Why do people worship Guan Yu?
In China, Wensheng has many King Wenxuan temples dedicated to Confucius. In the past, there were such buildings in various cities. The number of Guan Gong temples in Vu Thang is far more than that of Confucius temples in Wensheng. In the Qing Dynasty, there were 1 16 temples in Beijing alone. And some closed temples are much larger than Confucius temples. Some people say that Guan Yu is a culture; Some people say that Guan Gong is a kind of spirit. Otherwise, why are there so many temples for Guan Gong in China and overseas?
Of all the Guandi Temple buildings in China, five or six are best preserved so far: Guanlin in Luoyang, Henan, Guanling in Dangyang, Hubei, Guandi Temple in Jingzhou, Guandi Temple in Baling Bridge in Xuchang, Henan, Guandi Temple in Changping, Shanxi, Guan Yu's hometown, etc. Among them, the largest and most magnificent is the Guandi Temple in Xiezhou, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, which is known as the first pass in the world.
When overseas Chinese came to the Guandi Temple in Xiezhou, many people shed tears excitedly in the face of the spectacular archway of the main hall: "We finally found the ancestral temple, and this is the real Guandi Temple!"
Jiezhou Guandi Temple was built in the Sui Dynasty and flourished in the Song and Ming Dynasties. Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty was destroyed by a fire in forty-one years, and it took 10 years to recover.
This Guandi Temple is divided into two parts, with Jieyi Garden in the south, surrounded by lush peach forests and blooming in spring, which makes people feel like they are in the scene of Liu, Guan and Zhang Taoyuan becoming sworn. To the north is the main temple, and everything in the temple is built according to the imperial system. After Luomen, after the noon gate, after the imperial library, you arrive at the Chongning Hall.
Chongning Hall is a hall dedicated to Guandi, surrounded by tall and spacious cloisters and 26 finely carved Panlong stone pillars. In China, apart from the Confucius Temple in Qufu, only this Guan Temple can be decorated with dragons.
There is a huge footprint on the slate outside the temple, deeply embedded in the stone. It is said that Guan Gong stepped on it when seeing off the guests, but another footprint was left on Zhongtiao Mountain.
Come out of Chongning Hall and walk back. After the harem, it is the Spring and Autumn Building. Spring and Autumn Building, also known as Lin Jing Pavilion, is surrounded by 108 window sashes, which is said to represent 108 county under Shanxi's jurisdiction.
Guan Shengdi, wearing a dragon robe, was honored as "Bing Yi Gankun" and "the pole of the world" by emperors of past dynasties. He was an ordinary person at first.
Guan Yu, Yun Changchang, lived in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. His ancestral home was in Xiafengcun, Baodi, Xie Xian County, Hedong, which is now Changping Township, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. According to folklore, Guan Yu didn't use Guan at first, because he killed a man and changed his name. That year, Guan Yugang 19 years old. He came to Xiezhou from Lower fengcun, wanted to see the county magistrate, and stated his ambition to serve the country. However, the chief refused to meet him because he was a nobody.
That night, he stayed in the county hotel and heard someone crying next door. Ask, just know that the person crying is called Han Shouyi, and his daughter was seized and ravaged by the bully Lu Xiong in the city. Lv Xiong is a member, colluding with officials and bullying men and women. At that time, because Xiezhou City was close to Yanchi, the groundwater was salty and inedible, and only a few sweet wells were spread all over the city. Lv Xiong asked his men to fill all the sweet wells in the city, leaving only one sweet well in his yard. There is also a rule that only young and beautiful women are allowed to carry water, otherwise they are not allowed to enter. The young woman who came in was either molested by him or raped by him. Everyone hates it, but because of Lu Xiong's deep pockets, no one can do anything. After Han Shouyi's daughter was occupied by Lu Xiong, the old man was so angry that he couldn't breathe and had to cry alone. Guan Yu was furious. He broke into the Lujia family with a sword, killed one family and rescued Han and other good women. After that, he fled to other places overnight. On the way through Tongguan, he was questioned by customs officers. In desperation, he said that his surname was Guan and he would never change it again.
As a young man, he is an eternal star eager for public interest and kindness, helping the poor and helping the people. Since then, he has left a colorful picture for future generations with his extraordinary experience.
