<論説>泰山娘娘の登場 : 碧霞元君信仰の源流と明代における展開

Abstract

一六世紀以降の中国では極めて多くの民衆が泰山に巡礼した。彼らの目当ては頂上に祀られる女神「碧霞元君」であった。この女神は、北宋の真宗の封禅の際に見つかったとされる玉女像がその起源とされるが、少なくとも明中期までは碧霞元帥という名前は見られず、信仰も泰山府君には遠く及ばなかった。現在のような地位を得たのは、国家による顕彰を受けた明代中期のことであった。一六世紀後半に泰山を旅した文人は、夜明け前から集団で参詣する敬虔な人びとを目にすることになる。そのような光景を見た明末の士大夫たちは、国家に認められたこの女神が由緒正しいことを説明しなければならなかった。そこで彼らが主張したのは、碧霞元君は黄帝の娘や華山の玉女であるという物語であった。しかし、この物語は民衆の認識とは乖離していた。民衆にとって碧霞元君はあくまでも泰山娘娘だったのである。

Bixia Yuanjun (the Primordial Sovereign of Azure Cloud) was one of the most popular deities in late imperial China. Her temple on the summit of Mount Tai attracted a large number of pilgrims. This goddess has long been a topic of special interest to scholars of history and religion in China, but recent studies have mainly focused on sources from the 17th century onward, and little attention has been given to those from the 16th century and earlier. For that reason, some previous works have taken the claims of sources compiled during late-Ming period as historical fact, and uncritically accepted the theory that this deity appeared as the daughter of the God of Mount Tai during the Song Dynasty. Therefore the questions of the nature of Bixia Yuanjun and when her cult became popular remain unsettled. The central purpose of this study is to review all the source materials written about Bixia Yuanjun before the late-Ming period and to explore the origin of Bixia Yuanjun. Secondary purposes are to grasp late-Ming literati perceptions of Bixia Yuanjun and demonstrate the gap between the Bixia Yuanjun of written historical sources and the Taishan Niangniang worshiped by ordinary people. On that basis, this study has attempted to show a clearer picture of Chinese popular religion. The following were the main findings of this study. Although it has been thought that Bixia Yuanjun appeared during the Song Dynasty, there were no records of Bixia Yuanjun before the 15th century. Records of Taishan Yunu, the forerunner to Bixia Yuanjun, can be found, but the cult was very restricted. There was no local temple of Taishan Yunu, and the birthday festival of Yunu was not celebrated. The cult of Taishan Yunu never approached the thriving post-17th-century cult of Bixia Yuanjun in popularity. Although the origins of Bixia Yuanjun may go back to Song Dynasty, it was in the late 15th century that the name of the deity Bixia Yuanjun first appeared in written sources. Additionally, this early image differed slightly from the later form. Song Zi Niangniang and Yan Guang Niangniang, who are now generally enshrined with Bixia Yuanjun, had not yet appeared. One official who traveled around Mount Tai in this period described the deity as Zixia Yuanjun (the Primordial Sovereign of the Purple Cloud). This indicates that the cult of Bixia Yuanjun had not yet been established and the literati sometimes misunderstood her name. However, once Emperor Chenghua and his empress supported the deity's temple, her status was established. By the Jiajing era, worship of Bixia Yuanjun had spread quickly; many local temples were built throughout the North China plain, especially along the Great Canal. Song Zi Niangniang and Yan Guang Niangniang also appeared in this period. The iconography and name of Bixia Yuanjun were well established by this time. It would be no exaggeration to say that late 15th century was the great turning point for Bixia Yuanjun and the 16th century was the period of development. In the late-Ming, many literati had witnessed the pilgrimage to Bixia Yuanjun and been confounded by this fanatical belief. They were doubtful of her orthodoxy, but the Ming court had already given tacit approval of this deity. In addition, the entrance fee to her temple (the incense tax) made a great contribution to government finances. They had little choice but to make up a feasible explanation for the phenomenon. It was not possible for them to accept the stories that Bixia Yuanjun was the daughter of the God of Taishan (Taishan Fujun), as ordinary people believed. Therefore the literati made an alternative story: she was one of the daughters of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi). In other words, the tale was only a later fabrication. The Bixia Yuanjun of written sources was far different from the deity worshiped by ordinary people. Ordinary people who appear in 17th century novels and dramas never call this goddess Bixia Yuanjun, but instead call her Taishan Niangniang or Nainai, which refers to a respected older woman such as a mother or grandmother. Although it is very difficult to grasp literate people's mentality from historical sources, the findings reported in this study have implications for the study of the nature of Chinese popular religion. The author believes that the word "incense" (xiang) sums up the essence of Chinese popular religion. By means of the smoke rising from incense, Chinese people may have conducted a dialogue with the departed and also commemorated them.