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MSU le An NflrmetNe ActioNEquel Opportunity Inetituion
Wan-9.1

THE EXPLORATION OF TRADITIONAL MENTAL CARE IN TAIWAN

By

I-Ping Chiang

A.THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

MASTER OF.ARTS

Department of Telecommunication

1997

ABSTRACT

THE EXPLORATION OF TRADITIONAL MENTAL CARE IN TAIWAN

BY

I-Ping Chiang

In Taiwan, there are two varied approaches to help people
relieve their anxieties . One is the orthodox western mental care;
the other is traditional mental care developed on the basis of
Taiwanese folk beliefs. Due to cultural taboos and cultural
differences, western mental care isn't widely accepted. The
religious cultures of Taiwanese people play a big role to be the

spiritual support and guidance in their daily life.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide insight about how
the Taiwanese folk beliefs are used as a way of mental care.
The function and effect of these traditional mental care

approaches will also be explored.

ACKNOWIEDQENTS

I am grateful to Buddha’s benevolence to make me meet
the Wangs when I do the thesis. Mr.Jun-Kuan Wang and Jiao-Min
Wang provided me most of the resources of the video program and
the written paper. I also appreciate all of the deities who help

out in doing my program, especially the third crown prince.

Doing this thesis provided me a chance to know how nice
Taiwanese people are. Mr. Ron-Lin Mao allowed me to do shooting
without considering that.it might hinder people from coming to
hisfortune-tellingstandnimuaintervieweeSheng-HueiIxxahelped
me find a nice place:to do the interview. The soul tranquilizer
Mr. Shi-Yao Wang even asked Mr. Liang Shi—Ma not to come to
tranquilize the soul until I do the shooting. The stories behind
the video program are much more than what’ 5 shown in the program.
I also thank Shu-Mei Liou, Bao—Yu Wu, Yun-Chung Huang, Yuah Shiang
Yao who are so cooperative as the subjects in my video program.

I also appreciate my college classmates Der-Lien Chou’s and

Bi—Wen Lei’s assistance in the shooting stage.

I always forget my mother when I handle myself well and come
to her when I am in trouble.However, my mother stands by me all
the time because I'm her child. During this year, there are
several times I was about to give up. It was always her who asks
me to be strong and.persistent.on.my work. She lets me know the

value of myself and supports me no matter if I’m good or bad.

Mr. Albers, a strict teacher with good documentary sense
was so patient to teach a plain student. This work turned out
to be a well-organized piece by using the sense learned from him.
With love and hatred, I also thank Media 100 software to

facilitate the quality of my video program.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1
CHAPTER 1
CHINESE-TAIWANESE LINKAGE ................................ 3
Origin of Folk beliefs ............................... 3
ReligionsijiChina .................................... 5
Three of The Greatest Religions in China .............. 7
Confucianism ..................................... 7
Taoism ........................................... 8
Buddhism ........................................ 10
CHAPTER 2
TAIWANESE FOLK BELIEFS .................................... 12
Religious Historyjleaiwan ........................... 12
Current Taiwanese Folk.Beliefs ........................ 12
Deities in Taiwanese Folk Beliefs ..................... 13
Holy Guan ....................................... 14
The Third Crown Prince .......................... 14
Wan-Yeah ........................................ 15
Shamanism ............................................ 16
CHAPTER 3
FOLK BELIEFS AS AN APPROACH TO MENTAL CARE IN CONTEMPORARY
TAIWAN ................................................... 20
Worshiping in the Temple ............................. 20
Sweeping Bad Lucks ................................... 21

Tranquilizing the Soul ............................... 22

Asking Deities ....................................... 24

Moral Issue .......................................... 25
CHAPTER 4
FORMING THE CONCEPT OF SHOOTING BY RETRACING DOCUMENTARY
HISTORY ................................................... 27
The Value and Critique of Documentary ................ 27
Actuality ..................................... 27
Newsreel ....................................... 27
Nanook of The North- The first Documentary ........ 28
Kino-Provda ................................... 28
English Grierson Age ........................... 29
European Painter's Documentary ................. 30

Political Propaganda Age in the World War II...31

Free Cinema Movement ........................... 31

Direct Cinema ................................. 32

Cinema Verit‘e ................................. 33

Television Documentary ......................... 33

Producing a Documentary .............................. 34
CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION ................................................ 38

LISTS OF REFERENCES ....................................... 4O

INTRODUCTION

This paper is a supplement to a 25 minute video production

thesis - ‘The Exploration of Traditional Mental Care in Taiwan. '

The first chapter of this paper explains the origin of
folk beliefs and the role it plays in the ancient human societies.
Three of the greatest religions- Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism that were brought by migrants from China were the
prototype of Taiwanese folk beliefs. The characteristics of each
of them are introduced and how they influence Taiwanese religion

is explained.

The second chapter introduces the history and the current
situation of Taiwanese folk Beliefs. With the evolution of the
society, the folk beliefs that people count on in the early
ancient agricultural societies didn't vanish. On the contrary,
they continue to be the spiritual support and guidance people

count on.

The third chapter explains how folk beliefs are applied as

mental care approaches. Worshiping in the temple, tranquilizing
the soul, sweeping bad lucks, asking the deity and fortune-
telling are the most popular ways that people apply to solve their
problems. The way these religious rituals are used to help people
are introduced. The role the Tao Priest and the Taiwanese
Shaman-Gi-Tong play are explained. Besides this, the mysteries
of Taiwanese folk beliefs, such as the parade ritual of the
pilgrim tour, the use of paper money and the five precious
instruments carried by the Taiwanese shaman—Gi—Tong are also

revealed.

In the fourth chapter, how the documentary hisotry helps

producing the program is stated.

In the last chapter, how the society views their folk beliefs
is mentioned and a suggestion of how to treat the folk beliefs

fairly is discussed.

