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For the city, see Luanda.

Luan Da (before 156 BC – before 87 BC; Chinese: 栾大; Pinyin: Luán Dà) was a religious figure during the early Han Dynasty from the state of Yue. Through his display of supernatural crafts he gained the favor of Emperor Wu, becoming very influential and marrying one of the daughters of the emperor. Religious figures during his time often became powerful, and mediumship and related practices were popular. Practitioners of the supernatural later fell from favour, however, with the emperors going so far as to penalize those who married such people. Luan Da took his leave of the emperor due to this decline, but he was eventually captured and executed.

Contents

Background

In early imperial China (which consists of the Qin and Han Dynasties), religion centered around the realm of shen (spirits) and yin (shadow). This realm was considered sacred. Religious figures attempted to contact this realm through elaborate ceremonies in which they would blur the perceptions of both themselves and those watching with smoke, incense, and music to achieve a desired effect. For example, the chief priest, before sacrificing, would fast and meditate. This deprivation of food was thought to make him more susceptible to perceiving shen, yin, and other phenomena within the smoke during the sacrifice. During the Han Dynasty, alleged mediums would fall into trances or perform ritual dances to accomplish supernatural feats. Some of these events were documented in the Shi jing (Canon of Odes), written in the Zhou Dynasty.[1]

The emperor had killed Shaoweng, the court mystic who preceded Luan Da and who had studied with the same teacher as Luan Da. Shaoweng had performed a ritual that was found to be fraudulent, and, embarrassed, the emperor ordered Shaoweng's execution and kept quiet about the affair. Shaoweng's death was purportedly by horse liver, which was thought to be poisonous at the time. Regretting later that he had not had time to learn all of Shaoweng's arts, the emperor began to seek out a new mystic.[2]

Career

Han Wudi, better known as Emperor Wu of Han, worshiping Buddha
Han Wudi, better known as Emperor Wu of Han, worshiping Buddha

Rise to power

Luan Da was from the state of Yue, which was renowned for its mediums. He was described by the Shih ji (Records of the Grand Historian) as "tall and a brilliant speaker", as well as "fertile in techniques".[3] In addition, he was a master of esoteric arts, such as shadow play, and by this, he won the favour of Emperor Wu of Han, the seventh emperor of the Han. According to the aforementioned Shih ji, Luan Da had been recommended to the emperor in 113 BC by the wife of his step-brother, Liu Ji.[4] The mystic had previously served in her palace.[5]

Upon meeting Luan Da, the emperor offered him anything if he would take Shaoweng's place.[6] To this, Luan Da replied:

My teacher has no reason to seek for men. It is men who seek for him. If your Majesty really wishes to summon him, then you must first honour the envoys that you send to him, making them members of the imperial family, and treating them as guests rather than subjects, doing nothing to humiliate them. If you grant each of the envoys imperial seals, they may go and speak to the spirit man. Whether or not he will consent to give ear, I do not know, but I believe that if you confer sufficient honors on the envoys you send, then he may be persuaded to come.

Luan Da expressed concern at how Shaoweng had been killed previous to the offer, but the emperor assured him that the rumours of Shaoweng's execution were untrue.[7] The emperor then tested Luan Da by telling him to cause chess pieces on a board to charge at each other. On seeing this demonstration of his powers, the emperor granted the title of the General of Five Profits.[8] Emperor Wu also granted him a marquisate of some 2,000 homes to rule over.[9] He was further given a luxurious mansion, a thousand servants, lavish transportation, 10,000 catties of gold, many decorations, a seal labelled "General of the Heavenly Way",[10] and even the hand of the emperor's daughter, Princess Wei, in marriage. The emperor himself, along with envoys, members of the royal family, and high-ranking officials often invited him to dine or paid him house calls merely to ask how he was doing.[11] Within a few months, Luan Da carried six seals: five generalships and his marquisate.[12]

With these honours lavished upon him, Luan Da spent every evening at home attempting to summon spirits. According to historical records, no spirits appeared, but only "a multitude of ghosts who gathered around." These, the text claims, he was able to command.[12]

Sima Qian, an important scribe of the Han Dynasty, scorns Luan Da and others like him in his work (Shih ji). He notes that "Everyone on the seacoast of Yan and Qi began waving their arms about, declaring that they possessed secret arts and could summon spirits and immortal ones."[9][12]

Fall from power and death

Later in the Han Dynasty, Luan and others like him gradually lost power, with many laws passed against them. Mediums were not allowed to attempt to barter their crafts alongside roads, and some were even forbidden to make a living of such a craft at all. Those married to shamans were not even allowed to hold government office, though this latter law was often bypassed.[9]

Luan Da decided, due to the gradual decline in favour of practitioners of his craft, to take his leave of the emperor on the excuse that he wished to seek out the immortal ones. He first travelled to Shandong and then to Peng-lai. After Luan Da had been away some time, Emperor Wu grew suspicious and sent officers to track him down. They found that he was living at Mount Tai, and was performing daily rituals, yet they saw no evidence of spirits during these. Deciding that Luan Da's power had been exhausted and that he was of no further use, the emperor ordered Luan Da executed.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Lewis 2007, p. 180
  2. ^ Eno 2006, p. 10
  3. ^ Ronan & Needham 1986, p. 47
  4. ^ Zhang 2006, p. x
  5. ^ Dubs 1947, pp. 62–85
  6. ^ Qian 1993, p. 31
  7. ^ Eno 2006, p. 11
  8. ^ Qian 1993, p. 32
  9. ^ a b c Lewis 2007, p. 181
  10. ^ Qian 1993, pp. 32–33
  11. ^ Peerenboom 1993, p. 255
  12. ^ a b c Qian 1993, p. 33
  13. ^ Eno 2006, p. 12

References

  • Dubs, Homer H. (1947). "The Beginnings of Alchemy". Isis 38 (1/2): 62. doi:10.1086/348038. 
  • Eno, Robert (2006). "The Reign of Wu-di". Indiana University. Retrieved on August 2, 2008.
  • Lewis, Mark Edward (2007). The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02477-9. 
  • Needham, Joseph; Ronan, Colin A. (1986). The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China 3. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521315609. 
  • Peerenboom, Randall P. (1993). Law and Morality in Ancient China: The Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0791412374. 
  • Sima Qian (1993). Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-08167-2.  Edited by Burton Watson.
  • (Chinese) Xuhui (2008). Chaotic Times: China's 30 Most Controversial Historical Figures. New World Publishing. ISBN 9787801877000. 
  • (Chinese) Zhang, Zhengzhong (2006). The Mythological Figure ofHan Wudi. Period Literature Publishing. ISBN 7-5387-2180-0. 

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