Confucianism is an existentialistic and activist religion, albeit many prefer to call it a philosophy or a way of life, with most monotheist Western scholars convinced that it isn't a religion. Chinese literati were activist when they were young. As they grew older, they almost invariably turned to Taoism -- usually not religious Taoism -- for they came to know that their desire to put society in good order wasn't easily fulfilled, or they gave it up altogether to let everything taking its natural course. When they were nearing death, they took to Buddhism, hoping to reach enlightenment (or achieve "satori," in Japanese Zen Buddhist thought). Incidentally, neo-Confucianism after the Sung period (960-1278) had Buddhism superimposed on it. But one thing was certain: Literati never got depressed.

That's why I was shocked to learn that in Taiwan at least one out of every four university students, or young intellectuals who should belong to the class of literati in imperial China, is "depressed enough to benefit from assistance" of one kind or the other. That information was found, among other things, by a John Tung Foundation survey conducted between last May and June. An even more shocking finding was that the kinds of assistance these depressed young intellectuals are seeking include "divination" and "exorcism."

The survey shows at least 1.8 percent and a slightly lower 1.7 percent of the 6,960 respondents rely on divination and exorcism, respectively, for help in dealing with depression. Those who wish to seek counseling from school counselors account for a mere 2.3 percent, much fewer than another 3.3 percent of the students chanting sutras and/or praying for divine help. Still another 2.8 percent believe their folklore religion -- animism, or more often than not, outright superstition -- can cure their depression. Altogether, 11.9 percent of Taiwan's young intellectuals want supernatural powers to get rid of their psychiatric disorder.

These statistics indicate more than one tenth of young intellectuals in Taiwan are sick, not of depression but of superstitious fantasy. For divination, one has to see a Taoist priest, a geomancer, or even a fortune teller or palm reader. Divination, however, can't cure disease or maladies.Exorcism presupposes the existence of evil spirits -- call them ghosts, ghouls, or any other name you wish -- who possess a believer in whatever form of religion or cult. According to the John Tung Foundation survey, close to 25 percent of the young intellectuals polled believe they are depressed because they are "under control of some unknown (supernatural) force." Of them, 15 percent consider themselves possessed by evil spirits. The actual term used to describe the phenomenon is "ka tao yin" (卡到陰) in Mandarin which, however, must be read in Hoklo as "ka tio yim" to make sense. The Hoklo term that defies transcription into Chinese logograms literally means "getting occluded by some deceased persons." Most Hoklo people popularly believe a person goes to "yin" or "yim," which is "the world of darkness (hell or limbo)," when he dies. When that deceased person is not properly and duly worshipped or still holds some grudges -- which he or she nursed when alive in this world -- unsettled to satisfaction, he or she may cause any living person some trouble in revenge. That is "ka tao yin." In the case of our younger intellectuals, the result is depression.

There are two ways to exorcise those who are possessed. One way is to appease the evil spirits and the other, to expel them. They may repent for whatever wrong they think they have done somebody, and the evil spirit will leave them alone of its own accord. But most young intellectuals nowadays rarely think they have done anything wrong. If anything goes wrong, they always blame anybody but themselves and refuse to take responsibility. They won't repent. Consequently, it stands to reason that a Taoist priest must be asked to write a spell on a piece of yellow paper which is then burned to ashes that will be mixed with water and drunk, the purpose of the elixir being to expel the evil spirits. They may also carry the written spells with them all the time, lest they should remain in a cursed state for days or weeks to come.

All this is very un-Confucian. Chinese intellectuals, modern literati included but true believers in monotheist religions excluded, are agnostic. They are all Confucians, though they may not profess they are or practice in earnest China's long-venerated religion. They doubt the existence and/or knowability of a god or any supernatural being or power. They are not atheists. They simply cannot force themselves to believe in the existence of God, as Christians believe there is, or Allah as Muslims do, for the simple reason that they do not know and they don't bother to know. They act in keeping with the Confucian tradition.

Change seems to occur as Taiwan transforms itself into a postmodern society. Colleges and universities have mushroomed, and there is an oversupply of intellectual elite. One inevitable consequence is that many of the intellectuals in Taiwan do not deserve the name because they do not try to earn it. Instead, they take overdoses of "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" or Japanese anime pictures.