What does Mount Tai Shi Gandang mean?

Small stone tablets (or small stone figures) stand on the bridge road or build by laying bricks or stones on the walls of houses, engraved with (or engraved with) "Shi Gandang" or "Mount Tai Shi Gandang" and so on. To suppress ominous customs, which is very popular among the people.

The written record of "Shi Gandang" was first seen in the "Jizhang" of the Western Han Dynasty history tour: "Learn from the tiger, Shi Gandang, and the dragon will not invade." Yan Shigu's note: "Wei has paraffin, stone, stone evil, and Zheng has stone, all of which are stones;" Zhou has a stone speed, a stone in the same place, and then lives in the house. Dare to be invincible. "Yan believes that history is a surname and dares to be invincible. Tao quoted JiZhang and Yan's note in the article Shi Gandang, Volume 17 of the Record of Dropping out of Farming in Nancun, and totally agreed with Yan's statement. Yan Shigu's explanation of Shi Gandang is not satisfactory. As we know, The Urgent Chapter was a children's enlightenment literacy book at that time. According to Yan's note, Shi Gan is the man named Shi Invincible. Unless the man named Shi was famous at that time, it was difficult for children to accept what he said and for teachers to explain it clearly. Deng Erya, a modern scholar, pointed out: We searched ancient books, but we didn't find the famous invincible hero Shi Moumou before the Han Dynasty. Shi Gandang. There is no so-called "urgent chapter", and later generations think it is a metaphor of Shi Gandang. " (Folklore 4 1-42) Li Zong. Comrade Liu Quner also thinks: "There is a saying in the Urgent Chapter of the Western Han History Tour: Learn from the tiger as a teacher, Shi Gandang, if you don't invade, you will miss the dragon. Yan Shigu thought that the teacher was a surname and dared to be invincible. The speaker said that the Shi Gandang Monument is an invincible writing. In town, it's a bit unsatisfactory, but it's still not finished. There are many such sayings in the old saying, so why choose it here (China folk god).

Another way of saying it is: Shi Gandang was considered a warrior in the Han Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. Chen Duanru, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in the Book of Broken Groups: "In the Five Dynasties of Liu Zhiyuan, there was a warrior named Shi Gandang who admired the name of the ancients." ? Is Yang a human being? "The surname Yuan Zhuji" also said that "in the Five Dynasties, Liu Zhiyuan was the official of Jinzu, the king of Lu opposed Ke, the emperor went out and met Weizhou. Zhiyuan sent Lux Shi Gandang to serve with an iron mallet. After consulting with Yu, Zhiyuan pursued the victory and Shi Gandang died. Zhiyuan killed the emperor and burned the national seal. Shi Gandang turned adversity into prosperity and saved the day. Therefore, the descendants of Chongqiao Road must stone their ambitions and write their surnames to defend the residents. "

We believe that the Shi Gandang stone tablet has nothing to do with Shi Gan, a warrior of the Five Dynasties, for two reasons:

(a) through the old and new "History of the Five Dynasties", it is found that those who are famous for Shi Gandang but unknown to Shi Gandang did not take the brave Shi Gandang as Shi Gandang's written record. According to the Record of the Old Five Dynasties History of Gaozu, "I should obey it, and the town of Gaozu in Jin Dynasty is Changshan. Tang Fengzhao went to Que, met Emperor Min on the way, and drove into Weizhou and stopped at the post office. Ming Chengzu murdered Jin Gaozu, and Ming Chengzu sent an imperial scholar Shi Gan to stand behind Jin Gaozu. But change, dare to hold high-impedance into the room, with giant wooden doors, dare to die. The emperor led the people to kill Emperor Min, so as to avoid the hardship of Jin Gaozu. " According to "History of the New Five Dynasties: Ten Minutes in Han Dynasty", "The King of Lu rebelled against Ke, the Emperor went out, and the Emperor Gaozu went to Beijing. When I met the emperor in Weizhou, I stopped spreading it. Zhiyuan sent samurai Shi to serve Gaozu with an iron mallet to avoid change. The discussion between Gaozu and Yudi is undecided, and the left and right want to fight. Zhiyuan is holding his ancestors in the room, dare to fight around and dare to die. Zhiyuan led the troops to kill the emperor and left him. " Although there are some differences between the old and the new History of the Five Dynasties, it is consistent that the samurai is Shi Gan, not Shi Gandang.