The history book "The History of the Three Kingdoms" roughly recorded his life track.
After Guan Yu escaped from the countryside, he went to Zhuoxian County (now Zhuoxian County, Hebei Province). Just as Liu Bei was gathering troops in the village, he and Zhang Fei went to Liu Bei's men. The three of them "did not avoid difficulties and dangers" and "slept together as brothers", sharing life and death, trying to help the decadent Han Dynasty; Liu Bei took refuge in warlord Gongsun Zan and was plain-looking. He appointed Guan Yu as another Sima, divided into three parts with Zhang Fei and followed Liu Bei around. Liu Bei attacked and killed Che Zhou, the secretariat of Xuzhou, and sent Guan Yuling to defend Xuzhou. In the fifth year of Jian 'an (AD 200), Liu Bei was defeated by Yuan Shao and Guan Yu was captured by Cao Cao. Cao Cao was very humble, worshipped as a partial general, and was named the Tinghou of Hanshou. But Guan Yu was in Cao Cao's heart, in the Han Dynasty, "not in Cao Cao"; In order to repay Cao Cao's kindness, he conspired against Ma Qianli, killed Yan Liang and Wen Chou, and lifted the siege of Cao Jun White Horse. Cao Cao loved Guan Yu more and sent Guan Yu's countryman Zhang Liao to persuade him. Guan Yu said; "I know Cao Gong is very kind to me, but I swear to death by Liu Bei and his great kindness that I will never betray him." Cao Cao was very helpless after hearing this. Later, Guan Yu inquired about Liu Bei's whereabouts, bid farewell to Cao Cao, and finally found Liu Bei. After Liu Bei received the counties in the south of the Yangtze River, he worshipped Guan Yu as the prefect and general of Xiangyang, and led the troops stationed in Jiangbei. After Guan Yu went west to Yizhou, he was ordered to guard Jingzhou in the 19th year of Jian 'an (AD 2 14). In the twenty-fourth year of Jian 'an (AD 2 19), Guan Yu besieged Cao Ren, a general of Cao Cao, in Fancheng, but he was captured alive and beheaded. Pound was "submerged by seven armies" and "sublimed in China". At that time, Liu Bei had called the king of Hanzhong, named Guan Yu a former general, and pretended to be "festival"; Cao Jiang, Sima Yi and Jiang Ji discussed that Guan Yu's success was not what Sun Quan wanted. He sent someone to persuade Sun Quan to cut off his back and allow him to cut off the south of the Yangtze River to illustrate the siege of Fancheng. Sun Quan once wanted to marry Guan Yu's daughter for his son. Guan Yu scoffed: "How can a tiger girl match a dog!" Mi Fang rose up against Sun Wu and was defeated in Jingzhou. They were ambushed by Monroe and General Lu Xun. Guan Yu and his son Guan Ping were defeated by Maicheng, and Sun Quan caught them and cursed them. They were killed in Zhang Xiang (now northeast of Dangyang, Hubei Province) and strengthened others.
Guan Yu's life ending is tragic. The collapse of Maicheng made his great wish of "helping Han" go down the drain. "But before his conquest, his death often made heroes cry."
Besides, he was beheaded after his death.
Legend has it that after Guan Yu's death, Sun Quan presented his head to Cao Cao in a wooden box. Cao Cao opened the box to watch and saw Guan Yu's mouth open and his hair and beard spread out, which scared Cao Cao out of his wits. He quickly ordered people to set up a sacrificial ceremony, carved Daphne into a whole, and buried it in Luoyang as a gift from the prince. Scared Cao Cao. This is just an exaggeration of later generations. But after Guan Yu's death, his head was indeed buried in Luoyang, Henan Province, and his body was buried in Dangyang, Hubei Province. Now there is a Guanling in each of the two places. It is widely rumored that Guan Yu "has his head in Luoyang, his body lying in the sun and his soul in Shanxi".
Guan Yu, who came from humble origins, was lucky again. One hundred years after his death, he was pushed to an unprecedented lofty position by the living generation after generation and became an idol admired by the world for thousands of years.
Guan Yu's position before his death was only a general; "Hanshou Hou Ting" is only a "township" treatment. However, after his death, his fame was greatly enhanced, his title was constantly upgraded, and he miraculously crossed the times and history and finally reached the peak.
