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Lu Xun said in "A Brief History of Chinese Novels": "Although the Song Dynasty admired Confucianism and tolerated Taoism, the root of belief was in witches and ghosts. This is a phenomenon that Lu Xun perceived from the literary works of the Song Dynasty.
From the perspective of social conditions, the phenomenon of "killing people and sacrificing ghosts" that was particularly popular in the early Song Dynasty seems to be an important manifestation of the prevalence of this witch and ghost culture.
Although the Song Dynasty issued several decrees strictly prohibiting this behavior, this phenomenon was still prevalent in the southern region by the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.
It can be seen that the witch style in the Song Dynasty society is not only manifested in the thinking world of the Song people, but also reflected in the way of behavior.
So, why did such a strange phenomenon appear in the Song Dynasty, the more prosperous the economy, the more prevalent the witch Gu style, is it that the richer the more superstitious?
1. Overview of Wufeng in Song Dynasty Society
In the society of the Song Dynasty, one of the main manifestations of the prevalence of witchcraft was the killing of people and the sacrifice of ghosts.
For example, the "Song Hui Manuscript" contains: On August 27 of the first year of Chunhua, the governor of Xia, Yang County, received ten yuan from the rich and his brother Xiang Xiang to collect livestock.
The custom of Baxia is to kill people as sacrifices to worship ghosts, and to raise people with money to ask for them, which is called picking animals. Zuo and his brother murdered Li Qinu, a county citizen, cut off his ears and nose, and cut off his joints, so that he and the rich people were sued by the villagers and atoned.
The author Lang Luo was about to be sent out of Xiazhou, and it was appropriate to see what was going on, and he resisted the neglect to hear, because he issued an edict to Jiannan, Dongxichuan, Xialu, Jinghu, Lingnan and other places to manage Neizhou County, and the officials were arrested and the offender was sentenced to death.
Those who raise whistleblowers shall be punished with their family wealth, and those who dare to hide and not hear about them will be punished.
Judging from this incident, the act of killing people and sacrificing ghosts has been widely spread among the people, and has even become a kind of "industry", and the rich can hire people to "collect livestock" for it if they pay for it.
The social impact of this behavior was extremely great, and it was also unwilling to see the rule of the Song Dynasty, which advocated "cultural governance", so in the same month, Song Taizong ordered "to prohibit Sichuan, Shaanxi, Lingnan, Hunan and Hunan to kill people and sacrifice ghosts, and the prefectures and counties will arrest them, and the informants will be rewarded."
But this behavior was not banned, and Renzong Tiansheng issued an edict in the sixth year: "If you hear that Jinghu kills people and sacrifices ghosts, from now on, if you plan to make meritorious contributions, Ling Chi and behead." The informant is aware of the prisoner's family resources. Hunters, heavy rewards. ”
It can be seen that the effect of the previous decree is not optimistic, so that the punishment is increasing day by day.
In addition to killing people and sacrificing ghosts, there are some other phenomena of "witch customs and customs", such as Xia Zhu, the first year of Renzong Tiansheng, who knew Hongzhou, said in a book: The left way is chaotic, and the demons confuse the public.
Cover with traitorous ministers and rebels, thieves have no rules, many fake ghosts and gods, and shake their ears and eyes.
Han, Jin Zhangjiao Sun En, occasionally lost his guard and was idle, so he went to Tunju. The state should strictly prohibit it in order to suppress many parties. Dangzhou leads to seven Fujian in the east, controls Baiyue in the south, compiles the right ghost, and the old customs are still witches. In Han Luanba, I have tasted the reason. From the near age, there are many Xi and ......
The small chicken and dolphin are worshiped and returned home. The big one gathers people with singing and dancing, and the rest of the gzzles are drowned. The source of the wedding and funeral must seek a teacher at every turn. The struggle for robbery must be water.
The beetle consumes food and clothing, is dizzy, and is set to fan and shake, and it is not difficult to connect. It lies in the constitution, and it is also tolerant. If it is like the law, it is not defeated, and the medicine is sick, and it is advisable to strictly prohibit it in order to reform the Zoroastrian style.
