The Textual Research On The Divine Stories Of Xin Bian Lian Xiang Sou Shen Guang Ji

Abstract: Xin Bian Lian Xiang Sou Shen Guang Ji is separated into two volumes which written by Qin Zijin in Huaihai in Yuan Dynasty. There are 57 divinities in the book. I agree with professor Jia that Sou Shen Guang Ji should be printed in Jian yang bookshop in the middle or late Yuan Dynasty according to its handwriting and format. The divinities in Sou Shen Guang Ji can be divided into three categories. Some divinities are Confucian, some are Buddhist and others are Taoist. This article mainly investigate the sources of the stories of the Taoist divinities. Sou Shen Guang Ji has never been studied wholly except some limited research on the edition and individual divinities. The divine stories which derived from the historical documents of Song Dynasty ,Tang Dynasty or earlier are important to the folk faith of Tang Dynasty ,Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty and supply lots of original materials for its development. What's more, those documents are more valuable to studying the religion ,folk-custom and novels.The first part of the article is the research of the divine stories. Because of my limited knowledge and the finite documents, 22 Taoist divinities are chosen which are reseached one by one in the book's order. During the research, the origine and development of the divinities are discussed at first. Some are derived from the stories of Han Dynasty ,Wei Dynasty and Jin Dynasty. Some are from Tang Dynasty or Song Dynasty. Others are compiled from different ages. Next, contrasting those histotical documents of the Taoist divinities with the stories of the book, we can find the sources of them.The second is the new detections in Sou Shen Guang Ji. Firstly, the book is the earlier present divine recordation including the Confucianism, the Buddhism and the Taoism. Not only is Sou Shen Guang Ji important to studying the development of Song and Yuan Dynasty but to Xin Ke Chu Xiang Zeng Bu Sou Shen Ji published in Jin Ling Fu Chun Tang in the 21st year of of Wan Li and San Jiao Yuan Liu Sou Shen Da Quan in Ming Dynasty. Because the two come in for the type and content of Sou Shen Guang Ji. So, Sou Shen Gugang Ji is the basis of the two books. Secondly, the development of Taoist divinities can reflect some viewpoints such as the spread of Taoism, the folk faith. Thirdly, the novelists in Ming Dynasty compiled lots of divine...