At China’s "Hogwarts," Traditional Taoism Trumps Magic

Nestled in the mountains of eastern China’s Zhejiang province, a Taoism college dubbed “China’s Hogwarts” is drawing waves of young Chinese eager to learn traditional arts, from fortunetelling to spiritual enlightenment. But unlike the fictional school of witchcraft and wizardry, they come not for spells and sorcery, but for its classes in the I Ching, martial arts, and rituals aimed at bridging the gap between mortality and the cosmos. Though the Zhejiang Taoist Academy has been around since 2013, this year marks a significant shift: The college received a record-breaking 1,300 applicants, nearly a thousand more than the previous year.

tips

trump 赢；打败

Taoism 道教

nest 巢；窝

nestle 安置

dub 授予称号；配音

eager 热心的；渴望的

fortune-telling 算命

enlighten 教育；启发

enlightenment 启迪

fiction 小说

fictional 虚拟的；编造的

witch 女巫；巫婆

wizard 男巫；术士

sorcery 巫术

martial 尚武的

ritual 宗教仪式

mortal 凡人的；总有一死的

mortality 死亡

immortal 神仙的；不死的；不朽的