From this book, it can be found that the "right ghost and witch" in the Hongzhou area of the Northern Song Dynasty brought a certain threat to people's lives and national security.
Its main manifestations are: First, inducing children to Xi the demon method less. 2. Do not seek medical treatment when you are sick. 3. Murder for money. Fourth, believe in witches and not officials. Fifth, the constitution is glorious.
This kind of belief in witches and ghosts has caused damage to the lives and property of the people, and has also seriously infringed on the authority of the state. So Renzong in the first year of Tiansheng in November Wuxu, Zhaojiang south east and west, Jinghu north and south, Guangnan east and west, two Zhejiang, Fujian road transfer division:
"From now on, in the name of the evil god, the master and witch have taken away the clothing, food, and medicine of the sick, cut off their personal knowledge, and are interested in framing those who are framed and those who conspire, and they are like curses and laws. Those who are not jealous will be judged as violating the system.
Those who lure good men and women to preach the demon law as disciples are considered to be violators. and those who are tempted by the same degree. Those who are reasonable and giant beetles will be sentenced on the case. "In order to control this Xi.
Although the decree was harsh, it still could not stop the folk belief in witches and ghosts, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, the phenomenon of witch worship in the southern region was even more severe. Therefore, there is a situation of "the land of Wu Chu, the vulgar wizard, there is no good luck, and the taboo must be considered".
This situation is also reflected in Taoist literature, such as the Supreme Xuanyuan Three Days of Yutang Dafa (Volume 27) compiled by the Song Dynasty Lu Shizhong, which clearly summarizes the social atmosphere of witch and ghost beliefs in Song society, especially in the southern region.
And explained from the perspective of Taoism: the teacher said: ghosts prevail in the south of the Yangtze River, and the land of 100 Guangdong is the most.
The stubborn does not know that it harms itself, so it is more believing, and those who are poisoned by it do not understand it. The so-called ghosts are vertical and horizontal, and the clouds are in the sky, and the bloody flames violate the heavens and the earth.
Innocent anger does not fall, the devil is happy to win alone, so the world's private incense, temples and temples, most of the ghosts and gods pretended, there is no heir to the Dafa master to practice orthodoxy, and its demons are easy to get rid of.
It can be seen that under the belief in witches and ghosts, the reactions in the civil society of the Song Dynasty were diverse, traditional witchcraft was an option to resist ghosts and gods, and institutional Buddhism, Taoism, and folk beliefs were also used by the Song people when necessary.
It reflects the social psychology of the Song people based on spiritual experience. In addition, the frequent issuance of national decrees prohibiting witchcraft can also show the popularity of witch belief among the people, and the scope of the epidemic is also extremely wide.
Wang Zhangwei examined the overall situation of the prevalence of witchcraft from the documents of the Song Dynasty, and drew a regional distribution table of the Song Dynasty's worship of witchcraft, arguing that "in the 24 roads of the Song Dynasty, there were only seven roads that did not see the custom of worshipping witches and ghosts, and these seven roads may have something to do with government power."
In terms of the number of road-level administrative units alone, the number of places where witchcraft prevails accounts for almost three-quarters of the country. And from the perspective of actual geographical distribution, the popularity of witchcraft is simply shocking.
Moreover, if the Southern Song Dynasty is concerned, most of the northern roads in the Northern Song Dynasty, where there is no witch wind, have fallen into the hands of the Jin people, so it is not too much to say that the right ghost of the witch is the custom of the whole country of the Southern Song Dynasty."
From this point of view, the prevalence of witchcraft in Song Dynasty society can be described as a major feature.
2. The reasons and effects of the prevalence of witchcraft in the Song Dynasty
There is always a social psychology or belief behind the prevalence of a culture, because people's behavior is largely influenced by the social organization in which they live and the beliefs they form in that cultural model.
In the Song Dynasty, the plague epidemic was prevalent, and scholars believed that the reason why the people "believed in witches but not doctors" was due to backward culture and medical facilities. However, judging from the region and class of the witch and ghost beliefs, it seems that they are not limited to the backwoods and the homes of ordinary people.
