以往的学者在研究中国文化传播途径时比较关注陆地文化走廊所起到的独特作用，而针对水道及其对于民间信仰传播所起到的作用和发生机制关注较少。自先秦以来，北江—珠江流域水路交通运输就已经开始。秦汉起，中央王朝对岭南的征服无不大力倚重水路。这条水上通道就是以珠江流域的北江和西江航道所共同构成的水上生命线。物流和人口在这条通道上不断四向流通，成为岭南文化走廊不可或缺的重要组成部分。直到现在，这条通道依然发挥着运输功能。

在几千年的南北交流过程中，各路移民陆续沿着这条通道来到粤北即北江流域中部的英德地区定居下来。他们中有客家人、广府人、福佬人，也有湖南人、湖北人。在唐代以后的客家族群的移动和定居过程中，他们的一部分参与了镇压唐末的“农民起义军”。在战斗中，出现了一位客家女英雄——虞氏。她牺牲后，人们感于她的坚贞仁爱立祠祭祀，并逐渐成为英德地区的主要保护神之一——曹主娘娘。进而在不断的移民进程中，她成为北江中游流域的重要商业保护神，并且此信仰一直南向传播到广州城西的增埗地区。后来，她还成为英德地区和增埗地区人民共同敬奉的家神。同时，曹主娘娘信仰系统与其他诸多信仰系统发生了多次混成，并形成了独具特色的宗教—信仰文化圈。曹主信仰在完成从英德地区的客家女神到流域保护神，再到家神的变化过程中，成为跨族群的地方重要信仰之一，从而成为包括客家人和广府人等地方族群的共同精神符号。

通过对粤北英德地区和广州城西的曹主娘娘信仰的田野调查发现，这一信仰的传播、混成和变型是一个复杂的过程。曹主娘娘信仰与北江流域的商业活动关系十分密切。北江航道人、物的多向流动以及英德早期城镇化是此信仰传播的直接动因。在代表着国家和地方群体利益的商业移民流动中，必然会在河道的两岸相互发生互动、融合及冲突。不同互动融合方式体现在混成方式的复杂内容中，并且在当地神话系统中得以反映和流传。同时，大传统的话语通过当地仪式和经文中的神圣空间和意涵，传递给当地民众。不同神职人员婚丧嫁娶节庆的分工体现了当地民众在建构地方小传统的同时，运用仪式的隐喻方式展示村落或宗族对于区位优势和生产资源占据之基础权威的合理性，进而发生地方和国家话语的交流。这一交流模式在增埗的“拆迁事件”中得到了现代化语境中的具体化。这证明在生产资料所有制改变后带来的生计模式的变化也使曹主信仰的社会功能发生了改变。

通过对曹主信仰的田野调查和文献研究发现，以曹主信仰为代表的北江—珠江流域混成型信仰具有与世界其他地区混成型信仰不同的特质。针对这种特质，本书综合使用历史人类学、结构人类学和解释人类学理论，逐一整理剖析。

首先，粤北地区历史环境不同，北江西江流域没有经历过殖民化过程，但移民层叠，地方社会的形成经历了复杂的历史过程。其次，曹主信仰经过长时间的多次混成最终成型，内容复杂多样，忠实反映了地方社会的变迁过程。再次，曹主信仰与当地宗族及北江的商业力量发生密切的历史性关联，最终成为地方宗族对区位资源控制的象征，从而形成跨族群和地域的宗教—信仰文化圈。最后，在中国大陆现代化语境下，由于生计模式和意识形态的改变，导致曹主信仰在社会文化功能、流传范围和信仰形态的重新塑态。

本书力图说明这样一个道理，宗教信仰的文化变迁与地方社会的发展密切关联，但不一定具有强烈的族群标识性；其神话及信仰形态的变迁能反映不同社会力量博弈过程及相关政治话语的交锋。神话和宗教信仰文化的研究，能与历史学、社会学、政治学、地域研究等学科理论方法相互应，形成对地方社会文化动态的高层次分析。用人类学理论视角去审视南岭民族走廊的宗教信仰文化景观，深入描述分析其历史形成、变迁及现状，不但为解决类似的现实问题提供思辨基础及对策方案，也为相关学科奠定理论基础。由此，学者亦可在更开阔的视野中对客家文化进行更深入的研究。

关键词：曹主信仰 粤北客家 航运商业 移民 宗族

Abstract

When discussing China's ways of cultural dissemination,many scholars tend to focus on land cultural corridors and ignore the waterways' unique characteristics.Waterway transportation started in the pre-Qin dynasty period,in the Lower South Ridges Area.Since the Qin Dynasty,the southward conquests from the central courts mainly relied on the waterway,which is composed of the West River and North River of the Pearl River's hydro system.Demographic migration and material logistics were mainly accomplished via this hydro transportation system,which essentially became a vital component of the Lower South Ridges Cultural Corridor.Today,the transportation system still functions.

