論臺灣「牽亡歌陣」的起源與形成－從傳統喪禮與宗教儀式論起

Qian-wang-ge-zhen (the Soul-guiding Singing Array) is a Taiwanese folk art formation, presented mostly during funeral ceremonies, and as a folk performing activity in the funeral for the mourners and family to show their filial love and affection toward the dead. There are chang-nian (chanting), ge-wu (singing and dancing), xiao-xi (skits), acrobatics combining with ceremonial services, whose functions and meanings include: chao-du (transiting the dead), quan-wang (praying for the dead), kai-lu-guan (leading the dead), and then sending the dead souls to the West (the Sukhavati) peacefully; meanwhile, the mourners and family's concern and affection for the dead could be consoled, and their remembrance and reluctance to part with the dead could also be comforted. Qian-wang-ge-zhen is performed by five artists, including: Hong-tou-fa-shi (Red-head Masters), Wang-yi (or Dao-tui; the psychic), Lao-po (the old lady), Xiao-dan (the young lady) and musicians. Generally, the ritual implements being used are Long-jiao (horns), Di-zhong (bells), Feng-zhi (sacred tablets), Wu-luo (gongs) and Muyu (wooden blocks). The performing items and contents of each troupe could be quite similar since they all have to accommodate themselves to various locales, and they could be divided into four types: Wan-chang (evening ceremonies), Zao-chang (morning ceremonies), Zuo-qi (rites for the deceased for seven seventh days) and Chu-lu-chang (soul-guiding ceremonies). Thus, Qian-wang-ge-zhen is with a double function: a performing art and a funeral ritual, which plays a very important part in the funeral service and folk rituals in Taiwan. There is no consensus about the origin and conformation of Qian-wang-ge-zhen, the important and meaningful performing activity in Taiwanese society. This paper will begin by organizing relevant researches on Qian-wang-ge-zhen in Taiwan, discussing local researchers' ideas of the origin and conformation of Qian-wang-ge-zhen, which emphasizes more on the little traditions of folk literature and art transmission, including various theories on the root of the art, such as perceiving Mainland China as the starting place; the chanting, Xiqu (drama) or Yi-zhen (artistic formations) being transformed into funeral ceremonies, or regarding the Taosit rituals and folk tales as the origin. Later, I will propose my idea of the origin and conformation of Qian-wang-ge-zhen. I believe it has been strongly influenced by the interior spirit of traditional funerals in Chinese culture, apart from inheriting performing elements of little folk traditions. Thus, I will begin by discussing the diachronic etiquette and ceremonies, and then organize the elegies in traditional funerals, including the origin of elegies, the poetic forms and contents of elegies. Also, I will explore further the Nuo ritual, the Ullambana (deliverance) Festival, Jian-wang (the mortuary ritual) in the religious ceremonies, to analyze the records that are similar to Qian-wang-ge-zhen, and then look through the elegies in Xiqu to locate any record with similar forms and contents of Qian-wang- ge-zhen. In conclusion, I'd like to propose that Qian-wang-ge-zhen takes its root from folk beliefs and Taoist funeral etiquette, then combining with Lao-yin-ge which has been derived from Fujian, and has absorbed Taiwanese ballads, Taiwanese opera, and Che-gu Array. The form was originally in the chanting style, but now it has been developed into a combination of religious ceremonies and Che-gu dance gestures mainly, as well as folk dance movements and acrobatics, to make it as a Yi-zhen performance full of singing and dancing. The methods applied in this paper are doing literature reviews and conducting interviews through field investigation, and observing the Qian-wang ritual's contents, performing styles and so on, in order to propose the origin and conformation of Qian-wang-ge-zhen in Taiwan. Hopefully, this paper could be a sufficient reference for researchers in related fields.