Wei Folk Beliefs Study

Popular belief is a belief tradition and social custom with religion character, which is popular in common people. It concludes magic activity, god worship and spiritual conception etc. Its purpose is to tend to auspiciousness and to avoid misfortune, to turn bitterness into happiness, to pray for well-being. It presents great character of realism and individuality. In Chinese history, Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties expressed chaos in politics and being rich and active in religion belief. Under the influence of Buddhism and Daoism, the popular belief formed a new character in Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties. This dissertation, from the aspect of magic activity, god-worship and spiritual conception etc., try to represent the situation of popular belief in Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties, so as to provide wider spiritual setting for the research of that dynasty. I utilized some stories and archaeological materials for the discussion.The dissertation is of five chapters.The first chapter is the description of the psychological and religious activity of Wei -Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties. Through the introduction of the living environment of that era, it is shown that people's mental situation presented into the following aspects: the helpless of hardship, the conversion of the dread of death in heart, the upset of cultural conflict and the diverseness in religion belief after the subversion of traditions. Their religious activities are building statues, writing the Buddhist scripture, sacrificing and charity.The second chapter describes the magic activity of Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties. It is regarded that in those dynasties magic activity was a great important part of popular belief, showing the co-existing of traditional magic, Buddhism magic and Daoism magic. The Buddhism magic and Daoism magic with religion aura, gradually replaced the traditional magic and became the main form of magic.The third chapter shows the god-worship of popular belief of those dynasties. It is regarded that public-worship god in popular belief included natural god, people, and religion god. Especially the newly-appeared image of god, such as Pan Gu(盘古), Jiang Hou (蒋侯) and Kwan-yin (观音) , were discussed in detail.The fourth chapter argues the idea of life and death and soul in popular belief in Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties. As the influence of the idea of life and death within the Buddhism and the Daoism, the public idea of these dynasties were different from the idea of "seeing death as life" and "hacked ghosts" of Eastern Han dynasty. It embodied the harmony and communication between men and ghosts. This dissertation showed the idea of evolution of the Si-ming(司命), the Zhen-mu Wen(镇 墓文) of Dunhuang and the Taishan(泰山) belief in Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties.The five chapter, taking the image of Jingguai(精怪), Zigu(紫姑), and ghost as example, discusses the influence of popular belief of Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties on literature.The conclusion of this dissertation is that the popular belief of Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties was one of the most important periods of the history of China popular belief development. It inherited the traditional factors of popular belief in Warring-States period and Qin and Han Dynasty, and also developed under the influence of Buddhism and Daoism, especially in some root problems such as the idea of life and death. All of these changes had impact on the creation of literature.