{
 "schema": 1,
 "id": "fu-talisman",
 "type": "amulet",
 "names": {
  "name": "Fu talisman",
  "native": "符籙",
  "script": "Han",
  "lang": "zh",
  "said": "foo-LOO",
  "aliases": [
   "fulu",
   "fu",
   "符箓",
   "talismanic script",
   "Taoist talisman"
  ]
 },
 "etymology": {
  "root": "Chinese 符 fú — instructions for deities and spirits, symbols for exorcism, and recipes for potions or charms used to treat ailments — with 籙 lù, a registry of the memberships of priests that also lists the skills they are trained in",
  "note": "The writing itself is asemic: strokes that resemble Chinese characters without being readable as them. The 符 fu of a talisman is a different character and a different word from the 福 fu of good fortune pasted upside-down on doors at New Year.",
  "tier": "cited",
  "source": "s:wp-fulu"
 },
 "region": [
  "china"
 ],
 "countries": [
  "CN",
  "TW"
 ],
 "facets": {
  "era": "ancient",
  "status": "living",
  "portable": "carried",
  "restricted": "limited",
  "hemisphere": [
   "N",
   "E"
  ]
 },
 "text": {
  "what": "A sheet — usually paper, sometimes cloth, sometimes a coin's face — written over in a script nobody is meant to read. The strokes are irregular and resemble Chinese characters, often stretching an existing word out of shape and mixing in marks that are not characters at all. Taoist priests are the main interpreters of this writing, and the characters differ from sect to sect.",
  "story": "The illegibility is the design, and it has a history. Yang Zhaohua notes that a number of the earliest known Taoist talismans were simple and legible, and that later examples became deliberately cryptic in order to signal their divinity. James Robson and Gil Raz have argued that the incomprehensibility of the written forms is central to a talisman's perceived authority and efficacy, and is one of talismanic script's defining features. By the Eastern Jin dynasty, 317 to 420, it was already held unnecessary for a user to be able to decipher the writing: Ge Hong wrote in the Baopuzi that as long as the inscription was correct, use did not depend on the user reading it. Ge Zhaoguang, of Fudan University, calls the unreadability a kind of linguistic archaism, built to be incomprehensible — \"a veil of unfathomable otherwordliness\" that lets only a small number of qualified clergy produce them properly.\n\nThe writing has been medicine for as long as it has been anything. Known in medical writings as zhuyou, the use of talismans ran alongside drugs, meditation, acupuncture, astrology and massage; the Way of the Taiping was healing patients with it at least as far back as the Eastern Han. Zhuyou held official support from the Sui to the late Ming, and declined when acupuncture was recognised by the imperial court as a medical discipline in the sixth century. It is rejected by traditional Chinese medicine and still widely used by folk healers, and in the twentieth century, as Western psychology arrived, it began to be read as a Chinese counterpart of hypnosis.\n\nThe script also travelled. Fulu are not confined to Taoism: they were taken into several forms of Chinese Buddhism, and they lie behind the ofuda used in Japanese Buddhism and Shinto and the bujeok of Korean shamanism. On coins, fulu usually open and close the inscription of a Taoist coin charm, and most of those charms ask Lei Gong, the god of thunder, to protect the carrier from evil spirits and misfortune. Many coin talismans in the script have not been deciphered; in one specimen talismanic script was written side by side with Chinese characters that may be its gloss.\n\nThe Daozang records the fulu sect's history in the second chapter of each of its three grottoes, where fulu are said to originate in the condensation of clouds in the sky.",
  "how": "Written by a priest of the fulu pai, an informal grouping of priests from different schools of Taoism. The way of writing the characters is passed down in secret from a Taoist priest to their disciples and treated as a special craft for communicating with local deities and spirits; style, incantations and the mudras used in making them differ from sect to sect, and even the invocations for a single deity vary. This atlas prints that and no script.",
  "today": "Still written. Zhuyou continues to be widely used among Chinese folk healers, and paper talismans are issued at temples across the Chinese-speaking world — the Taiwanese peace charm is the everyday form. Whether a talisman works has never been the question a priest is asked; the question is who wrote it."