(2) Shi Gandang once saw in the "Urgent Chapter" of A Journey to the History of the Western Han Dynasty that the inscription "Shi Gandang" was unearthed in Putian County in the Tang Dynasty for five years. Accordingly, Shi Gandang was earlier than the history of the Five Dynasties samurai. Zhai Hao, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, also clearly pointed out in the popular compilation that Shi Gandang had nothing to do with Shi Gan in the Five Dynasties: "According to the History of the Five Dynasties, Liu Zhiyuan was a great official in the Jin Dynasty, and his great-grandfather met Tang Gaozu, so Zhiyuan made Shi Gan, a warrior, serve his great-grandfather in danger, saying that he planted stones to carve this, and it was immediately in the calendar."

The third argument is that "Mount Shi Gandang" is a "doctor" (that is, a doctor). Volume 10 of Notes of Tea Fragrant Room records: "Wang Shizhen was from Wang Yuyang in the Dynasty", while Miscellaneous Notes of Fu Yuting said that Qilu customs were more than villages and lanes, and the words "Mount Tai and Shi Gandang" were engraved, which made the clouds treat people at night. People in the north call doctors doctors, so they are also called Dr. Shi. There are five words in the south, but there is no distinction between doctors and doctors. "From this passage alone, we can know that the statement that Mount Tai Shi Gandang is a doctor is not widely circulated, only in the north, but not in the south and central China. Why did Mount Tai Shi Gandang spread as a doctor in the north? Investigating its origin is a long-term interpretation of Shi Gandang's ability to subdue evil spirits. When Shi Gandang on Mount Tai was said to be able to cure diseases, I'm afraid no one was picky about whether he was a man or a god or something. Otherwise, why can he talk about "treating diseases at night" instead of practicing medicine during the day?

According to literature review and investigation in Tai 'an, stone is mostly used in carving (writing) "Shi Gandang" (or "Taishan Shi Gandang"), but few people use other materials. 1988, the inscription "Taishan Shi Gandang" or "Taishan Town House" was found at 12 in Feicheng County. Except for two new houses, 10 is carved in stone. What is the basic function of "Shi Gandang" and other languages in stone carving? For example, Shi Mingyun, a five-year Tang Dali unearthed in Putian County, said, "Shi Gandang is a town full of ghosts and gods and hates disasters". Other functions are extensions or romances of this basic function. The word "Shi Gandang" contains the word "stone", which Shi Gandang carved on the stone to suppress evil spirits. There is no internal connection from its deep connotation. Wang Zongyan's article "Shi Gandang" says: "A book on the wall in Huainan" says, "A marble is in the four corners of a house, so ghosts can't hurt it", and Geng Xin's "Small Garden Fu" says that "the town house is buried with stones". Wu notes "The Chronicle of Jingchu":' Dig the corner of the house at dusk in December and bury big stones for the town house. "(86-89" Folk Custom "). Mr. Wang Chengzhu thinks that this may be the origin of Shi Gandang. At the same time, Mr. Wang also pointed out: "As far as the meaning of the word Shi Gandang is concerned, building stones can bear the brunt. Therefore, the town is located in Rushe and in front of the entrance of Wall Street. " (China Folk Immortals) Li Zong and Liu Quner thought that Wang Chengzhu's opinion was "quite reasonable" and further pointed out: "Song Faxian's Tang Dynasty inscription (referring to Putian inscription) is not like a small stone tablet in later generations, but buried under the foundation of the house, which is quite similar to the stone introduced into the town house. In fact, this is the legacy of ancient spiritual worship. Stones are regarded as spiritual objects, and the magical power to ward off evil spirits is buried under the house. Later, I borrowed the word "Shi Gandang" to strengthen my prestige. Even if it is simplified into a modern small stone tablet, the small stone man can be regarded as the spirit of evil spirits. " (China folk gods) Li Zong and Liu Qun thought that Shi Gandang was "the legacy of ancient spiritual worship", which was insightful, but they did not discuss it.

