漕运兴废与水神崇拜的盛衰——以明清时期徐州为中心的考察

Rise and Fall of Water Transport of Grain and Worship of Water God

人们对水及其载体河、湖、海等有着天然的敬畏,在水患肆虐的地方更是如此。明清时期,因黄河及运道过境徐州,所属州县①内水神崇拜甚为流行,各路神灵被纷纷搬上祭台,甚至武圣关羽、门神尉迟恭都被奉作水神,既说明徐州所属州县水神崇拜之盛,同时也显示了人们对水患的无奈。随着泇河开挖及黄河北徙,徐州漕运中枢地位急遽衰落,导致各种水神崇拜和祭祀活动也随之湮灭不存。本文从地域水环境变迁角度对水神崇拜的盛衰进行了研究。

People have a natural awe of water and bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, the seas, and so on. This is especially true of the rampant flooding areas. During Ming and Qing Dynasties, because the Yellow River and the water transport road of grain were by Xuzhou, water god worship was popular in the regions and counties involved. Many of the gods have been enthroned onto the altar. Even Guan Yu and the door god Yuchi Gong have been worshiped as Water Gods. The worship of Water God in Xuzhou and its counties was so prevalent, which shows the people were helpless about the flooding. With the digging of the rivers and the northward movement of the Yellow River, the hub status of Xuzhou in wa- ter transportation of grain declined rapidly, which led to the disappearance of the water gods worship and the activities of sacrifices to gods. The present paper studies the rise and fall of water god worship from the aspect of the vicissitude of the region＇s water environment.