Luan Da

Possessing the gift of gab and adept at confidence tricks, Luan Da gained the favour of Emperor Wu of Han.

His death was a sign of the trade's fall from favour; laws were passed to restrict the practice of mediumship, even penalising those who married its practitioners.

In early imperial China (the Qin and Han dynasties), religion centered around the realms of shen (spirits) and yin (shadow).

These realms were considered sacred, and religious figures attempted to contact their inhabitants through elaborate ceremonies in which the perceptions of the practitioner and audience were blurred through the use of smoke, incense, and music.

During the Han dynasty, alleged mediums would fall into trances or perform ritual dances to accomplish supernatural feats.

Shaoweng, the court mystic who preceded Luan Da and had studied under the same teacher, performed a ritual that was exposed to be a fraud.

If Your Majesty is determined to invite them here, then ennoble your envoys, make them imperial relatives, treat them with courtesy due guests, and do not humble them.

"[11]Remembering his experience with Shaoweng, the emperor turned cautious and tested Luan Da; he requested the mystic to display his power.

In Science and Civilisation in China (1986), Joseph Needham discusses the details of this feat and proposed that lodestone was likely used: powdered magnetite would not have been very effective.

As Luan Da had claimed that he could dam the river, Emperor Wu felt that it would be wise to encourage the mystic to take up the task by quickly pleasing him.

The emperor himself, along with envoys, members of the royal family, and high-ranking officials often invited Luan Da to dine or paid him house calls merely to ask how he was doing.

[14] The Shih ji's author, Sima Qian, was scornful of Luan Da, noting that "Everyone on the seacoast of Yan and Qi began waving their arms about, declaring that they possessed secret arts and could summon spirits and immortal ones.

"[12][14] Indeed, Luan Da's dramatic growth in reputation and stature became a great topic of discussion in the Han capital of Chang'an, and mystics were eager to imitate his success.

Angered by Luan Da's deceit, the spy rushed back to the capital before the mystic to inform Emperor Wu.

[15] Lost for words, Luan Da was arrested on Emperor Wu's order, and executed by having his body chopped into two at the waist.