宋代社会と祠廟信仰の展開 : 地域核としての祠廟の出現

Abstract

Given the increasing body of historical material that provides an accurate picture of regional society and the fact that the temple cults that exist today were born in Song times, Song temple cults 祠廟信仰 have become an object of study that is particularly important within the study of popular religion in Chinese history. This article relies on earlier arguments regarding the relationship of local elites and temples 祠廟 and title-granting 賜額・賜胱 policies to underscore the following two observations. Firstly, I have considered the problem from a political point of view. When the records that remain in the Song huiyao 宋會要 and the statistical data are carefully analyzed regarding shifts in title-granting policies, it becomes certain that fluctuations from Northern-Song to early Southern-Song times were linked to the circumstances political forces at the center, and were not simply random occurrences accompanying a decline in authority, nor were they based on the distinctions made between official 正祠 and illicit cults 淫祠. One can see, in particular, a tendency toward "the liberalization of the register of sacrifices 祀典" emanating from the center and moving outward. One can also grasp the process of the shift in leadership following the political tumult of the period of Gaozong 高宗. Secondly, regarding the relationship between the cults and regional society, I have analyzed the large role played by the temples in regional commerce and the economy through further consideration of the shift in leadership of temple management to regional society, which clearly occurred in the period of the Southern-Song. In this manner, the reality of the participation of the local elite in the active operation of the temples and the contribution of spirit mediums, who actually lived in the temples and practiced their religion there, have been highlighted. I have made clear that the temples functioned not only as political or ideological centers but also as regional economic centers. As a result of these considerations, the circumstance of the Song temple cults can be summarized as follows. The strict control of the granting of titles slipped from the hands of central authority, and miracles were emphasized over the hierarchy of the registry of sacrifices, with the awarding of titles became a means of validating them. But, given the increasing economic importance of the temples, regions that hosted powerful deities gained an opportunity to form influential market areas. It may be assumed that, in conjunction with the activities of merchants, networks of main and subsidiary temples were formed and that a cycle was established that began with a miracle, followed by the granting of a title, and then attracting the populace. It appears that in this fashion that temples truly became core institutions in regional society.