Religion, Folk Mínjiān Zōngjiào 民間宗教
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◀ Reforms since 1978–1979 Comprehensive index starts in volume 5, page 2667. Religion, Folk Mínjiān zōngjiào 民間宗教 Throughout the history of China, folk religion villages, always remained faithful to their local gods. Only maintained its fundamental importance to the under the most dire circumstances, when famine, mili- people, even after the development of Daoism, tary unrest, or natural disaster destroyed their villages Buddhism, and Confucianism. The beliefs, and livelihoods, did they voluntarily throw their support behind charismatic religious leaders from a variety of reli- rituals, and morality of these latter streams gious persuasions. Such leaders often promised to lead the of institutionalized religious belief intermin- people out of their misery and into some divine utopia, gled and coexisted with folk religion to create but often the final destination was dystopian rebellion. an eclectic spiritual culture that characterizes Because Chinese culture has been spread over a vast Chinese culture to this day. geographic area, it developed many regional variations. It is therefore extremely difficult to give a definitive descrip- tion of the general characteristics of the national com- munal religion, or even say for certain if such a religion ince their beginnings more than 2,000 years ago, existed. Despite regional differences, however, Chinese the major organized religions of China (Daoism culture was remarkably integrated, and that makes it pos- 道教, Buddhism 佛教, and Confucian-based state sible to identify some universal qualities. Also, because religion 儒教) were never powerful or popular enough to the major religious traditions worked hard to infiltrate the displace completely the communal religion of the people. religion of the people, they inevitably left their marks and Instead, they have had to remain satisfied with sharing these factors serve to provide some consistency of belief the spiritual loyalties of the people with community- and from one region to another. family-based religious observances. But these textual reli- gions have been successful in infusing communal religion with some of their doctrines and traditions. For example, Characteristics of the Buddhist vision of Hell and the afterlife became the Popular Religion commonly accepted vision among all Chinese, Confu- cian morality penetrated deeply into the everyday moral- To the common people of premodern China, as for those ity of the common people, and the Daoist pantheon was in most premodern societies, the natural world was inhab- largely fused with the pantheon of communal religion. ited by a great number of unseen forces and beings. The This was one of the ways that Daoist priests were able to objective of popular religion always was to enlist the as- establish themselves as the elite religious authorities for sistance of the more benevolent of those forces to protect both the common people and the state, but the masses the social and economic interests of the local community. of the Chinese people, most of whom lived in small rural On the other side of the spiritual spectrum, a variety of 1873 © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC S 1874 Berkshire Encyclopedia of China 宝 库 山 中 华 全 书 methods were used to defend against malevolent forces. official banquets at which local people entertained visit- Certain divinities were identified as being primarily re- ing government representatives with lavish offerings of sponsible for maintaining order in the unseen world, just food and wine. as certain authority figures were charged with ensuring Another curious but significant aspect of the rela- the smooth functioning of the material world. One of tionship between humans and the divine in China was the most striking features of the Chinese conception of the fact that the gods were assumed to be subject to hu- divinity is the manner in which the gods were thought man authority in some respects, or at least that they ex- to operate through a centralized bureaucratic govern- isted in a relationship of mutual obligation with humans. ment, undeniably patterned after a vulgar vision of the Priests of various affiliations, as well as government -of imperial government in traditional China. Gods were ficials, could issue orders to the officials of the unseen endowed with titles and often were responsible for well- world. Depending on the level of their bureaucratic rank, defined administrative tasks. They were also surrounded mundane officials could even promote or demote those and waited upon by legion subalterns and personal atten- holding positions in the divine bureaucracy. Punishment dants. The means of communicating with the gods also, for spirits who had not fulfilled their correct roles was fairly naturally, replicated the manner of dealing with of- also sometimes necessary. The official titles carried by ficials of the mundane imperial government: Requests certain prominent gods were often bestowed by the im- were made via