The Study On Novels In Tang Dynasty And Five Dynasties And The Religion And Society Of Bashu Area

In Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties, Bashu area played a vital role in the whole country. What accounts for this can be summarized as the following reasons:its geographical, economic, and political conditions.The economy in Bashu area was booming in Sui and Tang Dynasty. At the beginning of Tang Dynasty, this area provided abundant financial resources for the founding of Tang Dynasty, whose founder is Li Yuan. Besides, Emperor Xuan Zong and Emperor Xi Zong once sought political asylum in Bashu area. With the help of manpower and material resources there, they successfully put down the rebellions and returned to Changan finally, which, of course, raised notably Bashu area’s political standing in the country.The geographical conditions of Bashu area also had a great influence on its economy and politics.It was a relatively closed area and was rarely affected by the external interfernce, which, to some degree, contributed to its economic development. In Five Dynasties, Wang Jian and Meng Zhixiang, making use of the unique geographical conditions in this area, set up separatist regimes by force of arms. It was in this period that the economy there recovered from the bad influence of the political disturbance (unrest) in late period of Tang Dynasty. In addition, Bashu area was also the forwardposition of the wars or conflicts between political powers in Central China andSouthwestern China. There were so many minority nationalities and so complicated relationship among different ethnic groups that the wars with Barbarians were very frequent in this area.The majority of the novels in Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties are about the political and economic situations and urban life in Tang Dynasty. The religious beliefs of Bashu people in Tang Dynasty is also an important part of the novels in that period As is known to all, Buddhism and Taoism appeared very early in this area, Bashu region is also the birthplace of Taoism. When it comes to Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties, both Buddhism and Taoism were thriving in this region. Bashu area has masses of myths and legends and a long history of witchcraft, which is a solid ideological foundation for the development and blossom of Buddhism and Taoism in this area. Moreover, the economic boom provides the material foundation for the development of religion.In addition, lots of officials in this region worshiped Buddhism or Taoism in ancient times, which promoted their development as well. The stories on Buddhism and Taoism in Bashu area in the novels has as two notable characters: Firstly, the plots of the novels are affected a lot by the geographical conditions in this region. There are many mountains and rivers in Bashu area. Thus the disasters in the novels usually take place on the waters, resulting from the flood of the river. And the great power of the religion is reflected in this way. While the stories about the mystery of the religion occur in the mountains in many cases.Secondly, most of the stories on Buddhism and Taoism serve as guidance, teaching us to be virtuous.which shows that religion can be used by the rulers as a tool to control the ordinary people.In addition, some novels describe the people’s religious beliefs in Bashu area. Yuan Ke believes that the mythologies in this region are mainly related to Silkworm God, the Big Rockand the methods of regulating rivers and watercourses. And the Bashu people’s beliefs can prove this. Most of their beliefs are related to water.