Sign-In
Cart
The Chinese Occult Arts: Divination, Talismans, and the Management of the Invisible
Paperback
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN13: 9798190270624
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 2 2026
Pages: 504
Weight: 1.91
Height: 1.01 Width: 7.00 Depth: 10.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 2 2026
Pages: 504
Weight: 1.91
Height: 1.01 Width: 7.00 Depth: 10.00
Language: English
A collectible and gift-worthy edition, presented in an impressive large-format paperback. The Chinese Occult Arts: Divination, Talismans, and the Management of the Invisible offers a broad historical exploration of the techniques through which Chinese societies interpreted signs, negotiated unseen powers, protected households, treated illness, selected graves, and sought to influence destiny.
Beginning with the oracle-bone inscriptions of the late Shang dynasty, especially the divinatory archives associated with the reign of King Wu Ding around 1250-1192 BCE, the book follows the transformation of occult knowledge across more than three millennia. It examines the Yijing, calendrical science, astrology, numerology, dream interpretation, spirit communication, talismans, exorcism, thunder rites, feng shui, medicine, external and internal alchemy, domestic cults, sectarian traditions, and modern forms of spiritual consultation.
Particular attention is given to the political and social environments in which these practices developed. Under the Han dynasty, from 206 BCE to 220 CE, divination, medicine, omen interpretation, and religious healing became increasingly connected with imperial administration. The Yellow Turban uprising of 184 CE demonstrated how therapeutic and prophetic networks could become forces of rebellion. During the Tang dynasty, from 618 to 907, Daoist, Buddhist, medical, and courtly traditions interacted through ritual, translation, healing, and state protection. Song rule, from 960 to 1279, encouraged the growth of printing, celestial bureaucracy, thunder rites, lineage institutions, and increasingly elaborate systems of household and funerary organization.
The volume also investigates the role of tombs and ancestral graves in the accumulation of property and local power, the competition among physicians, priests, mediums, healers, and alchemists, and the participation of women as clients, midwives, ritual experts, spirit-mediums, and guardians of domestic knowledge. Religious movements connected with Maitreya, the White Lotus, the Unborn Mother, spirit writing, and salvation societies are treated as historically distinct traditions rather than as one continuous secret organization. The rebellions of 1351, 1622, 1774, 1796-1804, and 1813 reveal different moments in which prophecy, mutual aid, clandestine organization, and political crisis converged.
The final sections follow the redefinition of occult practices during the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the establishment of the Republic in 1912, the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949, the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976, and the religious and commercial reopening that began after 1978. Scientific language, psychology, nationalism, state repression, qigong, cultural heritage, digital media, and global spirituality all contributed to the reinvention of traditions once rooted primarily in temples, villages, lineages, and households.
Written for both specialists and general readers, the book combines historical reconstruction with clear explanations of difficult concepts. It presents Chinese occult arts neither as a timeless collection of superstitions nor as an idealized body of secret wisdom, but as changing systems of knowledge shaped by governments, families, markets, religious institutions, political conflicts, and the persistent human need to manage uncertainty. About the Author
Roberto Minichini is an Italian writer, poet, essayist, esotericist, and scholar of the history of religions. Born in Mainz, Germany, in 1973 to an Italian father and a Croatian mother, he has lived in Gorizia, Italy, since 2000. His work explores religious history, esotericism, comparative spirituality, literature, symbolism, political theology, divination, minority traditions, and the relationship between sacred knowledge and social authority.
Particular attention is given to the political and social environments in which these practices developed. Under the Han dynasty, from 206 BCE to 220 CE, divination, medicine, omen interpretation, and religious healing became increasingly connected with imperial administration. The Yellow Turban uprising of 184 CE demonstrated how therapeutic and prophetic networks could become forces of rebellion. During the Tang dynasty, from 618 to 907, Daoist, Buddhist, medical, and courtly traditions interacted through ritual, translation, healing, and state protection. Song rule, from 960 to 1279, encouraged the growth of printing, celestial bureaucracy, thunder rites, lineage institutions, and increasingly elaborate systems of household and funerary organization.
The volume also investigates the role of tombs and ancestral graves in the accumulation of property and local power, the competition among physicians, priests, mediums, healers, and alchemists, and the participation of women as clients, midwives, ritual experts, spirit-mediums, and guardians of domestic knowledge. Religious movements connected with Maitreya, the White Lotus, the Unborn Mother, spirit writing, and salvation societies are treated as historically distinct traditions rather than as one continuous secret organization. The rebellions of 1351, 1622, 1774, 1796-1804, and 1813 reveal different moments in which prophecy, mutual aid, clandestine organization, and political crisis converged.