formally worded memorials and necessar- perial government in recognition of the gods’ service to ily passed through the hands of lower-level functionaries. humans. Sacrifices and temple celebrations were compared with In any village or city of medieval China it would have been possible to find many temples, large and small, that housed gods who were believed to possess powers specific Wood engraving of a Thunder God. Throughout or general. They might protect against natural disaster, the premodern era the masses of the Chinese cure illnesses, assist women in childbirth, or save sail- people, most of whom lived in small rural vil- ors at sea. Sometimes there were legends to explain how lages, remained faithful to their local gods. But a god had acquired his or her powers, sometimes there they also perceived that the world was inhabited were not. The temples of these gods were maintained by and affected by great numbers of unseen forces the surrounding community, and for the most part there and beings. The objective of folk religion was to was no full-time priest in residence. When the occasion enlist the more benevolent of those forces to pro- called for it, such as the celebration of the god’s birth- tect the social and economic interests of the local day, or the arrival of an important juncture in the cosmic community. cycle, certain members of the community would preside over ceremonies. For the more important rituals, such as the annual Pudu 普渡 (Ulambana) rite wherein the dis- enfranchised and unattended spirits in Hell, commonly referred to as “hungry ghosts” (egui 餓鬼) were invited to enjoy a feast donated by the community, Daoist priests with specialized knowledge of ritual procedures would be invited; in other cases, the local magistrate would stand in as the master of ceremonies. This latter phenomenon is significant because, at least since the time of the Han Dynasty (206 bce – 2 2 0 ce), the state, which considered it- self the only legitimate intermediary between the world of humans and Heaven, had maintained a religious presence in the local communities by giving their local representa- tives the responsibility of conducting rituals of various sorts, especially those directed toward controlling the forces of nature. Memorials addressed to the responsible © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC Religion, Folk n Mínjiān zōngjiào n 民間宗教 1875 An historical illustration of a shrine to household gods. Ancestors were not the only spiritual presence in the Chinese household. Gods and spirits were be- lieved to inhabit strategic locations inside and out. divine officials begging for rain, seeking to end pestilence, him by the Song Dynasty emperor in 1120 ce. In the vast or in one famous instance, asking that crocodiles refrain majority of cases, however, it was the people themselves from consuming local village folk, were commonly com- that determined the survival and popularity of a given posed and delivered by government officials who may cult, and if the people did not feel that the god was effec- have also offered gifts of cooked food and wine, or simply tive in helping them, his or her temple fell into disuse and fragrant incense smoke as inducement. disrepair in a relatively short time. One of the most characteristic tendencies of Chinese folk religion was the deification of real historical person- alities. This usually occurred on a local level, but some- The God of the Locale times the popularity of such a figure might spread to other areas, or even become a national phenomenon. Very often One of the most widely dispersed and oldest divinities those deified were cultural heroes, people who had dis- in China is the God of the Locale (Tudi gong 土地公), tinguished themselves by their moral strength or military precursors of whom can be found mentioned in the pre- prowess. Perhaps the most famous example of this is that dynastic classics dating from as early as 1000 bce. Virtu- of the god Lord Guan (Guangong 關公), whose fearsome ally every village and urban neighborhood in traditional bearded image can often be found presiding over Chi- China recognized their own version of this deity. He was nese restaurants and retail stores. Lord Guan was in life the protector not only of the people of the community, a famous and popular general from the Three Kingdoms but also of their livelihoods. Most people saw him as a (Sanguo 三國) period (220– 265 ce) who captured the police chief of the local underworld, and it was through popular imagination with his valiant defense of a failing his power to keep the often unruly spirits of the deceased imperial court. The process of deification in China was in check that he was able to provide security on earth. very much like the canonization of saints by the Catholic While this divinity can be approached by individuals Church. The major difference was that in China, no cen- seeking assistance with a personal matter, especially a tral authority had control over who should and should not matter concerning deceased family members, the God be deified.