A Study On The Belief Of Dragon King In Shanxi Province

As a big agricultural country,China has a wide range of folk beliefs about agriculture.Ordinary people’s belief in the agricultural patron saint is very pious because of their limited level of science and technology and low scientific cognition.Among them,the Dragon King,as a water god who spreads clouds and rains and prays for rain,stands out among many agricultural protection gods.In addition,in recent years,the research on agricultural cultural heritage has become one of the hot issues in academic circles.Therefore,the belief of Dragon King,which has the dual identity of folk belief and agricultural cultural heritage,has entered the author’s research field of vision.This paper,relying on the national project of Shi Guowei’s "Research on the Ceremony of Praying for Rain and the Performance of Rewarding God in Shanxi",makes a research on the belief of the Dragon King in Shanxi under the background of urbanization.Taking Wanbailin District of Taiyuan City as the investigation center,this paper roughly sorts out the existing situation of its belief in the Dragon King under the background of urbanization.Taking Saizhuang Village,Ximing Village and Houbeitun Community in Wanbailin District as the main investigation objects,this paper sorts out and analyzes the existence of their belief in the Dragon King.Using local chronicles,temple inscriptions,folklore and other materials,this paper makes a demonstration study on the sacrificial circle in Saizhuang Village,the rain-praying sacrificial activities in Ximing Village and the rain-praying activities in Houbeitun Community.Since ancient times,Shanxi has suffered from severe drought and frequent disasters.Therefore,the tradition of praying for rain and sunshine has been created.Wanbailin District of Taiyuan City has a long history,rapid urbanization and a large number of Longwang temples in its territory.Taking Wanbailin District as an example,it is representative to discuss the belief of the Dragon King in Taiyuan.In this paper,the representative areas with different degrees of urbanization development in Wanbailin District are selected as the main research objects.Under the background of urbanization,the belief of Dragon King shows different existing conditions.The activities of the sacrificial circle,which is dominated by Zhuang Village,make us feel how simple folk beliefs can connect with local society and harmonious neighborhood relations.Ming village invited the dragon king of other villages to worship in this village out of demand,which showed the unique inter-village relationship between Chinese traditional villages.The continuous reconstruction of Longwang Temple in Houbeitun community shows that the belief of Longwang gradually adapts to the modernization process in the rapid urbanization.Traditional beliefs have an anti-modernization tendency to adapt to the other side of urbanization.Under the background of urbanization,the belief in the Dragon King also presents changing characteristics,such as the increasingly widespread belief groups,the increasingly diverse belief objects and the increasingly simplified ceremony of praying for rain.At the same time,however,the belief in the Dragon King shows some continuity.The belief of Dragon King in Saizhuang Village has always existed in the depths of mountains,and it has gradually become a symbol of local people’s memory of the countryside.Although the Dragon King Hall in Ximing Village hired another "Five Masters" from Wutai Mountain,the original Dragon King has been preserved in the hearts of the people,which is a memory of traditional culture.Wolong in Houbeitun community was born and abandoned by people because of Fenshui flooding.In this regard,Wolong Temple has already become a carrier similar to local knowledge in the hearts of people in Houbeitun.Under the background of urbanization,the existence of folk beliefs represented by the belief of the Dragon King is thought-provoking.It gradually evolved into a symbol of people’s homesickness,a special memory of the people about traditional culture,and the spiritual sustenance of new citizens as strangers.The research on the belief of Dragon King under the background of urbanization can provide some help for the research on the adaptability of people and folk beliefs under the background of urbanization,and also hope to make a modest contribution to the protection of traditional agricultural cultural heritage.