Religion and politics in the writings of Xu Xuan (917-92)

Abstract

This study takes advantage of the window provided by Xu Xuan's works to consider representations of religion by a member of the elite in the tenth century. It attempts to return Xu's works to the context in which they were written to reveal how the attitudes Xu Xuan expressed about religion and religious practice were tied to a specific understanding of politics, geography and history. Xu Xuan presents a particularly valuable subject for study due to the volume of his surviving works, which include temple inscriptions and Jishen lu, a collection of accounts of otherworldly events, both representing genres that are proving useful in the modem study of Chinese religion. Furthermore, he lived through a period of dramatic political reordering in China, serving under both the Southern Tang, a state outside traditional historical orthodoxy, and the Song, a recognized dynasty that was to see profound changes in Chinese culture and society. Two genres and two states provide ground for examining how Xu chose to represent different aspects of religion in varying circumstances. Xu's works reveal how regional character in the tenth century was variously defined and exploited in relation to religious numinosity for the purposes of state legitimacy and individual identity. Xu's depiction of the contemporary world of spirits in Jishen lu within the territory of the Southern Tang is sympathetic to the interests of this geographically limited state. Furthermore, in representations of the past under the Southern Tang, he drew on both the precedent of Tang rule and the southern dynasties, with emphasis depending on the context of the composition, whereas under the Song he was forced to present a revised position closer to Song interests. To enhance the significance of individual temples, he drew on regional religious identity. Following increasing recognition within regional politics for local gods as the tenth century progressed, Xu forcefully justified state patronage of martial gods that empowered the Southern Tang, but reduced his focus to local character and personal experience under the Song. Within these various representations that drew on existing tradition, Xu was aware that his contributions to the religious record could influence a cult's trajectory of development.