原文

予尝于南海祠书额曰"南海之帝"。盖以家语云：水、火、木、金、土，是为五帝。又庄生云：南海之帝为倏故也。南海之帝实祝融，祝融，火帝也，帝于南岳，又帝于南海者。石氏《星经》云：南方赤帝，其精朱鸟，为七宿，司夏，司火，司南岳，司南海，司南方是也。司火而兼司水，盖天地之道，火之本在水，水足于中，而后火生于外，火非水无以为命，水非火无以为性，水与火分而不分，故祝融兼为水火之帝也。其都南岳，故南岳主峰名祝融。其离宫在扶胥，故昌黎云，南海阴墟，祝融之宅，海在南而离宫在北，故曰阴墟也。体阴而用阳天之道，故以阴为宅也。四海以南为尊，以天之阳在焉，故祝融神次最贵，在北东西三帝、河伯之上。

祝融，赤帝也。《淮南子》云：南方之极，自北户之界至炎风之野，赤帝祝融之所司是也。《正义》云：赤帝，南方赤熛怒之神。赤熛怒者，火赫赫炎炎之象。火者南人之命，南人之事赤帝，盖事火也，事火者事其命也。岁之冬日，必为火清之醮以答神庥，龙车冕服，极其珍丽为之，所在皆然。

白话

中文

我（屈大均）曾经在南海神祠题写匾额，称其为“南海之帝”。这是因为《孔子家语》中说：水神、火神、木神、金神、土神，合称五帝。另外《庄子》中也提到：南海的天帝名叫“倏”。（我认为）南海的天帝其实就是祝融，祝融也就是火神，他既是南岳衡山的主宰，也是南海的主宰。石氏的《星经》说：南方的赤帝，他的精华是朱鸟星象，主管着南方七宿、夏季、火、南岳衡山、南海以及整个南方。他主管火，同时也兼管水，大概是因为天地的规律是，火的根本在于水，内部的水充足了，火才能在外部生成；火没有水就不能存在，水没有火就不能显现其特性；水与火看似分离却又密不可分，所以祝融同时是水神和火神。他的首都在南岳衡山，所以南岳的主峰名叫祝融峰。他的行宫（离宫）在扶胥（今广州黄埔南海神庙所在地），所以韩愈（昌黎）说，南海北岸（阴墟）是祝融的居所。海在南边而行宫在北边，所以称为“阴墟”。这体现了以阴为体、以阳为用的自然之道，所以用属阴的方位作为居所。四海之中以南海最为尊贵，因为天的阳气在那里，所以祝融的神格地位最高，在北帝、东帝、西帝以及河伯之上。

祝融，就是赤帝。《淮南子》说：南方的极远之地，从北户的边界到炎风的原野，都是赤帝祝融所管辖的范围。《正义》（对古籍的注解）说：赤帝，就是南方名叫“赤熛怒”的神。“赤熛怒”是形容火势熊熊燃烧、炽热无比的样子。火是南方人的生命根本，南方人侍奉赤帝，其实就是侍奉火，侍奉火也就是侍奉自己的生命本源。每年冬天，人们必定会举行“火清之醮”（一种道教洁净火神的仪式）来报答神明的庇佑，仪式中使用的龙车、礼冠、服饰都极其珍贵华丽，各地都是如此。

