Yao Qi: Why are Fujian people so superstitious?

Text/Observer Network columnist Yao Qi

Recently, when the national fight against the COVID-19 epidemic was steadily advancing, an anecdote came from Fujian Province in the southeast of China. Many nucleic acid detection points in the province are located in temples and ancestral halls, which makes friends from other provinces wonder why Fujian's "painting style" is so different.

This paper will briefly introduce why folk beliefs represented by temples and ancestral halls are so popular in Fujian Province.

First of all, folk beliefs have a long history.

The history of folk belief worship in Fujian Province can be traced back to the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

At that time, the political situation in the Central Plains was extremely turbulent, and the Wu Dong regime gradually controlled the southeast region. A large number of Han Chinese entered Fujian and Vietnam, and experienced several large-scale migrations in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the late Tang Dynasty. The beliefs of the Han nationality also entered these areas in large numbers, and merged with the original witchcraft beliefs in Fujian, Vietnam and other places, gradually forming a belief phenomenon with local characteristics in Fujian.

For example, faith in Deng Xu and Zhao Bing rose during this period. Among them, Deng Xu was originally a wizard in Fujian and Vietnam, and later became a Taoist image in Chinese; Zhao icefield, a Taoist priest in Shandong province, was worshipped by local people while practicing in Gaogai Mountain in Yongtai, Fujian.

Some Han people who died in the development of Fujian and Vietnam were also worshipped by later generations, deified and believed in. For example, the two gods, Meng and Pan Rui, who were sacrificed at the Pan Rui Erwang Temple, cheered by Changting, are examples.

In addition, in order to win over the indigenous people who still live in Fujian and Vietnam, the Han regime gradually allowed them to sacrifice their inherent gods and ancestors, which became another important source of ancient beliefs in Fujian.

After the end of Tang Dynasty, folk beliefs in Fujian and Vietnam developed rapidly.

According to the Records of Eight Min Tong Zhi in Ming Dynasty, before the end of Tang Dynasty, there were only nine ancestral temples officially recorded and recognized by Fuzhou government, but by the time of writing this article, it had developed to 1 13. It can be seen that the era of large-scale development of folk beliefs in Fujian was after the end of the Tang Dynasty.

The gods in this period were also more diverse, and many of them still had certain influence, such as the dragon gods prevailing in Fuzhou, the stone gods enshrined in Lianjiang Jin Ling Temple, the wives of Fuzhou and Gutian who evolved from witches, and the small Confucius who evolved from monks enshrined in Lianjiang Ying Hui Temple.

During this period, the phenomenon of deifying princes also appeared widely, such as Xu Zhizhen, King Rao Xu Zhizhen and King Min of Nantang River. Other gods in the Central Plains have gone through the process of "localization" after entering Fujian. For example, the worship of Guandi has changed from a symbol of loyalty to a god of wealth and the protector of the sea, and the birthplace of Tian Xuan God has changed to Quanzhou.

Woodcarving of Guan Gong in the late Ming Dynasty (data map/Quanzhou Net)

In front of Guandi Temple in Quanzhou (data map/Quanzhou image)

After the end of the Ming Dynasty, more formal religions such as Buddhism and Taoism Quanzhen School gradually declined in Fujian, and the phenomenon of "monks fleeing from temples and abandoning them" was widespread. The remaining temples are controlled by local powerful figures and presided over by non-professional monks, such as "children" and "temple wishes", chanting scriptures, praying for repentance and praying for disaster relief.

Up to now, the worship of Mazu, Emperor Baosheng, Shimizu and Wang Zun Kwanzaa, who enjoy the highest incense, has developed rapidly since the late Ming Dynasty and has continued to this day. Different from the complicated etiquette and profound teachings of traditional Buddhism and Taoism, this belief in gods is popular because of its simple taste, straightforward teachings and close to the needs of people's lives.

Why have Fujian folk beliefs flourished since ancient times? The main reason is "demand".

First of all, Fujian is located in the "imperial frontier", far from the power center of the Central Plains dynasty. Although Fujian was incorporated into Chinese territory after the Han Dynasty, its imperial power was far weaker than that in the hinterland of the Central Plains. Especially in rural society, it is difficult to maintain local order officially, and the civil order formed by the combination of clan and specific gods has become an indispensable "social structure" for maintaining one party's peace.

Secondly, under the conditions of ancient agricultural society, Fujian's resources are far less than those of the central plains and the core areas of the south of the Yangtze River, and people's lives are hard, and lack of medical care and medicine is even more common. "Seeking witches instead of doctors" has become the way for the general public to survive when they encounter disasters and diseases, and it has also objectively promoted the prosperity of temples.

Third, Fujian is mountainous and close to the sea. Most local people make a living by fishing and maritime trade, but life at sea is more risky and uncertain than agriculture. Under the condition that ancient science and technology were seriously backward, the consolation of religious belief to the soul was an important spiritual pillar in the difficult survival process of Fujian ancestors.

Second, the revival of contemporary folk beliefs

After 1949, with the comprehensive reconstruction of the national system, local power structure and cultural mainstream, local folk beliefs in Fujian once declined. It was not until the reform and opening up that folk beliefs were revived in Fujian.

