What exactly is feudal superstition?

Superstition refers to human's worship and belief in supernatural power, which is an illusory and distorted response to the objective world. It is in the case of low productivity and underdeveloped technology that people can't explain many natural phenomena for the time being, so they think that there are "gods", "buddhas" and "ghosts and gods" who dominate people's destiny outside the world. On this basis, there are two kinds of people's misconceptions which are manifestations of ignorance and backwardness.

The main reasons why people engage in superstitious activities are:

1. In an attempt to eliminate disasters and solve problems for relatives, turn evil into good fortune and bring good luck by praying to God, worshipping Buddha, burning incense and kowtowing and exorcism.

2. get rid of troubles. Some people become disheartened, pessimistic and desperate after being hit by a major mental shock in real life, so they want to escape from reality. For example, some people become nuns or monks after falling in love.

3. Psychological comfort. Some people try to make up for some irreparable mistakes through superstitious activities and seek spiritual comfort. Its outstanding performance, such as doing Dojo, asking the mage to mourn the deceased and regretting the poor care of the deceased before his death.

Types and manifestations of superstitious activities;

1. Traditional secular superstition. I believe that certain activities, ceremonies, people, natural phenomena and dates will bring good luck, and try to avoid certain people and phenomena. For example, many areas believe that something good will happen when you hear the voice of a magpie. Therefore, when you hear a magpie chirping in front of your house, you are filled with joy, while when you hear a crow or an owl chirping, it is considered as a sign of evil, and you are generally considered to be dying and feel uneasy; Western countries think "13" is an unlucky number, while some areas in China think "36+03" is unlucky. 36 years old is a "stutter" in life, and it is also a year full of troubles. Therefore, when celebrating his 36th birthday, relatives and friends will come to celebrate and help him spend the year smoothly. Although many people know that these practices are meaningless, they hold the attitude of "believing what they have, not believing what they have".

Ghosts and gods are superstitious. It is believed that there are gods and monsters in the world, or that creatures have supernatural "souls" or gods, and have the ability to control natural phenomena (wind, rain, lightning, drought and flood) and human birth, aging, illness and death. For example, some people think they are possessed by demons when they are sick or frightened. Instead of going to see a doctor, they invited wizards and witches to ward off evil spirits. Some people think that there are mountain gods in the mountains and river gods in the rivers. In order to keep the good weather, they should worship regularly every year. If you encounter drought or flood, you will offend the gods and the dragon prince, make them angry, and punish people.

3. Superstition about human function. Based on individual accidental phenomena, it is believed that some people have magical functions beyond nature, such as believing in the "late L prophet" of Qigong master, being able to predict floods and earthquakes, and predicting the future of others.

4. Particularly superstitious activities. That is, fortune telling (including counting "eight characters", measuring words, asking divination, etc.). ), physiognomy (including palm reading and face reading), feng shui. These superstitious activities spread widely in China, not only in backward rural areas, but also in bustling urban centers. It is often seen that fortune tellers who read horoscopes, visit fortune-tellers and draw lottery tickets are explaining good fortune and bad fortune to people, and the listeners are absorbed and frightened. Professional superstitious workers engaged in such superstitious activities generally have some common characteristics: ① mild mental or physical abnormalities, such as epilepsy and blindness; High sensitivity, strong suggestibility, strong judgment and adaptability, able to observe the forehead and color, and generally can accurately feel the customer's psychology; (3) articulate, expressive, attractive and persuasive; Have a good mood and be able to control other people's emotional activities.