On the connection of the cults of historical persons and baojuan storytelling: with Baojuan of the Small King of Thousand Sages of the Changshu area of Jiangsu province as an example

论历史人物崇拜与宝卷讲唱的关系

——以中国江苏省常熟县的《千圣小王宝卷》为例

Rostislav Berezkin 白若思

This paper deals with the connection of baojuan (寶卷, precious scrolls), the texts of popular storytelling of the Changshu 常熟area (Jiangsu province, China), and the cults of deified historical persons in this area, the subject not analyzed anywhere before. The author uses Baojuan of the Small King of Thousand Sages still circulated and performed in the Gangkou 港口area of modern Zhangjiagang 張家港 city and the Shanghu 尚湖area of Changshu city as the main example. It deals with the life and posthumous miracles of the deity who is identified as a son of the famous historical person – Zhang Xun 張巡, and reflects quite complex situation with the cults of Zhang Xun and his son Small King of Thousand Sages that existed in the former Changshu county. Baojuan analyzed in this paper was related to different forms of particular deities: these forms co-existed in this area and often it was the case that different groups of population preferred different ones. The comparison of materials from Baojuan of the Small King of Thousand Sages and other related baojuan texts with the information in local historical sources helps us to re-construct the complex origins of these deities’ cults in Changshu. Furthermore, baojuan presents some valuable materials on the development of these cults, not to be found in other sources; thus it is a valuable material on the religious situation in Changshu.