Research On Guan Gong Belief In Yuncheng City

Folk beliefs are an important part of our traditional culture.They have a long history and profound social foundation.They still play a very important role in people's daily life.As a folk belief,Guan Gong worship has a long history.During this period,it occupied a prominent position because it was respected by the feudal rulers.It roughly went through five stages.It was the germination period of Guan Gong belief in Jin,Sui and Tang Dynasties,which mainly existed among the people.It was the development period of Guan Gong belief in Song and Yuan Dynasties,which was strongly respected by Taoism.The imperial family of the Song Dynasty confered Guanyu as a king and built temples to sacrifice,and the Jin Dynasty ordered the renovation of Guan Gong Temple.It was the peak period of Guan Gong belief in the Ming and Qing Dynasties when Guan Gong was named emperor.Emperors of the Qing Dynasty even visited Guan Gong Temple to salute in person.It was the low period of Guan Gong belief in the 1960 s and 1970 s which have taken place in the sacrificial groups after getting rid of superstition;since the 1980 s,the belief in Guan Gong has been revived.With the revival of traditional national culture,the belief in Guan Gong has re-entered the vision of public life.The main activities of Guangong belief in Yuncheng includes official sacrifice and personal worship.Official sacrifices includes the Haizhou ancient temple fair on April eighth,in which the ceremony of "Guandi's tour of the city" is the most important;on June twenty-fourth the birthday of Guandi,the theme is "to bless and extend life,to promote Guan Gong";on the Guan Gong Cultural Festival,the main part of the festival is "Golden Autumn Festival".According to investigation,non-organized personal worship mainly includes utilitarian needs of the God of escort,such as seeking peace,wealth and profit,learning,praying for blessings and curing illness.The characteristics of Guan Gong belief in Yuncheng City are roughly four aspects,namely,hierarchy,popularity,continuity and utilitarianism,which not only have the commonness of Chinese folk beliefs,but also have distinct local characteristics.The social functions of Guan Gong belief in Yuncheng include psychological consolation function,educational normative function,cultural inheritance and entertainment function,and the function of cohesion of people's hearts.At present,Yuncheng attaches great importance to the protection and inheritance of Guan Gong's belief culture,and excavates the economic,spiritual and artistic values contained in Guan Gong's belief.However,with the development of modern society,the inheritance and protection of Guan Gong belief in Yuncheng are facing such problems as imperfect infrastructure,cultural loss and lack of professional personnel,and no brand benefit.Therefore,we should improve infrastructure,strengthen academic research,insist on the government playing a leading role,build Guan Gong cultural brand,and constantly explore and find new thought on the development of Guan Gong beliefs in Yuncheng...