Chapter 1

CHINESE-TAIWANESE LINKAGE

Origin of Folk Beliefs

“Primitive man was an intense realist: otherwise he could
not have survived." (McNeill 13) He didn't worship the sun and
the moon for their beauty'but because they'produce the seasons.
He founded.different food were grown in<different seasons so he
worshiped the nature for his gratification in different

seasons.(McNeill 13)

In the First Stop, The Master Index to Subj ect;= Encyclopedia,

folk religion was introduced as “the religious complex of peasant
and rural societies insofar as they differ from mainstream

religious traditions.”(Ryan 370)

For instance, most of the Pagans were peasants in Russia.
They only had superficial understanding about Christianity. The
Russian peasants inherited Pre-Christian customs from their
ancestors before Christianity existed. Their folk belief could
not be displaced by the customs from the orthodox religion-
Christianity. Their primary concerns, the same as primitive men,
are fertility and bounty.(Ivanits 5) The domovoi, as the

protector of the house and farmstead was one of the primary

spirits in Russian paganism. He supervised every domestic
activity in the farmstead and determined if the farm would be
prosperous or not. If the owner managed his farms well, some good
omens, like completing chores would happen in the farmstead. The
domovoi might feed the livestock's hay or oats if the owners
forgot to do so. On the contrary, the domovoi would reveal his
discontentment if he was dissatisfied with the owner’s
management . The spirit would cause the walls of the house to creak,
bang pots, tangle needlework, spread manure on the door, and
return everything upside—down in the yard. (Ivanits 53) Domovoi,
in Russian pastoral cultures was the invisible master to oversee

the peasants' life.(Ivanits 51—56)

Peasants populations have probably existed since 6000 BCE
in southwestern Asia, since 3100 BCE in Egypt, and since 1500
BCE in southeastern Mexico.(Ryan 370) Folk belief served the
same function in different tribes from the early ancient time.
To manage the ecosystem, peasants, like other people, mark the
cycles of nature, day and night, the lunar cycle, the solar year,
the life cycles of animals and plants.(Ryan 371) The calendar
for rituals was thus invented to greet the transition of equinoxes,

planting, germination, and harvest in peasant cultures.

Besides fighting with the natural environment, the peasants

also dealt with their social relationship. Most of the time, they

share the same source to irrigate and undertook some work with
their neighbors, like harvesting. Meanwhile, some dispute might
arise like setting the boundary for farmland or inheriting the
properties. In this context, religious devotion can facilitate
the unity of households within a settlement(mutual fealty to a
common.divinity) and.solidarity'between.settlements(worship.at

common shines).(Ryan 371)

A conclusion is drawn that while human beings face the
household or social problems, fighting with the natural
environment or being afraid and ignorant of the future, they were
not able to solve their problems with the limited wisdom they
had. The religious activities related to their customs were
applied as guidance, assistance, or shelter to support their life.

That's the origin of folk beliefs.

Religions in China

The Chinese have from very early times been an agricultural
people.(Grahan145) Chinese society had evolved to.Agricultural
society in the middle of the Shang Dynasty (B.C. 1788-B.C.1154) .
Therefore Chinese folk beliefs derives from the agricultural
society as the other ancient tribes did. The ancient Chinese,
like the ancient Russian and Egyptian, realized the truth that

their hard work could not guarantee fertility because many

variables like rain, wind, water or drought beyond the peasants’
control were involved. They started to believe the harvest is
the cooperation of the highest deity-Tien with human being.
Furthermore, filial piety has been the cardinal virtue and
ancestor venerationtjuamain feature<oftju3Chinese society'and
religion. (Graham 45) The ancient Chinese worshiped their
ancestors from the Shang dynasty. Their ancestors in turn blessed
and helped their descendants, giving them success, prosperity
and happiness . (Graham 46 ) Though the highest god was T’ ien which
means ruler above, or god above. Chinese religion is not
monotheistic. Other Shang dynasty Chinese gods were the Dragon
Woman, the Eastern Mother, the Western Mother, the South, the
Ruler of Four Quarters, the Earth or Mother Earth, the Snake

Spirit, and King Wind.(Graham 46)

Lesser deities during the Chou dynasty(B.C.1122—B.C.249)
included the Father of War, the Father of Husbandry, the Ruler
of Cold, the Father of Cookery, and the Six Honored Ones. (Graham
48) hithe ChingenmiHan.Dynasty(B.C.221-A.D.8), three systems
of deities were categorized. The first system included natural
features such as the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, rivers,
spring andsmacnn The second systems included virtuoqupersons,
like warriors dedicated themselves to the countryland and
learned scholars set good example to their descendants . The third

system refers to the deceased ancestors.(Tsai 15) Unlike the

deities to whom people worship in common in the first two systems,
each family unit has their own ancestors to worship in the third

system.

Three of the Greatest Religions in China

Confucianism

There are some arguments about Confucianism. Some said it
is no more than a discipline of philosophy, others said it is
one of three greatest religions in China. The proof for the latter
one is that Confucius was deified and worshiped by Chinese for
thousands of years . Confucius temples also exist in modern Taiwan.
Modern Taiwanese worshipped Confucius for good luck to pass exam
because he was the greatest scholar, educator and philosopher

in Chinese history.

Confucius (B.C.551-B.C.479) was born in the Epoch of Spring
an Autumn during which China was in Chaotic war times. Among the
rulers intrigue and assassinations were common, and hunting,
warfare, and extravagance were their main interests. (Graham 48)
The sufferings of the common people were unbearable, for they
had to fight for their rulers, were heavily taxed, and were
ruthlessly punished for failure to cooperate and to obey their

masters.(Graham 48)

Confucius tried to reform the societies. He traveled all
over the country and persuaded the rulers in different locations
that the aim of government is to make most welfare for the people
rather than to expand the territory for the ruler himself. The
ruler should be chosen not because of heredity and wealth, but
on the basis of Virtue and ability, a very uncommon belief for
his day. (Graham 49) The ideal person to govern the society should
be a gentleman with good, honest, sincere and faithful
characteristics. Though he was dedicated in training the ideal
gentlemen to govern the society in his whole life, his ideal

thought to the society didn't shape out while he was alive.