The final sections follow the redefinition of occult practices during the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the establishment of the Republic in 1912, the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949, the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976, and the religious and commercial reopening that began after 1978. Scientific language, psychology, nationalism, state repression, qigong, cultural heritage, digital media, and global spirituality all contributed to the reinvention of traditions once rooted primarily in temples, villages, lineages, and households.
Written for both specialists and general readers, the book combines historical reconstruction with clear explanations of difficult concepts. It presents Chinese occult arts neither as a timeless collection of superstitions nor as an idealized body of secret wisdom, but as changing systems of knowledge shaped by governments, families, markets, religious institutions, political conflicts, and the persistent human need to manage uncertainty. About the Author
Roberto Minichini is an Italian writer, poet, essayist, esotericist, and scholar of the history of religions. Born in Mainz, Germany, in 1973 to an Italian father and a Croatian mother, he has lived in Gorizia, Italy, since 2000. His work explores religious history, esotericism, comparative spirituality, literature, symbolism, political theology, divination, minority traditions, and the relationship between sacred knowledge and social authority.
Also from
Minichini, Roberto
Sulla Vacuità dell'Esperienza: Metafisica della Contingenza e della Conoscenza
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$17.80
Poema Molto Breve E Misterioso Della Montagna Teocratica Dove Il Kali Yuga Finisce Per Sempre
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$6.90
Sole Sognante Sopra Gorizia: Poesie E Scritti Brevi Febbraio-Maggio 2023
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$21.06
Visioni dell'Altrove Assoluto: Poesie e scritti brevi gennaio-giugno 2024
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$14.08
Sessanta Poesie Oscurantiste: Versi scritti a Gorizia fra il gennaio e il maggio 2025
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$8.35
Una Passeggiata Con Fëdor Dostoevskij: Poema Mistico, Ascetico E Filosofico
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$6.94
Poesie Sulla Stregoneria: Ricordi di vita ed insegnamenti di uno stregone italo-croato
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$9.50
Russia's Other Religions: Mystics, Sects, Pagans, and Esoteric Movements Beyond Orthodoxy
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$36.00
Five Mirrors of the Modern Soul: Stories of Illusion, Desire and Redemption
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$15.12
Al-BŪnĪ And the Secret Tradition: Sufism, Magic, and the Occult Sciences of Medieval Islam
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$27.00
Lal Ded and the Mysteries of Kashmir: Mystic, Poet, and Yogini of Medieval India
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$36.96
Lo Sciamano Di San Pietroburgo: 1 Lo Sciamano Di San Pietroburgo Una Visione Onirica Fantastica del Veggente Di Gorizia Roberto Minichin
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$26.92
Iranian Mysticism and the Eternal Intellect: Revelation, Philosophy, and Spiritual Illumination
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$32.40
Iran at the Edge of Orthodoxy: Dissent, Authority, and the Politics of Belief
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$33.60
La Via dei Tarocchi: Guida completa alla lettura psicologica, simbolica e professionale
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$30.71
Carl Jung and the Psychology of Symbols: Archetypes, Myth and the Unconscious
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$30.72
Platone e la realtà intelligibile: Una lettura metafisica nella prospettiva tradizionale
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$26.02
The Hidden Masters of Qajar Philosophy: Commentary and Metaphysics, 1789-1925
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$26.40
The World of Ibn ʿarabi: Mysticism, Imagination, and the Unity of Being
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$31.80
The Mysteries of Taoist China: Immortals, Alchemists, Visionaries, and Masters of the Hidden Way
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$32.28
Origins of Speculative Freemasonry: Guilds, Lodges, Ritual, and the Birth of a Modern Brotherhood
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$30.60
The Tantric Path of Power: Ritual, Energy, and Liberation in the Indian Esoteric Traditions
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$33.60
The Persian Masters of the Occult: Astrologers, Magicians, Philosophers, and Sufis from Late Antiquity to the Safavids
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$27.12
L'Uomo di Frontiera: Identità spirituale, cultura europea e solitudine interiore
Minichini, Roberto
Paperback
$25.90
Also in
Chinese History
Hostage on the Yangtze: Britain, China, and the Amethyst Crisis of 1949
Murfett, Malcolm H.
Hardcover
$9.99
China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
Wudunn, Sheryl
Kristof, Nicholas D.
Paperback
From $8.99
The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth
Niarchos, Nicolas
Hardcover
$28.80
The Next China Is Still China: An Insider's Playbook for Winning in the New Era
Ngai, Joe
Leung, Nick
Hardcover
$30.40
The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet
Liu, Yi-Ling
Hardcover
$27.00
China Whisperers: The Voices That Have Shaped America's Views of Its Chief Geopolitical Rival
Kaplan, Robert D.