In the Song Dynasty, Guan Yu, who was unknown for 800 years, was promoted by Song Huizong to three levels: first, he was named "Zhong Gong", then "Zhong", then "King Zhaolie Wu 'an" and "King Wu Yong 'an".
In the Yuan Dynasty, literate Sect named Guan Yu as "the king of Wu 'an".
In the Ming Dynasty, Shintoism named Guan Yu as "the God of Three Realms, the God of Weiyuan Town, the God of Heaven and the Holy Emperor".
He died/kloc-the title of the famous three kingdoms for more than 0/000 years, and was finally awarded by Hou, Gong, Zhenjun and Wang, and he became the "emperor".
Guan Yu's titles reached its peak in Qing Dynasty. Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty gave Guan Yu the longest title: "Loyalty, loyalty, SHEN WOO spirit, benevolence and righteousness, courage and prestige, protecting the country and benefiting the people, sincerely appeasing, praising Xuande and praising Guan Sheng the Great", with 26 words and many beautiful words, surpassing any previous dynasty.
Guan Yu would never have thought that he would get such great glory behind him, and the emperors of past dynasties would give him such a beautiful and lofty national seal; He would not have thought that he not only stepped onto the altar, but also integrated the respect of Shinto and Buddhism.
In addition to the feudal rulers, there are many legends about Guan Yu in later generations, and most of them are positive. After the publication of Luo Guanzhong's immortal masterpiece Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, Guan Yu became a hero and magical figure known to all women and children. What is not recorded in the historical biography is so vivid and touching in these literary descriptions. Three sworn vows in Taoyuan, warm wine beating Hua Xiong, Yan Liang beating Wen Chou, five customs and six generals, going to the meeting with one knife, escorting the Sanjiangkou, releasing Huang Zhong, riding a thousand miles alone, and losing Maicheng. , was compiled into drama, living books, until modern movies, TV series, comics, etc. Guan Gong's image, story and spirit are widely circulated in various literary forms and deeply rooted in people's hearts.
In the historical process of China's drama development, there has been an upsurge of "Three Kingdoms Drama", and there are quite a number of "Three Kingdoms Drama" and "Guan Gong Drama" in many famous dramas. Take Beijing Opera as an example. There are 148 "Three Kingdoms Plays", and there are only 20 about Guan Gong. Take Zhou Pu Bangzi, Guan Yu's hometown, as an example. There are 88 recorded "Three Kingdoms Dramas", of which "Guan Gong Dramas" is 18.
On the stage, Guan Gong's image is a perfect hero, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, long beard and hale and hearty spirit. Even in "Towards Maicheng", he is still a hero, which can be said to be "life is a hero and death is a ghost hero". The famous dramatist Guan Yuan's Zaju "Single Knife Meeting" depicts the heroic spirit through the image of Qiao Gelao.
Three beauties must float on the battlefield,
Shake the body of a nine-foot tiger.
500 packs of Kansai,
The cluster has a living Shinto.
When the enemy saw it, he was scared to death.
Every time you put on more armor,
Every time you wear a few more layers of robes,
You dare to overturn a swift horse,
Hold those three knives!
When performing "Guan Gong Opera", different operas have many different rules and regulations. For example, Zhou Pu Bangzi performed "Guan Gong Opera". When Guan Yu takes the stage at the opening of each session, a piece of yellow paper will be burned at the entrance of the troupe to express his wishes and good luck, hoping that the performance will be successful. When Guan Yu appears on the stage, the actors always close their eyes. It is said that Guan Gong will kill people as soon as he opens his eyes. This kind of attention and rules have been followed for a long time, and the troupe and actors consciously and devoutly abide by them, and dare not break the rules. In some other operas, there are also some stresses, such as the actor who plays Guan Yu taking a bath, burning incense and setting off firecrackers, etc., but they are always respectful and sacred.
For thousands of years, Guan Yu, a perfect image representing the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, has appeared in front of the world after being sealed by rulers of past dynasties and described in operas and literature. "Serve the country faithfully, be kind to others, act with wisdom, make friends with righteousness, and fight with courage." He rose from a "strange man through the ages" to a "god among gods" and became a god of war, a god of wealth, a god of literature and a god of agriculture. He is an all-powerful god, worshipped by rulers and people of past dynasties. China and Japan are overseas, at home and abroad.
