Research On The Dragon God Belief In The Yellow River Region In The Ming And Qing Dynasties

As the mother river of the Chinese nation,the Yellow River gestates the splendid Chinese civilization and provides unlimited possibilities for the origin and development of the Chinese nation.However,due to the relatively arid climate and concentrated precipitation in the Yellow River Basin,frequent floods and droughts have brought heavy disasters to the people along the river,especially in the lower reaches.In the face of frequent disasters,in the ancient times with limited scientific level,in addition to the daily response measures,people often put their hopes on the deities,through the worship of the deities in order to get the blessing of the deities.This series of social activities constantly promoted the evolution and development of folk beliefs.The dragon is the totem and symbol of the Chinese nation,and we are still proud of the descendants of the dragon.Dragon culture is an important part of Oriental culture and a spiritual link for the unity and progress of the Chinese nation.The image of the dragon has gone through a long development process from the initial totem symbol to the dragon department of rain,and finally to the personified deity,which is the result of the interaction of many cultures.The Yellow River Basin is mainly located in arid and semi-arid areas,with frequent floods and droughts.The Dragon Deity is deeply worshiped by the people because of its function of resisting drought and flood disasters.Therefore,the dragon deity belief is widely popular in the Yellow River Basin.After a long period of development and evolution,the belief in dragon deity reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.During this period,the Yellow river changed its course frequently,floods occurred repeatedly,and the influence of Ming and Qing Cosmic Period made the climate of the Yellow River Basin more dry,and the growing population,the per capita share of resources was less.The impact of floods and droughts on the production and life of the people in the Yellow River Basin was more serious than that in other periods in history.The water temples all over the line not only show the prosperity of folk beliefs in Ming and Qing Dynasties,but also reflect the depth of flood and drought disasters.Taking the Dragon Deity belief in the Yellow River region in the Ming and Qing Dynasties as the research object,this paper discusses the formation,evolution and development of the Dragon Deity belief,and explores the construction,distribution,characteristics and cultural interaction around the Dragon Deity belief of the States and counties along the Yellow River.Because of the fragile ecological environment in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin,coupled with long-term excessive development,has caused serious soil erosion in the middle reaches of the Yellow River.The lower reaches of the Yellow River have flat terrain,slow river flow velocity and sediment deposition,which make the lower reaches become "rivers on the ground" and pose a serious threat to the safety of people's lives and property in the lower reaches.In order to resist natural disasters such as floods and droughts,the Yellow River region has gradually developed from the original Hebo to many water deities such as dragon king,river deity,king and general(the deity of water in Chinese mythology),which not only enriches the connotation of folk beliefs,but also reflects the high incidence and severity of natural disasters.The Dragon Deity also evolved from the original animal form into human form,and was gradually respected by the imperial court and listed as the official sacrifice.In the Yellow River area with frequent disasters,the belief of Dragon Deity is widely spread.This part makes a detailed statistics on the construction and specific distribution of dragon temples in various states and counties along the Yellow River.The construction of the Dragon Temple is mainly due to the characteristics of the dragon effective,which meets the needs of the people praying for rain to drive drought and flood fighting.At the same time,the construction of the dragon temple was mainly led by local officials,led by squires,and participated by local people.One of the characteristics of the Dragon Deity belief is reflected in the time-space correspondence with floods and droughts,especially droughts.In terms of time,it was less before the middle of the Ming Dynasty,and began to develop after the middle of the Ming Dynasty,and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty.In space,first of all,the distribution of Dragon Deity temple is universal,and it is distributed all over the line.Secondly,the spatial distribution is uneven and regional and special.The location of Dragon Deity temple is mainly located in mountainous area,city or suburb,countryside,river and beside water conservancy facilities.Among them,the number of documents recorded in the city and suburb is the largest because it is convenient for officials to worship.The distribution of the Dragon King temples in the countryside is not included because of the reasons recorded,so it can not reflect the most real construction situation in the countryside.In addition,the Dragon King belief also has the characteristics of family,which is mainly reflected in the emergence of the Dragon King family pedigree,which is reflected in the folk dragon mother,dragon daughter belief and the Dragon King family in ancient literature.The activities of praying,temple fairs and social fire around the Dragon Deity belief,as well as the performance of the Dragon Deity belief in minority areas,reflect the interaction between the Dragon Deity belief and folk culture.