The late Michel Strickmann was Professor of Chinese Religions at the University of California, Berkeley, and a world-renowned expert on Taoism and on Asian popular religion. Stanford University Press has also published his Chinese Magical Medicine (2002).

• CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I.RITUAL AND RANDOMIZATION II.CHINESE ORACLES IN PARTIBUS III.TERMINA TECHNICA IV.MODERN STUDIES, EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS V. NEW EVIDENCE: A CLUTCH OF TAOIST ORACLES VI. NEW EVIDENCE: THE OLDEST BUDDHIST SEQUENCE VII. LA TRAHISON DES CLEROMANES: DIVINATION IN A BUDDHIST SETTING VIII.WRITING AND CHINESE RITUAL IX.VISIONS OF DIFFUSION: CENTRAL ASIA AND THE WEST BIBLIOGRAPHY A. East Asian Sources B. Secondary Literature INDEX

"Strickmann calls us to study these poems as both prosodic masterpieces and vehicles of religious praxis,... The reader gains a new appreciation for the role of writing in Chinese ritual and the role of divination in the lives of Chinese people. The author also conveys the puissance of Chinese religion that has moved in all directions throughout the centuries."—China Review International "...this fascinating book provides the reader with a new and vivid description of a number of prototypes of temple oracles in China and beyond."—Journal of Chinese Religions