大哉侯王:王审知形象塑造与王闽政权的合法性建构

How Great,King Wang!Shaping the Image of Wang Shenzhi and Constructing Legitimation of the Wang’s Regime in the Min Region

作为五代初期割据藩镇的代表,福建节度使王审知一直采取奉中原正朔的政策,但在中原王朝的统治名义下,王审知虽能以武力霸居一方,却面临割据统治的合法性问题。为了解决这一困境,王审知从塑造个人形象入手。首先,通过攀附先世,编造王氏道家仙人王霸之后的身世,宣扬王氏据闽的天命性;其次,利用佛陀托梦与神僧指认金轮王三子,制造王审知人间统治者的身份;最后,借助朝廷的权威,向境内民众塑造个人的忠臣形象。王审知对自我身份、形象的重塑,既模仿了中古帝王合法性建构的一些手段,又契合“闽王”的身份,使得王闽在尊奉朝廷的情况下,也能保持自立一方的正当性,为福建由藩镇到闽国的转型奠定了基础。

As a representative of the separatist Military Districts in the early Five Dynasties,Wang Shenzhi,the governor of Fujian District,has always adopted the policy of honoring the political orthodox of the Central Plains.However,in the name of the rule of the Central Plains dynasty,although Wang Shenzhi was able to dominate one side by force,he faced the problem of his separatist rule as a legitimate regime.In order to solve this dilemma,Wang Shenzhi began to shape his personal image.First,by manipulating the relations to powerful ancestors,he fabricated the life experience of the Wang family’s Taoist Immortal Wang Ba,and promoted the Wang family’s mandate to conquer Fujian;secondly,he used the Buddha’s dreams and divine monks’identifying him as The third son of Golden Wheel King to create his identity as a human ruler;thirdly,with the help of the authority of the court,he created a personal image of a“loyal minister”to the people within his territory.Wang Shenzhi’s reshaping of his own identity and image not only imitated some of the methods used to construct the legitimacy of medieval emperors,but also fit the role of the“King of Min”,allowing Wang’s rule in the Min region to maintain his independence while respecting the imperial court.Legitimacy laid the foundation for Fujian’s transformation from a vassal town to a Min country.