Review and Reflection on the Religious Studies of the Qiang during the Past One Hundred Years

YUAN Linrong

Abstract：

This article reviews more than 150 articles and books which research Qiang religion，and divides research of Qiang religioninto three periods.

Ⅰ. 1910-1949： research on polytheistic beliefs

The period from 1910 to 1949 was a time during which Western anthropologists were searching for the Qiangs religious culture. Characterisitc of this period was a bias towards descriptive ethnography ； doing fieldwork related to religious culture；and describing， recording or even reconstructing Qiang religious culture.

Ⅱ. 1950-1980： a time when fieldwork related to religious customs stagnated

From 1950 to 1980， almost all the research on the Qiangs religious beliefs was based on the theoretical principle that “Religion is the opiate of the people”. We can see that all the works produced during this period illustrated this principle.

Ⅲ. 1981- 2010： a period for investigation and sorting out the white stone belief system and scriptures

1. Research on the belief system of the white stone

The representative work of this period was the Mysterious Worship of the White Stone by Wang Kang et al. in 1992. The authors transformed Qiang myths related to Heaven， Earth， nature， and hero into the origin of the religious belief system， and confirmed their social function. This provided a new way of thinking in the studies on Qiang religion. In addition， there were archaeological interpretations regarding the study of the origin of the “white stone worship”.

2） Studies on religious rituals

The Qiang between the Han and Tibetan by Wang Mingke discusses the relationship between the religious rituals and power， and the relationship between powers. It could be said that Wang Mingkes research has expanded and deepened the vision of studies on the workshop of the mountain god.

3） Studies on community religion

In the Study on Qiang History and Culture edited by Lu Ding and Gong Tengyuan， there is a chapter that specially focuses on a discussion of Qiang religious life in the Taoping community of Lixian. In looking at the content， the author did not provide a description of the collective religious activities. Moreover， the book did not mention anything about the stability and change of the religious activities after the 1950s， nor did it explain how much or what part of traditional religious features were still preserved by the Qiang.

4） Commercialization of white stone worship

The Review of Qiang Religious Studies by Ma Ning and Qian Yongping considers the many tourism companies that hire Qiang shamans to engage in the religious activities in order to attract tourists in the 21st century. Although the income of the shamans increased， their social prestige was reduced. Wang Mingke gives another interpretation on this phenomenon by using functionalism in his book titled the Qiang between the Han and Tibetan.

5）Investigating and sorting out religious scriptures

The most prominent research on Qiang religion during this period was made by Qian Anjing from Sichuan University. Based on the foundation built by Hu Jianming， Qian restarted collecting and sorting out the Qiangs primitive religious scriptures and rituals， and， in doing so， he made a lot of contributions in this field.

Key Words： the Qiang； religious research； white stone belief； primitive religion

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