Hardcover
$30.40
When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail
Dolin, Eric Jay
Paperback
$31.99
The Shortest History of China: From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower - A Retelling for Our Times
Jaivin, Linda
Paperback
$16.10
The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China
Kaufman, Jonathan
Paperback
$17.10
A Brief History of China: Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
Clements, Jonathan
Paperback
$16.14
Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China's Past, Present, and Future
Bell, Daniel a.
Hardcover
$41.93
Kingdom of Characters (Pulitzer Prize Finalist): The Language Revolution That Made China Modern
Tsu, Jing
Paperback
$17.10
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
Platt, Stephen R.
Paperback
$18.00
China Through My Eyes: Twenty-five years of business lessons, cultural insights and remarkable changes
Vanhamel, Stef
Paperback
$27.49
Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62
Dikötter, Frank
Paperback
$19.00
Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity, and Empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864
Millward, James A.
Paperback
$50.75
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of XI Zhongxun, Father of XI Jinping
Torigian, Joseph
Hardcover
$72.50
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of XI Zhongxun, Father of XI Jinping
Torigian, Joseph
Paperback
$30.00
From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: The Question of India and the Transformation of Geopolitics in Qing China
Mosca, Matthew
Paperback
$50.75
The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream
Wood, Michael
Paperback
$24.70
China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know(r)
Cunningham, Maura Elizabeth
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey N.
Paperback
$16.10
Collected Writings of Chairman Mao: Volume 3 - On Policy, Practice and Contradiction
Zedong, Mao
Tse-Tung, Mao
Paperback
$18.95
Red Star Over the Pacific, Third Edition: China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy
Yoshihara, Toshi
Holmes, James R.
Paperback
$37.95
21 Claves Para Entender China En El Siglo XXI / 21 Keys to Understanding China in the 21st Century
Díaz Marro, Adrián
Paperback
$21.80
Breaking the Chains: Gender, Context, and the Politics of Writing in Modern China
Limin, Dong
Paperback
$56.00
The Man Awakened from Dreams: One Man's Life in a North China Village, 1857-1942
Harrison, Henrietta
Paperback
$24.00
A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592-1598 Volume 20
Swope, Kenneth M.
Paperback
$37.43
The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between
Khan, Sulmaan Wasif
Hardcover
$30.40
The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China
Beckwith, Christopher I.
Paperback
$31.19
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution
Zia, Helen
Paperback
$22.80
The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defense, Health, and Enlightenment
Kit, Wong Kiew
Paperback
$18.95
This World in a Teacup: Credit, Taste, and Power in the U.S.-China Tea Trade, 1784-1911
Du, Dan
Hardcover
$98.00
Why Taiwan Matters: A Short History of a Small Island That Will Dictate Our Future
Brown, Kerry
Hardcover
$28.50
激流者: 陆海空抗战老兵口述历史合集
赖恩典
Paperback
$83.74
Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power
French, Howard W.
Paperback
$20.00
Silk Roads, Steppe Roads: History Unearthed from the Tombs of Medieval China
Skaff, Jonathan Karam
Hardcover
$67.50
China's Military Modernization: Assessing China's Weapons and Strategic Reach in the Early 21st Century
Boufesis, Alexandros
Paperback
$28.45
The Art of War for Language Learners: A Bilingual Chinese-English Modern Edition of China's Greatest Classic: Sun Tzu's The Art of War (孙ड
Ling, Ling
Tzu, Sun
Robson, Huw
Paperback
$26.24
Foundations of Chinese Civilization: The Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty (2697 BCE - 220 CE)
Liu, Jing
Paperback
$14.20
Storming the Heavens - Peasants and Revolution in China, 1925-1949 - Viewed through a Marxist Lens
Clegg, Jenny
Paperback
$46.55
Pinay Guerrilleras: The Unsung Heroics of Filipina Resistance Fighters During the Pacific War
Salinas, Stacey
Paperback
$15.00
For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History
Rose, Sarah
Paperback
$17.10
The Fox Spirit, the Stone Maiden, and Other Transgender Histories from Late Imperial China
Sommer, Matthew H.
Paperback
$52.50
我所认识的顾准（吴敬琏作序）
徐方
Paperback
$28.79
A Geek in China: Discovering the Land of Bullet Trains, Alibaba and Dim Sum
Christensen, Matthew B.
Paperback
$7.59
The History of China: A Concise Introduction to Chinese History, Culture, Dynasties, Mythology, Great Achievements & More of The Oldest Living Civiliz
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
$18.99