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THE HAUNTING FETUS: Abortion, Sexuality, and the Spirit World in Taiwan. By Marc L Moskowitz. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 2001. viii, 206 pp. (B&W photos.) US$24.95, paper ISBN 0-8248-2428-8.
The startling title of this book refers to the recent recognition in Taiwan of a particular type of ghost, the spirit of a child who was aborted or miscarried. According to the author, the existence of such "fetus ghosts" has been acknowledged there only since the 1970s. This belief, and the constellation of related ritual practices, likely derived from a longer-established Japanese tradition. Its popularity also may reflect the increasing number of induced abortions in Taiwan in recent decades.
In Chinese, these spirits are called yingling. The English term "ghost" used by the author is not entirely appropriate, because in many cases they are the children of those haunted by them. Because of this kinship relation they might better be referred to as "spirits", as are ancestors. Another term for them is "small ghosts" (xiaogui), but this is specific to their use as agents of sorcery by priests unrelated to them.
In contemporary Taiwan, a person (usually a woman) may become aware of the presence of a fetus ghost, which is often described as...