contexts, each of which has shaped its functions and meanings in distinct ways.
Fuji exemplifies a syncretic interplay among these traditions, serving as a medium for divine communication, moral instruction, and religious guidance.
[4] Fuji became popular during the Song dynasty (960–1279), when authors like Shen Kuo and Su Shi associated its origins with summoning the goddess Zigu (紫姑, "Purple Maiden"), the Spirit of the Latrine.
As spirit-writing became central to many Chinese religions of the time, the scripture collections produced by these spirit writing groups grew exponentially during the Mind and Qing eras.
[5] Fuji writing is the source of several influential Chinese religious texts, such as the The Secret of the Golden Flower and possibly the Xingming guizhi (性命圭旨, Principles of Inner Nature and Vital Force).
It was widely adopted by the various Chinese “redemptive societies” (jiushi tuanti 救世團體), also known as "Salvationist Religions", who sought to receive guidance from the gods during uncertain times.
[7] These communities may also conduct other religious activities, including meditation, charity, healing, divination, scripture chanting, and listening to morality sermons.
Daoist priests often use this technique in rituals to communicate with celestial beings, immortals, or ancestors and receive guidance on religious matters.
Unlike its formalized use in Daoism, folk practitioners often employed fuji for pragmatic purposes such as resolving personal crises, diagnosing illnesses, or seeking advice on family or business matters.
Fuji has also been important in certain organized Chinese traditions, such as the Yiguandao movement, which integrated fuji-derived texts into their religious corpus, claiming divine origin for the moral, philosophical, or eschatological messages they contained.
The two people (or rarely one) who hold the sieve or stylus are called jishou (乩手, "planchette hands"), only one of whom is ostensibly possessed by a shen (神, "spirit; god") or xian (仙, "immortal; transcendent").
