A Study On The Legend And Belief Of River Gods In Shanxi,Shaanxi And Henan Yellow River Basin

Belief in river God is one of the many nature worship rooted in the traditional agricultural society.It has a long history and cultural tradition in China.As the "Mother River" of the Chinese nation,the people along the Yellow River depend on it for survival and development,thus creating a brilliant material civilization and spiritual culture.However,its irregular diversion,flooding and breach brought devastating disasters to the people living in the basin,which caused the complex emotions of the ancestors to fear the Yellow River and thus produced the worship of the river god.The belief in river God has distinct regional differences.The differences in geographical environment,social history and cultural psychology have created the belief types and functional choices with rich regional characteristics.The three provinces of Shanxi,Shaanxi and Henan are located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in the ancient Central Plains,and their homology and differentiation in physical geography,social culture and other aspects also make the belief in river God in the three places show the characteristics of different in the same and different in the same.This paper combines synchronic research with diachronic research,case investigation and overall analysis.On the one hand,by sorting out the development law of river god belief since ancient times,it explores the evolution of the relationship between man and river,as well as the river management history,life history and spiritual history of the people of the Yellow River.On the other hand,it analyzes the common characteristics and individual differences of different river god beliefs at the same time from the perspective of comparison,so as to show The Times,regional characteristics and rich historical and cultural connotations of the river god beliefs in Shanxi,Shaanxi and Henan,and to explore the contemporary value and transformation path of river God beliefs with the perspective of the present.The first chapter gives a general overview of the natural geographical background,time characteristics and evolution rules of river god belief in the Yellow River Basin of Shanxi,Shaanxi and Henan,as well as the types and spatial distribution of river God belief in the three places.The second chapter takes the legend belief of Da Yu and Hebo as an example,discusses the characteristics of The Times,the cultural connotation and the psychology of the people reflected by the river god belief in the folk multiple narration in the early Shanxi,Shaanxi and Henan period,and analyzes the reasons for the vicissitude of the belief of Da Yu and Hebo from the perspectives of national politics,social culture,people’s thoughts and the belief itself.The third chapter takes the belief of Xiexu,Huangshoucai and Liyumei,the typical representatives of King of the River Gods in the Yellow River Basin in the Ming and Qing Dynasties as an example.Through the analysis of the narrative mode of three types of King of the River Gods,the essential elements and driving causes of their transformation from human to god,from private folk to regular state worship are summarized.In addition,the sacrificial customs of ancient and modern Kings were introduced.The fourth chapter focuses on exploring the spiritual core and cultural value of river God belief,thinking about the possibility of value transformation of this folk culture resource in contemporary society,and analyzes the positive role of river God belief in the three strategic projects that the country attaches great importance to in recent years,namely rural revitalization,intangible cultural heritage protection,ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.To sum up,this paper takes the belief in the legend of river gods in the Yellow River Basin as the research object,which spans from ancient times to the present and covers Shanxi,Shaanxi and Henan.It tries to show the belief culture formed by the people in the Yellow River Basin in the long practice of river governance by combining macro exposition and micro analysis,and thinks about its value and significance in the past and present.