Many emperors began to honor the Confucian scholars and took
advice from them whenever important political decisions were
needed in the Han dynasty.(B.C. 206—A.D.221) The Confucian
classics had been one of the subjects for entrance examination
to government office for thousands of years until the end of Ching
dynasty.(A.D.1911)EverycpuntryseatluxiatleastcnuaConfucian
temple in which there were tablets to Confucius and his disciples .
Twice a year Confucius is respectfully commemorated in the

Chinese schools. (Graham 52)

Taoism

The founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, was a contemporary of

Confucius.(Graham.52) He wanted to bring peace to individuals
and society. In Lao Tzu’s philosophy, there’s no need to run a
government for people. A main doctrine of Lao Tzu was nonaction.
He advised people not to strive, but to get into harmony with
Tao, which is the course of nature, the way, the path, the road,
the moral and physical order of the world, the basic principle
of the universe, reason, the ultimate, God.(Graham 53) The
essential teachings<3fImM>Tzu were different after hundreds of
years passed. Search for the elixir of life and longevity and
even immortality, divination, witchcraft, and the use of magic
ceremonies to control and exorcise demons, which were believed
to cause sickness and other calamities and to accomplish other
purposes, became the essential features of the Taoist

religion.(Graham 55)

In Ch'in dynasty(B.C.221-B.C. 206), Ch'in Shih Huang was
longing for the elixir and longevity. Therefore the necromancers
were patronized to alchemize the elixir of life for him.

The emperors of the T'ang dynasty generally favored Taoism
because they believed themselves to be descendants of Lao Tzu.
From the time of Ch'in Shin Huang to the end of the Ching
dynasty(1912), some emperors favored and promoted Taoism,
whereas others persecuted and sometimes tried to exterminate

it.(Graham 55—56)

10

Bu_ddh_is_m

Buddha (B.C. 563-B.C. 483) was the prince of a small country
in India about 2,500 years ago.2k3a.prince, he<didn’t enjoy the
wealthy and noble life he had but was impressed by the suffering
of human beings. He gave up the luxurious life and tried to find
out why human beings suffer and how to get rid of the suffering.
It is said he first tried philosophical speculation and later,
failing to find a solution by that method, tried asceticism. He
finally realized that this method also was useless, and at the

age of 35 attained enlightenment.(Graham 57)

“Four noble truths” is the essence of Buddha’ s thought. They
are existence is suffering, all suffering is caused by desire,
the extinction of desire will end the suffering and the
elimination of desire depends on the practice of eight right paths .
Nirvana, the serene state of mind could be reached if eight paths

are fully practiced.

Having found the way of salvation and been enlightened
himself, he began to instruct disciples and send them out to teach
others the way of salvation. (Graham 57) Buddhism was thus handed

down from generations to generations.

The branch of Buddhism that disseminated into Ceylon,

ll

Cambodia, Burma, Siam is called “the lesser vehicle.” The branch
that spread into Tibet, China, Tapan and Korea is called as “the
more vehicle”. After Buddhism spreaded into China, it became the
greatest rival of Taoismi As is so often the case with rivals,
each borrowed from each other, and each influenced the other.

(Graham 56)

As the proverb goes, “the three religions are one,” most
Chinese people worship Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist temples
and hardly underlined the differences of doctrines and teachings
of these religions. Most of the priests were unable to explain
the differences, and either asserted that there were no sects,
or that they “differed not much.” (Graham 58) Such a thought had
much influence on Taiwanese after the religions disseminated

from China to Taiwan.

CHAPTER 2

TAIWANESE FOLK BELIEFS

Religious Historv in Taiwan

In the middle of the seventeenth century, Cheng Kung Jeng
who took Taiwanias the base to subvert the Manching dynasty and
restored the Ming dynasty evicted the Dutch who governed Taiwan
for thirty-eight years (A.D.1624-1641). Christianity declined
aftertheImnxflileft.FujengeseenmiKuantongeseiJ1ChinaHdgrated
to Taiwan and brought Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and some
folk traditions with them. They became the prototype of Taiwanese

folk belief.(Dong 114)

In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan because of China’ 5 failure
in the war. Taiwan thus became a Japanese colony in the coming
fifty years(1895-1945). State Shintoism was stipulated as the
major religion under the policy of assimilation. Buddhism
popular in Japan, was also widely accepted in Taiwanese society.
Any religion besides State Shintoism and Buddhism were
suppressed. However, folk belief didn’ t vanish due to Taiwanese
adherence in their traditions and obstinacy in the indigenous

cultures.(Dong 114)

Current Taiwanese Folk Beliefs

13

After 1945, the Japanese left from Taiwan. Folk beliefs
became the mainstream in Taiwanese society. 85% of the Taiwanese
population embraces in folk beliefs in present day Taiwan. (Dong
51) Like any folk beliefs in the world, there’s no founder, no
classics and no creeds in Taiwanese folk belief. Furthermore,
some Buddhist temples worship Taoist deities and some Taoist
temples worship Buddhist deities. It’ 5 hard to differentiate the
religion.in<iifferent temples. Those temples unableeto Ldentify
their religion should be classified as the temples of folk beliefs .
Some people who believe in folk beliefs tended to mispresent
themselves as Buddhists or Taoists . The only thing that is certain

is Taiwanese are pantheists.

Deities in Taiwanese Folk Beliefs

In the book: Taiwanese Native Beliefs, deities in Taiwan
are divided into six categories . They are deities in folk beliefs,
deities in Buddhism, deities in nature, deities in the nether
world, deities in the history of ancient China and deities in
local Taiwan.(Jiang 10) The number of deities in Taiwan is

countless.

