The Development of Shamanism and Its Social Functions in the Song Dynasty (960-1279): Taking Folktales in Record of the Listener as Major Examples

This thesis examines the development and the social functions of Shamanism in the Song Dynasty (960-1276). The author focuses on different historical religious stories recorded in classics. In this thesis, folktales in Record of the Listener were major examples to illustrate Shamanism in the Song Dynasty. Moreover, this thesis also cites folktales and records from other primary sources. For instance, History of the Song, Qingming Ji, Xu Zi Zhi Tong Jian Chang Bian (A sequel of History as A Mirror) are also important primary sources to research Shamanism in the Song Dynasty. Furthermore, this thesis also focuses on citing views from many secondary sources. Zhong Guo Wu Shu Tong Shi (General History of Shamanism in China) and Song Dai Min Jian Wu Shu Yan Jiu (Research of Shamanism in common-people class in the Song Dynasty) are significant secondary sources in this thesis. This thesis is discussing five parts. Firstly, this thesis examines the importance and uniqueness of Record of the Listener in Shamanism studies in the Song Dynasty. Secondly, it will examine how did the government manage Shamanism in Song Dynasty? This part will mainly discuss how the government would eliminate the temples of Shamanism. What temples would be encouraged by the government? The third part will examine the education system of Shamanism. Then, the thesis will distinguish the relationship between Buddhism, Taoism, and Shamanism. The last part of this thesis will discuss what the functions of Shamanism in the Song society were