汉代统治阶层对民间信仰的限制和引导

On the Ruling Group's Attitudes to Folk Belief in the Han Dynasty

汉代民间的鬼神祭祀并非单纯地以祈福禳灾为目的,它还包含有以祝诅等巫术伤害他人,被伤害者甚至有可能是最高统治阶层。祭祀中害人巫术的存在,无疑会对社会治安、统治阶层本身乃至统治秩序的正常运行造成影响。面对这样的挑战,汉代的统治阶层设立严刑峻法、设置祠祝官进行抵御;而统治阶层中的知识分子将先秦以来限制祭祀规模的传统理念用于现实政治,致力于革新鬼神观念、宣扬"淫祀无福",试图在思想上对民众进行引导。

Generally, the aims of folk sacrifices to gods in the Han Dynasty include not only praying for good fortune and averting disasters, but also witchcraft, which aims to hurt others even including the highest ruling groups. Inevitably, its exist- ence imposes various influence on the public order, ruling groups and even the operation of the ruling order. Facing this chal- lenge, the ruling groups set draconian legal measures to resist it. At the same time, the intellectuals in the ruling groups put the traditional ideas of restricting the scale of sacrifice into the political practice to renew the idea of gods in order to guide the folk.