Lingshi worship is a very primitive and popular religious custom, which was formed in prehistoric society, and class society has its own customs. The worship of lingshi is related to the worship of heaven, earth, mountains and rivers, ancestors and descendants, as well as the aversion to evil spirits and disasters. Here we only discuss the worship of Lingshi, which has a certain relationship with "Shi Gandang" and has the function of avoiding evil spirits and hating disasters. Animism is the initial stage of the development of primitive religious thought. Some rocks have peculiar shapes, colors or special geographical environment, which may have been endowed with spirituality by the ancients. Locals in Taiwan Province Province call the sacred stone "Shi Gong" and regard it as a thing to protect the good fortune and ward off evil spirits. In the Qiang area of our country, the worship of white stone is prevalent. About the origin of white stone worship, the legend of Qiang people: the ancient Qiang people fought with Geji people, but they couldn't win. At that time, in a dream, the Qiang people were instructed to use Baishi as a weapon to defeat the Geji people. Qiang people really succeeded. But I don't know what image this person is, so I replaced it with a white stone to worship. In rural areas of Africa and Nigeria, people use food to offer sacred stones to treat diseases. There is a sacred stone in New Guinea. The natives think that there are elves in the stone, which affects the circulation of other things. If you put it in the garden, you can increase the harvest. The above materials are all folklore materials. As far as archaeological materials are concerned, there are also many examples. In the Qin cultural cemetery in Yongjing, Gansu, there are many stones buried with them. Stones are large and small, mostly white. These stones were placed on the sides of the dead person's head or body, while others surrounded the dead person. Regardless of men, women and children, regardless of burial style, most of them are buried with stones, ranging from five or six pieces to 105. Prehistoric tombs in Nanning, Guangxi, such as many tombs in Xijin and Changtang, are popular to be buried with one or two unprocessed flaky stones, most of which are placed on the heads of the deceased, and some tombs are surrounded by stones around human bones. 1945 In the spring, Mr. Xia Nai excavated two tombs in Siwa, Lintao, Gansu Province, both of which were buried with large gravel. In addition, some prehistoric tombs at Dadunzi site in Yuanmou, Yunnan, and some tombs at Daxi cultural site in Wushan, Sichuan were also buried with stones. It is worth pointing out that in prehistoric tombs or in the same tomb area, there are always a few people buried with stones, indicating that the owner of the tomb is likely to die abnormally, and the stone buried with stones in the tomb is likely to be lingshi, in order to drive away evil spirits in the tomb with lingshi and prevent the deceased from becoming a spectre. Let's go back to the discussion in Shi Gandang. In the "urgent chapter" of the history tour of the Western Han Dynasty, there is the language of "Shi Gan's pawn", and Tang Yan's stone drum is annotated. It has been pointed out by predecessors that it is inappropriate to strictly note "teacher" as surname. The real meaning of Shi Gandang should be interpreted as "a stone can be washed away if it is covered". In other words, stones can ward off evil spirits and hate disasters. Shi Gandang's custom of avoiding evil spirits and hating disasters can also be found in the Customs written by Ying Shao in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "There is a stone man standing on the head of Peng's tomb in Ruyang, Henan Province, behind the stone beast. Mother Tian went to the market to buy bait, and she was exhausted from the heat. The stone man came down from the small coffin and left a bait. She suddenly didn't realize it. " This matter was widely rumored by passers-by, saying that "the more a stone man can cure a disease, the more grateful he is." He also said that "those who have a headache rub their heads, those who have abdominal pain rub their stomachs" and "those who heal themselves because of words", so the stone man in front of the tomb is respected as a "wise man". Obviously, this is an example that people regard the stone man as a symbol of avoiding evil spirits and treating diseases. Incidentally, there are two monuments in the courtyard of Bi Xia Temple on the top of Mount Tai, commonly known as the Imperial Monument, which have always used coins to prevent diseases. The person who rubbed the imperial tablet read aloud: "When you rub the imperial tablet, you won't get sick." This custom is similar to that described above. During the Qing Dynasty in Song Renzong, Shi Mingyun, who was unearthed in Putian County in the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty (AD 770), said: "Shi Gandang, a ghost disaster in the town, is blessed by the officials, the people are well-being, the wind is prosperous, and the ceremony is prosperous." This inscription was originally buried under the house, and its meaning of the town house is self-evident. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the use of "Shi Gandang" (or "Taishan Shi Gandang") as a town house or town lane was quite prosperous. "Popular Compilation" quoted "Chasing the Ancient Compilation" as saying: "Wu Min Lushe, when you meet the street, you must set up a stone man or plant a piece of stone and carve Shi Gandang as the town." Yuan Mei's Essays on the Garden also said: "Carving the present customs is a tired victory, and planting a stone in Lujia is called' Shi Gandang'." In the 1920s, Mr. Deng Erya investigated: "There are Shi Gandang stone carvings on Mount Tai everywhere in Guangdong. Generally speaking, there are ghosts on the land or residents in the Buddha think that the situation is good and use this as a threat. Most of the information quoted above belongs to the south, but so does the north. In the previous article, Wang Yuyang Ren Shan (Wang Shizhen) in the Qing Dynasty said that "the custom of Qilu is to set a stone in the corner of the village and carve Mount Tai and Shi Gandang", which can be proved. A strange rock was found in Dige, Zaozhuang City. It is red, 1. 1m in height, 0.65 m in width and 0.35 m in thickness, engraved with the words "Demon in Town House, Two Years in Qin Long". Qin Long is the official name of the Ming Muzong after Zhu Zaiyu, while Qin Long was 1568 in the second year. A small stone tablet named "Stone House in Taishan Town" was also found in Zhang Miao Village, Feicheng County. At this point, we can draw the following conclusions: Shi Gandang's custom is the relic of ancient sacrificial stone, and its function, no matter where it is, is mainly to ward off evil spirits and hate disasters.

