A single line statement from Xunzi (3rd c. BCE) becomes the framework for mastering Chinese folk magic. In this lecture, we unpack the “Minister of Oracles” (Minister of Magic?) in the royal bureaucracy of early China and reveal how it encodes a five-step curriculum.
There’s a passage in Xunzi that lists out fifteen branches or bureaus of government ending with the one who oversees them all, the Son of Heaven, or the Head of State. The tenth office listed is the Minister of Oracles, chief among the shamans 巫.
You could even make the argument that this translates to the Minister of Magic, as that title more fully encapsulates everything this particular government official is in charge of for the kingdom.
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