Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768 9780674039773

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SOULSTEALERS

SOULSTEALERS The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768

Philip A. Kuhn

Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts

London, England

Copyright © 1990 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper, and its binding materials have been chosen for strength and durability. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kuhn, Philip A. Soulstealers: the Chinese sorcery scare of 1768 / Philip A. Kuhn. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. isbn 0-674-82151-3 (cloth) isbn 0-674-82152-1 (paper) 1. Bureaucracy—China—History—18th century. 2. China—Politics and government—18th century. 3. China—History—Ch’ien-lung, 1736–1795. 4. Witchcraft—China—History—18th century. I. Title. JQ1508.K84 1990 951¢.032—dc20 90-32807 CIP

For Mary

Acknowledgments

Chinese colleagues have contributed to this book from beginning to end. Wei Qingyuan of Chinese People's University and Ju Deyuan of the First Historical Archives initiated me into many documentary mysteries while they were in Cambridge as guests of the HarvardYenching Institute, and again later while I was pursuing this research in Peking. Their friendship and courage have inspired me throughout my work. Tai Vi, Wang Sizhi, and others at the Ch'ing History Institute, Chinese People's University, offered warm hospitality and intellectual guidance. lowe a special debt to the directors and staff of the Chinese archives, particularly Van Yunsheng and Xu Yipu (Peking), and Ch'ang P'i-te and Chuang Chi-fa (Taipei). That China has opened her great repositories of Ch'ing documents to researchers from all nations must rank as one of the great events in the history of modern scholarship. We are only beginning to realize its significance for our understanding of the human condition. The National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China provided financial support for my work at the archives during 1984. My colleagues at Harvard's Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, along with the staff of the Harvard-Yenching Library, were always encouraging. My assistant, Elaine Mossman, was particularly helpful and resourceful. I cannot adequately thank the generous friends who read the manuscript carefully and extensively: Prasenjit Duara, Lillian M. Li, Lin Man-houng, Susan Naquin, Evelyn S. Rawski, Nathan Sivin, and

viii . Acknowledgments

James L. Watson. During her two years at the Fairbank Center, Beatrice S. Bartlett shared with me her profound knowledge of the Ch'ing communication system. Many others helped me solve particular problems: Daniel Bell, Peter Goldman, R. Kent Guy, Arthur Kleinman, Patrick Tai (who ingeniously programmed my database), Pei-yi Wu, and Judith Zeitlin. The project could never have been completed without the able assistance of Chiang Yung-chen, Han Ming, Kam Tak Sing (who worked out the transcriptions of Manchu names), Luo Lida, Beata Tikor, Diana Wang, and Yang Jeou-yi. I am grateful to Pat McDowell for preparing the maps and to Olive Holmes for preparing the index. The editorial work of Elizabeth Gretz, of Harvard University Press, was consistently insightful and sympathetic. Although all these friends saved me from many errors, those remaining are entirely my own fault. My wife, Mary L. Smith, by critical reading and staunch encouragement, has earned the dedication of this book many times over. P.A.K.

I pswich, Massachusetts January 1990

Contents

1. Tales of the China Clipper

1

2. The Prosperous Age 30 3. Threats Seen and Unseen 4. The Crime Defined

49

73

5. The Roots of Sorcery Fear 94 6. The Campaign in the Provinces

119

7. On the Trail of the Master-Sorcerers

149

163 9. Political Crime and Bureaucratic Monarchy 10. Theme and Variations 223 8. The End of the Trail

Notes 235 Bibliography 269 Glossary Index

279 289

187

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Map of provincial administration in 1768, central and eastern China.

xu

Map of lower Yangtze region, showing soulstealing incidents, spring 1768. xiii Loading dock at a silk plantation in Hu-chou, Chekiang Province. From Thomas Allom, China: Scenery, Architecture, Social Habits, &c., Illustrated, 2 vols. (London: London Printing and Publishing Company, [18-?]), I, facing p. 137. 2 The walled city of Te-ch'ing. From Hu-chou fu-chih, 1673 ed.

4

Constable leading a prisoner. From Thomas Allom, China: Scenery, Architecture, Social Habits, &c., Illustrated, 2 vols. (London: London Printing and Publishing Company, [18-?]), II, facing p. 81. 6 Entrance to a county yamen. From Tien-shih-chai hua-pao 28/yi-4 (Shanghai, 1884-1889; reprint, Hong Kong: Kuang-chiao ching, 1983)' 8 A wandering Buddhist monk. From Nakagawa Chuei, Shinzoku kibun, 1799, 13.13. IO The queue and the shaved forehead: a barber's stall. From Thomas Allom, China: Scenery, Architecture, Social Habits, &c., Illustrated, 2 vols. (London: London Printing and Publishing Company, [18-?]), I, facing p. 127. I3 Courtroom scene, showing the leg crusher. From Tien-shih-chai hua-pao 47lting.6 (Shanghai, 1884-1889; reprint, Hong Kong: Kuang-chiao ching, 1983). I4 The ankle-press. From Thomas Allom, China: Scenery, Architecture, Social Habits, &c., Illustrated, 2 vols. (London: London Printing and Publishing Company, [18-?]), II, facing p. 85. I6 Various authorized torture ("punishment") implements. From Wang Ch'i, San-ts'ai t'u-hui (1607; reprint, Taipei: Ch'eng-wen ch'u-pan-she, 1970). I7 Court in session at a provincial yamen. From Tien-shih-chai hua-pao 14/chia'3 (Shanghai, 1884-1889; reprint, Hong Kong: Kuang-chiao ching, 1983)' I8 Hungli in middle age. From Ch'ing-tai ti-hou hsiang, series National Palace Museum, 1935). 50 Hungli in the saddle. From Ch'ing-tai ti-hou hsiang, series National Palace Museum, 1935). 52

2

2

(Peiping: (Peiping:

Imperial hunt near Ch'eng-te, the summer capital. From Ch'eng-te ku chienchu (Peking: Chung-kuo chien-chu kung-yeh ch'u-pan-she, 1982),8. 74

Maps and Illustrations . xi The Chin-shan temple complex at Ch'eng-te. From Ch'eng-te ku chien-chu (Peking: Chung-kuo chien-chu kung-yeh ch'u-pan-she, 1982), 124. 75 The Tibetan-style potala at Ch'eng-te. From Ch'eng-te ku chien-chu (Peking: Chung-kuo chien-chu kung-yeh ch'u-pan-she, 1982), 293· 75 A soul-calling ritual. From Henry Dore [Henri Don~l, Researches into Chinese Superstitions (Shanghai: T'usewei Printing Press, 1918), V, facing p. 473. lOa Two builders' curses and an antidote. From Wu Jung and Chang Yen, comps., and Chou Yen, ed., Lu-pan-ching chiang-chia-ching (Shanghai: Saoyeh shan-fang, 1909), chap. 4. 106 A beggar makes a scene in front of an official's palanquin. From Tien-shihchai hua-pao 73/chia.g (Shanghai, 1884-188g; reprint, Hong Kong: Kuangchiao ching, 1983)' 116 Governor Funihan's memorial of November 13, 1768 (detail), on the prosecution of soulstealing suspects, with Hungli's rescript at left. From Chu-p'i tsou-ehe 860.12, Ch'ien-lung 33.10.5, First Historical Archives of China, Peking. Reproduced by kind permission of the First Historical Archives, People's Republic of China. 180

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