Perhaps readers have noticed that the materials cited above include Shi Gandang and Shi Gandang on Mount Tai, while the earlier materials only talked about Shi Gandang without talking about Shi Gandang on Mount Tai, as well as Shi Gandang and Shi Gandang on Mount Tai, while the earlier materials only talked about Shi Gandang without talking about it. So when did "Taishan Shi Gandang" appear and become popular? What is the relationship between "Shi Gandang Mountain" and "Shi Gandang"? A folk story collected by Mr. Deng Erya tells: It is said that during the reign of Kangxi, the Middle East Gallery of the general's residence faced the floating map, which was unfavorable to the residents. Out of Jiangxi, I was tired of going to Longhu Mountain and asking Zhang Zhenren to win the battle, so I sat down with a monk in ochre clothes and sat in Yingxi. The real person pointed out that the general said, "Pray for this teacher." Because of worship. The Taoist said, "This house is very detailed, which is the luck of the big town." Big book "Taishan Shi Gandang" five words. With a pure Yoko book. The general was surprised and lost his position as a Taoist priest. The real person said: "Today, the pure Yang teacher is on duty in the temple, and the public is lucky to meet him." Therefore, I was sent to the south. Xerox Dong Lang has a word diameter of more than 10,000 feet. See salty, refers to the discrepancy between chu.

