Journal of Jishou University(Social Sciences Edition) ›› 2024, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (3): 129-137.DOI: 10.13438/j.cnki.jdxb.2024.03.013

• Ethnology and Anthropology Study • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Road and Temple:The Cultural Logic of Spatial Disorder and Order Reconstruction—Based on a Case Study of Villages along National Highway 319 in Jishou

PENG Xiuzhu   

  1. (School of Humanities,Jishou University,Jishou 416000,Hunan China)
  • Online:2024-05-01 Published:2024-06-07

Abstract: The road is not static and fixed;it contains a complex network of action.The risk of spatial disorder is hidden in the modernity constructed by road infrastructure,and temples and related ceremonial activities have become a local strategy to eliminate this risk.The rapid flow of the national highway and other factors lead to the frequent traffic accidents,which gives an "evil" flavor to thepaces with frequent accidents.As a tool to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages,culture is skillfully used to modify the spatial order of villages,and is fully reflected in the relationship between "road" and "temple".The construction of Menggong Temple (Menggong being a god related to road) on the evil places reflects that people are trying to put the uncontrollable contents of modern society into their own familiar cultural context for understanding,presenting a process of interweaving traditional and modern culture.In essence,evil is the feeling experience of coincidence,fear and disorder,and it has ominous,filthy and dangerous cultural meaning;people's control of the behavior of evil places is a manifestation of order reconstruction,and the "road-temple" system contains the cultural logic of the transformation between good and evil,and constructs a set of cultural landscape on the road.

Key words: road, temple, evil place, spatial order, spatial disorder, National Highway 319, village

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