Is a “Contagious Corpse Fatigue” (chuan shi lao 傳尸勞) a Matter of Spirit Possession?

Name: Is a “Contagious Corpse Fatigue” (chuan shi lao 傳尸勞) a Matter of Spirit Possession? An Inquiry into Malarial Convulsions
Start: 2026-11-25T17:15:00+0000
End: 2026-11-25T17:15:00+0000

Wednesday 25 November 2026, 5.15pm

Pauling Centre, 58a Banbury Road, and on Teams

Elisabeth Hsu (Professor of Anthropology, SAME, University of Oxford)

To arrive at the above question, one has to read Chinese medical formulas in an accumulative way, i.e. one has to read one formula as an assemblage of several formulas for treating related disorders, each with a recognizable Gestalt: say, (a) a body ecological seasonal indisposition, (b) a contagious worm infection in one’s gut or (c) an instance of cleansing the body with pungent plants. Does that imply that the body in question is considered polluted? Do all possession disorders arise in response to a perceived pollution? Do they always call for an exorcism of a daemon? To what extent is the shaking off of an af-fliction related to the purification of a polluted place?

ArgO-EMR Seminar Series Michaelmas Term 2026

Theme: Rethinking Spirit Possession in Anthropological and Historical Contexts

Wednesdays, 5.15pm, Pauling Centre, 58a Banbury Road, Weeks 1, 3, 5 and 7. Also On Teams.

Convened by David Mozina and Elisabeth Hsu.