An Introduction to the Occult Arts in China

An Introduction to the Occult Arts in China

The Chinese term for "occult arts"(數術shushu) refers to a number of systems for determining fate. Originating in ancient China, shushu has received much attention throughout Chinese history. In ancient times, "shu"數("numbers") were considered a part of nature, and shushu (literally "art of numbers") was perceived as a system of natural laws governing the cosmos. Occult arts included both techniques and theories for understanding the relationship between human beings and the cosmos. In other words, shushu was both a traditional Chinese view of the universe and a variety of divination techniques based on this view. Thus,"shu"has the meaning of both "numbers" and "calculation."Because of the significance attributed to numbers, shushu is not synonymous with mathematics and impiles more than numerology. For instance, in shushu, numbers were perceived as either ominous or auspicious, and can therefore represent fate. Hence, to master "numbers" was to both explicate the past and envision the future, as stated simply by Yan Shigu 顏師古(581-645), a scholar of the classics:"Occult arts are divination."Further, in addition to numerology, shushu eventually came to include the study of various sorts of correspondences, including concepts related to time and space.


[link to saturn.ihp.sinica.edu.tw]