Jieling Xu

Jieling Xu

Oct. 01, 2026

Sangyuanwei Polder, Silkworm deity worship, Gratitude to Origins, Cultural logic, Spatial expression.

Why did silkworm farmers in the Sangyuanwei Polder keep worshipping their deities long after the looms had fallen silent? The answer lies in the mulberry-fish ponds that once covered this part of the Pearl River Delta. From the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, sericulture shaped almost every aspect of local life, and with it came a pantheon of silkworm gods. We may ask two questions. First, what cultural logic sustained this worship’s system? Second, how was that logic expressed in space? This study discovered that pantheon through the lens of “Gratitude to Origins” (Baoben Fanshi). Our findings point to a ritual genealogy that stretches back to the Zhou Dynasty. The Xiancan ceremony, the offering to the First Silkworm, was already an established state ritual by then. Its purpose was not to ask for favors. It was to repay a debt. Silkworm farmers in the Sangyuanwei area worshipped Leizu, means the First Silkworm Deity, Matou Niang, means the Horse-Headed Lady, and the Cangu Niangniang, means silkworm Aunts for the same reason. They gave thanks for the knowledge that made their livelihood possible. This worship did not emerge in a vacuum. Between the mid-Ming and late Qing, rice paddies across the Sangyuanwei area were converted into mulberry fields and fish ponds. Sericulture became the economic lifeline of the region. Once that happened, rituals to the silkworm deities were no longer optional. They were woven into the production cycle itself, before rearing, during rearing, after rearing. These practices did more than honor the gods. They calmed anxieties, regulated behavior, and held the community together. In terms of spatial expression, the site selection, architectural forms, and ritual practices of silkworm deity temples not only constitute a material manifestation of the spirit of “Gratitude to Origins,” but also form a cultural space that sustains community identity and cooperative order.

© 2026, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license