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 manifestation in Jingzhou after his death. After Guan Gong’s death, he was guided by Master Zhizhe of Tiantai Sect and converted to Buddhism, making Guan Gong the legend of Jialan Bodhisattva, one of the two major Buddhist guardians. Taoism followed closely after Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw, Guan Gong was invited by Zhang Tianshi to subdue the Chiyou God in Yanchi, Babaylan 1990 cloth draw in Yanchi, and became the myth of the guardian god of Yanchi, and portrayed Guan Gong as the “Three Realms of Demon Subduing Emperor”. Driven by various social forces Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw, especially with the media role of popular literature and art such as Guan Gong Opera and “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, Guan Gong’s image of loyalty 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 by the army, the god of wealth devoted by merchants, and the protector of industry worshipped by practitioners who make a living by slaughtering, haircuts, wooden making, knife and scissor shops.
The statue of Guan Gong in Guandi Temple in Jiezhou.
The statue of Guandi in Guanlin, Luoyang.
Among all these divine characters, the God of War and the God of Wealth are the most well-known. Because Guan Gong’s life was written by himCinema 1950 witch clothes draw war bravely, so at the latest in the mid-Tang Dynasty, in the Jingzhou area where he died, Guan Gong was regarded as a god of war by the people as a protector of the place. By the Song and Yuan dynasties, it became more popular for the army to visit Guan Gong Temple before the battle, and praying for Guan Gong to appear and help the war. However, at the national sacrificial level, Guan Gong’s status as a god of war was established relatively late. In the Wucheng King Temple that existed briefly during the Tang Dynasty, Guan Gong, as one of the 64 famous generals of the past dynasties, Guan Gong was only ranked 15th on 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 common famous general in the Wucheng King Temple. By the 20th year of Hongwu (1387), Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the Wucheng King Temple system that had been along for hundreds of years, causing the national level of war gods to be sacrificed. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Komiks 1960 witch clothes DrawThe vacuum appeared. But under the tradition of the army advocating the god of war, the Ming Dynasty had to establish a god of war, so Guan Gong, who had been widely circulated among the people for a long time, stood out. In the 27th year of Hongwu (1394), the Ming Dynasty built the Guan Yu Temple on Jiming Mountain in Nanjing and included it in the national sacrificial ceremony. At this point, Guan Yu officially replaced Jiang Ziya and became the national god of war, and continuously expanded his social influence under the promotion of various official and civil forces.
Guan Gong, as the god of wealth, may have a great relationship with the activity of Shanxi merchants in the region of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In order to encourage merchants to transport grain to the border in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Ming Dynasty was in an attempt to encourage merchants to transport grain to the border. , implemented a Chinese-French system that exchanges grain for salt and gave merchants the qualification to sell salt. Shanxi merchants gradually developed into one of the best business groups in the country because of the convenience of getting close to the northern border. The Shanxi merchants also spread all over the country with the expansion of their business territory. In the guild halls, Shanxi merchants usually worship Guan Gong, a god from Shanxi, in order to connect with the country and ensure a prosperous business, so that Guan Gong is accepted as a god of wealth. In addition, in the traditional society that emphasizes the distinction between justice and profit, Guan Gong’s image of trust and righteousness is neglecting wealth, paying credit for promises and repaying kindness, which also helps alleviate the inner tension caused by merchants chasing wealth.
The Qing Dynasty New Year painting “Shangguan Xiacai”. The New Year painting is Guan Gong on the top and the God of Wealth at the bottom, which means official and wealth.
Ming Shang Xi’s “Guan Yu Captures Generals”.
Interestingly, the worship of Guan Gong is not limited to Komiks 1960 witch cloth drawIn the Central Plains region, in the vast border ethnic areas, Guan Gong is also an important god widely worshipped by local people.
The legend of Manchus “Guan Mafa”
As early as the Manchus entered the PassKomiks 1960 witch clothes draw, 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 of Kunning Palace Sacrifice. The Qing Dynasty rulers respected Guan Gong as the guardian god of the Qing army. Before each expedition, they would pay sacrifices to Guandi Temple to pray to Guan Emperor to bless them to conquer the city and conquer the land and win a thousand miles. The praise of the upper rulers made ordinary Manchus worship Guan Gong, and many ordinary people even named their children with the word “Guan” to seek the protection of Guan Gong. The Guarjia family, one of the eight major surnames of the Manchus, mostly transliterated as Guan Gong’s surname, may also be related to Guan Gong’s worship.
Stills from Henan Opera “Yibo Yuntian”.