During the long process of continual South-North contact,there were groups of immigrants,such as Hakka,Guangfu,Fulao,Hunan as well as Hubei people residing in the Yingde region,which is located at the center of the North River hydrographic area.During the late Tang Dynasty,they fought and won against the rebel named Huang Chao.During this long and bitter resistance,there was a Hakka heroine known as Lady Yu（who later married into the Cao's family）,who led her countrymen to fight against the rebels and died during combat.She was deified by the locals due to her benevolence and bravery.Gradually,along with the immigration process,she became one of the major deities of the region.She was named Caozhu Niangniang（The Heavenly Empress from Lord Cao's Kin）,and a belief system was formed around her deity and her myth.She also became the main heavenly female protector of the North River transportation business.Now,the Goddess is worshipped as the people's family protectress.The Caozhu Belief System eventually syncretized with other different folk belief systems in the area as well as Buddhism and Daoism,and established a characteristic religious-belief cultural circle.The belief system became cross-kinship and cross-ethnic spiritual symbol,once it finished the transformation process of a Hakka goddess,local supernatural protectress,to family protectress.

The findings from three years of fieldwork indicate that the spreading,syncretization,and changes of such a belief system is rather complicated.The bond between the Caozhu Belief System and North River business activity is very strong.Human movement and the flow of goods along the waterway are associated with the early stages of Yingde's township establishment.This process is the direct cause of the belief system's spreading.There is also assimilation and conflict accompanying the movement of goddess worshippers,who essentially represent the interests of the empire and business immigration.The result of the different interest groups'interaction and integration are reflected in the mechanisms of syncretization.Various regions retained local knowledge regarding this historic construction of peoples' folk traditions by constructing a myth system and enacting it via sacred scripts and rituals.

In addition,the big tradition's message from the empire is repeated in the local sacred canons' cosmological order and meaning,and delivered to the local population by using rituals and scripts as a communication vehicle.The professional separation of the folk priest-Shiye,in different local events,shows ways of local kinships' efforts of building their small tradition,in order to bargain for their best interests with the state.Through a variety of symbolic metaphors made by the local kinships to claim their control over regional resources and key geographic spots,they made the occupation of local resources appear justified.Local kinships will use such common local understandings to complete foundational authority and to negotiate their best gains from the state.According to the recent“Village Dismantle Incident”,the local kinship successfully expelled one of Guangzhou's biggest realty developers by putting this foundational authority into practice,giving researchers new insight into the modernity of China's folk belief systems.The outcome of the incident indicates that the changed ownership of the means of production led to changes in the local livelihood model,and it further caused a functional transition of the Caozhu Belief System.

Through full-angled fieldwork and record filtering,the author found the unique nature of the North River-Pearl River hydro-zone's folk beliefs,repre sented by the Caozhu Belief System,which has not been previously seen in other corners around the globe.In order to comprehend every aspect of the system's uniqueness,this thesis uses strengths from different anthropological theoretical schools,including historic,structural,and narrative perspectives,intending to reach a sufficient academic understanding via building an analytical model.

First,Northern Guangdong has a different historic background.The North River and West River areas did not go through a colonial process.Instead,the local society's building history was linked to complicated waves of immigration,especially the Hakkas.Second,shaping the Caozhu Belief System is a longmulti-sycretizational process,which involves many societal forces,and is a mirror of local societal transformation.Third,the belief system closely connects to local kinships,Hakka immigrants and the North River business activities through-out local history.Eventually,it becomes a religious/belief cultural circle by being the symbolic representative of local kinships' control of regional strategic resources.Finally,in the context of modernity of mainland China,the function and physical range of the system has changed,due to the changes of livelihood and ideology.The theme of this thesis is to reveal a fact that religious/belief cultural changes are caused by the changes in local society and myth.The appearance of such changes can reflect the historical game of politics.Therefore,mythological research and religious cultural studies can correlate to the study of history,sociology,politics and specified regional research topics to become a high level analytical method of local society's cultural study with a changing perspective.

Examming Nanling Ethnic Corridor's religious cultural landscape,via anthropological methods,not only provides a cognitive map of the locals and solutions for dispute; but also constructs a stronger social sciences cross-disciplinary approach and methodological foundation,based on the comprehension of local religion's process of changes in a thick narrative manner.Further,author found that folk belief as a local cultural attribute cannot serve as an indicator for ethnic boundary.Instead,the openness of the belief systems can provide researcher broader eyesight to evaluate the Hakka culture's inclusive nature.

Keywords: Caozhu Belief System; Northern Guangdong Hakka;River Transportation Business; Immigration; Kinship