Keywords: Chaoshan people; polytheistic worship; psychological factors; social and historical factors; cultural factors
Worshiping gods is a phenomenon that exists among Chinese people and even all mankind. Chaoshan people The same is true, as "Dongli Zhi" (Chen Tianzi, Wanli 2nd year of Ming Dynasty) said: "Guangdong customs are still noble, and ancestral temples are prosperous." As we all know, there are thousands of large and small temples in the Chaoshan area. The gods worshiped in the temples include natural gods (parents of heaven and earth, sun gods, moon gods, gods of wind, rain, thunder and lightning, gods of mountains, rivers and flowing plants...) Buddhist gods, Taoist gods, emperors, saints, heroes, martyrs and upright officials, etc., on every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, women carrying baskets can be seen everywhere in the countryside, running between various temples to worship devoutly. The gods in Chaoshan are collectively called "Masters". Why are Chaozhou people so obsessed with worshiping gods? They worship multiple gods at the same time, worshiping them every year, every month, and every day, without any frugality. This article attempts to analyze the causes of Chaoshan people’s polytheistic worship from the aspects of psychology, social history and culture.
1. Psychological factors
As early as "Hanshu Geography" it was said: "Chu people believe in witches and ghosts, and attach great importance to prostitution and worship." Chaoshan people worship and believe in gods. , not without reason, but because the foundation of primitive religious thought led to belief in God and formed an eternal thinking concept in people's minds. When people encounter a destiny that they are unable to control, they will easily sprout belief in God. Mentality, the reason why people believe in gods and worship gods, whether they are idols or natural images, is because they believe that doing so is useful and beneficial to themselves, and they hope to "get what they ask for" before worshiping. The main reasons are: fear mentality , insurance psychology, entertainment and entertainment psychology, idol worship psychology, etc.
(1) The fear of avoiding disasters and seeking blessings
Chaoshan is faced with mystery, frequent typhoons, and the sea that sweeps everything when it is angry. People naturally have fear. In such a situation Under the natural conditions, it is obviously not easy to go fishing smoothly and cultivate a good harvest, so it is natural to seek the blessings of the gods. Ye Dabing said in "On the Basic Characteristics of Customs": "When primitive people formed the earliest groups, due to their ignorance of nature, they believed that the sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, thunder and lightning, mountains, rivers, vegetation, etc. were all living gods. , and could bring misfortunes and blessings to people. In order to avoid disasters and seek blessings, they worshiped the gods, which gave rise to the earliest primitive religion and the custom of offering sacrifices and praying." 〔1〕 It reflects that the ancient ancestors, with extremely low levels of productivity, believed that there was a mysterious force beyond nature around their lives, which dominated everything of people. Only through the ritual of worship and prayer can The divine power that makes gods exist in the underworld can eliminate disasters and bring blessings to them. It is because Chaoshan people fail to grasp natural phenomena and are afraid of them. They hope that a god will protect them. That is why the worship of nature came into being and was passed down. It still continues to this day, such as worshiping the God of Heaven on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, worshiping the Sun God on the ninth day of the third month, etc.
In many temples in the Chaoshan area, the "righteous gods" who are believed to be able to eliminate disasters and bring blessings are enshrined. Since there are "righteous gods", of course there will also be "evil gods", that is, "evil gods". The main reason why trendy people worship this kind of god is out of fear of the god. They believe that this kind of god can only "bring disaster" to people but cannot "bless" them. Therefore, when people encounter natural or man-made disasters, suffer unexpected losses or When one's life or property is seriously threatened, it is believed that a vicious spirit is secretly worshiping him, and the ritual of worshiping and praying is also used to apologize to him, say good words, and "send him away". This kind of spirit has no name. There are no regular sacrifices or grand sacrificial activities to the names of gods and gods. Only when they encounter bad luck, they will quietly go to crossroads or roadsides to worship. The offerings will not be taken back, but will be placed in the road and allowed to be trampled on. Today, this kind of The custom of worshiping gods and evil spirits has gradually evolved into collectivization and institutionalization. For example, before moving into a new house, a ceremony of "spraying oil and fire to drive away evil spirits" is held.
Because Chaoshan people are afraid of worshiping gods and ghosts, they believe that all dissatisfaction is caused by their disrespect for the gods. If they offend the gods and ghosts, they will cause trouble. Therefore, they can only worship gods more, Resolve disasters and ensure peace.
〔2〕 Today, traditional god-sacrifice activities have almost disappeared, but they have become one of the recreational activities of Chaoshan people. Therefore, we can see why belief in gods is still there in a society with such advanced science, and it will not decrease.
(4) The psychology of idol worship
Due to the far-reaching influence of the folk custom of worshiping gods, people build ancestral temples to commemorate famous sages from past dynasties, which is no different from worshiping gods. The gods worshiped by Chaoshan people, except for the Guandi Temple (worshiping Guan Yu) and Shuangzhong Temple, which are commonly worshiped as the gods of "loyalty" and "righteousness" and have similarities with other places, most of the other gods worshiped are They are people who have made meritorious contributions to the local area. "Those who are caught in the examination of sacrifices and spread their merits and virtues to the people should be worshiped." Han Yu's meritorious service in controlling the tide was respected by the Chaozhou people. In addition to the Han Wen Gong Temple in Chaozhou, most of the counties also built Han Temples. The reason why Chaoshan people built temples to worship these figures was because of their worship and admiration for them. Although there is some utilitarian purpose in this, worship still accounts for more. Chaoshan people value loyalty and credit, so people who do business worship Guan Yu very much, which promotes Chaoshan people's polytheistic worship.
2. Social and historical factors
Among the many gods in Chaoshan, there were not so many from the beginning, but since people from the Central Plains moved into the Chaoshan area during the Qin and Han Dynasties, they have their own gods. The existence of customs, after a long period of inheritance and variation, has been integrated with the polytheistic folk customs of the Central Plains, forming a distinctive local color and rich Chaoshan customs; in order to consolidate their vested interests, the feudal rulers took advantage of the people's belief in gods. The mentality and folk customs of worshiping gods, erecting idols and temples for people to worship, have enabled people to form a systematic concept of gods, so that they can rule better; overseas Chinese's worship of gods in their hometowns has provided funding for the activities of building temples and worshiping gods in their hometowns, thus It also promoted polytheistic worship in Chaoshan area, which constituted the social and historical factors of polytheistic worship.