As a general of Shu Han, Guan Yu may not be the most dazzling in the Three Kingdoms era, where heroes emerged and stars were brilliant, but after his death, he was constantly interpreted and deified by people, from humans to holy, from saints to gods, becoming a god worshipped by the gods from emperors, generals and ministers to ordinary people, black and white disciples, and people of the three religions and ninth ranks.
In the Central Plains, Guan Gong, as a typical representative of the culture of loyalty and righteousness, was highly respected and commended by rulers of all dynasties and was granted titles continuously. Buddhism also created the legend of Guan Gong’s death in Yuquan, Jingzhou after Guan Gong’s death. He was guided by Master Zhizhe of Tiantai Sect and converted to Buddhism, making Guan Gong the legend of Galan Bodhisattva, one of the two major Dharma protectors of Buddhism. Taoism followed closely behind, and woven Guan Gong as invited by Zhang Tianshi to subdue the Chiyou God who harmed the Yanchi Lake in Jiezhou, Hedong, and became the myth of the guardian god of the Yanchi Lake. Guan Gong was portrayed as the “Three Realms of Demon-Subduing Emperor”. Driven by various social forces, especially with the help of popular literature and art media such as Guan Gong Opera and “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, Guan Gong’s image of loyalty, righteousness and bravery has become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Guan Gong is not only the object of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, but also the god of war believed in the army, the god of wealth devoted by merchants, and the protector of industry worshipped practitioners who make a living by slaughtering, haircuts, wooden work, knife and scissor shops.
The statue of Guan Gong in Jiezhou GuandiBabaylan 1990 cloth drawThe statue of Guan Gong in the temple.
The statue of Guandi in Guanlin, Luoyang.
Among all these divine bodies, the God of War and the God of Wealth are the most well-known. Because Guan Gong fought bravely during his lifetime, at the latest in the Middle Tang Dynasty, Guan Gong was already regarded by the people as a god of war to protect the place in Jingzhou when he died. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, it became even more popular for the army to visit Guan Gong Temple before the battle, and praying for Guan Gong to appear and help the battle. However, at the national sacrifice level, Guan Gong’s status as the God of War was establishedKomiks 1960 witch cloth draw is relatively late. In the Wucheng King Temple, which existed briefly during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, Guan Gong was one of the 64 famous generals of all dynasties and worshipped the Wucheng King Jiang Ziya, but he was only ranked 1st in the left. Since then, from the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty, Guan Gong was only a famous general in the temple of King Wucheng. By the 20th year of Hongwu (1387), Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the Wucheng King Temple system that had been in line with the Babaylan 1990 cloth draw for hundreds of years, resulting in a vacuum of the sacrifice of the gods of war at the national level. However, driven by the army’s tradition of advocating the god of war, the Ming Dynasty had to establish a god of war, so Guan Gong, the god of war that had been widely circulated among the people for a long time, stood out. In the 27th year of Wu’s 20th year (1394), the Ming Dynasty built the Guanyu Temple in Jiming Mountain, Nanjing and included it in the National Sacrifice. At this point, Guan Yu officially replaced Jiang Ziya Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw, becoming the national god of war, and continuously expanding his social influence under the promotion of various official and civil forces.
As the God of Wealth, Guan Gong may have a great relationship with the activity of Shanxi merchants in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In order to encourage merchants to transport grain to the border, the Ming Dynasty implemented a Chinese-French system that exchanged grain for salt and gave merchants the qualification to sell salt. Because of the convenience of getting close to the northern border, Shanxi merchants gradually developed into one of the top business groups in the country. The Shanxi merchants also spread all over the country with the expansion of their business territory. In the guild hall, Shanxi merchants usually worship Guan Gong, a god from Shanxi, in order to contact the countryside and ensure the prosperity of business, making Guan Gong the god of wealth accepted by people. In addition, in a traditional society that emphasizes the distinction between justice and profit, Guan Gong is trustworthy and neglects money, Babaylan 1990 clothes drawThe image of a commitment to keeping one’s trustworthy and repaying one’s kindness will also help alleviate the inner tension caused by businessmen chasing wealth.
The Qing Dynasty painting “Shangguan Xiacai”. The New Year paintings are Guan Gong on the top and the God of Wealth below, which means official and wealth.