The phenomenon of "witch doctors" also appeared in many scholars and doctors.
Therefore, we cannot infer the phenomenon of witchcraft in Song Dynasty society "from ancient to modern", and consider them to be superstitions, and we should realize that witchcraft is also a method of corresponding diseases in the medical system under its historical and social background.
From the perspective of knowledge archaeology, experts found that the phenomenon of killing people and sacrificing ghosts still occurred in the Spring and Autumn Period, but records about this phenomenon appeared again in a large number of historical documents.
It seems to prove that it was the era when this custom was noticed and wary of mainstream society, and it was strongly resisted. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty and the turn of the Song Dynasty, there were many wars in the country, with many casualties and a sharp decline in population.
This phenomenon, combined with the traditional concept of the soul, has led to an increase in the number of "lonely souls and wild ghosts" in the social structure, which has led to an increase in the proportion of "troubles" in the explanation of personal "unpleasant" circumstances.
Moreover, the southward shift of the economic center has allowed remote areas in the south to be developed, but in the face of the sparsely populated and unfamiliar environment, the fear in the hearts of the Song people has increased day by day, and their imagination has become richer and richer.
The explanation for this panic psychology is naturally linked to the "ghost" in traditional culture.
3. The impact of Taoist exorcism on witchcraft in the Song Dynasty
In the long-term development process, Taoism has absorbed a large number of folk beliefs and formed a complex system, of which Taoist magic is an important part.
Taoist spells include talismans, forbidden spells, fasting, praying for rain, divination, etc., all of which are closely related to the folk Xi of the Tang Dynasty and profoundly influenced the social life of the people at that time.
Song Dynasty Taoist magic was theoretically more "civilized" than witchcraft. As can be seen from the foregoing, the theory of witchcraft is based on animistic beliefs in sympathetic witchcraft.
The Taoist exorcism method of the Song Dynasty was based on the cultivation of Neidan, and was supplemented by strict belief in exorcism and exorcism mode, which standardized the moral cultivation of the person who exorcised evil spirits and the specific operation of the exorcism ceremony, making him a professional exorcism expert.
"Tao Dharma Hui Yuan" also contains: Taoism's practice, that is, the study of Wu Confucianism, is based on righteousness and sincerity.
Spell spells, stationery for the line of holding. Spiritual use, the practice of perseverance is also subtle. Induction is its branches and leaves, and refining is its root. Gai Taiji takes the fundamentals as the most important, and the generals are only in the body, and the gods are not far from the square inch. The vast and boundless, the heart also.
Those who hinder the passage of the submarine, God also. If the mind does not exist, it is not clear, and if the god does not nourish, it will not be spiritual. God is lucky here, and things should be there. Therefore, although it is thousands of miles, it is also taken between breaths. If it is not God, who can do this.
It can be seen that Taoist magic is based on Confucian knowledge of things, emphasizing righteousness and sincerity, and the use of magic is actually the use of spirit.
Such a concept of exorcism absorbed some of Confucianism, making it superior to folk witchcraft and officially recognized.
Moreover, the Taoist exorcism of the Song Dynasty was also more "advanced" than witchcraft. As mentioned above, the main manifestation of witchcraft in Song Dynasty society was to meet some personal needs by "killing people and sacrificing ghosts".
Such a primitive and barbaric way of behavior was naturally opposed by the Song government and intellectuals. The Taoist method of exorcism in the Song Dynasty, in addition to the traditional spell technique, also formed a complete set of exorcism rituals.
In addition to being based on Taoist belief in the gods, this ritual also contained an imitation of the secular politics of the Song Dynasty.
The regulations on procedures and the admonition to those who cast the law made the Taoist method of exorcising evil spirits more recognized by the Song Dynasty government and the scholar class in terms of form and content.
Witchcraft, on the other hand, does not belong to any organized sect, and its organization, staffing, and use of spells are relatively private, mysterious, and arbitrary.
In specific exorcism activities, they were often despised by the Song people because of the quality of those who used witchcraft. From this point of view, Taoism in the Song Dynasty had more advantages over witchcraft.