Taiwanese people don't just worship one particular deity
in their whole life. On the contrary, the theory of Henotheism

could be applied in Taiwanese society. Henotheism.means if one

14

requests fromeaCKHJQIbut.his wish was not efficacious, he will
request the other deity. He won't stop changing deities until
his wish is shaped out. (Dong 165) The most popular deities in
Taiwan are Holy Guan, the third crown prince and wan-yeah, which

means noblemen.

Holy Guan

Guan, Yu (A.D. 162—219), deified as Holy Guan, was a warrior
in the period of Three Kingdoms—We, Shu and Wu. He pledged in
a sworn brotherhood with Chang, Fei and Liou, Bei. They united
and built up the Kingdom of Shu as the base to restore the Hang
Dynasty. Though the aim to restore Hang dynasty wasn' t fulfilled,
Guan was worshiped in the later generations because he possessed
the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and
honesty. There are 192 temples for Holy Guan in current
Taiwan.(Tsai 109) He is also one of the few deities worshiped

by Confucianists, Taoists and Buddhists.(Jiang 58)

The Third Crown Prince

The third crown.prince’s real name was Li, Nor Cha. He was
the third son of Li, Jing, a general in Tang Dynasty. (A.D. 618-904)
His story was lgendized for thousands of years. It is said he

was assigned by the Emperor Pearl, the greatest monarch in Taoism

15

to evict the evils in the world so he transmigrated to the world.
It took Nor Cha’ 3 mother three years and six months to be pregnant
with Nor Cha. Since Nor Cha was very mischievous and wayward,
he violated the dragon king who governed the eastern sea. The
dragon king in the eastern sea sought for revenge from his father,
Li Jin. Nor Cha didn’t want his father involve in what he did
so he returned his body to his father and his blood to his mother.
He went back to the Jade Emperor as an assistant to evict the

evils.

The idol of the third crown prince is a seven- year-old boy
who steps on the wheel standing for the wind and fire and holds
the ring standing for the sky and the earth. His great power to
evict the evils is well known in Taiwanese folk belief. He is
classified as a Taoist deity. There are 66 temples for the third

crown prince in current Taiwan.(Tsai41)

Wan Yeah

Wan-Yeah means nobleman. There are 360 wan-yeah noblemen
in Chinese history. Nobleman Chi is one of the most famous
noblemen in Current Taiwanese folk belief. It is said he was one
of the county leaders in Tang dynasty (A.D. 618—904) . Since people
in the county tended Dock>evil things, the Jade emperor decided

to punish them. He assigned one of his soldiers to put poison

16

in the dragon well, the water source people shared in the county.
The Noblemen Chi didn’t want his people die so he lied to the
soldier that he would put the poison in the well for him. Instead,
he drank the poison himself. The Jade emperor was touched by Chi' s

decent behavior so he endowed Chi as nobleman.(Tsai 151)

Shamanism

The Taiwanese shaman, called as Gi-Tong, is the most common
medium of souls in Taiwanese folk beliefs. Gi-Tong is the
communicator between the deities and the human beings. Some of
the Gi—Tong are voluntarily possessed by the spirits, others are

involuntarily possessed by the spirits. (Mei 10)

J.K. Wang, a Gi—Tong, was involuntarily possessed by holy
Guan and the third crown prince. “About seven or eight years ago,
my mother got an illness. I went to the temples to pray for her.
After that, when I help lifting the sedan chair of the third crown
prince, I felt I can communicate with the deity.” S.Y. Wang also
portrayed his experience to become a Gi-Tong. (Wang 10 Dec. 1996)
“ More than twenty years ago, General Hsing helped me survive
from a couple of accidents, such as a plane crash and train
accidents . I decided to help people in the name of General Hsing.”
(Wang 15 Dec. 1996)Mr. Chang, the Gi-Tong of wan-yeah, also said

“I didn' t mean to be a Gi-Tong but was picked up by the deities”.

l7

(Chang 30 Nov. 1996)In most of the cases,the Gi-Tong was

involuntarily possessed by the deities.

According to the medical report, Gi-Tong tends to be
hysterical,nervous,impulsive,andlmnmalessnaturepersonality.
A report like that is unfair to Gi-Tong. ” (Huang 86) J.KJ Wang
stated “The deity didn’t just pick up anybody as his Gi-Tong.
Take Holy Guan for example, he was a man with the characteristic
of righteousness. He won’t pick up a gangster as his Gi—tong.
Instead, he will pick up a person who has similar characteristics
like him. He won’t endow his power to a person who tends to do
evil things. He would rather chooses a person with good conduct
so that his power could be applied to rescue people.”(Wang 10

Dec. 1996)

The way Gi-Tong helps people is to exercise the ‘power
endowed by his deity.“ The power I exercised was given by my deity.
I know nothing. It's my deity, Hsing his highness taught me
different ways to rescue different people. When I contemplate
at night, Hsing his highness will make me dream about who will
come to me next day. Then I know how to help them in advance.
It’s all the deity's magic power. I, as an ordinary person,

doesn’ t have any power myself.” said S .Y. Wang. (Wang 15 Dec. 1996)

In Taiwanese folk beliefs, Gi—Tong usually leads the pilgrim

18

toursn “ When the pilgrim.tour sets out on their trip, there are
many invisible evil souls who follow the tour. They want to grab
the burning paper money used in the parade ritual. The Gi—Tong
carries five precious instruments which stand for gold, wood,
water, fire and earth. The seven star sword represents gold. The
moon hatchet represents wood» The shark sword.represent5‘water.
The thorn ball represents fire. The T-stick represents earth.
Those five precious instruments are the best things to exorcise

evil spirits.”(Wang 10 Dec. 1996)

“Most of the time, Gi-Tong whips himself by using those five
precious instruments so that the evil souls dare not get too close
to people in the tour. That’s a way to keep Gi-Tong and the
pilgrims’ safe. It also shows the deity’s power is great."