 },
 "restricted": {
  "note": "How the characters of talismanic script are written is passed from a Taoist priest to their disciples in secret, and differs from sect to sect. This atlas describes what the writing looks like and what scholars say about its illegibility, and does not reproduce a talisman or a method for drawing one.",
  "who_says": "the account of the craft in the Fulu article, which states the transmission is secret; with Ge Zhaoguang of Fudan University on why only a few qualified clergy can produce them",
  "source": "s:wp-fulu",
  "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulu"
 },
 "dating": {
  "period": "Eastern Jin to the present",
  "from_year": 317,
  "to_year": null,
  "living": true,
  "label": "by 317 CE to now",
  "method": "textual",
  "tier": "cited",
  "source": "s:wp-fulu",
  "note": "317 is the start of the Eastern Jin, the period the source dates in years and in which Ge Hong's Baopuzi already treats decipherment as unnecessary. The source also says the healing use runs at least as far back as the Eastern Han, which it does not date in years, so the practice is older than this bar."
 },
 "object": {
  "form": "folded-paper",
  "materials": [
   "paper",
   "ink",
   "cloth",
   "coin"
  ],
  "worn": [
   "pocket",
   "door",
   "wall",
   "vehicle"
  ],
  "made_by": "a Taoist priest trained in the sect's own script; the craft is transmitted privately",
  "inscription": "asemic talismanic script — strokes resembling characters, elongated words, non-character symbols; on coin charms it opens and closes the inscription",
  "script": "Han",
  "colour": [
   "yellow",
   "red",
   "black"
  ],
  "single_use": false,
  "source": "s:wp-fulu",
  "note": "No measurement is published in the source read. The form varies from a paper sheet to a cast coin face."
 },
 "against": [
  {
   "harm": "illness",
   "who": "Chinese medical writing, where the practice is called zhuyou and was used alongside drugs, meditation, acupuncture, astrology and massage",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "spirits",
   "who": "Taoist coin talismans, most of which ask Lei Gong to protect their carriers from evil spirits and misfortune",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "demons",
   "who": "the exorcism use named in the word itself: fu are instructions for deities and spirits and symbols for exorcism",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "bad-luck",
   "who": "the same coin talismans, which name misfortune alongside evil spirits",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited"
  }
 ],
 "kin": [
  {
   "to": "ping-an-fu",
   "as": "the everyday form: this script folded into yellow paper, sleeved in red and issued at a Taiwanese temple",
   "rel": "part"
  },
  {
   "to": "chinese-fu-craft",
   "as": "the tradition of the priesthood that writes it and holds the script",
   "rel": "tradition"
  },
  {
   "to": "ofuda",
   "as": "the Japanese descendant — the same idea of a written slip from a shrine, reached through this script",
   "rel": "descendant"
  },
  {
   "to": "bujeok",
   "as": "the Korean descendant, taken up by Korean shamanism",
   "rel": "descendant"
  },
  {
   "to": "charm-coin",
   "as": "where the script goes when it is cast in bronze: fulu open and close the inscription of a Taoist coin charm",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "fu-word",
   "as": "the word, and the two different fu it keeps getting confused between — the tally and the fortune",
   "rel": "same-word"
  },
  {
   "to": "divine-name",
   "as": "the sign family it belongs to: writing that acts because of whose name it is, not because of what it says",
   "rel": "motif"
  },
  {
   "to": "inscribing",
   "as": "the practice itself, taught privately and differing by sect",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "bagua-mirror",
   "as": "the other Taoist fixture at a doorway, working by reflection where this works by writing",
   "rel": "kin"
  },
  {
   "to": "the-drawn-signs",
   "as": "the long read on signs made to be looked at rather than read",
   "rel": "art"
  }
 ],
 "confusable_with": [
  {
   "id": "ping-an-fu",
   "tell": "the peace charm is one product of this script — yellow paper in a red sleeve, issued for a year; fu talisman is the whole class of the writing"
  }
 ],
 "links": [
  {
   "label": "Fulu — Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulu"
  }
 ],
 "sources": [
  "s:wp-fulu",
  "s:wp-fu-character",
  "s:wp-chinese-numismatic-charm",
  "s:wp-ofuda",
  "s:web-taiwanese-gods-fulu"
