中国传统鬼节及其法文化意蕴

Traditional Chinese Ghost Festivals and Its Cultural Connotations

中国的传统节日一般分为人节、鬼节、神节三类,上巳节、清明节、中元节、寒衣节并称四大鬼节。中国鬼节源远流长,节俗异彩纷呈,其所承载的鬼节文化意蕴深厚,展现了中国文化最本真的部分。鬼节文化以中国数千年的宗法(血缘)社会结构为生存土壤,秉持慎终追远传统信念,造就了中国人敬重先祖、维护亲缘的性情,凸显了中国文化特有的价值观与社会行为方式:"信鬼不信神,任人不任法"。这种法文化与发轫于西方的现代化精神大异其趣。

Traditional Chinese festivals fall into three categories, those dedicated for humans, those dedicated for ghosts and those dedicated for divinities, and the among the festivals for ghosts, shangsi, qingming, zhongyuan and hanyi axe the most important. Dating back to the ancient times, the ghost festivals all carry with them significant cultural connotations reflecting the essence of the Chinese culture. Based on blood connections and the subsequent ancestor worship, these festivals represent the unique Chinese way of behaviour： belief in ghosts, rather than divinities.