Research On Suzhou Baojuan

Baojuan,known as Treasure Roll,is a synthesis of folk literature and folk art,which is greatly different from the elegant culture.It is a literary form rooted among the folk people,a good carrier of folk religions and beliefs,and a combination of the grass roots' culture,entertainment,art and belief.The research on Baojuan began in the 1920 s,and it has broken new ground through the unremitting efforts of several generations.One important research content about Baojuan is its edition,collection,cataloging,inscribing and publication.Researches on its origin and development and on the relationship between Baojuan and folk religious beliefs have both made great progress.What makes the research more valuable and impressive is the emergence of a number of foreign scholars that have participated in it.While the research of Baojuan gets more and more attention at home and abroad,some prominent problems have also occurred,such as scattered data collection,preservation condition,differential sorting and collation,different research progress and so on.Baojuan that is preserved in Kunqu Opera Museum of China(hereinafter referred to as Kunqu Opera Museum)represents an important collection of the Chinese Baojuan,which has strong regional characteristics and unique folk religious features.It becomes an indispensable part of the development of local folk art in Suzhou.This doctoral dissertation takes Suzhou Baojuan as its research object.On the basis of carefully sorting out the more than 1000 rolls of Baojuan collected by Kunqu Opera Museum,through analysis from the aspects of editions,themes,composing,rituals,folk customs in various phases,this dissertation outlines the clue of development of Suzhou Baojuan,and reveals the reasons for its disappearance in modern times.Combining with the changes of history,culture,religion and values in different periods,this dissertation expounds their multiple influences on Baojuan's inscribing and publishing,text selection,innovative composing,etc.On the basis of comprehensive analysis and research on Baojuan collected in Kunqu Opera Museum,this dissertation discusses five aspects: the editions of Baojuan in Suzhou area,the relationship between Baojuan and Fairs,the folk beliefs revealed in Baojuan,the characteristics of folk art in Baojuan,and the typical theme of Baojuan.It also makes a summary of the edition content of Baojuan in Kunqu Opera Museum.The introduction of this dissertation reviews the research value,research status and research methods of the paper.The first chapter introduces the general situation of the Baojuan collections in Kunqu Opera Museum.Through research on different versions of Baojuan preserved there,from inscribed edition,manuscripts to lithographic edition,I clarify the chronological distribution of Baojuan's inscribing,copying and printing,so as to discover those factors that determine the rise and fall of its development.The second chapter is a family-based research on Baojuan.By studying two types of Baojuan preaching activites that are oriented on family,I investigate the function of Baojuan in the folk life of people in the south of the Yangtze River.Through two case studies--Gengshen Meeting and Xingdou Worship,I explore the folk beliefs and star worship aiming at relieving the calamity,and I also discover the industry characteristics of the early Baojuan artists who took star worship as their main business and Baojuan preaching as their sideline business.The third chapter mainly discusses Mighty General Fair.I investigate and analyze the belief of the Mighty General in Suzhou area and the real historical identity of the general,and make it clear about the origin of the belief in General Liu by combining Baojuan with the Mighty General Stele appointed by imperial order in Lingyanshan Temple.In addition,I exame the idolatrous procession activities in Suzhou area in the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China by taking a traditional Mighty General Fair in Shanrenqiao Village of Suzhou city as an example.Finally,I figure out the historical context of the Mighty General belief by combining the time and content of the edition of Mighty General Baojuanof the Heavenly Dynasty.The fourth chapter discusses the folk art characteristics of Baojuan.I explore its folk art features through studying the colloquial gatha,the stylized Wugeng Tone,the use of life elements,and the interlude of popular melody.The fifth chapter focuses on the belief of Guanyin in Baojuan.I inspect the evolution of the image of Guanyin in Xiangshan Baojuan,and conclude the important position of Xiangshan Baojuan in studying the image of Guanyin.Based on the establishment of the female image of Guanyin in Baojuan,her role orientation in the folk belief system,the shaping of her compassionate image to save beings from suffering,her cause of liberating beings by all means,the wide spread of Guanyin Repentance Ritual and the folk custom of sending children derived from Guanyin belief,I expound the Guanyin belief and Guanyin image.Appendix is the bibliography of editions of Baojuan in Kunqu Opera Museum.I make a brief introduction to the editions collected there,list the name of Baojuan,assort transcribers' information,edition information,opening prayer and dedicating prayer,in order to provide some reference for future researchers.