 ],
 "provenance": {
  "default": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu"
  },
  "fields": {
   "text.today": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-fulu",
    "note": "the closing line about who wrote it is this project's phrasing of the source's point about qualified clergy"
   },
   "restricted": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-fulu"
   }
  }
 },
 "images": [],
 "x_commons_files": [
  "File:Taoist talisman fulu.jpg"
 ],
 "confidence": "high",
 "updated": "2026-09-16",
 "blurb": "A sheet — usually paper, sometimes cloth, sometimes a coin's face — written over in a script nobody is meant to read.",
 "region_terms": [
  {
   "key": "china",
   "name": "China",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  }
 ],
 "hemispheres": [
  "E",
  "N"
 ],
 "kin_out": [
  {
   "to": "ping-an-fu",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Ping'an fu",
   "as": "the everyday form: this script folded into yellow paper, sleeved in red and issued at a Taiwanese temple",
   "rel": "part"
  },
  {
   "to": "chinese-fu-craft",
   "type": "tradition",
   "name": "Fulu — Taoist talismanic craft",
   "as": "the tradition of the priesthood that writes it and holds the script",
   "rel": "tradition"
  },
  {
   "to": "ofuda",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Ofuda",
   "as": "the Japanese descendant — the same idea of a written slip from a shrine, reached through this script",
   "rel": "descendant"
  },
  {
   "to": "bujeok",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Bujeok",
   "as": "the Korean descendant, taken up by Korean shamanism",
   "rel": "descendant"
  },
  {
   "to": "charm-coin",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Chinese charm coin",
   "as": "where the script goes when it is cast in bronze: fulu open and close the inscription of a Taoist coin charm",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "fu-word",
   "type": "term",
   "name": "fu",
   "as": "the word, and the two different fu it keeps getting confused between — the tally and the fortune",
   "rel": "same-word"
  },
  {
   "to": "divine-name",
   "type": "motif",
   "name": "The name",
   "as": "the sign family it belongs to: writing that acts because of whose name it is, not because of what it says",
   "rel": "motif"
  },
  {
   "to": "inscribing",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Inscribing",
   "as": "the practice itself, taught privately and differing by sect",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "bagua-mirror",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Bagua mirror",
   "as": "the other Taoist fixture at a doorway, working by reflection where this works by writing",
   "rel": "kin"
  },
  {
   "to": "the-drawn-signs",
   "type": "art",
   "name": "The drawn signs",
   "as": "the long read on signs made to be looked at rather than read",
   "rel": "art"
  }
 ],
 "source_list": [
  {
   "id": "s:wp-fulu",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Fulu",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulu",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-fu-character",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Fu (character)",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_(character)",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-chinese-numismatic-charm",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Chinese numismatic charm",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_numismatic_charm",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-ofuda",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Ofuda",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofuda",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:web-taiwanese-gods-fulu",
   "kind": "web",
   "title": "Talismans and Protective Charms (Fulu)",
   "publisher": "Taiwanese Gods",
   "url": "https://www.taiwanese-gods.org/en/culture/customs/fulu/",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16"
  }
 ],
 "tiers": {
  "text.what": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu"
  },
  "text.story": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu"
  },
  "text.how": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu"
  },
  "text.today": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "note": "the closing line about who wrote it is this project's phrasing of the source's point about qualified clergy"
  },
  "etymology": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu"
  },
  "dating": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu"
