The Study Of Animal Worship In Chu State

The Chu culture was one of the important regional cultures in the pre-Qin period.It injected free,romantic and elegant cultural factors into the development of Chinese culture.Animal worship was an important part of the Chu culture.The Chu people who have Animist endow these animals with a variety of meanings,and make different artistic creations for them based on these imaginations.These works originated from the unique cultural background of the Chu Kingdom and are visual expressions of Chu culture and artistic style.Combing and exploring the way of worship of animal behavior in Chu helps to grasp the social background,cultural tendencies,religious beliefs and customs.The research in this paper mainly focuses on the complex animal images composed of phoenix,dragon,snake,tiger,deer and the characteristic elements of these animals in chu.The article is divided into three levels.The first level sorts out the images of various animals in the records of bronzes,lacquered wood,jade,silk.and classics based on the tomb materials and classics records.On the basis of sorting out,the second level first analyzes the worship source and cultural connotation of the phoenix and dragon.The article believes that the phoenix worship originated from Dongyi,and its status has gradually risen in the political and cultural struggle between Chu and Central Plains.The worship of dragons is an exotic thing of the intimate relationship between the pre-Xia and the Chu,and it is also a relic of the ancient flood myth.In Chu culture,Feng has multiple meanings of the dual nature of life and death.In the secular life,phoenix is the symbol of ideal politics,has the political symbol role,and is the representative image of the sun,light flame,and wind.The phoenix and dragon in the funeral culture are ambassadors to help the Chu people communicate with the heaven and the underworld.The research also analyzes the functions of snakes,tigers and deer in Chu culture.They not only played the role of leading spirits to heaven in the funeral culture of chu,but also served as an assistant for wizards to pray,worship and Shenyou.In addition,some differences in its functions are also used by the Chu people to form some Composite animal images with greater powers to enhance the effectiveness of Prayer ritual.Based on the analysis of the image and function of these animals,The third level probes into the mythological world of chu people,and their soul concept,the way of soul ascending to heaven,the function of animals in ascending to heaven.The article believes that the Chu people will obtain or use these animal's power by some means to realize the passage in the heaven and underground world.These methods have also gradually changed in different stages of history,from worshipping and sacrificing these animals to using and conquering them.This change also reflects the gradual awakening of humanistic consciousness in the pre-Qin era.