A Look At The Spread And Evolvement Of The Snake-Dragon Folk Beliefs In Fujian From The Development Of Fujian's Multi-bench Lantern Technique

This paper with Fujian's Multi-bench Lantern Technique as the research object,The Multi-bench Lantern is a type of folk-ritual lantern structured by connecting multiple benches which are holed on both sides.It is one of the Bench Dragon Lanterns(Bamboo and Plum Blossom Lanterns).The Muti-bench Lantern performing rite is mainly seen in the southeast of China,wherein the most famous Muti-bench Lanterns are the ones in Anhui,Zhejiang,and Fujian.this paper combs through the Multi-bench Lantern Technique across Fujian province,so as to explore the spread and evolvement of Fujian's Snake-Dragon Folk Beliefs and the cultural context and folk connotation thereof.Three queries are to be addressed: 1)What on earth is relationship between the Multi-bench Lantern Technique and the folk beliefs and cultural circle behind it? 2)How do the Snake-Dragon Folk Beliefs borne by the Multi-bench Lantern Technique evolve? 3)How does the inheritance and change of the Multi-bench Lantern Technique embody the evolvement of Fujian's Snake-Dragon Folk Beliefs behind it? Mainly through the field survey,it compares the similarities and differences of the shape,structure and decoration of the Multi-bench Lantern Technique existent across Fujian province,and seeks the spiritual core thereof from the perspective of technology,shape and structure.Three aims are to be reached: 1)summarizing the relationship between the Multi-bench Lantern Technique and the folk beliefs and cultural circle behind it;2)understanding the interactions between the Snake-Dragon Folk Beliefs borne by the Multi-bench Lantern Technique;and 3)exploring the relationship between the inheritance and change of the Multi-bench Lantern Technique and the evolvement of Fujian's Snake-Dragon Folk Beliefs.In Introduction,it firstly introduces how the topic was nailed down and what the research subject is.Then,by analyzing the corresponding research situation at home and abroad,it concludes that research on Fujian's Multi-bench Lantern – especially that on the relationship between the Multi-bench Lantern and folk beliefs – is much limited in the art field.Particularly,there's little to no.As a typical folk belief prop,however,the Multi-bench Lantern's relationship with folk beliefs is of great significance and much research value to the study of both techniques and folk beliefs.In the first part of Chapter 1,it draws from documents and archeological data the introduction of the early Totem faith in Fujian to find out the reason of Fujian's totem worship.In the second part,with the knowledge of the time and route of the Han people's entry into Fujian,it introduces the general situation of the Hakka culture bred by the Han people's southward migration and the introduction of the dragon-lantern custom from North China,and analyzes the transformation of Fujian's totem worship thus caused.Chapter 2 looks into the existing Multi-bench Lantern in Fujian,summarizes the techniques and patterns thereof,analyzes its inheritance and change,and expounds upon the similarities and differences of the technology,structure,function and ritual between the "Bench Dragon Lantern" and the "Snake Lantern" to explore their relationship.Chapter 3 enumerates and analyzes the emblazonry of the Multi-bench Lantern and its significance in graphic form with a vast number of image data.Chapter 4 summarizes Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 and analyzes the Fujian's faith in snake and dragon reflected on the Multi-bench Lantern,the techniques and emblazonry thus caused,and the spread and evolution of the faith that can be seen from the techniques of the Multi-bench Lantern.Finally,according to the above research,it concludes that the difference in totems they represent is the main internal difference between the two major types of Multi-bench Lantern Technique in Fujian province.Other than that,the two have the same folklore function.The main internal cause of the technological change is the population migration and the cultural exchanges and conflicts thus caused.In addition,Fujian's faith between snake and dragon is in dynamic change all along for the two interact alternately.Time passes,there still exists symbols of them,among which the Multi-bench Lantern is one of the representatives.In Other Discussion,the cause of the developmental situation of the Multi-bench Lantern and the future developmental direction thereof is discussed.