Guangdong xuwen county folklore provided by Li Zong and Comrade Liu Qun said:

During the Kangxi period, several county magistrates arrived in the county for a few days and died in the office. Huang knew about it and took a Mr. Feng Shui with him. Mr. Zhang found that the shadow of a pagoda in this county was falling on the seat of the county grandfather, and all the officials died because they could not bear the pressure of the pagoda. So, a stone tablet was erected in front of the county government, engraved with the words "Mount Tai Shi Gandang", saying that the power of Mount Tai can rival the pagoda. Nothing happened after that. Although these two folk stories are different in narration, they have some similarities: First, the stories both took place in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and second, the stories were set in Shi Gandang, Mount Tai. Wang Shizhen (1634-1711) also talked about "Mount Tai and Shi Gandang". Accordingly, "Taishan Shi Gandang" was popular in the early Qing Dynasty, and its appearance time may be earlier than that of the Ming Dynasty. Shi Gandang added Mount Tai to the front, with the intention of increasing his prestige through the power of Mount Tai. The word "Tai" on Mount Tai was called "Tai" in ancient times, that is, "Da". In a broad sense, Mount Tai is a big mountain, which can suppress evil spirits. Common in ancient myths and legends. For example, the Monkey King (the Monkey King) in The Journey to the West was once pressed by the Tathagata under the Five Elements Mountain for 500 years. In a narrow sense, Mount Tai refers to Mount Tai in Tai 'an today. Mount Tai is towering and straight, and it is a sacred mountain for emperors to close their shrines. Liu Che, Emperor of the Han Dynasty, praised Mount Tai as "high, extreme, big, special, strong, heroic, fearful and confusing". Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, called Taishan "the root plate of Qilu Xi, and I don't know its thousands of miles; Soaring into the sky, I don't know thousands of miles. "The power of Mount Tai is endless. It goes without saying that it is not difficult to understand that Mount Tai should be added before Shi Gandang, who avoids evil spirits and hates disasters, to increase its power.

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, until today, there are many folk stories and legends about Shi Gandang (or Shi Gandang on Mount Tai). Besides one collected by Mr. Deng Erya and one provided by Comrade Li Zong and Liu Qun, there are more than a dozen such folk stories and legends in our hands, all of which have been published in recent years, namely, Taishan Story (Legend), Taishan Folk Story Grand View, Taishan Story (Folk Story) and Taishan Legend.

The above-mentioned two folk stories and legends about Mount Tai Shi Gandang collected by Mr. Deng Erya and provided by Li Zong and Comrade Liu Qun are based on the fact that Shi Gandang is a "stone". Although its popularity was not early (early Qing Dynasty) and its popular area was not extensive, as far as the deep connotation of these two folk stories and legends is concerned, their source is the legacy of ancient Lingshi worship-the development of Shi Gan's evil meaning. The stone carvings unearthed in Putian County, especially the words "Shi Gandang is full of ghosts and hates disasters", have an important influence on the formation of this kind of folklore, which can also be said to be true and credible. The other kind is folk stories and legends about the types of exorcism and treatment, with the basic starting point of "human" as the release of dry. Two articles on "exorcism" in Grand View, one article on exorcism (a variant of treating evil spirits) and the legendary Shi Gandang legend can all be classified into this category. This kind of folk stories and legends are mostly about Shi Gandang, who is brave and treats people who are haunted by ghosts and demons. Obviously, it is related to the northerners who called Shi Gandang "Dr. Shi" by Wang Shizhen in Qing Dynasty. Although this kind of folk story treats Shi Gandang as a human being, the deep connotation of the story has something to do with Shi Gandang's worship as a spiritual stone, which has the function of restraining evil and driving away disasters.

