Body Expression And Religious Pursuit

Body is the carrier of culture of human beings. Postures, movements and behaviors of body are the most original and important forms of expression of human belief. Different bodies can deduct multiple religious convictions. In this paper, I try to unify ritual and belief with the body, probing into body rituals on the basis of the studies of body and ritual and seeking its ritual symbolism and belief meanings.The main body of this paper is composed of two parts:part I and part II, which is divided into six chapters.Part I is composed of the first chapter and the second chapter, which consists of the theory of body ritual and sitting posture in pre-Han and Han dynasties. In the first chapter, I put forward the idea of body ritual on basis of the theories of sacred-secular and body-heart, and analyze its meanings which is composed of interactivity, space and symbol. Finally, I look over the prospect of body ritual study. Body itself is an active and spiritual ritual space. To study rituals centering on body, or vice versa, is always a significant try.In the second chapter, I expound the concepts and differences of sitting postures in pre-Han and Han dynasties:to trace to the source of kneeling’s posture, using space, etiquette rules and meanings, to analyze the cultural meanings of squatting and sitting with one’s legs spread apart in Zhou dynasty, to deeply analyze wizards’posture-Ji and the difference of Ji, Gui and kneeling, and to investigate the historic changes of Gui and touching the ground with one’s forehead. This chapter is both the whole introduction of sitting postures and theory foundation of the second half.Part II is about the monographic studies of the body ritual in pre-Han and Han dynasties, which is divided into four chapters. In the book of Ritual and Social Change, Guo Yu-hua thinks that rituals can be divided into ones for basic survival technology of human being, ones for power practice and power technology and ones for living meaning. Using for reference this way, the flexed burials and the ritual of squatting and sitting with one’s legs spread apart belong to the ritual for basic survival technology of human being. Wizards’rituals to communicate with ghosts belong to the ritual for power practice and power technology. Because of the wizards’rituals, state power becomes sacred. The ritual pictures of rising immortally around the centre of Xi Wang-mu belong to the ritual of living meaning, which is the ultimate significance relating to life and death and the basis of human religious culture. The concrete contents are as follows:In the third chapter, I analyze the flexed burials and soul control, mainly interpreting the squatting posture in the prehistoric flexed burials. This burial form belongs to some people, so the ritual may have the meaning of soul control. However, the flexed burials on the sence of Ethnology is different.In the fourth chapter, I discuss about the ritual of squatting and sitting with legs spread apart and fertility worship by means of analyzing the archeological physical objects. The inner connection between the ritual of squatting and sitting with one’s legs spread apart and fertility worship originates from the prehistoric frog-breeding witchery. The curled legs signify and recreate fertility. Furthermore, the special emotion of people of Shang dynasty also emanates from their bird totem. Especially the squatting profile is similar to a bird, which becomes the body expression of fertility worship.In the fifth chapter, I analyze wizard’s ritual to communicate with ghosts by means of discussing about the figures of wizards and gods excavated in the graves of Shang and Zhou dynasty. Wizard’s rituals to communicate with ghosts include standing, kneeling, Ji and kneeling with both hands tied behind. These postures stand for different meanings. The kneeling figures may be gods. The other figures may be the wizard’s rituals to communicate with ghosts. Wizards’high rank in the country may be the reason why there are so many Wizard figures in graves.In the sixth chapter, I probe into the sitting figures of Xi Wang-mu in the graves of Han dynasty and her belief. Xi Wang-mu is one of the most influential immortals in Han dynasty. The various kinds of sitting figures of Xi Wang-mu reflect the idea of life-death and the belief orientation of the people in Han dynasty, embodying the relentless pursuit and strong desire for life extension and transformation. The evident difference of the sitting figures of Xi Wang-mu in Shandong, Shanxi and Sichuan regions reflects that there is regional comprehension to Xi Wang-mu belief in Han dynasty.On the whole, part II reflects the process of belief culture carried by the body in pre-Han and Han dynasties. The prehistoric flexed burials response the original inhabitants’simple understanding to the body-mind relationship and their fear to the soul of special dead group. In the introduction of the above soul idea, the original inhabitants try to control the soul in the curling body with witchcraft. The ritual of squatting and sitting with one’s legs spread apart is an effort to combine the breeding of human beings with natural force, which breaks through manpower and is the reflection of body’s imitation and studying to nature. Wizard’s ritual realizes communication with ghosts, which embodies the human beings’controlling ability to ghosts and coveys the god’s control and influence to the body, with the integrated tendency of god and man. The sitting figures of Xi Wang-mu are the idealization of the immortal belief, a much higher pursuit to life meaning and an ultimate feeling of body-to-immortal individually.To conclude, I probe into the cultural tradition contained in the body with different sitting postures as the clue and with pursuit for belief as the internal guidance, unifying the visible sitting postures and invisible belief on the body. In this way, belief is expressed and transmitted by body, and body gets meanings through belief.