Contemporary Construction Of Folk Belief Space And Its Practice Logic

The contemporary changes in folk beliefs are a focus of attention in folklore today.After the reform and opening up,folk beliefs began to rejuvenate.What followed was the rush to rebuild the temples from the government to the people.In the contemporary context,the reconstruction of the belief space is accompanied by the infiltration of various forces,such as the state,local government,non-governmental organizations,local elites,etc.,and space therefore presents greater complexity.The rebuilding of Chisong Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple was facilitated by the investors,the local villagers and the government.The interaction of the tripartite powers shaped its existing spatial form.This article takes Jinhua Chisong Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple as a case,based on its reconstruction history in the 1990 s,tries to analyze how this belief space is constructed from the perspective of “space production”theory and explain the power interaction behind it and the internal construction logic.First of all,the author combs the historical evolution and contemporary revival of the belief in Wong Tai Sin and its belief space.After the reform and opening up,folk beliefs showed signs of recovery,and the local Wong Tai Sin beliefs in Jinhua began to revive.This led to an upsurge in the renovation of temples.Among them,the reconstruction of Chisong Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple was benefited from the liberalization of folk beliefs policy and the promotion of belief habits and“Efficacious” mechanism.Secondly,the author elaborates on how the belief space-Chisong Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple was produced from three aspects: material space,belief relations and belief practice.Under the shape of the capital and the local people,Chisong Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple shows the characteristics of the overlapping of belief space and tourism space in material space.Investors have an absolute say in the management of the Taoist temple.The organizational structure of Taoist priests and belief rituals tend to be standardized by Taoism,and some local-colored ceremonies are no longer carried out.In addition,in the contemporary context the belief space has undergone a series of changes in order to adapt to the development process.Chisong Wong Tai SinTaoist Temple has developed philanthropy,established the Taoist cultural heritage base and the international cultural exchange platform to meet the needs of society and gain more room for development.Finally,the author focuses on the discussion of the power interaction among the production subjects of this belief space,their respective practical logic and the complexity of the spatial form under tripartite interaction.The spatial construction of the Chisong Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple is a dynamic process and practical result of the power interaction between investors,local villagers and the government.Different forces show different attitudes and behaviors in it.Under the action of the three parties,Chisong Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple presents that the attributes of belief space and tourism and leisure space is clear,and the attribute of local culture space preliminarily appears.The complex spatial form also leads to the differences of identity to this belief space among believers.