城隍神“法司”角色及其对世俗法制缺憾的弥补

Chenghuang God's Judicial Role and its remedy for realistic judicial defects

城隍神是传统中国民间信仰诸神之一。作为保护城镇百姓生命财产安全的神灵,他实际上充当着古代中国司法与正义之神的角色。城隍神的"法司"角色是如何形成的?先民们创造出这么一个神祇的目的或意图何在?中国土生土长的城隍信仰,特别是城隍神的司法神话故事,承载了中华民族世代相传的对安全、公平、秩序的认知和期待,表达了人们对世俗法律秩序弊端的批判和反省,表达了人们对司法公正的憧憬和期待。世俗法律秩序的缺憾需要宗教神话式的精神弥补,这正是城隍神话的法律文化价值之所在。

Chenghuang god is one of the traditional Chinese gods. As the city guard,Chenghuang god is in fact the god of justice in ancient china. This article attempts to do some research on how Chenghuang god form its judicial role and why our ancestor created this kind of god. Chenghuang god belief is native in ancient China,it carries the Chinese nation's expectation of safety,equity and order. People's longing for Chenghuang god's justice reflects that realistic judicial order has some defects,so making up for these defects needs spiritual level.