From the Protection of Learning to the Protection of the Nation: Worship in the Southern Song Dynasty Taixue

Abstract

<p>宋代祠祀信仰相當興盛，在為國家培養德才兼備之儲備人才的南宋太學之內亦存在被奉祀的祠神，根據《宋史》記載可知該神為岳飛。然而，經過考察相關記載之後，本文發現太學祠祀信仰，實際上經歷了從祭祀土地神到後來以岳飛為廟神的變化，出現此變化的原因，與太學生群體意識的高漲，以及朝廷有意旌忠的統治手段有關。最後，本文也針對太學祠祀信仰的內涵展開討論，指出雖然隨著岳飛擔任廟神的說法影響日深，「旌忠」成為該信仰的主流價值，然而原有的「靈驗」特質非但沒有消失，反而與之結合，生動的展示出信仰發展過程所具有的動態性。</p> <p> </p><p>Folk beliefs flourished during the Song Dynasty, and even the highest educational institution, the taixue (National University), had a deity that was worshipped. According to the History of the Song Dynasty, the god worshipped in the Southern Song taixue was Yue Fei. However, after examining the relevant records, this paper finds that the folk beliefs of the Taixue actually underwent a change from the worship of the land god (tudi shen) to the later use of Yue Fei as the god of the temple. The reasons for this change are related to the rising awareness of the student body at the taixue and the national policy of praising loyalty (jing zhong 旌忠). The article also discusses the implications of this belief, pointing out that although the belief in Yue Fei as the temple deity was becoming more and more accepted, and although “praising loyalty” had become the mainstream value of the belief, the original “efficacious” quality of the god did not disappear, but rather combined with it, vividly demonstrating the dynamic nature of the development process of the belief.</p> <p> </p>