Experience, Imagination, and the Body of Ghosts: Examples from Ancient China

“Experience, Imagination, and the Body of Ghosts: Examples from Ancient China”
Poo Mu-chou
Chinese University of Hong Kong

What does a ghost look like? Does a ghost possess a body? How do we know it is a ghost? This talk attempts to answer these questions by using textual evidence from Ancient China. Using stories and treatises about ghosts, we form some idea about how people in Ancient China recognized ghosts, and why these perceptions were valid in the contexts of cultural and religious tradition. The talk will also introduce exorcistic texts that the ancient Chinese employed to deal with ghosts.

Co-sponsored by the Department of History, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, the Department of Religious Studies, and the Ancient Borderlands RFG.

jwil 31.x.2012