Needless to say, the feudal rulers of past dynasties revered Guan Yu, and even Li Zicheng, Zhang, Hong Xiuquan and other peasant uprising leaders worshipped Guan Yu as a hero.
Moreover, in China, Japan, Southeast Asia and overseas Chinese, the worship of Guan Yu is still vivid.
In Taiwan Province Province, with a population of more than 20 million, there are as many as 8 million followers of Guan Gong, and almost every household has set up incense tables, set up memorial tablets and hung icons for Guan Gong. The annual sales volume of Guan Gong's portraits in Taiwan Province Province far exceeds their most revered god Mazu.
The American "Longgang General Association" is a non-governmental organization, whose ancestor is Guan Yu, and there are more than 140 branches all over the world where Chinese live.
Countries in South Asia are competing to build temples to worship Guan Gong, and Thailand is the most prosperous.
In Japan, there was Guandi Temple as early as the Qing Dynasty. A new Guandi Temple was built a few years ago, which is said to be the largest Guandi Temple overseas.
Some of these different classes and social groups are in the same boat, some admire each other, and some have opposing interests, but the worship of Guan Yu is contradictory and convergent, and everything is unified. What is this historical combination of contradiction and unity? What magical power is playing the role of cohesion and assimilation? In the face of Guan Yu's "worship as the sun and the moon, respect as sacred objects", sacrificial temples are all over the world, and temples burn incense everywhere. What makes the value convergence of this super-national, super-national, super-belief, super-era and super-Han cultural circle so?
Mr. David Jordan, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego and a doctor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, once said a very interesting sentence. "I respect you the great god, he deserves the respect of everyone. His benevolence, righteousness, wisdom and courage are still meaningful until now. Benevolence is love, righteousness is credibility, wisdom is culture, and courage is not afraid of difficulties. If all God's people are like you Guan Gong, our world will be a better place. "
The American scholar's words are quite insightful.
After a thorough study of Guan Yu's life story and the glory behind him, we will come to the conclusion that in China, there are Confucius in literature and Gong in martial arts. One article, one martial art, and two saints set each other off, which constitute the main body of China's traditional culture. The difference is that Confucius has only one image, and Guan Yu in front of us is not one image, but three, which is precisely the unity of the three, that is, the trinity of cultural idols.
As a historical figure, he was the head of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu and Han in the Three Kingdoms. He fought in the south and fought in the north, and he was loyal and benevolent, which greatly shocked China. As a typical example of literature and art, he epitomizes China's traditional virtues and becomes a perfect superman without flaws. As a god revered by ordinary people, he is superstitious that he is the all-powerful China God who can subdue demons to protect the country, stop bandits and thieves, and help the people eliminate disasters. Taken together, Guan Yu actually embodies a traditional moral spirit of China.
The first is loyalty. If this spirit is only understood as a stupid loyal gentleman, it will be foolish and ridiculous today when the 20th century is coming to an end. The Chinese nation has been a mighty and loyal martyr for 5,000 years, and it is this spirit that has purified and sublimated the hearts of themselves and others, condensed into an invincible force and promoted the progress of history.
Second, the spirit of faith. Of course, due to the different outlook on life and world, this spirit has different influences on different people. However, correctly understanding, advocating and adhering to this spirit will make it a noble code of conduct in life and become the mainstream of human society.
The third is the spirit of benevolence and wisdom. The essence of this spirit is fraternity and civilization.
Fourth, the spirit of courage, the essence of which is to inspire people to forge ahead, struggle, innovate and explore.
"The sun is like a mirror, and the spring and autumn are just thin clouds", which is the image of Guan 'an.
"Wu Mu first became a god in Dasong, and then Xu Anni became a saint in Shandong and a saint in Shaanxi", which is the great soul of Guan Yu.
"The temple eats it, and the name belongs to women and children", which is Guan Yu's broad cultural spirit.
The loyalty, faithfulness, wisdom, benevolence and courage condensed on Guan Yu and suppressed by the eternal * * * * contains the ethics and ideals of China traditional culture, permeates the essence of Confucianism in the Spring and Autumn Period, and merges with Buddhism and Taoism. Essentially, it is the soul of China people, which shines like the sun and the moon and has a noble atmosphere.