Performing the Efficaciousness: Writing Daoist Talismans in the Practice of Thunder Rites (leifa 雷法)

Making talismans, an important tradition in Daoism, involves a series of complex actions during the writing process. The performative characteristics of these actions are central to finalizing the communication with nature and the talisman’s efficacy. I first investigate how Daoist talismanic writing and its associated practices are presented in early medieval Sanhuang texts, and then explore how this tradition was transformed into the later practice of Thunder Rites (leifa 雷法) during the Song dynasty. Drawing on fieldwork, I also consider how Daoist talismanic practices are understood and enacted in contemporary contexts. Building on John Lagerwey’s analysis of the role of Daoist ritual in Chinese society, I argue that making talismans embedded in broader Daoist ritual practice performs efficaciously through its social and cosmological dimensions—one rooted in communication with natural forces. The survival tradition invites reflection on what it might offer to contemporary thinking about ecological futures.