英文

I (Qu Dajun) once inscribed a plaque at the South Sea Shrine, calling the deity the "Emperor of the South Sea." This is based on the Kongzi Jiayu (Confucius' Family Sayings), which states: the spirits of Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth are the Five Emperors. Furthermore, the Zhuangzi mentions: the Emperor of the South Sea is named "Shu." (In my view) the Emperor of the South Sea is actually Zhurong. Zhurong is the Fire Emperor; he presides over Mount Heng (Southern Peak) and also over the South Sea. Shi's Xing Jing (Star Classic) says: The Red Emperor of the South, whose essence is the Vermilion Bird asterism, governs the Seven Southern Constellations, summer, fire, Mount Heng, the South Sea, and the entire South. He governs fire and concurrently governs water, likely because the principle of Heaven and Earth dictates that the root of fire lies in water. Only when water is sufficient internally can fire be generated externally; fire cannot exist without water, and water cannot manifest its nature without fire. Water and fire seem separate yet are inseparable, thus Zhurong is concurrently the Emperor of both Water and Fire. His capital is Mount Heng, hence the main peak of the Southern Peak is named Zhurong Peak. His detached palace (ligong) is in Fuxu (location of the present-day Nanhai God Temple in Huangpu, Guangzhou). Therefore, Han Yu (Changli) said that the northern shore of the South Sea (yinxu) is Zhurong's dwelling. The sea is to the south, and the detached palace is to the north, hence it is called "yinxu" (yin shore). This embodies the natural Dao of using yin as the body and yang as the function, thus using a yin-aspected location as the dwelling. Among the Four Seas, the South Sea is the most revered because the yang qi of Heaven resides there. Consequently, Zhurong's divine rank is the highest, above the Emperors of the North, East, West, and the River Earl (He Bo).

Zhurong is the Red Emperor. The Huainanzi states: The extreme south, from the border of Beihu to the plains of Yanfeng, is the domain governed by the Red Emperor Zhurong. The Zhengyi (commentary on classics) says: The Red Emperor is the southern god named "Chi Biao Nu." "Chi Biao Nu" describes the appearance of fire blazing fiercely and intensely hot. Fire is the lifeblood of Southerners. When Southerners serve the Red Emperor, they are essentially serving fire; serving fire means serving their own source of life. Every winter, people invariably perform the "Fire Purification Jiao" (a Daoist ceremony to purify and honor the fire god) to repay the deity's blessings. The dragon chariots, ceremonial crowns, and robes used in the ceremony are extremely precious and magnificent, and this practice is common everywhere.

文化解读/分析

此条目阐释了南海神（南海之帝）的身份及其在岭南文化信仰体系中的崇高地位。屈大均通过引经据典，将南海之帝与中国古代神话中的火神祝融、南方赤帝联系起来，并融入了五行、阴阳、天文星宿等宇宙观。

1. 神格的融合与确立：屈大均将南海之帝明确为祝融（赤帝），这不仅提升了南海神的神格，也将其纳入了更宏大的中华神话体系。他论证祝融兼司水火，巧妙地解释了火神掌管南海的合理性，体现了中国传统文化中对看似矛盾事物进行调和统一的哲学思想。
2. 地理与信仰的结合：将南岳衡山（祝融主峰）与南海（扶胥离宫）联系起来，构建了祝融神的信仰地理空间。韩愈所言“南海阴墟，祝融之宅”更强化了南海神庙（位于广州黄埔扶胥）作为祝融祭祀中心的正统性。
3. 南方文化特性：强调“火者南人之命”，将对火神（赤帝）的崇拜与南方地域特性、南方人的生存根本联系起来，深刻揭示了火在古代岭南社会生产、生活中的重要性以及由此产生的自然崇拜。
4. 祭祀仪式的体现：记述了岁末举行的“火清之醮”仪式，反映了民众通过隆重、华丽的祭典来表达对神祇的敬畏和感恩，是岭南地区重要的岁时民俗活动，体现了神祇信仰在社会生活中的实际功能和影响力。
5. 文化地位：论证南海神（祝融）在四海诸神中地位最尊，源于南方在古代宇宙观中属阳、属火的重要方位，反映了以中原为中心的文化体系对边疆地域神祇的吸纳与排序。

总而言之，该条目不仅是对南海之帝身份的考证，更是对岭南地区独特信仰、宇宙观念、民俗实践及其与中华主流文化交融的生动记录和解读，具有重要的民俗学和文化史价值。

关键词

南海之帝, 祝融, 赤帝, 南海神, 南海神庙, 扶胥, 火神, 五帝, 广东, 岭南, 民俗, 信仰, 神话, 屈大均, 广东新语, 南岳, 韩愈, 火清之醮, 阴阳, 五行