Fuji (planchette writing)

Fuji ( or ) is a Chinese automatic writing method that uses a suspended sieve or tray called a planchette to guide a stick writing Chinese characters, either in sand or the ashes of incense.

Development
Beginning around the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644), the fuji method and written characters changed from 扶箕 "support the sieve" (spirit-writing using a suspended sieve or winnowing tray) to 扶乩 "support the planchette" (directing a stick or stylus, typically made from a willow or peach branch, and roughly resembling a dowsing-rod).

Vocabulary
Chinese fuji spirit-writing involves some specialized vocabulary. Luan (鸞) "a mythical phoenix-like bird" is used in synonyms such as (扶鸞, "support the phoenix"),  (飛鸞 "flying phoenix," and  (降鸞, "descending phoenix"). The fuji process involves specialized participants. The two people (or rarely one) who hold the sieve or stylus are called  (乩手, "planchette hands"), only one of whom is ostensibly possessed by a shen (神, "spirit; god") or xian (仙, "immortal; transcendent"). Their assistants include a pingsha (平沙, "level sand") who smooths out the  (沙盤, "sand table"), a  (讀乩者, "planchette reader") who interprets the characters, and a  (抄乩者, "planchette copyist") who records them. Jiwen (乩文, "planchette writing") is a general reference to texts produced through Chinese fuji spirit-writing.

Folk history
Spirit-writing has a long history in Chinese folk religion, and is first recorded (Chao 1942:12) during the Liu Song dynasty (420-479 CE). Fuji planchette-writing became popular during the Song dynasty (960-1279), when authors like Shen Kuo and Su Shi associated its origins with summoning Zigu (紫姑, "Purple Maiden"), the Spirit of the Latrine. Fuji divination flourished during the Ming dynasty, and the Jiajing Emperor (r. 1522–1566) built a special jitan (乩壇, "planchette altar") in the Forbidden City (Despeux 2007:428). Although the practice of fuji planchette-writing was prohibited by the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) Legal Code, it has continued and is currently practiced at Daoist temples in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia as well as folk shrines in Mainland China. Planchette writing is also mentioned in translations of the Golden Flower meditation manual that is used in modern practice in the United States as well.

Uses
Fuji is particularly associated with the Quanzhen School of Daoism. The Daozang "Daoist Canon" contains several scriptures supposedly written through spirit-writing. Two examples are the Zitong dijun huashu (梓潼帝君化書, "Book of Transformations of the Divine Lord of Zitong").