(Wang 10 Dec. 1996)

“After the pilgrims arrive at the major temple they Visit,
the deity'who leads the tour needs to settle down the armies who
follow him. There are usually five camps of armies in Taoism.
Before the armies set out or after the armies arrive in a tour,
paper money will be distributed in five stacks-east, south, west,
north and center. Each stack of money stands for a camp of an
army and.will be burned in the ceremony. Burning paper money is

just like paying a salary in our modern time.” (Wang 10 Dec. 1996)

19

“The ranks of omnipotent beings are Buddha, Bodhidattva,
deities, Arhen. As long as the deity helps people, peOple will
worship himi When the population who worship the deity is up to
a certain level, his rankxnillkxaupgradedi There isaiTaiwanese
proverb, the deity needs people and people need the deity. I
devote myself to assist my deity. My deity also helps me in my

business. ” said Mr. J.K. Wang.(Wang 10 Dec. 1996)

CHAPTER 3
FOLK BELIEFS AS AN APPORACH TO MENTAL CARE IN CONTEMPORATORY

TAIWAN

Like primitive men, the anxiety that the majority of
Taiwanese had was over the fertility in their simple and
self-contained agricultural society. After Kuomintang regime in
mainland China took control of Taiwan in 1949, the Taiwanese
reaped the achievement of astounding economic growth. However,
as the pattern of the society changed from the agricultural
society into an industrial society, the insecurity civilized
people suffer is much more complicated than primitive men had.
Taiwanese folk beliefs with deep—rooted indigenous cultural
heritage didn’t vanish because of the emphasis of science and
the civilization of the society. On the contrary, a variety of
approaches derived from folk beliefs are used as mental care

methods in Taiwanese life.

Worshiping in the Temples

According to the statistics, there were 3,495 temples in
1940’ 5. With the growth of the society, the temples 0 over 13, 300
in 1986. (Tsai 33) The function that temples serve resembles that
of" mental care clinics in the west. People go there for help

with their problems . “There is no need to register in advance while

on

21

going to the temples. People acquire immediate service while
going to temples. Furthermore, what going to a temple costs is
much lower than going to a hospital. The office hours of western
mental clinics are typical of other institutions,thus hinders
the working people from going there. However, temples are open

twenty—four hours a day for the pilgrims.(Yu 1985)

As long as people worship the deities with three incense
sticks in the temples, they can speak out the anxieties they
suffer or the wishes they make. People throw a pair of red bamboos
after they make wishes . If each of the babmboos falls on the ground
on the opposite direction, it means their wish will come true.
To worship in the temples is the most popular mental care approach
in Taiwan because it doesn’ t need any assistance from Tao priests

or Gi-Tong.

Sweeping Bad Lucks

Sweeping bad lucks is to improve one’ s fortune by worshiping
the deities. People will have different fortune in different
years which is related to the astral rotation in the universe.
“Come to sweep bad lucks, the deity will make your career smooth
and keep your family in harmony. Or if people get an illness,
coming to sweep bad lucks will make to be cured soon.” saidlfir.

Lin, a Tao priest.

22

The Tao priest says a prayer for ordinary people in the
ritual of sweeping bad lucks. “Since ordinary people might not
know how to communicate with the deities, the Taoist plays a role
as the bridge between ordinary people and deities. The Taoist
is often confused with Gi-Tong. Gi-Tong is the person to whom
the deity attaches. Taoist is the person who hosts the rituals
and reads the incantations for ordinary people. The ordinary
people are blessed by the deities after the ceremony is done.”

Mr. Lin further stated.(Lin 18 Dec. 1996)

“In the beginning of the rituals of sweeping bad lucks,
I read the Tao’ s scripture to invite the deity to come here. After
contributing the gifts to the deity, I start to read the
incantations to the deity and tell the deity what people are
requesting. People have better luck after the ceremony.” (Lin 18

Dec. 1996)

Sweeping bad lucks could be hosted in the private altars
or in the public temples. To be effective or not dependds on
whether if the Tao priest has great power. However, the help
seekers sincerity' would also be a main factor to determine if

the ceremony works or not.

Tranguilizing the Soul

23

In Taiwanese culture, “people prefer to explain neurosis as
a symptcmiof ghosts attaching to human.being'or souls deviating
from a human’s body rather than recognizing it as a syndrome of
mental illness. Mental disorder is regarded as a shame unless
the reason to cause mental illness are contributed to outer
factors, such having bad geomancy or violating the providence.”

(Yu 4) Tranguilizing the soul is developed under such a rationale .

“If you got an illness physically, you need to see a doctor.
If you violate the evil soul, see people handling funeral affairs
or violate the geomancy, it won't work just to take medicine.
You might need to tranquil your soul with the deity’s help and
take medicine from.the doctor. You need both science and deity.
If you don’t tranquil the soul and just take medicine, your
illness won’t be healed.” said S.Y. Wang, a Gi-tong and also a

soul tranquilizer.(Wang 15 Dec. 1996)

S.Y. Wang also stated that tranquilizing the soul only works
when people are offended by the evil souls . He doesn’ t want people
to misunderstand that tranquilizing the soul is omnipotent to
cure any mental illness. “There are two kind of psychosis. If
you are attatmmmlby'the evil soul, you need to tranquilize your
soul. If your illness is caused by other reasons such as failing
in love, it would be of no use to come to me. As the proverb goes,

“You need the person who ties the ring to untie the ring.” You

24

might need to figure out the genuine reason that cause your mental
syndrome . ” (Wang 15 Dec. 1996) “ Some people will ask me to diagnose
their healthy conditions. What the deity can do is show you a
right direction to find<mit51good.doctor rather than cure your
illness. If the deity can cure the illness for people, there’s
no need to have doctors in the world. That’s why I always tell
people believe in deities but don’ t be superstitious.” said J.K.

