The Origin of Folk Beliefs in Fujian and Taiwan

First, the types of beliefs in Fujian and Taiwan

1. Nature worship: animal worship (snakes, dogs, frogs, birds), plant worship (banyan and camphor trees), wind and rain worship, heaven and earth worship, stone worship (lion, Shi Hu, Shi Gan, a stoneman) and reproductive worship.

2. Ancestor and industry ancestor worship: family sacrifice, tomb sacrifice, sacrifice, industry ancestor worship.

3. Worship of medical gods and plague gods: worship of fertility gods (Mrs. Linshui), worship of medical gods (Emperor Baosheng) and worship of plague gods (Wang Ye).

4. Worship of Poseidon Heroes: Goddess of the Sky (Mazu), Mysterious God of the Sky, Ancestors of Kaiji (Zhang Kai Saint Chen Yuanguang, Kaitai Saint Zheng Chenggong), Loyal Ministers (Guan Wang, Zunwang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Water Affairs) and Rural Sages (Qingshan Wang, Guangze Zunwang).

5. The common worship of gods in Taoism and Buddhism: the worship of city god, the worship of master Zhang Fa, the worship of the god of wealth, the worship of three officials and two emperors, the worship of Guanyin, the worship of ancestors in Qingshui, the worship of ancient Buddha in Dingguang and the worship of Buddha in Sizhou.

Second, the origin of folk beliefs in Fujian and Taiwan

1. The tradition of "being good at witchcraft and respecting ghosts" of the people of Fujian and Vietnam is combined with witchcraft handed down from the Central Plains.

2. Fujian and Taiwan are located in the subtropical marine monsoon, where natural disasters frequently occur all year round. In particular, floods, droughts and typhoons are the most common and harmful;

3. Immigration and the spread of folk beliefs: The Qin and Han Dynasties opened the prelude to the southward migration of Han people. Since then, from the Jin Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty, there have been three climaxes of Han people's southward migration, namely, during the Jin Yongjia period, after the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty and the Jingkang Rebellion in the Southern Song Dynasty, a large number of northern Han people moved southward to take refuge.

4. The shift of economic center of gravity to the south strongly promoted the development of religious beliefs, including folk beliefs, especially in the Song Dynasty.

Third, the worship of the city god.

1. The Town God, also known as the Town God, evolved from Shuiyong, one of the wax statues dedicated to Ba Shen in ancient times. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang and Five Dynasties, the role of the city god was mainly to protect the city. After the Song Dynasty, the function of the city god expanded to be in charge of the city's rainfall, drought resistance, flood control, bumper harvest, having children, getting rich, eliminating disasters, birth and death, and even the ghost and the dead in a city. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, paid special attention to the role of the Town God, and included the Town God Festival in the national sacrificial ceremony, and conferred knighthood according to the size of the city under the jurisdiction of the Town God. The city god in Kyoto, Kaifeng and other places was named "king", which was the first class; The city god of each government is called "Gong", which is the second product; The name of the city god of each state is "Hou", which is the third product; The name of the county god is "Bo", which is the fourth product.

2. The couplets of Shen 'ao Town God Temple in Nan 'ao County, Guangdong Province: Yin newspaper, Yang newspaper, morning newspaper, evening newspaper, good report and evil report must be reported to the end; Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know, God knows, and ghosts know.

3. Taiwan Province Chenghuang Temple couplets: Yin newspaper, Yang newspaper, Evening newspaper and Express newspaper must be reported eventually; God knows, earth knows, son knows, I know what ignorance is.

4. There is an abacus hanging above the gate of Chenghuang Temple in Shaxian County, Fujian Province. There is a couplet on it, which reads: "There is no worry in the world, and the Yin and Cao have their own Mahayana."

5. There are roughly three kinds of city gods in history, which are recognized and worshipped by officials and people: one is a diligent and honest official. The second is to be fair and honest. Third, the brave people who resist foreign aggression and defend the territory.