Overview

Divination-the art of attempting to determine future events by the interpretation of omens and signs-is as old as mankind itself. It is a natural response to anxiety and uncertainty about our futures and may be found in one form or another in virtually all human societies, East and West, ancient and modern. The Chinese art of body divination remains actively practiced today in several Asian countries. The art attracted interest as the New Age movement developed in the West in the late 20th century, yet to date, aside from the present volume, no comprehensive treatment of this subject is available in English.The American folklorist William Lessa undertook the study of Chinese body divination prior to its popularization in the West. Drawing on ancient Chinese texts and first-hand experience in Taiwan, Lessa's treatment of the subject, now available in this new, improved edition, offers an authoritative review of this ancient art, shedding light on its origins, development and practice. The volume concludes with an extensive comparison between Eastern and Western divination practices.

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9781778252235

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William Armand Lessa, born in Newark, NJ in 1908, earned a BA from Harvard in 1928 and subsequently worked as a research associate at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, in the early 1930s. It was this period in which he developed a life-long interest in the cultures of the Pacific Rim.Returning to the US mainland, Lessa enrolled in an MA program in anthropology at the University of Chicago, graduating in 1941. Military service interrupted his studies, but, post WWII, Lessa returned to Chicago to complete a doctorate in 1947. Assuming a lectureship in anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, the same year, Lessa remained in this position until retirement in 1969, havingin that interim mentored many UCLA anthropology graduate students (including the later-renowned author, Carlos Casteneda).Throughout his career, Dr Lessa engaged in important field research in folklore, magic and religion in various Pacific island locales. His seminal publications on Oceanic folklore remain standard works in this field.

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