Wang. (Wang 10 Dec.1996)

Asking Deities

Gi—Tong, as the communicator between deities and ordinary
people, plays a role as the western psychotherapist. The
difference between Gi-Tong and the western mental care provider
is the Gi-Tong relieves people’s anxiety through supernatural
power. The western psychotherapist analyze the advice-takers’

problems under a rational basis.

Take J.K. Wang as an example, He runs a video production
company with his elder brother on the weekdays . He was an atheist
before Holy Guan came to him. After Holy Guan picked him.up, he
had no other choice but to become a part time Gi—Tong. His vice
deity is the third crown prince. The spirit of the third crown

prince goes to their house on the midnight of every Saturday.

25

Mr. Wang’s apartment is open for anyone who needs advice
from the deity every Saturday night . He never charges any payment
from the advice takers because the deity told him not to help
people for money. He looks like any ordinary person before the
third crown prince attaches to him. He sits in front of the table
on which there are many idols. As soon as the deity comes, he
starts to shake his legs. Most of the times, he vomits because
he feels uncomfortable while the deity occupies his body. After
the deity attaches to his body, the tone of his voice sounds
different. The helper, Mr. Wang’s elder brother, calls the
advice-taker and speaks out the advice taker’ 5 name, birth year,
birth month, birth date, birth time and the question s/he asks
from a slip of paper written by the advice taker in advance. The
third crown prince thus has a direct communication with the advice
taker. The problems the third crown prince solves include
househohddisputes,relationship,schoolwork,career,geomancy,
marriage and so on. Advice takers bring their friends there if
their problems are solved by following the third crown prince’ 5
advice. Thus, more and more people come to Mr. Wang’ s apartment
on Saturday night. Mr. Wang’s apartment becomes a local mental

care center.

Moral Issue

“Nowadays... it's not the deity doesn’t behave well. It’s

26

people who exercise the power doesn’t behave well. I tell my
deity not to attach to me so often. I try to help people by saying
a prayer or tranquilizing the soul for them.” said S.Y. Wang.
When magic power is involved, there’ 5 a big possibltiy for someone

to cheat people in the name of deities.

In October, 1996, the deceitful case of Sung,Chi-Li was
exposed. He announced himself as Buddha and used photographic
techniques to fabricate pictures as fake evidence that he creates
miracles. The total amount he stole from his believers is over
$ U.S.7,500,000 dollars. Such a story happens frequently which
makes the public hold negative impressions toward Gi-tong or

sorcerers in folk beliefs. (China Time 12 Oct. 1996 )

“If people want to pay me after I help them, I’ll ask them
to put money in the donation box. Whatever is in the donation
box is used to buy flowers, fruits, candles and some necessary
products.“ said S.Y. Wang. (Wang 15 Dec. 1996) “ Everybody has
the ability'to judge. The deity helps peOple without asking any
reward. If one asks the price for every service they provide, that

wouldn’tlmaaigood.conduct." said J.K. Wang.(Wang 10 Dec. 1996)

Chapter 4
FORMING THE CONCEPT OF SHOOTING BY RETRACING THE DOCUMENTARY

HISTORY

The Value And Critigue Of Documentary

This video program is presented in the format of documentary.
The concepts of documentary formed by discovered the history of

documentary are applied in producing the video program.

Actualitv

In the early years, motion pictures were used to record daily
events. In December 28, 1895, Lumiere showed his films “Workers
Leaving The Lumiere Factory” and “Arriving At The Train Station”
in Paris. They were the very first moving pictures run in the
public. These films that simply recorded people’s wonder tO'the
world established the prototype oftdocumentary; To choose real
events becomes the fundamental criteria to create

documentary.(Barnouw 7)

Newsreel

During world war I, celluloid was used as a medium of

communicationbetweentfluagovernmentandtflmflJicivilpopulations.

7.7

28

Instead the footage is event-centered, but the events’
relationship and meaning lie somewhere else in the overall
tapestry of the war.(Rabiger 13) The film footage in wartime
tended to assert “our side” as heroes and “the enemy” as a
malevolent and inhuman machine”.(Rabiger 13) The aim of the
newsreels was to disseminate the jingoism of war time. The

so-called “truth” advocated in the newsreels was not valid.

Nanook of the North—The First Documentary Film

Nanook of the North, a film made by Robert Flaherty was
hailed as the first documentary film. Robert Flaherty was also
honored as the “Father of the Documentary Film.” (Sherwood 16)
Flaherty, asenioutsider totflmaEskimo’s culture spent years to
understandtflmeEskimo’slifeenuiphilosophy.Tfimasubjects-Nanook
and his family—performed naturally and hardly perceived the
existence of the camera. The images that Nanook created were
rarely pathetic but presented how the Eskimos struggle with
merciless nature in an authentic way. Flaherty established a
paradigm of anthropological film. Flaherty’s “participatory
observation” also become a common perspective for the

documentary filmmakers to produce their programs.

Kino-Provda

29

In 1922, Kino-Provda was acclaimed by Dizka Vertov with his
Council of Three. As the title- Kino Provda (Film Truth) reveals,
what Dizka Vertov asserted is a film should be made to reflect
truth. (Barnouw 55) He claimed that the popular films made on the
basis of fabricated story plots were the anaesthetic to the
proletariat.ZXcameramansflKnflxlrelycnitheiKino-Eye‘Wx>record

life without imposing on it”.(Rabiger 19)

Dizka Vertov was also influenced by futurism which tearing
down the well organized grammatical structure. “He believed that
by compiling a rapid and ever—changing montage of shots, life
itself would emerge free of any point of view but that of the

all-seeing camera.”(Rabiger 19)

There’s no denying that film, especially documentary, is
made to represent reality. Editing is of course a necessary
process. However, to assert the technique of montage as an
approach to represent reality might be dangerous because over
recomposing the original footage might make a program
meretricious. A real story should be told without the fragmented

presentation of footage.

