A Research On "Tuguan Belief Of Clan Cen" In Youjiang River Area

Zhuang folk beliefs are important part of Zhuang culture,which influence all aspects of Zhuang people's life,especially in the vast rural areas.After the establishment of the People's Republic of China,the academic circles had not paid enough attention to Zhuang Native God,although tremendous achievements had been made in the research of Zhuang folk beliefs.Clan Cen Tuguan that Zhuang people of Youjiang River Area worship,mainly include Great General Cen, Censanye, Centianbao and Cenying.To facilitate exposition,I'll considered these phenomena as "Tuguan belief of Clan Cen" in the paper. I'll try to make inspection of its history and culture interpretation,through fully utilizing historical documents and field-work datas,in order to deepen the reseach of Zhuang folk beliefs, and broaden the research field in Guangxi tusi(chieftain).How the "Tuguan belief of Clan Cen" formated and spread in Youjiang River Area? This is the first discussion of this paper. Through historical research, I believe that the temples of Great General Cen, which widely located in Tiandong, Tianyang, Xilin, Tianlin and Lingyun,worship "Cen Zhongshu",the ancestor of Clan Cen Tuguan in Guangxi.As far as the scholars be concerned, "Cen Zhongshu" is an imaginary man;But in the eyes of civil descendants of Clan Cen and most of the Zhuang people, "Cen Zhongshu" is the "ancestor" of Clan Cen in Guangxi,and a hero who joined Di Qing putting down the rebellion of NongZhigao with the title of "Huaiyuan General" in Song Dynasty. This is a kind of "social facts".Therefore, the ancestor spirit of Great General Cen temple in Youjiang River Area was "Huaiyuan General", and its main prototype was not CenShixing in Yuan Dynasty, but "Cen Zhong-shu" who was meticulously fabricated by Clan Cen and accepted by Zhuang people in Youjiang River Area. Censanye temple,which mainly located in Baise, Tianyang, Tiandong area, worship CenShiyuan who was the brother of CenShixing in charge of Guangxi Lai'an Road in Yuan dynasty. Both Centianbao and CenYing were more influential Tuguan of Zhuang in Youjiang River Area in Ming Dynasty. they had been regarded as local gods after they died. This paper analyzes the process of their transformation from man to god. According to the Department Theory of the well-known American scholar G.William Skinner, combinating the inspection of the Tusi history of Clan Cen, I believe that the formation and diffusion of "Tuguan belief of Clan Cen" was closely linked with the long-term business and reputation of Clan Cen in this area. At the beginning,Great General Cen, Censanye, Centianbao and Cenying were likely to be the worship of Clan Cen.With the expansion of Clan Cen forces in Youjiang River Area, its family influence was also enlarged gradully.As a result,such worship of Clan Cen Tuguan was spread between the local people. After bureaucratization of Tusi in Qing Dynasty, the domination of Clan Cen in the Youjiang River Area had come to an end."Tuguan belief of Clan Cen" was not disappeared,but preserved and continued as a cultural tradition in local community. This is mainly because they can meet the psychological needs of local Zhuang people.Zhuang people's worship of Clan Cen Tuguan in Youjiang River Area, not only embodied the utilitarian side of folk beliefs, but also social memory to the past. Although Zhuang people in Youjiang River Area had few opportunity to left the text,they preserved a large number of local folklore by means of oral diffusion.This is the main channel local people maintained and sustained the historical memory to Clan Cen Tuguan.Due to historical records and legends'diffusion,the temples worship of Clan Cen Tuguan gradually became places Clan Cen ate heroic ancestors in Youjiang River Area,further became the symbol bringing together the collective memory of local Zhuang people.During the ceremony of worship of Clan Cen Tuguan,the sense of history and identity of Zhuang people in Youjiang River Area had been shaped and strengthened.Finally, I select Centianbao belief of Debao County as a special case study.Through field investigation,I analysis the revival process of the Centianbao belief and the phenomena of "cultural production" in the process,and rethink the renaissance of ethnic folk tradition in the process of modernization.