Master Yang (“Miao Sheng”) had become a web celebrity by proposing “Miao witchcraft” through social media. The authorities were not amused.
by Wu Guoxuan
In China’s Guizhou province, Miao ethnic minority is famous for its shamans and witches, who claim to be able to deal with distinct categories of spirits. There is also a modernized version of Miao’s traditional religious practitioners, where Miao folk beliefs are offered together with Buddhist and Taoist themes. And perhaps the most modernized incarnation of Miao shamans is represented by those who attract followers through their social media accounts.
They were more or less tolerated, but it seems that the CCP is now disturbed by their popularity. One who went under the name of Master Yang, or “Miao Sheng,” appeared on social media in 2023 and gathered a significant following, becoming an Internet celebrity even beyond Guizhou. Locally, he made himself known by attending folk festivals and events promoting Miao culture.
Typically, Master Yang offered a syncretic mixture of claims derived from Miao spirit worship, Taoism, Buddhism, and contemporary theories about energies and vibrations coming from a variety of spiritual movements. He claimed to have been initiated into the secrets of “Miao witchcraft,” but at the same time that he had achieved “the verification of the Tao” and “became a Buddha.” He was present in several different social media and received significant donations from his followers.
On July 10, it was announced that Master Yang had been detained by the Internet Security Department of the Public Security Bureau of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou province. Interestingly, he has been charged under Article 300 of China’s Criminal Code for operating a xie jiao (organization spreading heterodox teachings, sometimes translated as “evil cult”), although it is unclear whether he had formed a religious order or organization.
In a way, Master Yang was a victim of his own popularity. When these spiritual teachers become too visible, tolerance quickly ends.
