16至18世纪中国社会下层女性宗教活动探析

16至18世纪中国社会下层女性宗教活动极为活跃。她们参与宗教活动的形式多种多样,并且从中展现了比男性更为突出的实用取向。这与女性的性别角色、社会地位特点,以及中国民间宗教信仰的多样性、综合性特征等多重因素密切相关。女性宗教活动的活跃表明这一时期中国下层女性社会活动空间极大拓展。这既在某种程度上构成了对同一时期宋明理学对女性实行禁锢的冲击,也反映出女性的自我角色认同和社会定位处于调整之中。但女性宗教活动具有浓厚的迷信和蒙昧色彩。

Religious Activities of the Common Women in 16th to 18th Century China

During the 16th to 18th century,women's religious activities become very active in grass-roots society of China.Women participate religious activities in diversified ways and demonstrate more significant pragmatic orientation than that of the male population.This characteristic is largely related to the gender identity and social positions of women.Meanwhile,it should be examined in the general context of the diversification and synthetic nature of Chinese popular religions.The activeness of female religious activities indicates that the space of social activities for the common Chinese women is greatly enlarged in this period.This situation,to some extent,challenges the Song-Ming Neo-Confucian tendency of further constraining women.Meanwhile,it reflects changes happening to female self-identification and social positions.Nevertheless,female religious activities of this period are not free of superstition and ignorance.