Research On Traditional Religions And Folk Beliefs In The Southwest Of Hubei Province In Ming And Qing Dynasties

The Southwest of Hubei Province is located in the Southwest of the Wuling Mountains,including most of the areas of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and Changyang,Wufeng,Hefeng Counties of Yichang City,which lies on the crossing of the Chu Culture and Bashu Culture.Due to its unique historical and geographical environment,it was on the edge of central government’s power in ancient times.The local minority groups of Miao,Dong,Tujia and Gelao were considered uncivilized "barbarians" by the central government.Its political,cultural and religious life was completely different from the Central Plains region with its own regional characters.With the completion of the military system of Ming Dynasty and the land policy of the early Qing Dynasty,the central government gradually strengthened its rule to the Southwest Minority Areas.With the arrival of the Han people and the troops,a fresh culture was brought to the local community as Buddhism,Taoism and other traditional religious and folk beliefs had spread rapidly throughout the area.Integrated with beliefs of the native people and their primitive religions,a colorful picture of their religious and cultural life was shown,which had a far-reaching impact on the formation of the rural social order and the folklore culture.The Paper is divided into three parts:the introduction,the body and the conclusion.The introduction partially explains the background of the thesis,its research status and significance,and meanwhile studys the related concepts of the object.The body is the core of the Paper,which is divided into four chapters as follow:Chapter 1,"The natural and humanistic landscape of the Southwest Hubei",where the natural geographical environment and the social environment of the Southwest area are detailly investigated;where the history of formation and evolution of local ethnic groups such as Miao,Dong and Tujia are studied;where the political form and social structure of the Southwest area since Qin and Han Dynasties are investigated and studied.Located in the Southwest area with the Wuling Mountains and Qingjiang River Valley,people living under hard and enclosed natural environment had always been regarded as "uncivilized barbarians".With the Jimi system of Tang and Song,Chieftain System separatist state of Yuan and Ming,the land policy of the early Qing Dynasty,political structure and social structure had been made significant changes,and people’s religious beliefs and customs had been profoundly affected.Chapter 2,"Folk beliefs and primitive religions in the Southwest Hubei",where primitive religions and ethnic beliefs of all ethnic groups of the Southwest Hubei,including the formation and evolution of myths and totems,are studied.The nirvana Myths and Lin Jun myths,which spread widely in the Southwest area,express respectively Tujia and Miao’s totem beliefs and ancestor worship;The witch and ghost culture of Chu and Basu was also reflected significantly in the Southwest area’s primitive shamanistic beliefs such as the Malay culture and Nuo culture.Chapter 3,"Taoism and folk beliefs in the Southwest Hubei",where the status of Taoism and folk beliefs in the Southwest Hubei in Ming and Qing Dynasties is studied.Under the influence of Bashu Culture,Taoism was spread among the Southwest Hubei’s "barbarians" since the Six Dynasties.The development of Taoism since Tang and Song dynasties was combined with the rich mystical culture and witch and ghost culture of the region,which had a broad impact on the civil society.With the military system and the land policy in Ming and Qing Dynasties,folk beliefs around the country were widely disseminated together with the immigration of the Han people.Chapter 4,"Buddhism in the Southwest Hubei and its folk tendency",where the development of Buddhism in the Southwest Hubei in Ming and Qing Dynasties and its folk tendency are studied.Compared with Taoism,Buddhism was introduced in a later time and was not as influential as Taoism.However,it caught up from behind,with both temple sizes and strengths above Taoism.Buddhist monks’ participated broadly civil funerals,and the folk’s Guanyin belief was flourished.Chapter 5,"Traditional religious beliefs and social life in the Southwest Hubei",where the influences of traditional religions during the evolution of social customs and the construction of rural ethics in Ming and Qing Dynasties are examined,within the aspect of the history of formation and evolution of ethnic religions,Buddhism,Taoism and folk beliefs.The Southwest Hubei in Ming and Qing Dynasties had experienced tremendous changes in political formation,ethnic structure and religious culture.Under the strong impact of the Han culture,especially its religious culture,the social life in the Southwest Hubei had also undergone profound changes.Conclusion,In this section,the development context of traditional religions in Southwest Hubei will be straightened out,and its basic characteristics,including the fusion of religion and culture,unique partnership and localization of strong vitality,are summarized.