Evolution Of The River God Worship

The River God Worship is an important part in the Chinese folk belief systems, rooting in the ancient Yellow River culture. The River God Worship has gone through a series of changes during the long human history, whose image and function project the social environment and the changes of the mass psychology. In this paper, the evolution of The River God Worship is divided into three stages, including the ancient times, the feudal era and the contemporary era. Focusing on the image and the functional changes of The River God Worship, this paper investigates rules of The River God Worship and the cultural background during its evolution.The first chapter deals with the river god worship of the ancient times. The initial River God Worship belongs to the natural worship of God, for people treat the natural things with fear and apotheosis because of their simple world view. With the awakening of human consciousness, the images of the River God gradually move closer to the people, and ultimately complete his personification. Hebo is the most representative image. At this time, the river god’s function focuses on the natural production of life, which shows people’s desire for safety and security of life.The second chapter discusses The River God Worship of the feudal era. After Song and Yuan dynasties, the local River God got into the systems of official worship, which result from the struggle between government and common people. Huangdawang is the most representative image. Legends portrayed Huangdawang’s image as a folk origin. Compared with the ancient times, the function of The River God Worship is more focused on the social production and living, and he became a god with integrated function, which not only manages the affairs of the Yellow River, but also has new features, such as helping people through the disaster and protecting them out of battles.Chapter Three discusses The River God Worship of the contemporary era. After the constitution of new China, the comprehensive management aiming at the Yellow River have achieved remarkable effect, disasters during the drainage area are decreased, and the image of The River God Worship become illegibility, whose traditional function also seems to have little utility. As a belief system with a history during thousands of years, The River God Worship pays more attention to the spiritual cultural of human life. He turns to a carrier of collective memory for the Chinese nation, forms a strong cultural identity in this process, and becomes a mental tool to distinguish "we" and "they".The fourth chapter discusses evolutions of The River God Worship and its cultural background. The River God Worship undergoes so many changes, such as from the natural God to the community of God, from single function to multiple functions, and from a whole area god to the local river god, which shows that without the Yellow River culture, The River God Worship cannot exist. The life and psychic culture of the Yellow River will always be the backing of The River God Worship.