Ming Shang Xi’s “Guan Yu Captures the Generals”.
Interestingly, the worship of Guan Gong is not limited to the Central Plains. In the vast border ethnic areas, Guan Gong is also an important god widely worshipped by local people.
The “Guanmafa” in the Manchu legend
Long before the Manchus entered the pass, the story of Guan Gong had been introduced to the Northeast along with popular literature and art such as “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. The personal charm shown by Guan Gong in the novel can easily make Manchus who are good at riding and shooting and bravery become psychologically close. Komiks 1960 witch cloth drawThe upper rulers vigorously promoted Guan Gong, who was both brave and loyal and righteous in order to strengthen their rule and win over the Han, Mongolian, and North Korea. It is said that when Nurhaci was fighting with the Ming army, he received face-to-face advice from Guan Gong in his dream to help him get out of trouble. For this reason, he specially built the Guandi Temple in the west of Hetuara City. Huang Taiji included Guan Gong as the ritual sacrifice of the shamanism in the early morning sacrifice of the gods. This practice was continued in the palace life of the Qing Dynasty later. Guan Gong was an important god in Kunning Palace Sacrifice. The Qing rulers respected Guan Gong as the guardian saint of the Qing army. Before going to war, they would pay sacrifices to Guandi Temple to pray to Guandi to bless them to conquer the city and conquer the land and win a thousand miles. The praise of the upper-class rulers made ordinary Manchus worship Guan Gong. Many ordinary people even named their children with the word “Guan” in order to obtain Guan Gong’s protection. The Guarja family, one of the eight major surnames of the Manchus, has many Chinese characters translated as Guan’s surname, which may also be related to Guan Gong’s worship.
Stills from Henan Opera “Yibo Yuntian”.
The Manchus also called Guan Gong “Guanmafa”, and “Mafa” means “ye” and “ancestor” in Manchu. For a long time, many legends about Guanmafa have been circulated among the Manchu people, one of which is called “Guanmafa Uleben”, which tells the legendary life of “Guanmafa” in Mandarin: He was reincarnated by Caolong and saved by the Goddess Mother, and was later killed by pursuers. The Goddess Mother asked him to wash his face by the river, so he became a red-faced child. He was extremely powerful and skilled in archery. When he grew up, he competed with the god Chaohazhan of Changbai Mountain, fought with the evil god Yaleli, and saved the suffering Jurchens in the north. The whole story is conducted by the narrator in a combination of speaking and singing and reciting, and usually takes more than ten nights to complete.
After the Manchus won the Central Plains, they vigorously promoted Guan Gong’s loyalty, righteousness and courage, and regarded Guan Gong as the protector of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing court awarded Guan Gong 13 times, and Guan Gong was upgraded from the “Han Shouting Marquis” during his lifetime to the “Loyalty and righteous God Wu Ling blesses and bravely shows his power to protect the country and protect the people, sincerely applauding Emperor Xuande Guan Sheng”, making Guan Gong truly a perfect god who has no blind spots and comprehensively protected the country and the people. In addition, the Qing court also required localities to establish temples dedicated to Guan Gong, and instill the concept of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country into the people, which led to the Qing Dynasty the situation of “Guan Gong’s temples all over the world”. Some people have counted that in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 300,000 Guandi temples across the country, even more than the Confucius Temples. To this day, Guandi Temple is still an important cultural landscape in many places.
Guan Gong and his ancestors worshipped by Manchu families.
“Gesar” in the Pantheon of Tibetan Buddhism
Among the cliff carving statue group in Haitang Mountain in Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County, Liaoning, there is a statue of “Master Riding Horse”: Guan Gong is wearing military uniform and riding on a Red Rabbit Horse. He held the reins in his left hand and the Qinglong Yanyue Sword in his right hand. There were five long beards on his chest, surrounded by auspicious clouds in front and back. What attracted scholars’ special attention was that a square Tibetan seal was engraved on the back of Guan Gong’s body, which was translated as “the seal of the Panchen Lama Erdeni”. On the dome outside the Buddha’s niche is engraved with a line of Tibetan text, translated as “Master Guan” in Chinese; there is a Mongolian couplet decorated with auspicious clouds and double-layer lotus petals at the upper and lower ends, translated by Chinese as “Blessings are like the slender Sita River water”.So abundant, life span is as beautiful as the moon’s wish-full bead.” What kind of historical secrets are hidden behind the appearance of such obvious Mongolian and Tibetan cultural factors in Guan Gong statue located in the northeast?
