How many of the four famous officials in history who were called the Kings of Hell after their death do you know?
King Yama, referred to as King Yama, is also called "King Yama", "King Yama", etc. The king of hell is the master of hell, and there are ten kings of hell, so there is a saying of "ten palaces of kings of hell". People in China believe that King Yama can reward good and punish evil, deal with justice and treat others equally. Therefore, King Yama is one of the most influential folk beliefs in ancient China.
In the Tang Dynasty, there was a saying about the Ten Palaces of Yama. These ten palaces, Lord Yama, are respectively in charge of the ten major palaces of the underworld. Legend has it that the Emperor of Heaven canonized King Yama, who commanded the guards of hell and the Five Mountains. After death, after the judgment of King Yama, those who have done good deeds will be reborn as human beings in the next life; those who have committed heinous crimes will fall into the endless hell and be tortured forever. "The king of hell is destined to die at the third watch and will never leave anyone alive until the fifth watch." It just shows that life and death are fateful. It is also rumored among the Chinese people that many upright ministers during their lifetimes became kings of Yama after their death, such as Han Qinhu, Bao Zheng, Kou Zhun, Fan Zhongyan, etc., all of whom were famous ministers of their generation.
Going to the Zhu Kingdom during his lifetime? After his death, Han Qinhu, King of Yama,
In the winter of the eighth year of the founding of the Sui Dynasty (588), the general Han Qinhu led the vanguard to attack the Chen Kingdom. According to official history records, before the fall of the Chen Kingdom, there was a ballad circulating in Jiangdong: "The yellow-spotted green horse comes from Shouyang River. It comes at the end of winter and the spring breeze begins when it leaves." At first, people didn't know what it meant.
It was not until Han Qinhu led his army across the river that people suddenly understood. Han Qinhu's real name was Leopard. During the period of peace and stability, he rode a green horse again. The time of return corresponded to the song, which was in line with the prophecy of the song. Because of his military exploits, Han Qinhu was named Shangzhu Kingdom and Great General.
Not long after Han Qinhu returned to the capital, a woman next door suddenly saw many guards standing in front of the Han family, all of them tall and handsome, just like guarding a king. The woman had never seen such a scene before, and was very surprised. She stepped forward and asked the guard, who said, "I'm here to greet the king." As soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared.
One day not long after, a terminally ill and dying patient suddenly came back to his senses and said he wanted to get out of bed to see someone. The patient came to the Han family and said, "I want to meet the king!" The Han family didn't understand and asked him, "What king are you meeting?" The other party said, "I want to meet King Yama." The Han family was furious when they heard this. They wanted to beat the patient, but Han Qinhu stopped them and said, "It's enough for me to be the Shangzhu Kingdom in my birth and Yama after my death!" A few days later, Han Qinhu died of illness at the age of fifty-five. After the death of the Sui Dynasty general, he became King of Yama, and this spread among the people.
The resolute and upright Bao Zheng of the Song Dynasty
Regarding the topic of King Yama, in folklore, most people are familiar with Bao Zheng of the Song Dynasty. Because Bao Zheng was a famous upright official in the Song Dynasty, he was selfless, fair and honest. In the classic novel "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", it is said that Bao Zheng is a literary star who descended to earth. Bao Zheng can judge the human world by day and the underworld by night. He is a superman who travels between the yin and yang realms.
Because Bao Zheng was a resolute man and handled cases impartially and selflessly, the powerful people in the court were very afraid of him and did not dare to do bad things blatantly. After his death, he became the King of Hell based on his merits in the underworld. This was a legend at the time. "History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Bao Zheng" says: "Children and women also know his name, and they call him Bao Shizhi." The capital's master said: "When the joints are not connected, there is Yama and Bao Lao" (Fan Yanqiao's "Tea and Smoke Break"). Bao Zheng was named the King of Yama, ranking at the head of the ten palaces of Yama.
However, Later, Bao Zheng was transferred from the first hall to the fifth hall and became the fifth hall of Yama. According to records, "In the fifth hall, Bao, the emperor of Yama, was born on the eighth day of the first lunar month. He originally lived in the first hall, but because of his pity, After death, he was repeatedly released to return the sun to the snow, and lowered the tone of this palace. "This means that Yama Bao Zheng of the fifth palace was born on the eighth day of the first lunar month. He was originally the master of the first palace, but later he was transferred because he sympathized with the innocent souls who died and repeatedly released them back to the underworld to clear their grievances. We arrived at the fifth hall.
Kou Zhun, a famous minister in the Northern Song Dynasty
There was another minister in the Song Dynasty, Kou Zhun, who was famous among the people for his uprightness. According to "Yongzhuang Xiaopin", Kou Zhun. His concubine Qian Tao once said to him before she died: "Before, I never dared to say anything for fear of revealing the secret. I'm going to die today, but it doesn't matter. You will be the king of Yama in the future. "
"Hanyuan Famous Talks" also records: "Kou Zhun died, and there was Wang Keqin. When he saw the Duke on the border of Caozhou, he said to his followers: 'Yam Luo is in charge.
'" That is to say, after Kou Zhun's death, a man named Wang Keqin saw Kou Zhun in Caozhou and asked him where he was going. He said: "I will go to King Yama to continue handling political affairs. "It can be seen that he knew that he would be the King of Yama during his lifetime, and he indeed became the King of Yama after his death. This theory may have been circulated during his lifetime, so at that time someone hung an image of Kou Zhun beside the post house, with the words " "Now King of Yama"?
Fan Zhongyan, who was worried about the world beforehand
Fan Zhongyan, a famous official in the Song Dynasty, was a legend during his lifetime, and he also left a legend when he was in the northwest. , once made a raft made of gold to hold the emperor's edicts. Later, the raft was stolen by an old man, and Fan Zhongyan did not hold the other party responsible.
Fan Zhongyan was not only generous. This time, the Fan family has a homestead, and people who are good at understanding the land say that this is a geomantic treasure. If you build a house on the homestead, the descendants of the Fan family will become ministers. Fan Zhongyan said: "If this is true, I will do the same." Don't dare to enjoy it privately. "He donated this land to the officials to build a school, which later became Suzhou Fuxue.
Song Gong Mingzhi recorded in "Zhongwu Jiwen": After the death of Gong Mingzhi's great-grandfather, on May 7th (the day of his death) Thirty-five days later), my great-grandmother dreamed that her great-grandfather came home the night before and hurriedly asked him to open the box of clothes, take out the new clothes and leave. Seeing that he was so anxious, she asked: "What makes you so anxious?" He replied: "Tomorrow I will see Mr. Fan Wenzheng, so I must prepare my clothes early." He asked again: "Why is Mr. Fan in the underworld?" He replied: "The public is a heavenly being, and he is now in charge of the power of life and death." "After waking up, I thought about Shi Shi's book, which said that people die five or seven years ago, and then they met King Yama. How could Wen Zhenggong be smart and upright, so he was an evil official!
From this point of view, Han Qinhu , Bao Zheng, Kou Zhun, and Fan Zhongyan said that they became the kings of Yama after death, and the theory of hell is not based on imagination, but a real existence, and whether you believe it or not is your own choice.
References:
[Tang Dynasty] Wei Zheng: "Book of Sui" Volume 52? Biography No. 17
[Song Dynasty] Gong Mingzhi: "Jiwen of Zhongwu" Volume 5