招軍請火， 是主辦廟主神奉玉旨後， 於特定時辰前往特定地點， 以孤魂厲鬼為對象， 將其收為麾下神兵編入五營、同時恭請五方真炁的儀式， 不僅為主神補充兵將、增添靈炁， 也提供了孤魂厲鬼一個可以晉升成神兵的機會， 替人間信眾戍守村落， 打造一個安定的生活境域， 傳達出漢人社會對於神、鬼、人、兵將四者之需求及相互連動之另一層的思考面向。筆者以田野實查記錄多場招軍請火儀式， 以此探究在神明信仰的範疇裡， 兵將於其中所扮演的重要角色，亦藉由儀式的進行， 理解兵將的來源及其背後意涵， 所反映出與主神權之威建立的互動關係。另從厲鬼所變之兵將、及神明向祖廟進香刈火乞得之兵將兩者之象徵， 詮釋封建制度存留至今的民間觀念在信仰儀式中的重現與重視， 並從兩者在信仰脈絡中所扮演的不同角色與功能作切入， 於此基礎之上分析彼此於民間社會中如何與神搭配、相互合作， 建構出符合信眾需求之生活境域， 並呈現出另一套潛藏在信眾心理的神權世界中的民主淘汰機制。 Conscription and incense-fire is a kind of folk ritual. The hosting temple’s gods are in the name of Jade Emperor’s decree, taking division of spiritual power and ghost as their targets to rein as heaven army under gods’ command at specific time and location. The process of ritual not only increases army for primary gods, and also provides a chance for these ghosts without sacrifice to become heaven army. This ritual also provides a tranquil life for human world adherents, and provides another Han-Chinese Society’s thinking aspect toward stake and linked relations among gods, ghost, man and “Army of gods”. By fieldwork survey, I noted several conscription and incensefire rituals in detail, to study heaven army’s roles under the category of gods’ belief and the influence which projects feudal institution that deeply rooted in civil society. The meaning behind the ritual reflects the authority of primary gods’ belief and its linked relations. Besides, between a primary god and its conscripted soldiers, and the demand and necessity of making a pilgrimage and division of incense fire in ancestral temple, I am going to interpret conceptual ancient feudal institution which is kept in the civil society until now, and the reappearance as well as emphasis in belief ritual. Based on different roles and functions in belief context of ancestral temple’s soldiers and the transformation from division of spiritual power and ghost into heaven army, I analyze the civil social cooperation pattern among local adherents and establish a life boundary that meets up with adherents’ needs, and showing the mechanism for democratic elimination in the world of theocracy, which hidden in the believer’s mind.