Picture of Master Jima Guan.
In fact, the Mongols had already come into contact with Guan Gong’s beliefs as early as the time of the alternation of the Jin and Yuan dynasties. Given the importance of Chiyan in Jiezhou to the national finances, they naturally continued the practice of worshipping Guan Gong in the Song and Jin dynasties in worshiping Guan Gong. After the Mongolians entered China with their unprecedented martial arts and established the Yuan dynasty, Guan Gong, the brave god of war, must have a unique charm to them. According to historical records, the grand Buddhist ceremony “Traveling the Imperial City” held in the Yuan Dynasty palace, carrying the statue of Guan Gong was an important part of it. Guan Wang Temple began to be widely established throughout the country. The people of the Yuan capital were influenced by the upper rulers and also held a grand Guan Wang Meeting on the Dragon Boat Festival. In the late Ming Dynasty, the Qing rulers who rose in the northeast compared their relationship with the upper Mongolia to Liu Bei and Guan YuCinema 1950 witch cloth draw, first, to win over the other party with Guan Yu’s special status, and second, to use Guan Yu’s loyalty and righteous spirit to conquer Mongolia. draw. In the Qing Dynasty, with the mainland garrison officers and soldiers, merchants traveling to Mongolia, and people who reclaimed land, they came to Mongolia with their families and their families. Temples worshipping the god of war and the god of wealth Guan Gong also appeared more and more on the Mongolian Plateau, and Guandi Temples were built in towns such as Guihua City, Chaktu, Ulyasutai. It can be seen that it is not surprising that Mongolian couplets appeared in the statues of Master Qimaguan.
As for the appearance of Tibetan language in the statues, it is related to Tibetan Buddhism’s absorption of the god of war Guan Gong, and the Mongolians’ conversion to Tibetan Buddhism in Komiks 1960 witch cloth drawTibetan Buddhism.
Yonghe Palace Tibetans in the Qing DynastyGuan Gong Thangka.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the image of the god of war Guan Gong had been introduced to Tibetan Buddhism. Since the late Ming Dynasty, with the strengthening of personnel exchanges and economic and cultural exchanges between the mainland and Tibetan areas, some Guandi temples were established in various Tibetan areas where Tibetan Buddhist culture dominated. Especially after the early Qing Dynasty sent troops to pacify local turmoil in Tibet and Qinghai, the local officers and soldiers also brought in their devout faith in Guandi. For the god Guan Gong from the Han area, the living Buddhas and monks such as Zhangjia Living Buddha, Tuguan Living Buddha, and the Sixth Panchen Lama of Tibetan Buddhism did not turn them out. Instead, in order to strengthen the connection between the Tibetan area and the central government and maintain the friendship and unity between Tibetan and Manchu and Han ethnic groups, they introduced the origin and sacrificial rituals of Guan Gong in detail by writing a prayer and offering sacrifices. Guan Gong was included in the ranks of guardian gods in Tibetan Buddhism. In the prayer for offerings, Living Buddha Zhangjia also appeared and said, telling the story of Guan Gong helping him escape the disaster on his way to Beijing by hiring a dream and promising to protect Buddhism. Guan Gong’s image of red face and beautiful beard is quite similar to the guardian god Chi Zunzan and the war god Gesar in Tibetan Buddhism, making Guan Gong easily possessed by ordinary Tibetans as a corresponding god. According to legend, in the 57th year of Qianlong (1792), Fukang’an and Hailancha led the Qing army to counterattack the Gurkha invasion of Tibet, once the Qing army was caught in an ambush circle set by the enemy because they were unfamiliar with the terrain. The enemy relied on the danger of counterattacking. Although the soldiers of the Qing army fought bravely, they were still unable to break through the siege. Just when the morale was extremely low, suddenly, the enemy’s formation was filled with flames and shouts were shaking. Manchu and Han soldiers seemed to see countless Guan Gong killing into the enemy camp with a big knife in his hand. Tibetan soldiers seemed to see countless Gesar Kings killing the enemy. With the inspiration and assistance of the gods, the morale of the Qing army was greatly boosted, like a divine weapon descending from the sky, rushing towards the enemy formation, seizing the strategic high ground, and finally turning the situation around and achieving a great victory. After the triumph, the soldiers were surprised to find that they were fightingThe gods that were vaguely seen in the middle were the Guandi Temple worshipped in Mopanshan Guandi Temple, which was built before the expedition. From then on, Tibetans called this Guandi Temple “Gesalakon”, which is the Temple of Gesal. It can be seen that although the god of war Guan Gong and King Gesar are different in the eyes of believers, they are actually one.
