四川蝗灾考述

蝗虫是农作物最大的敌害之一。面对严重的灾情,人们在扑灭无果的情况下,不得不企求于神灵代为消灾,由此形成求神驱蝗的风俗。与蝗灾有关的神的祭祀,主要是八蜡昆虫与刘猛将军之祭（礼）。考诸历史上四川的方志资料,发现许多县份都有蝗神庙的建立,而关于蝗灾的记载却寥寥无几,两者似为相悖,究其原委则在于政府指令修建和禳灾救患的预防心理。

Textual Research of Locust Plagues in Sichuan

Locusts have always been the most dangerous pests to farm crops. Confronted with the severe disasters, and failing to destroy the locusts, people had to turn to gods for help. Therefore, the custom of offering sacrifice to gods for locust elimination is developed. The gods worshipped for preventing and controlling locust disasters are mainly Bala and General Liu Meng. In a research of the Siehuan local records in various historical periods, it is found that temples of locust gods were built in many counties; however, few records were discovered about locust plagues in or around the regions. This seemingly inconsistent phenomenon is explained by the speculation that the construction of the temples was ordered by the local governments or was a reflection of the psychology of the public to prevent disasters by offering sacrifice to gods.