Chinese character 乩

It names divination through spirit writing, especially a ritual method. A practitioner guides a planchette or another writing tool in sand, and the marks are read as an answer attributed to a spirit. This is the practice called 扶乩.

A dictionary entry may use 乩 for the act or method itself. In a message, ask for the full compound or sentence before translating it; the character alone leaves too much unsaid.

Where did 乩 and 扶乩 come from?

Its history runs through older divination practices and later spirit-writing. Written accounts from the Northern and Southern Dynasties describe inviting 紫姑, the Purple Maiden, and seeking omens with a moving object.

The ritual vocabulary grew around tools: 扶箕 (“supporting the sieve”), 扶乩 (“supporting the divining stylus”), and 扶鸾 (“supporting the phoenix”). These labels were not always strict synonyms; names for distinct methods later overlapped as spirit-writing terms. By the Song period, the practice had entered literati life: people read marks in sand, recorded replies, and circulated poems or instruction.

During late imperial and Republican China, spirit-writing also moved through charitable halls and new religious movements. Supporters treated its messages as revelation; critics described them as superstition or psychological phenomena.

Why does the compound change the reading?

The next character tells you whether the word names a method, person, or place. In 扶乩, 乩 points to ritual writing or divination; 乩童 names a human medium; and 乩坛 refers to an altar or ritual setting. 乩语 means words or a prophecy attributed to a medium.

The emphasis varies by region and institution. Taiwanese folk-religious usage centers 乩童 on a deity’s human intermediary, while histories of literati religion discuss 扶乩 more as a practice that produces texts, advice, or doctrine.