Page 445 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

406 T H E ENCYCLO P E DI A OF TAO ISM A- L

The Han precedent influenced later historical writing, and the term fangji
evolved into a biographical category Chen Shou's ~ ,~ (232-97) Weizhi (History
of Wei; ca. 280) section of the Sanguo zhi (History of the Three Kingdoms)
contains a chapter on fangji that includes both the examples of technical skill
similar to the sense in the Hanshu as well as anomalies. TheJiu Tangshu (Old
History of the Tang; j. 191) traces its origins to Liu Xin's category of "tech-
niques, numbers, divination, and physiognomy," but lists a much wider variety
of experts in the occult arts. Likewise, the Song collectanea Taiping yulan "*
'¥-~~ ~ (Imperial Readings of the Taiping Xingguo Reign Period; 983) had
fangji chapters that included methods that were in both the number-based and
recipe-based categories in the Hanshu. Most later imperial Standard Histories
through the Mingshi (History of the Ming) contained such a biographical
chapter. By this time, the Han distinction between fangji andfangshu had long
been lost.
Many of these texts and the practices embodied in them found their way
into the Taoist Canon. While fangji is not a category found in the Canon, some
of the texts previously classified in that category are listed in the fangfa 1f f!
(Methods) and zhongshu ~ m (Techniques) sections of the Cavern of Perfection
(dongzhen ~~) and Cavern of Mystery (dongxuan ~K ; see *SANDONG) .
Mark CSIKSZENTMlHALYI
W Csikszentmihalyi 2000; DeWoskin 1981; DeWoskin 1983; Harper 1999;
Kalinowski 1991; Kalinowski 2004; Li Ling 2000a; Li Ling 2000b; Ngo 1976

* fangshi; COSMOLOGY ; DIVINATION, OMENS, AND PROPHECY; NUMEROL-
OGY

fangshi

"masters of methods"

Fangshi were specialists in a set of technical arts centering on immortality in
late Warring States and early imperial China. Originally,fangshi were primarily
from the coastal regions of Qi 7f!if and Yan ~ (chiefly present-day Shandong,
Hebei, and Liaoning), and specialized in knowledge of the immortals and the
paths to transcendence. They were patronized by emperors who sought im-
mortality during the Qin and Han dynasties, and taught these rulers to produce
elixirs and emulate the sage-kings of antiquity. By the Later Han, the term had
broadened to include diviners, physicians, astrologers, and physiognomists.