Trapping Gods: Zhu Xi's Thought And Practice Of Praying For Rain

Confucians conducted the state's praying for rain since Han, but from middle Tang on, the traditional structure of knowledge and power was challenged.Zhu Xi, on behalf of neo-cofucians in Song, dealed with the new challenge in two ways.In the field of thought,he returned to tradition, elucidated new concept, achieved the transformation of cosmology, and constructed new discourse praying for rains.These conceptual apparatus as power to change the world, connecting idear with politcal practice, formed new knowledge-power structure.In practice, Song confucius,as local watch-keeper, not only overcoming, but also preventing the disasters, employed constructive anti-disaster view to overwhelm droughts; as excutive to rule and punish, they adopted detailed strategies, hiding in the pathan of populer religion, trapping gods, autherizing daities, cleverly modefied roles, wove a new trick with more peace, more humility, and more respect, and enbodied a kind of brilliant non-resistant compellation in competition with diffused religions else. Song Confucians boosted a campaign to rebuild the social order.In the pray-for-rain world, they popularized new political culture, stressed moral and rituals, distributed the truth to individuals,and dissolved individuals in truth in order to turn all people of differant social stratums into standard human in the new cultural net, which shaped a new living style in Chinese pre-modern history.