(6) PREFACE PREFACE This book is an expansion of my Master's dissertation, which was entitled The Shamanism of Pre-Qin China.For his valuable advice and long-time guidance in this endeavor,I would like to dedicate this book to my advisor,Professor Hsu Chin- hsiung,as a token of thanks and respect. My goal in pursuing graduate studies at the Master's level was to gain the academic background and guidance necessary for me to carry out a comparative analysis of early Chinese and Korean shamanistic practices and beliefs in the future.The widespread prevalence of shamanism in northern Asia and the geographic proximity of the early cultural bases of China and Korea suggest the possibility of both shared features in their shamanistic practices as well as distinct differences. Eight years ago,as the first step in this long-term research project,I made the decision to relocate from Korea to Taiwan in order to provide myself with the grounding in Chinese language and culture necessary to carry out this comparative project. During this time I have not only managed to pass the demanding university entrance exams,but have also been admitted to National Taiwan University's prestigious Chinese Literature