盐宗的传说及其崇拜

Legends and Worship of Salt God

盐为百味之王,是迄今为止人类所认识和利用的最重要的调味品。夙沙氏是古史中比较认可的最早发明"煮海为盐"的人,因而后人将其与鱼盐之业相联系,被尊奉为"盐宗"。对传说中的夙沙氏到盐宗崇拜的成因及其特征,进行历史和民俗文化学的解读,将有助于理解夙沙氏在中国古代盐业神祇中所处的特殊地位。

Salt, the origin of all flavors, is the most important source people have ever known and used. It is commonly believed that Sushashi was the first person in ancient China who found the method of＂boiling sea water into salt＂. Thus, later generations associated him with fish and salt business, and worshiped him as ＂Salt God＂. From the perspective of history and folk culturology, this paper analyzes the cause and characteristics of Sushashi＇s change from legendary figure to Salt God, which will help understand the special status of Sushashi in ancient Chinese deities of salt.