Chinese ritual mastery traditions, also referred to as ritual teachings (sometimes rendered as "Faism"), Folk Taoism, or Red Taoism (mostly in east China and Taiwan), constitute a large group of Chinese orders of ritual officers who operate within the Chinese folk religion but outside the institutions of official Taoism. The "masters of rites", the fashi (Chinese: 法師), are also known in east China as hongtou daoshi (Chinese: 紅頭道士), meaning "redhead" or "redhat" daoshi ("masters of the Tao"), contrasting with the wutou daoshi (Chinese: 烏頭道士), "blackhead" or "blackhat" priests, of Zhengyi Taoism who were historically ordained by the Celestial Master.
Zhengyi Taoism and Faism are often grouped together under the category of "daoshi and fashi ritual traditions" (Chinese: 道法二門道壇). Although the two types of priests have the same roles in Chinese society—in that they can marry and they perform rituals for communities' temples or private homes—Zhengyi daoshi emphasize their Taoist tradition, distinguished from the vernacular tradition of the fashi.
Ritual masters can be practitioners of tongji possession, healing, exorcism and jiao rituals (although historically they were excluded from performing the jiao liturgy). The only ones that are shamans (wu) are the fashi of the Lushan school.
The ritual masters (Chinese: 法師 fashi) are defined, in opposition to formally ordained Taoist priests, as:
Michael Saso (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa) distinguishes fashi as "kataphatic" (of filling character) in opposition to Taoists as "kenotic" (of emptying character), and links them to other Sino-Tibetan indigenous religions:
They are known by different names throughout China, other popular ones being "ritual officers" (faguan) as they at times call themselves, or "redhead" Taoist priests (Chinese: 紅頭道士 hongtou daoshi). There are also localised names, such as "orthodox lords" (duangong), "altar masters" (zhangtanshi), or "earth masters" (tulaoshi) in Guizhou.
They are also in competition with other orders who perform similar services: monks and tantric masters under the auspices of Buddhism, and tongji medium.
The difference between ritual masters and Deities' mediums is that instead of being subject to territorial gods like the mediums, the ritual masters can marshal the powers of local Deities.
The Lushan (Mount Lu) school (also or), also known as Sannai school, is present in Fujian, southern Zhejiang and Taiwan. It is very active nowadays, and is related to the worship of the goddess Chen Jinggu ("Young Quiet Lady") the Waterside Dame (Chinese: 临水夫人 Línshuǐ Fūrén), who is very popular in the same area. It is also related to the cult of Wang Laomu, and competing with Maoshan Taoism.
The tradition shows similarities with Yao and Zhuang ritual traditions, and has incorporated elements of Tantra, such as the use of mudra and vajra. Lushan fashi perform rituals as the head of celestial troops while invoking the "Three Ladies" (sannai): Chen Jinggu and her two disciples, Lin Jiuniang and Li Sanniang. Although Lushan fashi are men, in performance they wear the ritual red skirt of Chen Jinggu and a crown or headdress with the words "Three Ladies" painted on it. Lushan fashi also practice a shamanic voyage rite called "crossing the roads and the passes" (guo luguan).
The Pu'an school is present in west-central Fujian, southern Jiangxi and Taiwan. The historical figure of the Buddhist monk Pu’an is worshipped by the practitioners as their "founding master" (zushi). Their texts, rituals and iconography incorporate Tantric themes adapted in a Taoist style, and have elements of the Zhengyi and Lushan traditions.
The Xujia school is another form of ritual masters.