The belief in the flower god has a long history.It rapidly developed after the Ming Dynasty under the influence of economic production and the social environment,and its spiritual attributes and spatial functions were continuously evolving.As a spiri-tual carrier,it influences the changes of flower god temples in the development of the times.Combining research materials such as local chronicles,garden records,and historical images,this study examines the historical evolution of flower god temples and the spatial changes of flower god temples in Shanghai since the Ming Dynasty.It reveals that the flower god temple,from ini-tially only used as a sacrificial space,has flourished under the influence of cotton cultivation.It has since become an important landscape architecture in gardens and transformed into a meeting place for industry associations.These spatial transformations responded to the needs of different eras.As important connectors between town god temples and their affiliated gardens,flower god temples in Shanghai not only bless the flourishing growth of flowers and trees in the gardens through the worship of the flower god but also,with their religious and scenic characteristics,integrate town god temples and their affiliated gardens.This process has facilitated the increasing openness and integration of town god temples into urban life.
flower god beliefflower god templetown god templegarden of city god templeShanghai
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
