Bernardi Junqueira, Luis Fernando; (2023) The Science of the Spirit: Psychical Research, Healthcare and the Revival of the Occult in a Modernising China, 1900–1949. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

How did a new science initially promoted by just a few individuals eventually become a widespread cultural phenomenon practised and known by thousands of people? This thesis examines the introduction of psychical research and its subsequent development as xinling kexue 心 靈 科 學 (Spiritual Science) in early 20th -century China (1900– 1949). Originating in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century, psychical research was a transnational field of study concerned with the scientific investigation of abnormal phenomena such as hypnotism, telepathy, clairvoyance, mediumship and faith healing. Following the establishment of the Society for Psychical Research in London in 1882, the discipline spread rapidly across intellectual and scientific communities in Europe, the Americas and East Asia. It had a decisive impact on the formation of modern scientific disciplines, particularly medicine and the psy-sciences, as it challenged purely materialistic views of reality while questioning traditional religious orthodoxy. Psychical research was introduced into China from Japan at the turn of the 20th century, and by the 1920s it was already causing a sensation amongst Chinese reformers concerned with the course of Chinese modernity and their country’s place on the global stage. Taking a transnational approach, this thesis aims to clarify the unique process through which the Chinese appropriated psychical research – that is, how Chinese elites strategically utilised it to address specific challenges that permeated Chinese society during that time. I am particularly interested in the underlying factors that sparked such enthusiasm amongst Chinese reformers for Spiritual Science, and how this movement impacted Chinese approaches to healthcare and religious experience. More broadly, this study seeks to comprehend the formation of Spiritual Science as an alternative project of modernity being proposed in China during the first half of the 20th century. It argues that Spiritual Science evolved through the interplay between communities who invested in different conceptions of science, medicine and religion, and its appeal stemmed largely from transcending artificial dichotomies such as China/West, tradition/modernity or science/religion. Since these dichotomies still exist today all around us, this thesis contributes to the wider project of de-colonising the research agenda in Chinese and global studies.

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