明清城隍封爵考

Prestigious Titles Conferred upon City Gods in Ming and Qing China

明清时期有关城隍封爵的说法,所在皆有。从明清城隍祭祀制度及其实施的层面,并无敕封之事。城隍封爵叙述的盛行,除受传统民间信仰中城隍当有其爵的观念影响外,明洪武二年的大封天下城隍及其相关遗存,也对城隍应有封爵这一氛围的营造产生深远影响。就绝大多数的情况而言,所谓城隍封爵叙述是不能成立的。城隍受封并非来自朝廷,而是人们对城隍封爵历史的重温。城隍封爵叙述本质上是一种解释性传说。

It was said that in Ming and Qing prestigious titles were conferred upon citygods. It was,however,ungrounded because neither the sacrificial institutions nor concerned practice could corroborate the allegation. The narrative as regards thepractice wherein city gods were granted titles of nobility was not only influenced by traditional idea of jue( title of nobility) but also by founding emperor of Ming 's nationwide work conferring prestigious titles upon all city gods. It must be pointed out that in most cases the assertion that a city god was granted a title was of a dubious nature. The alleged conferment of an honor was not an imperial endeavor at all but an intellectual effort to reinvent the tradition. The narrative was by nature an interpretive tale.