What are the cultural and humanistic characteristics of Fujian?

The regional cultural characteristics of southern Fujian were not formed overnight, but experienced a long historical evolution process. Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was little contact between the indigenous people in central Fujian and the Central Plains, and the indigenous folk custom was self-contained. Historically, the Yue people in this period lived by the water, were used to water wars, made good use of boats, and prevailed in primitive witchcraft. By the Han Dynasty, people in the Central Plains still thought that Minzhong and its residents were "places outside the Party and people with tattoos." From the Han, Jin and Five Dynasties, the Han nationality in the Central Plains began to migrate to the southeast coast. With the influx of Han people into Fujian, Han culture spread rapidly from north to south in central Fujian, and Han customs such as production customs, life customs, life etiquette, Chinese New Year holidays and religious beliefs gradually replaced indigenous folk customs and occupied a dominant position. [i] At the same time, some Han people intermarry with aborigines, or aborigines automatically transform into Han people to adapt to the new social environment, and some customs and humanistic characteristics of Fujian and Guangdong people have also precipitated and become an important part of the regional cultural characteristics of southern Fujian. Song Dynasty is an important period for the all-round development of Fujian's social economy, and it is also an important turning point for the formation and evolution of southern Fujian's regional cultural characteristics. Under the historical condition that China's economic center of gravity moved southward, Fujian's economy became one of the developed regions in a short time. In particular, the rise of Fujian studies in the Song Dynasty played an important guiding role in Fujian culture and folk customs, including Minnan culture. This social, economic and cultural environment provides good special conditions for preserving and developing China's traditional cultural customs. After tempering in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Minnan regional culture as a unique character has basically taken shape. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Fujian, especially Minnan, experienced a strong impact of marine social economy and culture. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the commodity market economy in China flourished, and the boundaries among scholars, agriculture, industry and commerce gradually blurred, and the traditional agricultural economy was more mixed with various economic components. At the same time, the ideological and cultural circles are brewing the ideological impulse of seeking innovation and change, which has played a positive role in promoting the maturity of regional cultural characteristics in southern Fujian. The "cultural characteristics of southern Fujian" we are discussing now should undoubtedly be based on southern Fujian in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Although the formation and maturity of Minnan culture developed with the spread of Central Plains culture in Fujian, the mainstream culture of China has a leading influence on the formation and maturity of Minnan regional culture. However, we should also see that the so-called mainstream culture in China is not static, but is subtly influenced by the changes of the times. The pre-Qin period was a period of "a hundred schools of thought contend" in China culture. With the establishment of the unified centralized political system in Qin and Han Dynasties, Confucian culture gradually became the mainstream ideology of this political system. The exclusive position of Confucian culture has played an irreplaceable historical role in maintaining China's unified centralized political system and integrating and absorbing multi-ethnic cultural factors. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, China's unified centralized system has become increasingly totalitarian, and the bureaucratic bad habits of being conservative and hypocritical for selfish ends have gradually become a common social atmosphere. The corresponding ideological and cultural ideology has also experienced serious polarization and variation. On the one hand, empty talk about high-profile moral standards is often out of reach, on the other hand, superstition of power and mercenary has become the code of conduct for many literati to settle down. It can be said that since the Song Dynasty, although some scholars and intellectuals tried to adhere to the pre-Qin Confucian moral norms, on the whole, the mainstream culture of the Central Plains, as the core of political rule, has become more and more hypocritical and dignified. The mainstream culture of the Central Plains basically spread from north to south to various border areas. Relatively speaking, the more frontier, the weaker the influence of the mainstream culture of the Central Plains. There are great differences in natural geographical location and cultural origin in the border areas of China's unified country, so the degree of accepting the mainstream culture of the Central Plains and the regional cultural characteristics formed by each border area will be different and colorful. As far as Fujian is concerned, Fujian is located in the southeast corner, facing the sea in the east and Wuyi Mountain in the northwest. Under the condition of underdeveloped means of transportation in ancient times, Fujian was naturally separated from Zhejiang, Jiangxi and even the northern Central Plains, forming a self-contained social and economic region. This is an important geographical factor that makes Fujian's regional cultural characteristics different from those of surrounding areas such as Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Guangdong. In Fujian, the Minjiang River, Jiulong River, Jinjiang River, Mulan River and other famous rivers all originate from the northwest mountainous areas and flow to the plain, which is the most important habitat for the northern Han nationality to settle and reproduce after entering Fujian. However, most of these rivers and streams are separated by mountains, so traffic is difficult. This relatively independent small economic region formed by different river basins divides Fujian into many different ethnic groups. This geographical environment naturally makes Fujian have the potential consciousness of "the sky is high and the emperor is far away". However, there is a certain distance between southern Fujian and Fuzhou, the political center of Fujian, which makes southern Fujian's regional culture have geographical characteristics far from China's cultural center. Being far away from the political and cultural center of China does not necessarily create a unique and diverse regional culture. In fact, as I said above, with the large number of immigrants from the northern Han nationality in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Fujian and Minnan societies have always regarded accepting Confucian orthodox culture as the core position of social and cultural construction. The mainstream culture of Confucianism in China has always had a leading influence on the formation and maturity of Minnan regional culture. But the difference is that when the mainstream culture of the Central Plains became increasingly hypocritical and conservative since the Song and Ming Dynasties, Fujian, especially Minnan, was far away from the political and cultural center, while the tradition of Minnan facing the sea and bravely accepting foreign cultures made this marginal regional culture more or less influenced and restricted by the historical changes of the mainstream culture of the Central Plains, so that the regional culture of Minnan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties more reflected the vitality of many early Confucianism. Even many ancient cultures in the Central Plains gradually declined or even disappeared in their birthplace, but they were relatively intact in Fujian. This process of cultural variation is probably what Confucius meant by "courtesy does not ask for all kinds of fields". In such a different historical change, Minnan regional culture presents some unique performances different from the mainstream culture of the Central Plains. In terms of cultural thought, the fetters of imperial examination system and bureaucratic system have certainly prompted many scholars and intellectuals to drift with the tide and become victims of political culture, but there are also some intellectuals with social and cultural responsibilities. Their ideological tendency of abandoning conformism and pursuing innovation and change is often superior to that of scholars and intellectuals in the Central Plains. In terms of social behavior, it is the basic value orientation of the people not to talk about high-profile, to be down-to-earth, to do things pragmatically and to strive for progress; Pursuit of efficiency, strong sense of goods, more tolerant attitude towards foreign culture and folk customs. This situation is in contrast with the simplicity, conservatism and difficulty in taking risks of the people in the Central Plains. Minnan regional culture, as the product of the variation of China's core and marginal cultures, has greatly enhanced the cultural diversity of China to some extent. In its own structure, she can better absorb the essence of China's core culture, other regional cultures and even foreign cultures to strengthen her own cultural characteristics. This subtle process of regional cultural change with certain cultural variation is the most essential source of strength for Minnan regional culture to adapt to the needs of the new era in different historical periods.