The Study Of Mrs. Lian Belief In Song Yuan Ming And Qing Dynasties

Mrs. Lian is one of the most important deities in the folk beliefs at the junctions of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi Provinces. This belief probably originated in Song Dynasty. Under the shape of scholar-officials in Song Yuan Ming and Qing Dynasties, Mrs. Lian’s image gradually changed from human to deity. From Song Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, scholar-officials paid great attention to Mrs. Lian’s story, especially for the tale about two generals’ liberation. This story not only reflect the people’s attitude of the releasing story, but also reflect the female virtuousness in Chinese dynasties. There are two reasons for Mrs. Lian becoming a local patron saint: one is the Zhang family constantly beautify and deify it, the other is the local officials praised it highly. Undoubtedly, the government and the people sent Mrs. Lian to the altar together. As the clan ancestors and the region gods, Mrs. Lian’s followers widely exist in the junction of Fujian Guangdong and Jiangxi Province. Mrs. Lian Belief changed a lot in the process of transmission, and gradually transformed to the Qi Gu Belief. It can be said that Mrs. Lian Belief spreaded from Jianzhou in Fujian Province to Nanxiong in Guangdong Province, and then spreaded in Lingnan area and Gannan area. In this process, the form and function of Mrs. Lian Belief was gradually diversifying along with the transformation of space and time.