Fulu

Did You Know?

• Fu are instructions for deities and spirits, symbols for exorcism, and recipes for potions or charms used to treat ailments.
• A lu is a registry for the memberships of priests, listing the skills they are trained in.
• One of the earliest references to fulu is in the Huangdi Yinfujing, though without adequate writing instructions.

History

Scholarly research into Taoist symbolism is challenging because priests often used abstruse imagery. According to scholar Yang Zhaohua, early talismans were simple and legible, but later examples became deliberately cryptic to signal divinity. By the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420), Ge Hong noted in his Baopuzi that users need not decipher the script for the talisman to be efficacious; illegibility had become a sign of divine authority.

Design

Fulu feature irregular strokes resembling Chinese characters, elongating words while incorporating non-character symbols. Interpretation varies by sect, and the writing method is passed down secretly from priest to disciple. Fudan University professor Ge Zhaoguang describes the unreadability as a 'linguistic archaism' creating a veil of unfathomable otherworldliness. Some fulu are created by stacking two Chinese characters. Fulu style, incantations, and mudras differ between sects, even for the same deity.

Healthcare

Fulu have been used for millennia in China as a healing method alongside medicines, meditation, acupuncture, astrology, and massage. The practice, known as zhuyou in medical writings, dates back at least to the Eastern Han dynasty's Way of the Taiping. It enjoyed official support from the Sui to the late Ming dynasties, though it declined after acupuncture was recognised by the imperial court in the 6th century. Rejected by traditional Chinese medicine, zhuyou is still used by folk healers and has been interpreted as a Chinese counterpart of Western hypnosis.

Coins

Fulu appears on coin-shaped talismans that often look like cash, and many remain undeciphered. In one case, talismanic script was placed next to Chinese characters thought to be its translations. Rarely, fulu occurs on Buddhist charms. Most coin talismans invoke Lei Gong to shield bearers from evil. On Taoist coin charms, fulu typically opens and closes the inscription.