English Grierson Age

John Grierson defined the documentary form as a creative

30

treatment of actuality.(Rabiger 17) His definition of

documentary is widely accepted. He also proclaimed “art is not
a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape
it” (Rabiger 17) Film is used to solve social problems rather than

just reflect the society.

“The characteristic Grierson documentary dealt with
impersonal social process; it was usually a short film fused by
a “commentary” that articulated.a point of view.” (Barnouw 99)
The narration was usually subjective, arbitrary and
authoritative. Image, supplementary to the narration was
illustrativeixnthe‘well-written script. Grierson’s concept of

documentaryhasrmxfliinfluencecnicurrenttelevisionpmoduction.

European Painter’s Documentarv

The documentary films in European countries other than
England in the 1920’ s and 1930’ s are poetic and stylish. European
documentary makers presented documentary as an inventive,
impressionistic and rhythmic image. “ Berlin: Symphony Of A City”
made by Walter Ruttmann is the representative work of this period.
Ruttmann was interested in rhythms and patterns.(Barnouw 73)
The score of the symphonic documentary made by the scenery and
people in Berlin made the impression of Berlin romantic and

rhythmic.

31

Political Propaganda Age In World War II

While Grierson used documentary film as a propaganda tool
to solve social problem, Hitler politicized it. In the Nazi era,
media were under the government’s control. Goebbels, as the
MinistercflfPopularEnlightenmentenuiPropagandanmnipulatedall
of the media production. Leni Riefenstahl was the only exception.
She finished “Victory of Faith” and “ The Olympia” with Hitler’ s
sponsorship. (BarnouW'100—101)Imam.consideredemu/commentator
an “enemy of film.”(Barnouw 103) The power of these films comes
from “choreography of images and sounds . ” (Barnouw 104) The march,
the oratory, the folksongs and the cheers in the crowd were the
narration in her film. Riefenstahl showed little interest in

politics but emphasized the aesthetics.

In 1955, Alain Resnais’s “Night and Fog” “was a searing
indictment- but with a shift in aim” (Barnouw 180). The images
presented in a lyrical and poetic form without any condemnatory
and emotional narration shows the most powerful accusation of

the Nazi era.

Free Cinema Movement

Free cinema was just “the title of showings organized at

32

National Film Theater” in London in 1956. (Barnouw 231) The young
leaders Karel Reisz, Lindsay Anderson.and.others asserted that
film makers were observers rather than propagandists. The
authoritative and arbitrary should be denounced, an idea that
reversed.Grierson’s concept.lxufln:equipment shouldkxeadopted
to make possible intimate observation of the subjects in

documentary.(Barnouw 231)

The innovations of the Free Cinema Movement make direct

cinema and cinema verit‘e possible in the near future.

Direct Cinema

Robert Drew and thelfiaysles brothers promoted the concept
of direct cinema that catches the climax of events at the critical
moment. For these photographic reporters, the aesthetics of

direct cinema was influenced by news photography.

The workers of<direct cinema assert.that.the camera should
be like a fly on the wall that “intrudes as little as possible
in order to capture the spontaneity and uninhibited flow of live
events”.(Rabiger 23) The cameraman should hold the camera and
wait for the crises rather than initiate any events because the
authenticity of events would be obliterated if the filmmaker

tried to manipulate anything while filming. Interview is the

33

technique that direct cinema abandoned because no unexpected
footage will be acquired in an interview. However, interview is
considered the most feasible way to gather information from the

subjects in depth.

Cinema Verit‘e

Jean Rouch, an anthropologist, developed the idea of cinema
verit‘e. To legitimize»the presence oficamera, to encourage the
interaction between subjects and director, to allow the director
as the provocateur and catalyst to participate in certain events
and to attach importance to the usage of interview are the

essences of cinema verit‘e.

The representative work of cinema verit‘e, Chronigl§_gfiga
Summer applied the theory asserted in cinema verit‘e. The
filmmakers, Edgar Morin and Michael Brault went to the
Parisian streets, In view of the camera, people were stopped with
a microphone and asked: “Tell us, are you happy?” Some Parisians
brushed the questions aside, others stopped to consider.
(Barnouw 254) The filmmakers were the catalyst to stimulate the
subjects to react to the camera. The question is the subjects

might behave unusually when they are irritated.

Television Documentary

34

The documentary film, with inevitably small audiences,
has a hard time as soon as it jumped from the movie theater to
television screend It needs the permission of giant television
networks which are dominated by commercial, political and moral

pressure groups.(Rabinger 28)

Standard type of television inherited many characteristics
from Grierson’ s propaganda. Video that is illustrative to audio
is used in most television documentaries. The sound over used
to amplify the producer’s idea is the primary part of the
documentary. The power of image is thus minimized because the

audiences’attention was drawn to the audio.

Producing a Documentarv

For this thesis, the topic is how Taiwanese rely on folk
beliefs as a way to relieve metal anxieties. This topic was going
to be dealt with under the philosophy of anthropological films
because it is filled with traditional religious mystery. In
anthropologicalfilms,tjuafilmmakersobserveenuirevealeastory.
Such an idea was partly shaped out in the pilgrim tour. There
are lots of rituals held in the parade of the pilgrim tour which
were mysterious to the producer . The producer unveiled the reason

behind these rituals by interviewing the Gi-Tong and the

35

Tao-Priests. However, the anthropological film tries not to
illustrate the video by narration. Since lots of information need
to be presented to help the international audience understand

the rituals, narration was added.in the post-production stage.

As the shooting stage went on, the producer went to the
temples and the altars to take some footage. By following the
concept of direct cinema, the camera was handled like a fly on
the wall. The subjects were shot with a minimum interference so

that genuine reactions could be caught.

