The Belief In Frontier Temple Gods And State Worship In Song Dynasty

The diffused religion,which domestic and foreign academic circles have given it long-term attention and pointed out the spirit as its core,is an important aspect of Sung Dynasty.In general,however,they give more attentions to the religions originated from inland rather than from frontier.In this dissertation,taking Qiu which is the most distinctive deity in northwest China,Three Immortals worshiped by the main force Shanxi army of Sung,and the Frontier Secretaries deity as research subjects,it prepares to study how the later get into official theogony with geographical characteristics.Qiu is a belief based on the extensive and deep water among the high mountains,whose spirit is based on the size of the water.It entered to official theogony in pre-Qin period,but declined later since the decline in status of region Yong and the reduction of water area.And then,with transformation of image and function,amount of Qiu increased constantly.Also,because of the nearness to the capital and the strong spirit,it got into official theogony again.For the proximity in space,it could play a leading role in the political action directed by Emperor Taizong and Song Wo of propitiousness in the early Sung and be awarded one more time.After the Emperor Shenzong,opening up of the northwestern region stimulated the Qiu diffusing continuously,in addition to the raise of function and award.But it didn't propagate southward for its unique requirements to geographical environment.Three Immortals grew out of the praying rain magic,which was popular in the area Guanfu and used lizards.In mid-Northern Sung,it was worshiped in temple because of the deterioration of ecological environment,and was brought into official theogony to appreciate its help in war throughout army's application.Then,it propagated southeastward and southwestward with immigration of soldier and general.In the early Southern Sung,the court transformed Three Immortals into the Three Martyrs in order to encourage loyalty to the army and people.Based on it,the Three Martyrs were remoulded by the great clan Jing in Sichuan to Three Brothers as heroes of clan and region.After Mongolia army invaded Sichuan,a large number of people immigrated to southeastern China,the Three Brothers were also spread to the middle and lower Yangtze region.Differing from the former two,the Frontier Secretaries deity was always controlled by the official.Taking the Emperor Huizong and Gaozong periods as nodes against the background of internal and external situation of the state,it would present the periodic characteristics of geographical distribution from the coexistence of Lingnan and northwest to only northwest and then to the marginal,expressing the conception of loyalty of the state.From the perspective of historical and cultural geography,this paper holds that the geographical elements ignored usually are not only important but also play a variable role in the process of the diffused religion entering the official theogony.Geographical environment is not only the background of the events,but also the main factor driving the development sometimes.The influence of political propaganda and military factors on the development and spread of the diffused religion in frontier during the song dynasty is much more prominent than the commercial factors emphasized by the Tang-Song Transition.