Action Logic Of Rural Residents’Choice For Ritual Treatment

The existence of the disease is a social fact. Treatment is the only way to restore health. However, when the rural residents fall ill, they not only use the medical treatment but also seek help from the ritual. Instead of medicine treatment, people will hold such as stealer, exorcism and other traditional ritual. This phenomenon is very common especially in the minority rural areas. With the development of modern society and the level of medicine progress, most people have begun to not believe in ghosts. They will choose medical treatment science actively. But once meet difficult miscellaneous diseases, rural residents still try to select the ritual treatment. This phenomenon is also quite common in the W village. In rural society, the treatment system is showing a secular and religious symbiosis pattern. Based on this consideration, this research attempts to take the W village in the middle of Jiangsu as a case. On the basis of field research, the author try to understand the underlying condition of ritual treatment, explain the situation and the course of action, exploration on rural residents’action logic of ritual healing. So we can have a more objective and rational understanding to ritual treatment.Based on the empirical investigation, the study draws the conclusions that:(1) The features of agricultural production, underdeveloped medical level and the folk belief are the basis of ritual treatment. In this environment, people accustomed to using a variety of folk ritual treatment.(2) If the formal medical means of healing fail or by their own subjective experience, the disease is considered to be related to gods, ghosts and other supernatural factors. The situation is defined as the failure of medical institutions, ghost, evil infestation, god crime, ancestor blame, soul lost and bad feng-shui etc. The result of the situation definition is that rural residents to will be anxiety and panic. In order to eliminate the tension, people will find the ways from the world of ghosts and gods.(3) In the course of treatment, ritual treatment mainly includes three aspects, namely healer, therapeutic activity and the patient. According to their own experience and the type of disease, people select the healers in accordance with the corresponding standards. During the course of treatment, all kinds of props, action, language and drug add more mystery. Under the symbolic power, people believe the "real feeling of faith".(4)The ritual treatment is the strategic action that people take the stock of knowledge in a particular situation. In the given and inter-subjectivity living world, people understand the meaning of others’ action, which become their action preparation knowledge in the process of socialization. In rural society, people’s belief, the structure of medical resources in urban and rural areas and government inclusive attitude provide space for ritual treatment. Rural residents’ realistic demand, the advantages of ritual treatment and people’s Propagation is the dynamic conditions for ritual treatment. These factors make people’s choice for the ritual treatment become possible.In a process of transition, the development of health level is still relatively slow in rural society. Due to the inertia of culture, ritual treatment is unlikely elimination in the short term. However, ritual treatment can’t completely replace the medical treatment, its effect is limited after all. Excessive reliance on ritual treatment can inhibit peoples’ ability to improve. Formal medical treatment is the important guarantee of human life and health. If want the change from ritual treatment to medical treatment, we must input the scientific discourse system to peoples’ living world, improve the health level of rural society and safeguard rural residents’ health rights and interests.