The Historical Vicissitude And Contemporary Transition Of Zhuang Folk Beliefs

As China is at its transition period from plough farming traditional society to industrialized and modernized society, to pay attention to and study the transition trend of folk Beliefs and its relevant strategies is of great theoretical and historical significance for realizing the current fundamental realities of the country and easing the transition confusion of the grass roots. Since the strategy of developing the west was carried out, modern unification life style has penetrated into Zhuang area, and the traditional culture in minorities area including Zhuang has been greatly clashed, among which, folk beliefs is the first to be affected. This article aims to analyse and discuss the transition of folk beliefs under contemporary circumstances by historical investigation and current field case study, i.e., interpret the existence, change, function and meaning of Zhuang folk beliefs from the perspective of transition. This article is divided into 3 parts, i.e. "the historical vicissitude of Zhuang folk beliefs", "original belief system of Zhuang predecessors and factors influencing transition", and "Vicissitude and transition: case study on Zhuang folk beliefs ---take Longji Village and the neighboring Zhuang as examples". In the first part, the historical vicissitude of Zhuang folk beliefs are analyzed and induced. It concludes that the folk beliefs involve a process of originality, development and evolvement. The folk beliefs of Zhuang was still at a period of independent originality and slow development. During this period, the folk beliefs of Zhuang were rarely influenced by alienated cultural factors due to the geographical reasons. From Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty to Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, the folk beliefs of Zhuang was at a period of multivariate collision and mutual mix. The communication between folk beliefs of Zhuang and Han Nationality culture got started right at the beginning of Qin's unifying the country. Ever since, the original beliefs of Zhuang, blended with the Han Nationality Confucian, Tao, Buhda and Nuo cultural factors, brought into being the relatively stable folk beliefs system of Zhuang in Song Dynasty. Since the end of Qing Dynasty and beginning of Ming Dynasty and prior to the open up and reform, folk beliefs of Zhuang were at a period from weak to undercurrent. During this period, folk beliefs experienced great changes mainly resulting from higher-class political ideology forms. It remained undercurrent for a long time. Ever since the open-up and reform, folk beliefs of Zhuang has been transforming from restoration to transition. In the early 1980s, the folk beliefs of Zhuang was restored in many places. However, due to the loss of historical memory and the vicissitude of social and cultural environment, the restored folk beliefs of Zhuang appear some new features and content. The second part discusses the original belief system of Zhuang predecessors and the factors influencing the vicissitude. In early Qin Dynasty, the original belief system of Zhuang predecessors established the main body of folk beliefs of Zhuang, while later on Han Nationality Confucian, Tao, Buhda and Nuo cultural factors were introduced and became the important constituents of folk beliefs of Zhuang. In addition, folk beliefs of Zhuang were also influenced by special political systems, geographical factors, population flow and ethnologic development etc. We can say that the folk beliefs of Zhuang came into being from the factors affecting each other. The existence of the folk beliefs of Zhuang in history and its functions lie in the Chuang people's actual needs in reality, the symbol and sign recognized by family, region and ethnologic groups, the deep predecessors sentiment, life philosophy and enthusiasm and psychological comfort in negativeness. The last part takes Longji Village as an example and study the vicissitude and transition of folk beliefs of Zhuang. It concludes that the development of folk beliefs is a dynamic process. Folk beliefs can make self-adjustments, increase or delete some contents to fit the changed nature and society in its development. At the same time, this article claims that in modernization construction, we shall never simply take folk beliefs as superstitions and "demonstrative guide"shall be carried out to lead the contemporary vicissitude and transition of folk beliefs of Zhuang.