  },
  "object": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu"
  }
 },
 "primary_image": null,
 "tag_facts": [],
 "recognition_facts": [],
 "acclaim": 0,
 "against_facts": [
  {
   "key": "illness",
   "label": "Illness",
   "gloss": "sickness in general, where no cause is named",
   "who": "Chinese medical writing, where the practice is called zhuyou and was used alongside drugs, meditation, acupuncture, astrology and massage",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "spirits",
   "label": "Ghosts and hungry spirits",
   "who": "Taoist coin talismans, most of which ask Lei Gong to protect their carriers from evil spirits and misfortune",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "demons",
   "label": "Demons and night-hags",
   "who": "the exorcism use named in the word itself: fu are instructions for deities and spirits and symbols for exorcism",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "bad-luck",
   "label": "Bad luck, unspecified",
   "who": "the same coin talismans, which name misfortune alongside evil spirits",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-fulu",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  }
 ],
 "material_facts": [
  {
   "key": "paper",
   "label": "Paper",
   "kind": "written"
  },
  {
   "key": "ink",
   "label": "Ink",
   "kind": "written"
  },
  {
   "key": "cloth",
   "label": "Cloth",
   "kind": "textile"
  },
  {
   "key": "coin",
   "label": "A coin",
   "kind": "metal"
  }
 ],
 "worn_facts": [
  {
   "key": "pocket",
   "label": "In a pocket or a bag",
   "group": "carried"
  },
  {
   "key": "door",
   "label": "At the door",
   "group": "placed"
  },
  {
   "key": "wall",
   "label": "On a wall",
   "group": "placed"
  },
  {
   "key": "vehicle",
   "label": "In a vehicle",
   "group": "placed"
  }
 ],
 "form_fact": {
  "key": "folded-paper",
  "label": "Folded paper"
 },
 "holding_facts": [],
 "span": "317 CE to now",
 "country_names": [
  {
   "iso": "CN",
   "name": "China"
  },
  {
   "iso": "TW",
   "name": "Taiwan"
  }
 ],
 "kin_in": [
  {
   "from": "bagua-mirror",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Bagua mirror",
   "as": "the written remedy at the same doorway, where this is the optical one",
   "rel": "kin"
  },
  {
   "from": "bujeok",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Bujeok",
   "as": "the Chinese Daoist ancestor — the same illegible-on-purpose script, one border north",
   "rel": "origin"
  },
  {
   "from": "charm-coin",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Chinese charm coin",
   "as": "the writing cast into the Taoist ones — fulu open and close their inscriptions",
   "rel": "carries"
  },
  {
   "from": "ofuda",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Ofuda",
   "as": "the Chinese ancestor: the Daoist talismanic sheet that reached Japan through Onmyōdō and set the form",
   "rel": "origin"
  },
  {
   "from": "ping-an-fu",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Ping'an fu",
   "as": "the class it belongs to — this is the ordinary, household end of Taoist talismanic writing",
   "rel": "whole"
  },
  {
   "from": "chinese-fu-craft",
   "type": "tradition",
   "name": "Fulu — Taoist talismanic craft",
   "as": "the object itself: the priest's written slip, and the reason this record prints no script",
   "rel": "carries"
  },
  {
   "from": "coin-square",
   "type": "motif",
   "name": "The square hole",
   "as": "the drawn Taoist talisman; some coin charms are cast as imperial decrees in the same voice",
   "rel": "kin"
  },
  {
   "from": "divine-name",
   "type": "motif",
   "name": "The name",
   "as": "the Taoist sheet whose script is meant not to be legible",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "from": "ink",
   "type": "material",
   "name": "Ink",
   "as": "the Taoist charm whose script is deliberately unreadable, and whose authority rests on that",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "from": "paper",
   "type": "material",
   "name": "Paper",
   "as": "the Taoist written charm this whole family descends from",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "from": "inscribing",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Inscribing",
   "as": "writing built to be unreadable, which is the point its own scholars make about it",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "fu-word",
   "type": "term",
   "name": "fu",
   "as": "the object the second character names: the drawn Taoist talisman, written by a priest",
   "rel": "term"
  }
 ]
}