Among the religious sites registered by Fujian Provincial Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs 20 1 1, there are 3,496 Buddhist sites and 1046 Taoist sites; Among the religious teaching staff, there are 4953 Buddhists and 924 Taoists/KLOC-0. According to the figures provided by Fujian Provincial Political Consultative Conference, in 20 16, there were 25 temples in Fujian Province, with an area of 10 square meter. The reason for the difference is that more folk religious temples and ancestral halls are often not directly registered as places for religious activities, but in the name of cultural places. Compared with the official figures, scholars' estimates are even more amazing. As early as 1996, Mr. Xu of Fujian Academy of Social Sciences estimated that there were more than 50,000 temples in the province.

The revival of folk religion in the contemporary era is firstly the continuation of traditional beliefs.

Mazu, Baosheng the Great, Shimizu and other beliefs. , flourished in the Qing dynasty. The phenomenon of religious belief has a certain long-term nature, and has its historical laws of emergence, development, growth, decline and even disappearance. Historical experience has proved that it can not be simply eliminated by external forces. After the reform and opening up, with the implementation of religious policies, the external environment has been created for the revival of folk beliefs, and the existing belief demand has quickly turned into belief practice.

Baosheng Emperor (data map/Quanzhou image)

Secondly, folk religion is closely related to the revival of local clan forces in Fujian after the reform and opening up.

With the implementation of the rural land contract responsibility system, the rural grass-roots structure has changed again and clan organizations have revived. Especially in rural areas, the demand of "going in and out as friends, looking after each other, helping each other through illness and suffering, and caring for the widowed" will exist for a long time. Clan organizations are the main behaviors to respond to this demand, and genealogy, ancestral temples and ancestor worship have also become a common practice.

At the same time, as mentioned earlier, since the late Ming Dynasty, the clan system in Fujian has been closely integrated with the worship system of gods in temple fairs. Many families worship their ancestors, and at the same time, they also worship a specific god as the main god. Therefore, the traditional belief system of temples and palaces is also revived with the revival of clans.

However, it should be pointed out that there are significant differences between contemporary clan organizations and ancient ones. This is mainly because the land ownership in contemporary socialist countryside still belongs to the state, and the clan has no clan field. The source of farmers' contracted land is the country, not the clan, so the clan organization is looser than in ancient times and there is no mandatory constraint.

Third, economic development and religious revival promote each other.

As mentioned above, the high risk and uncertainty of Fujian ancestors' economic behavior of making a living at sea made them especially need religious belief as their spiritual pillar. After the reform and opening up, with the increasing complexity and diversification of social and economic life, this demand reappears in another way, and the general public also needs a reliable spiritual support in the face of the economic tide. Folk beliefs with a long history and profound cultural background naturally become the first choice of local people.

At the same time, festivals, temple fairs and other activities around religious activities will naturally attract people, attract consumption and boost the local economy, which will soon become a phenomenon that local governments and businessmen are generally happy to see. "Religion sets the stage, economic singing opera" once became a vivid description of this phenomenon.

Fourth, an embodiment of overseas blood circulation.

Fujian has a tradition of going to sea since ancient times, and many overseas Chinese are children of Fujian. These Fujian descendants often stick to the religious beliefs of their ancestors. Especially in Taiwan Province Province and Fujian Province, the folk beliefs such as Mazu, Guan Gong, Baosheng Emperor, and Shimizu Patriarch have also become a common practice, and temples are everywhere.

Mazu statue of Datianhou Temple in Tainan, Central and Western District, Tainan City (data map/Wikipedia)

As early as 1989, Mazu believers in Taiwan Province province broke through the restrictions of Taiwan Province provincial authorities at that time and directly assisted the reconstruction of Mazu Tempel in Meizhou, Putian. In recent years, overseas believers' support, assistance and religious exchanges to local ancestral temples in Fujian have emerged in an endless stream, which has also become an important bridge for Fujian Province to have friendly exchanges with Chinese from all over the world, attract overseas Chinese to return to China to invest and support the construction of the motherland.

Meizhou Mazu Cruise in downtown Manila, Philippines (data map/Meizhou Daily)

Fujian folk belief system plays a unique role in narrowing the distance between people on both sides of the Taiwan Province Strait, promoting the integration of people on both sides of the Strait and promoting the peaceful reunification of the motherland.

Fujian folk beliefs have a long history and wide influence, and have played a positive role in comforting people, persuading people to do good and promoting the economy. But at the same time, we have to admit that there are also feudal superstitions and even illegal and criminal activities of kidnapping in the name of folk religion. In addition, some unregistered folk land temples also have risks in construction and fire protection.

In the face of these problems, in the final analysis, it is necessary to fully implement the religious belief policy of the party and the state, that is, fully respect and protect the legitimate religious beliefs and activities of the broad masses of religious believers, and at the same time give correct guidance and necessary management to religious sites, religious personnel and religious activities, foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, give full play to their positive factors on people's hearts, economy, society and the state, put an end to their negative effects, and make positive contributions to the stable development of the country and the great rejuvenation of the nation.