Manchus also called Guan Gong “Guanmafa”, and “Mafa” means “yester” and “ancestor” in Manchu people. For a long time, many legends of Guanmafa have been circulated among the Manchu people, one of which is called “女” and “女”.”Guanmafa Uleben” 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 Babaylan 1990 clothes draw is extremely powerful and skilled in archery. When he grows up, he competes with the god Chao Hazhanye of Changbai Mountain, fights with the evil god Yaleli, and saves 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 promoted Guan Gong to the title of Guan Gong 1960 witch cloth draw 13 times. Guan Gong also 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 all-round protection of 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 imperial 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 Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw in his right hand. He held the Green Dragon Celestial Moon Sword with five long beards on his chest, surrounded by auspicious clouds in front and back. What attracted the special attention of scholars is that there was a square Tibetan seal engraved on the back of Guan Gong, which was translated as “Imperial Seal” in ChineseThe seal of 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 on both ends on the left and right. It is translated as “Blessings are as abundant as the slender Siddar River, and life spans are as beautiful as the moon’s wish-full pearl.” In the statue of Guan Gong in the northeast, such obvious Mongolian and Tibetan cultures are hidden behind it?
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 of the Salt God. 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 style for them. Charm. According to historical records, the grand Buddhist ceremony “Visiting the Imperial City” held in the Yuan Dynasty palace, carrying the statue of Guan Gong is an important part of it. Guan Wang Temple began to be widely established throughout the country. The people of Yuan Dadu City 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 Mongolian upper class to Liu Bei and Guan Yu, and in the first place they won over the other side with Guan Yu’s special status. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Babaylan 1990 cloth draw, and secondly, it was to use Guan Yu’s loyalty and righteous spirit to conquer Mongolia. In the Qing Dynasty, with the mainland’s garrison, Mongolian merchants, and reclamation people, who brought their families to the Mongolian area, temples worshiping the God of War and the God of Wealth Guan Gong also appeared more and more on the Mongolian Plateau, and Guan Emperor 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 Qima Guan.
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 BuddhismBabaylan 1990 cloth draw is related.
Yonghe Palace has the Thangka of Guan Gong of the Qing Dynasty.
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 have been established in various Tibetan areas where Tibetan Buddhist culture is 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 of Tibetan Buddhism such as Zhangjia Living Buddha, Tuguan Living Buddha, and the Sixth Panchen Lama did not turn him 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 wrote a prayer to introduce Guan Gong’s origin and sacrificial ritual in detail, and listed Guan Gong in the ranks of the Dharma protectors 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. The image of Guan Gong’s red face and beautiful beard is similar to that of the guardian god Chi Zunzan and the war god Gesar in Tibetan Buddhism, which makes Guan Gong easily possessed by ordinary Tibetans as the 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 not familiar with the terrain and fell into an ambush circle set by the enemy because they were not familiar with the terrain. The enemy relied on the danger of counterattacking. Although the Qing soldiers rushed bravely, they still could not 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 Gongs holding big swords and killing the enemy. The Tibetan soldiers seemed to see countless Kings of Gesar riding horses to kill 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 the gods they vaguely saw in the battle were worshipped in the Guandi Temple in Mopanshan, which started construction before the expedition.Babaylan 1990 cloth draw Guandi. 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 pantheon of Tibetan Buddhism, becoming a god worshipped by all ethnic groups who have lived in the snowy plateau for generations, and then spread throughout 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.
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 belief in Guan Gong to Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw. 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 a 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, so he 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 big bell, and the bell cast a picture of the relevant male, and the bell was engraved with “loyalty, righteousness, gods, martial arts, benevolence and courage”The inscription of “The Spirit Blessings of Gods and Emperors”. If we look back at the legend that appeared when the Qing army counterattacked the Gurkha invasion, we will find that Guan Gong has become an important symbol for all ethnic groups including the Han, Manchu, Tibetan, Xibe to resist foreign invasions, defend the territorial integrity of the motherland, and maintain stability in the border areas.
In addition, there is a widespread belief in Guan Suo in the southwest region. People used to think that Guan Suo was Guan Gong’s third son. Recent research has found that Guan Suo was 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 statues of Guan Gong.
The Qing Dynasty 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 are shocked. The prosperity of incense will be immortal with heaven and earth. “The unprecedented freshman in the Qing DynastyCinema 1950 witch cloth draw unified pattern created favorable conditions for personnel exchanges, economic exchanges, and cultural integration between the mainland and the border. Guan Gong also introduced from the mainland to the border areas, entered the local temples and temples, and became 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 pursuing the border. This is the most worthy of our exploration and cherishing 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.