神汉 (shén hàn) — male folk shaman / spirit medium (in traditional Chinese folk religion)

Definition

A male folk shaman or spirit medium in traditional Chinese folk religion — distinct from 巫婆 (female counterpart) and from 道教/佛教 clergy. The first character 神 ('spirit/deity') signals his claimed ability to communicate with gods.

noun
male folk shaman / spirit medium (in traditional Chinese folk religion)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 神汉。
    Cūn lǐ qǐng le yí wèi shén hàn lái qū xié.
    The village invited a shaman to drive away evil spirits.
  • 神汉。
    Zhè ge shén hàn shuō tā néng hé shén xiān shuō huà.
    This shaman says he can talk to immortals.
  • 神汉。
    Xiàn zài hěn shǎo yǒu rén xiāng xìn shén hàn de huà le.
    Nowadays few people believe what a shaman says.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

神shénspirit
汉hànman

神 (spirit) + 汉 (man) denotes a man who acts as a spirit medium.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 汉 →

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