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Concept
Fangshi
Summary
Fangshi () were Chinese technical specialists who flourished from the third century BCE to the fifth century CE. English translations of fangshi include alchemist, astrologer, diviner, exorcist, geomancer, doctor, magician, monk, mystic, necromancer, occultist, omenologist, physician, physiognomist, technician, technologist, thaumaturge, and wizard.
The Chinese word fangshi combines fang "direction; side; locality; place; region; formula; (medical) prescription; recipe; method; way" and shi "scholar; intelligentsia; gentleman; officer; yeoman; soldier; person trained in a certain field".
Many English-language texts transliterate this word as fangshi (older texts use fangshih), but some literally translate it.
"gentlemen possessing magical recipes"
"recipe gentlemen"
"masters of recipes"
"'direction-scholar', that is, one versed in interpreting omens from their orientation" [from fengjiao "wind angle" divination below]
"Esoteric Masters"
"gentleman who possess techniques, technician"
"masters of recipes and methods"
"masters of methods"
"masters of esoterica"
The Chinese historian Yu Ying-shi concludes that "as a general term, fang-shih may be translated 'religious Taoists' or 'popular Taoists,' since all such arts were later incorporated in the Taoist religion. Only in specific cases depending on contexts, should the term be translated 'magicians,' 'alchemists,' or 'immortalists.'" Fangshi "is an elusive term that defies a consistent translation"
There is general agreement that the shi in fangshi 方士 means "master; gentleman; trained specialist" (cf. Daoshi "Daoist priest; diviner"), but considerable disagreement about the meaning of fang.
The etymology of fangshi is "subject to various interpretations", writes DeWoskin.
By the end of the Later Chou, there are several occurrences of the word "fang" in two new binomes, fang-shu [方書] and fang-shuo [方說], literally, "fang books" and "fang theories". The word "fang" in its various common contexts meant "efficacious," "formulaic," "parallel," "correlative," "comparative," "medicinal," "spiritual," or "esoteric.
Official source
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