Maoshan · The Talismans and Altars of the Shangqing School

Mount Mao is the ancestral home of the Shangqing School and the origin of the name “Maoshan Arts.”

Folk legends describe Maoshan arts as including talismans, summoning deities, exorcising spirits, and protecting homes. The older generation says that Maoshan disciples must pass “three trials” to complete their apprenticeship, the final one being to spend a night in a mass grave to make peace with things unseen.

Today, the Maoshan Taoist Temple remains a site of constant pilgrimage. Half of those who come here seek peace, while the other half come to ask a single question: do those things actually exist?

Occult Chronicles / Jiangsu · China / A Millennium of Heritage