The 1920s–1930s Chinese Spirit-Writing Altars
- Date of account
- 1920s–1930s
- Location
- China, especially Shanghai, Beijing, and southern urban centers
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
Spirit-writing, or fuji, remained an active religious and charitable practice in Republican China, with participants using planchettes or styluses to receive communications attributed to gods, immortals, ancestors, or sages. Some altars produced morality books and healing instructions, while critics described the practice as superstition, fraud, or heterodox religion. It matters comparatively because the medium of communication differs from bodily possession but raises similar questions about authority, testimony, and transmission. The general phenomenon is well documented; individual altar records and dates must be verified from surviving publications or library catalogues.
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