Taoism in the Song Dynasty had a negative attitude towards witchcraft, which was mainly manifested in the fact that there were many spells in the Taoist scriptures to collect evil witches. The official Song Dynasty had an attitude of opposition to folk witchcraft and explicitly forbade it.
However, in many stories of "Yi Jianzhi", we can see that there are many records of the use of witchcraft to exorcise evil spirits among the people of the Song Dynasty.
It can be seen that the official and the public have two different attitudes towards witchcraft. The reason for this phenomenon lies in the fact that the two sides have different purposes, the official wants to promote civilization, while the people only seek practicality.
In this context, the attitude of Taoism in the Song Dynasty towards witchcraft and witchcraft was the same as that of the official, focusing on crackdowns. On the one hand, this is in line with official policies, and on the other hand, it also expands the religious market of Taoism.
The Taoist attitude of fighting witchcraft is often expressed in the Taoist scriptures of the Song Dynasty, such as: "Evil witch villain, return to disaster." Righteous faith gentleman, family road prosperity. ”
Another example: "Witches practice evil arts, fabricate false rumors, pray for the separation of husbands and wives, and bewitch women to fornicate." On the occasion of the witch, reciting the treasure sutra and burning the talisman seal, the thunder will be eliminated, and the retribution will be like a ring, and people will be at peace. ”
And there are a large number of spells to collect evil witches, such as "The Northern Yin Xudu Taixuan Demon Black Law Collecting Evil Witches": When the husband wants to collect the evil witch and go to the heavenly hell, he must first ambush and then execute it. If the evil witch is not very harmful, there is no need to use the law.
Although there is this method in the Transmission Order, it is not only more detailed today. However, it should not be commonly used, for fear of losing Yuge Tzu Chi's heart, it is out of necessity, and the first practice of Sifa is also practiced.
Whoever wants to do it, he should first apply for the imperial history of Xitai and Shen Tianpeng Zhenjun, and prepare for the nine prison masters Guan Shuai to arrest them. The second general was sent to Sang, and the general of the soul-chasing skull was captured.
This method of slaying souls should have a ferocious and unbelieving law, corrupting the right and harming the truth, and those who are unreasonable and very evil, and have a lot of evil effects.
There are no two six strips, make six symbols or errand charms, use soap paper to write three feet long, three on the left hand, seven on the right hand, three hearts hanging, but one outside to chant a mantra. But do not do it selfishly. Do things and kill, I wish you best.
Through the comparison of Taoist magic and witchcraft in the Song Dynasty, both in theory and method, in the Song Dynasty society with the purpose of promoting civilization, Taoist magic was indeed superior to witchcraft.
In addition, Taoism's attitude towards witchcraft also cooperated with the national policy of the Song Dynasty, focusing on prohibition.
From these aspects, the influence of Taoist magic on witchcraft in the Song Dynasty was not only to compete for its religious market among the people, but also to combat it in practical actions.
However, it cannot be denied that, despite the brutal conditions in which it exists, witchcraft has not been completely eradicated from civil society.
IV. Conclusion
The changes in various aspects of society in the Song Dynasty brought about great changes in the society during the Tang and Song dynasties.
From the perspective of the study of the history of civilization, this difference is that "due to the official political power and the cultural power of the gentry, the Song Dynasty both promoted 'the same customs, one morality'.
Gradually, the civilization, ethics, and morality that the upper class scholars and doctors used to identify with were extended to the entire population, and constituted the identity of the cultural identity and standards of the Han region of China, which made the social outlook of the Tang and Song dynasties very different."
The spread of the story of calamity in the Song Dynasty society also strengthened the Song people's feelings for the belief in witches and ghosts in traditional culture to a certain extent.
So much so that in the process of advancing civilization in the Song Dynasty, the timely appearance of Taoist exorcism spells not only surpassed witchcraft in terms of beliefs, concepts and techniques, and was officially recognized, but also met the needs of the Song people to carry out exorcism activities.
In this respect, the exorcism of Taoism in the Song Dynasty assisted the official process of promoting civilization, and also became an important way for the Song people to seek supernatural help in their interaction with witchcraft.