High spirited: spirit-work in contemporary China

The People's Republic of China is home to numerous beliefs, practices, and customs dating back hundreds, if not thousands of years. In the time since the death of Mao Zedong, many practices have been revived, including the practice of spirit possession. Through careful examination of books, articles, videos, and other sources, I have come to the conclusion that individuals now capable of being possessed in China are a break from previously documented spirit-mediums, nor do they fit into the category termed `shamans' best defined by Mircea Eliade and I.M. Lewis. These individual are heirs to a long history, but have innovated as well as revived previous practices. They now embody a new category, one I have termed spirit-worker. Spirit-workers incorporate aspects of both traditional spirit-mediumship as well as what has been termed shamanism. Although I did not have a chance to do my own fieldwork, through looking at the various sources, we can come to understand how spirit-workers have begun to emerge in China, and what the future may hold for these individuals.