The subjects were also interviewed about why they go to
“sweep bad luck, tranquilize the soul or ask the deity”. The
intervieW'istjmamost efficient.waytx>acquire informationt Tao
priests and Taiwanese shamans also provided information about
the method they use to help people. In the ideal concept, only
their sound over will be used in the program rather than have
a transcribed narration. The idea was modified after the
following reasons were considered. Some observations from the
producer beyond the interviewees revelation needed to be bold.
Furthermore, the translated narration is not enough for the
international audiences to acquire complete information. Though
the interviewees not talking fluently could be considered a
natural performance, the program tends to not be rhythmical as

some redundant information is provided. Under this situation,

36

a narration that provides basic information and condenses the
messages from the interviewees is properly used. The
international audience will catch the idea immediately from the

narration rather than read from translated subtitle.

In.Nanook:of the North, Flaherty took a couple of years to
make his acquaintance with Nanook. Vivid footage was acquired
after he was familiar with the Eskimo’s lifejpattern. The price
of doing a good documentary is an enormous amount of time of
participation. Though only a couple of weeks was allowed to do
the shooting, the idea of “participatory observation” and
sharing was practiced. With the cooperation of the subject J.K.
Wang, the producer was allowed to do the observation and wait
for the events in his apartment every weekend. In the beginning,
the subjects seem not comfortable with the camera, because an
outsider intruded into their private place. After a couple weeks,
a mutual understanding was established. The Wangs helped explain
to the advice-taker about the reason for shooting. The
advice-takers trusted the producer with the Wangs help. The
reason why people come to ask the deity was discovered by doing
the interview. The information gathered seems superficial. The
observation that is undone beyond the altar is where the actual
story happened. If time is allowed, a deeper story might be

possibly told.

37

Though the actuality of a documentary is important, the
aesthetic aspects shouldn’t be ignored. Illuminated by the
European painters, a lyrical montage was created in the opening

and end as the prelude.

Seeing everything through the black and white view finder
while doing the shooting, the producer also experienced
Dizka Vertov’ s idea of Kino Eye. The cameraman to a large extent
relied on the camera to present the world. However, recomposing
thefragmentalpiecestxirepresenttjmarealworldixsquestionable.
In the five precious instruments session, a long take was used
tijresent how<3i-Tong whips himself when the deity attaches to
his body and how he recovered at once after the deity left. A
real story was told by a long take. In the paper money session,
the ritual for the Gi-Tong and the servant to exchange five
precious instruments was provided by a long take.A long take and

proper editing would both be ways to present the reality.

Chapter 5

CONCLUSION

Taiwanese folk beliefs indeed inherited much religious
heritage from Chinese religion. Nevertheless, the unique
Taiwanese folklore and natural geographic environment different
from that of China has formed his own folk beliefs. It is also
a support to assist people to strive for a real, everyday life.
To divine, to choose a proper direction for deceased ancestors,
to ask the deity are the superficial impressions of Taiwanese
folk beliefs. Most educated people view folk beliefs as
superstitious customs rather than notice it as one of the
significant dimensions of Taiwanese culture. Many orthodox
traditions in Taiwanese folk beliefs which are beyond the
intellectual’s academic knowledge have prevailed in folk
Taiwanese society from generation to generation no matter how
progressive science has improved. The history of folk beliefs
needs to be explored and the reason why it has deeply influenced
Taiwanese needed be comprehended rather than just dismissed as

superstition.

This video thesis provides a vision about current use of
Taiwanese folk beliefs and reveals the significance of religious
rituals that are not familiar and respected by Taiwanese. To

broadcast it would help Taiwanese people understand their own

‘19

39

cultures. The Taiwanese people’s self-awareness could be

awakened though realizing and appreciating themselves.

Furthermore, typical programs about folk beliefs are
sensational and lead the mass to be superstitious . Since the power
of mass media.in the late twentieth centuryris overwhelming, to
produce a program with sincerity and accuracy that helps people
understand the cultures they are living with would be an urgent

task for the media producers in Taiwan to fulfill.

LISTS OF REFERENCES

Barnouw, Erik. Documentary; A History of The Non-Fiction Film.

New York, Oxford University Press.1983.

Chang, Bao-Shang. Persoanl Interview. 30 Nov. 1996.

“The Deceited Case of Sung,Chi-Li”,China Time 12 Oct. 1996, sec
1)

Dong,Fan-Yuan. To Explore Taiwanese Folk Belief.
Taipei,Chang—Min Cultures Press, Inc. 1996.

Graham, David Crockett. Folk Religion in Southwest China.
Baltimore, MD., Port City Press, Inc. 1967.

Huang, Wen-Bur. The Interesting Stories in Folk Beliefs. Taipei,
Taiyuan Press, Inc. 1993.

Ivanits,Linda J. Russian Folk Belief. Armonk, New York, M.E.
sharpe, Inc.1989.

Jiang,Yi-Jeng. The Local Deities In Taiwan. Taipei, Taiyuan
Press, Inc.1994.

Lin, Guan-Rong. Personal Interview. 18 Dec. 1996.7.

Mei, Huei-Yu.“Research of Gi-Tong in Green Island.” Thesis.
National Taiwan Univ, 1992.

Rabiger, Michael.Directing The Documentamind Ed. Newton, MA,
Reed Publishing Inc.,1992.

Ryan,Joe.First Stop,fHuaMaster‘Indextx>Subject Encyclopedia.
Phoenix, Arizona. The Oryx Press. 1989.

Sherwood, Robert. Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North. Tpe
Documentarv Tradition: From Nanook To Woodstock. Ed.

Jacobs, Lewis. Neerork, Noble Offset Printers,Inc.,1971.

.lfl

4]

Tsai, Hsiang-Huei. Taiwanese temples and Religions. Taipei,
Taiyuan Press, Inc. 1993.

Wang,Rong-Kun. Personal Interview. 10 Dec.1996.

Wang, Shi-Yao. Personal Interviews. 15 Dec. 1996.

Yu,Der—Huei. TraditionaifiMental.CareIhiTaiwand Taipei, Teacher

Chang Press, Inc. 1985.

 

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