The third category is the folktales and legends of Shi Gan, a warrior of the Five Dynasties, who became attached to Shi Gandang. Such as Shi Gandang (including scenery) edited by Gu Yue and Shi Gandang (including legend) edited by Lu Yue. Shi Gandang on Mount Tai (containing folk stories) edited by Bao Jun and Qiu Shui said that Shi Gandang was originally named "Shigang" and posthumous title "Shi Gandang". Obviously, Shi Gang is a transliteration of Shi Gan in the Five Dynasties. Such folktales and legends all say that Shi Gandang is heroic and invincible, and he is good at eliminating violence. Many people think that Shi Gandan is related to Shi Gan, a warrior of the Five Dynasties. The Records of Mount Tai edited by Jin Mao in Qing Dynasty also said: "Shi Gandang was a warrior of the Five Dynasties ... He served Gaozu with an iron mallet on his sleeve. When things changed, he died fighting from left to right. To avoid the evil spirits in the collection of house classics, it was named Shi Gan Dang Er. " Although Shi Dare to be and Shi Gan are two different things, there is a certain connection between Shi Dare to be equal to everything and Shi Dare to be invincible.

The fourth kind of folk story about Mount Tai Shi Gandang, one is that Mount Tai and Shi Gandang are close friends, and the other is that Emperor Taizong was sealed by Mount Tai (see Grand View). According to the theory of girlfriends, Taishan and Shi Gandang used to be friends of classmates. Taishan has a rich family, studied hard and was admitted. And Shi Gandang not only failed to pass the exam, but was reduced to "living a wandering life alone". On one occasion, Shi Gandang went to Taishan Mansion to beg, and was detained by Taishan Mansion, and he always treated him with courtesy. A few years later, Taishan went on a business trip and didn't return for half a year. Shi Gandang has a high self-esteem and thinks he has lived a long time. Taishan deliberately hid and disappeared, so he "said goodbye". When Taishan returned from official business, he heard that Shi Gandang had passed away. He was deeply saddened and committed suicide. Because Mount Tai and Shi Gandang fell in love and died, later generations remembered them and combined the names of Mount Tai and Shi Gandang into one, namely "Mount Tai Shi Gandang". The chivalrous man mentioned in this folktale is Mount Tai, and Shi Gandang seems to be a random and suspicious villain. "Blocking Style" said: Emperor Taizong rode on Mount Tai and returned to Maling. When he saw the horseshoe board, he couldn't get up. He is curious, but he can't get up. As a result, he walked around the road. When he left, he said, "I came from Chang 'an and opened a road on the mountain. When I met the water, I built a bridge. I didn't get in the way, and Taishan stone blocked me. " With this sound, it is called "Shi Gandang". Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, has never been to Mount Tai, not to mention being stopped by Mount Tai when he rode up the mountain. The so-called Shi Gandang (Taishan Shi Gandang) described in these two folk stories is very different from Shi Gandang's real origin, connotation and function, and also from a series of widely circulated folk stories in Shi Gandang. The author visited many elders in Taishan area, and no one knew when and where these folk stories were circulated. Is this suspected of fabrication?

To sum up, Shi Gandang is a relic of ancient worship of Lingshi, which has nothing to do with "people". The language of "Shi Gan Dang" in the historical tour of Jizhang in the Western Han Dynasty should be interpreted as a stone that can be used to fight against everything. Later, whether it was the inscription unearthed in Putian in the Tang Dynasty or the stone of "Shi Gandang" planted (or buried) at the bridgehead or in front of the house, its meaning was the same. As for the addition of Mount Tai (namely Mount Tai Shi Gandang) before Shi Gandang, it started in the Ming Dynasty and prevailed in the Qing Dynasty. Today, it means to use the sacred Mount Tai to increase Shi Gandang's strength. In the deep connotation, all kinds of folk stories and legends about Shi Gandang are consistent with the positive significance of Shi Gandang, some are related, and some are completely different. There are some reasons why folk stories and legends are far from the historical truth. But recently, some comrades have fabricated stories and legends in the name of sorting out, and then fabricated them to make them farther away from the historical truth, which may not be desirable.

Excerpt from Taishan Travel Network