摘要
唐代嶺南南部沿海的雷神崇拜具有極其鮮明的地域特徵。一是雷州半島等地是全國雷神祭祀最為興盛的地區；二是與全國各地雷神的神獸形象不同，雷州半島等地的雷神卻是當地一位「卵生」的神人；三是與唐朝各地的雷神屬於一種較低級的神靈不同，雷州半島等地的雷神則被尊奉為最重要的「天神」，並且對當地社會生活的各個方面都產生了非常深刻的影響。唐朝以後，這一遙在南裔海濱的地方性神靈，又受到南漢以及宋元明清中央王朝的高度重視和不斷加封。古代雷州的雷神廟亦得以綿亙上千年之久，而且至今仍然信眾甚多，影響極廣，因而成為一種非常罕見的歷史現象。本文以唐代房千里《投荒雜錄》的相關記載為基礎，探討了嶺南南部沿海雷神崇拜形成的歷史背景和信仰內涵的演變過程，並進而從一個具體方面說明了中國古代中央王朝「神道設教」的方式及其與嶺南民間信仰之間的互動關係。
During the Tang dynasty, thunder worship in the Lingnan coastal region exhibited highly distinctive regional characteristics. First, the Leizhou Peninsula was home to the areas with the most profuse thunder worship in all of China. Second, unlike the numinous beasts that appeared elsewhere, the God of Thunder on the Leizhou Peninsula was born from an egg and appeared in human form. Third, while the God of Thunder was regarded as a low-grade god throughout most of China, on the Leizhou Peninsula, it was the most important god, and deeply influenced all aspects of local society. After the Tang dynasty, governments from the Nan Han dynasty to the Qing also paid much attention to this remote god formed in South China, and granted it increasingly degrees of esteem in the state-sanctioned pantheon. It is a rare historical phenomenon that the Thunder temple in the Leizhou Peninsula has existed for thousands of years and continues to have many believers to this day. This article is based on the records of the Tou huang zalu, and explores the background of the development of thunder worship and the evolution of associated beliefs. Furthermore, the article explains the manner in which “Instructing According to the Sacred Way”(神道設教) was used by successive central governments, and this phenomenon’s interaction with the folk religion of Southern China by focusing on a specific aspect of this.
關鍵詞
唐宋 嶺南南部沿海 雷神崇拜 神道設教
Tang and Song dynasties, Lingnan coastal region, thunder worship, Instructing According to the Sacred Way