China, 1920-2000 AD., Taoist incantation amulet or charm, from the so called “mountain devil” series.

China, Taoist incantation amulet or charm, magic spell characters combined with eight trigrams, from so called “mountain devil” series, probably modern ca. 1920-2000 AD.,
Charm / Amulet / Token (ø 44 mm / 28,93 g), white metal cast, round ø 8 mm center hole, axes (as pictured) medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), filed edge with some remaining casting bubbles,
Obv.: From right to left: 山鬼 (seal script) / 雷走杀鬼降精 (lei zou sha gui jiang jing) / 斩妖出邪永保 (zhan yao chu xie yong bao) / 神情 奉 (shen qing feng) / 太上老君急汲之令 (tai shang lao jun ji ji zhi ling) / 雷令 (seal script) , "God of Thunder (Lei) clear out and kill the ghosts and send down purity. Behead the demons, expel the evil and keep us eternally safe. Let this command from Lao Zi (Tai Shang Lao Jun) Be executed quickly.".
The title Tai Shang Lao Jun (太 上老君) was bestowed upon Lao Zi (老子) by imperial command in 1013 AD.
The top portion of the very large character on the right, consisting of what looks like a three prong fork with three small circles underneath, is the magic writing equivalent to sha (杀) which means "to kill". The part of the character below the three small circles is the Chinese character gui (鬼) which means "ghost" or "spirit".
The very large character on the left, the upper half is "magic writing" for the Chinese character lei (雷) which means "thunder" and refers to the "God of Thunder". The lower part is "magic writing" for the Chinese character ling (令) which means "to order".
Rev.: 乾 ☰ (qián) - 兌 ☱ (duì) - 坤 ☷ (kūn) - 離 ☲ (lí) - 巽 ☴ (xùn) - 震 ☳ (zhèn) - 艮 (gèn) - 坎 (kǎn) , the 8 inner trigrams of the I Ching with corresponding Chinese characters on top, all around center hole. The first hexagram on top (no. 1) is named 乾 (qián), "Force". Other variations include "the creative", "strong action", "the key", and "god". Its inner (lower) trigram is ☰ (乾 qián) force = (天) heaven, and its outer (upper) trigram is the same. The next hexagram to r. (no. 58) is named 兌 (duì), "Open". Other variations include "the joyous, lake" and "usurpation". Both its inner and outer trigrams are ☱ (兌 duì) open = (澤) swamp. And so on ...
cf. http://www.zeno.ru/showgallery.php?cat=697 ; http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=116173 ; http://www.numismatikforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=26830&hilit=China+Amulett&start=210 .

This is an amulet or charm, the purpose of which was to protect the wearer from harm. Such amulets were probably sold at various Taoist temples in China (and perhaps elsewhere). Chinese, especially Taoists, were very superstitious. They believed in amulets, spells, magic words, demon spirits, and so forth. Amulets have a long history of use in nearly every culture. They were used as protective devices to ward off evil and bad luck. Many of these were carried on the person, but many were also suspended on a string and hung up in the house.

Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (道, literally "Way", also romanized as Dao). The Tao is a fundamental idea in most Chinese philosophical schools; in Taoism, however, it denotes the principle that is both the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists. Taoism differs from Confucianism by not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order. Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize wu wei (effortless action), "naturalness", simplicity, spontaneity, and the Three Treasures: jing (sperm/ovary energy, or the essence of the physical body), qi ("matter-energy" or "life force", including the thoughts and emotions), and shén (spirit or generative power).

The roots of Taoism go back at least to the 4th century BCE. Early Taoism drew its cosmological notions from the School of Yinyang (Naturalists), and was deeply influenced by one of the oldest texts of Chinese culture, the Yijing, which expounds a philosophical system about how to keep human behavior in accordance with the alternating cycles of nature. The Tao Te Ching, a compact book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade–Giles: Lao Tzu), is widely considered the keystone work of the Taoist tradition, together with the later writings of Zhuangzi.

Only by the Han dynasty (3rd century CE) the various sources of Taoism coalesced into a coherent tradition of religious organizations and orders of ritualists in the state of Shu (modern Sichuan). In earlier ancient China, Taoists were thought of as hermits or recluses who did not participate in political life. Zhuangzi was the best known of these, and it is significant that he lived in the south, where he was part of local Chinese shamanic traditions. Women shamans played an important role in this tradition, which was particularly strong in the southern state of Chu. Early Taoist movements developed their own institution in contrast to shamanism, but absorbed basic shamanic elements. Shamans revealed basic texts of Taoism from early times down to at least the 20th century. Institutional orders of Taoism evolved in various strains that in more recent times are conventionally grouped into two main branches: Quanzhen Taoism and Zhengyi Taoism. After Laozi and Zhuangzi, the literature of Taoism grew steadily and was compiled in form of a canon—the Daozang—which was published at the behest of the emperor. Throughout Chinese history, Taoism was nominated several times as a state religion. After the 17th century, however, it fell from favor.

Taoism has had a profound influence on Chinese culture in the course of the centuries, and Taoists (Chinese: 道士; pinyin: dàoshi, "masters of the Tao"), a title traditionally attributed only to the clergy and not to their lay followers, usually take care to note distinction between their ritual tradition and the practices of Chinese folk religion and non-Taoist vernacular ritual orders, which are often mistakenly identified as pertaining to Taoism. Chinese alchemy (especially neidan), Chinese astrology, Chan (Zen) Buddhism, several martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui, and many styles of qigong have been intertwined with Taoism throughout history. Beyond China, Taoism also had influence on surrounding societies in Asia.

Today, the Taoist tradition is one of the five religious doctrines officially recognized in the People's Republic of China (PRC) as well as Taiwan, and although it does not travel readily from its East Asian roots, claims adherents in a number of societies. Taoism also has a presence in Hong Kong, Macau, and in Southeast Asia.

More on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hexagrams_of_the_I_Ching#Hexagram_1 , http://primaltrek.com/daoist.html ;