A Study Of The Issue Of Yin Dynasty In Han Dynasty As Reflected In "Customary Meaning"

Fengsu Tongyi (《风俗通义》) is a work which has important historical value in the Han Dynasty. It serves as not only a record of the social life in the Han Dynasty, but moreover, an expression of a Confucian official’s political ideals in turbulent days. The disclosure of the large-scale illegal worship which we call "Yinsi"(淫祀) in the book, in particular, fully embodies his political philosophy that "The key of governance lies on a dialectical treatment of folk customs". In Fengsu Tongyi, Ying Shao (应劭) included records of many activities of "Yinsi" during the period of Han Dynasty, which provides valuable materials for studies on the social life and folk traditions and customs then.Inspired by this, this paper attempts to explore the writing motivation of the book through a review of Ying Shao’s life, dissects why he wrote about "Yinsi" and the author’s attitude towards it. And furthermore, by integrating the phenomena of "Yinsi" through Fengsu Tongyi, record the cause for Ying Shao’s concern and his social criticism.The paper is divided into three parts. Chapter I will expound Ying’s motivation to compose the book. The last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the situation was volatile and the social contradictions were sharp. Ying Shao attempted to rectify the social order making use of customs, so he composed Fengsu Tongyi. Fengsu Tongyi is a work which carrying the author’s social and political ideals, and its focus on "Yinsi" is closely bound with his personal thoughts. Born in a prominent local clan, Ying was strongly influenced by the family’s traditions of loyalty, filial piety, and integrity.The next chapter investigates the phenomena of "Yinsi" in the book. In terms of the "Yinsi" phenomena in Fengsu Tongyi, we find them presenting a diversified development trend. They have a lot of worships which we could classify into three sorts:folklores, demons and spirits, gods. In terms of the material selection, we can see the features of the combination of territorial and personal factors. Lots of "Yinsi" occurred in Runan(汝南)area which was the major political, economic and cultural center at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. This shows that there has been social crisis in the hinterland of the central plains. On the other hand, the governance of the Confucian officials over "Yinsi", not only is based on the feudal Confucian background through people-oriented and useful attempts to maintain the ruling order, but also it is an ideal which consolidating the customs in order to ensure the social stability. In terms of the Ying Shao’s idea about "Yinsi", his point of view was "Yinsi has no benefit" who had critical attitude towards the value of "Yinsi". His views on "Yinsi" obviously are characterized by contradiction, which is heavily related to his ingrained patriotism and consciousness of the elite class.Chapter III analyzes Ying Shao’s social criticism. The social causes behind the popularity of "Yinsi" contain two aspects:1. prevailing ideas about gods and ghosts in the dominant social ideology; 2. the mentality of common people. Along with the development of "Yinsi", sorcerers played a facilitating role and the prevalence of "Yinsi" would also be inextricably linked to the dominant Confucianism and the emerging Taoism. Although "Yinsi" had a positive effect of reassuring the public, it still be critical because of making the folk customs astray and undermined local stability. Ying Shao’s thoughts about "Yinsi" originated from cognizing it to expose and criticize bad general mood of officers and then to consolidate the social order by Confucianism. Social criticism articulated from his thoughts is not only his individual efforts, but also a projection in the social thoughts at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.