The sorcery practices of the Boxer Movement have long been misunderstood. The practice of "spirit possession" was an important and common feature of the movement. Sorcery was very common in the villages of N...The sorcery practices of the Boxer Movement have long been misunderstood. The practice of "spirit possession" was an important and common feature of the movement. Sorcery was very common in the villages of North China and the Boxers easily coopted these practices. Sorcery had both spiritual and practical values which were used by the Boxers. They utilized sorcery to resist their enemies and to wage war. Their use of sorcery was bothwidespread and opportunistic.Sorcery was also a method to raise morale. Bot although it had a place in rural society, it was also looked down upon. Because of this, when the Boxers practiced sorcery, they always avoided using the term. Sorcery was a tool for resisting Western invasion and its appearance at that time represented both the failure of the "great tradition" and the replenishment of the "little tradition.展开更多
文摘The sorcery practices of the Boxer Movement have long been misunderstood. The practice of "spirit possession" was an important and common feature of the movement. Sorcery was very common in the villages of North China and the Boxers easily coopted these practices. Sorcery had both spiritual and practical values which were used by the Boxers. They utilized sorcery to resist their enemies and to wage war. Their use of sorcery was bothwidespread and opportunistic.Sorcery was also a method to raise morale. Bot although it had a place in rural society, it was also looked down upon. Because of this, when the Boxers practiced sorcery, they always avoided using the term. Sorcery was a tool for resisting Western invasion and its appearance at that time represented both the failure of the "great tradition" and the replenishment of the "little tradition.