Put Gurkha victory map.
Guan Gong was thus connected to the temple of WanKomiks 1960 witch cloth draw, becoming a god worshipped by all ethnic groups who have lived in the snowy plateau for generations, and then spreading the entire area of influence of Tibetan Buddhist culture. It is not difficult to understand that the Mongolians engraved Tibetan content when building the statue of Guan Gong in Haitangshan because of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Guandi statue in the Guandi Temple, the highest altitude of Everest, is in the world.
The “Martial Saint Arrow God” in the minds of the Xibe people
The Xibe people are a nation that has lived in the northeast for generations. They have accepted Guan Gong’s belief in cultural exchanges with the Han and Mongolians. The Xibe family temple built during the Kangxi period is the Guandi Temple. After the established land moved westward to Xinjiang, the Xibe people also brought their devout faith in Guan Gong. Every Niulu where the Xibe people are located has a temple dedicated to Guan Gong. The Xibe people are a nation that is good at archery and often hold archery competitions. Before the game, the archers should worship the arrow god Guan Gong together, begging for the success of the game like Guan Gong. Guan Gong is also a martial saint who is extremely respected by the Xibe people guarding the border. There is still legend about the Xibe tribe. In the battle of Hunbashi River, the key battle to pacify the Zhangge’s rebellion in the sixth year of Daoguang (1826), 500 Xibe officers and soldiers fought fiercely with nearly 10,000 Zhangge’s rebels. Fortunately, Guan Gong descended from the sky to help. Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw, which turned the situation around, defeated the more with less, and finally established the victory of the entire war. After the war, the officers and soldiers of Xibe Battalion cast a large bell, and the bell cast a portrait of the relevant male, and the bell was engraved with the inscription “Loyalty, righteousness, God, Martiality, Benevolence, Brave, and Spiritual Blessing of the Gods and Emperors”. If we look back at the legend that appeared when the army counterattacked the Gurkha invasion, we will find that Guan Gong has become a common resistance to foreign countries including the Han, Manchu, Tibetan, Xibe, etc.An important symbol of invasion, defending the territorial integrity of the motherland, and maintaining stability in the border areas.
In addition, there is a widespread belief in Guansuo in the southwest region. People used to think that Guansuo was Guan Gong’s third son. Recent research has found that Guansuo is actually a local variant of Guan Gong himself. Among the Miao, Bai, Qiang, Tu, Hezhe, Daur and other ethnic groups, there is also a unique worship of Guan Gong.
The Ming Dynasty clay sculptures painted Guan Gong statues.
The Qing DynastyBabaylan 1990 cloth drawA generation Zhao Yi once lamented the prosperity of Guan Gong’s belief: “Now, on the surface of the Antarctic Ridge, the cold wall of the North Pole, all children and women will shock their power. The prosperity of incense will be immortal with the heaven and the earth.” The unprecedented unified pattern of the Qing Dynasty created favorable conditions for personnel exchanges, economic exchanges, and cultural integration between the mainland and the border. With the joint promotion of official and civil forces, Guan Gong also introduced from the mainland to the border areas and entered the local temples and temples, becoming a god widely worshipped by all ethnic groups. In this process, legends about Guan Gong, rituals worshipping Guan Gong and even Guan Gong’s style may become more ethnic. However, people of all ethnic groups deeply agree with Guan Gong’s inner spirit of loyalty, righteousness and bravery, and regard Guan Gong as a cultural symbol of protecting the country and safe people and Yongjing’s border. This is the most worthwhile to explore and cherish today.
Author profile:
Zheng Junhua, a young teacher at the School of Ethnology and Sociology of Central South University for Nationalities, graduated from Fudan University with a Ph.D. in History, and is mainly engaged in the study of the history of the Chinese nation.