The myth of Guan Yu, which began in the Song Dynasty and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, is the result of the combined efforts of religion, emperors, romance and other forces for hundreds of years. There are hundreds of thousands of words in this information. I wanted to show it to you before, but unfortunately I always gave up because I didn't have a scanner at hand. Now it seems that in order to avoid such fallacies and heresies in the future, I have to sacrifice my life for justice and bury myself in copying books, hehe ~
Let's not talk about the myth of Guan Yu in religion and romance, but simply copy some from the perspective of the emperor in chronological order. If you are interested after reading this article, I will continue.
Guan Yu was killed in AD 2 19. The highest official position before his death was only the former general, and his salary was only "more than 2,000 stones". The first posthumous title was given by Sun Quan (unexpected and ridiculous)-"loyalty"; In 260 AD, Liu Chan chased Guan Yu as a "strong man" ("strong" means "overcoming chaos"; "Miao" and "Mu" are homonyms, meaning "Don't stick to righteousness"). In the following hundreds of years, Guan Yu's reputation was only on the level of "ten thousand enemies", only as a reference for brave generals, and did not attract the attention of the emperor.
The emperors of the Tang Dynasty were keen on Buddhism and Taoism. At this time, the late good ministers have fallen far behind the bodhisattvas and immortals in the sky. It was not until the 19th year of Kaiyuan (AD 73 1) that Li Longji began to build the Wu Temple. The Lord God of the Wu Temple in Tang Dynasty is King Taigong (Jiang Shang), and ten famous people such as Sean are entitled to enjoy it (called the Ten Philosophers). The sacrifice specifications are the same as those of the Confucius Temple. List of Top Ten Philosophers-On the right: Sean, Tian Rangcha, Sun Wu, Wu Qi, Le Yi; On the left: Tian Lei, Han Xin, Zhuge Liang, Li Jing, Li Xun (from this list, why is there no Cao Cao? Did the Tang emperor classify him as an emperor? Hey, hey, but in the Three Kingdoms period, only Zhuge Liang-his historical position is recognized by everyone ...) At this time, Guan Yu was far away there. In the first year of Shangyuan reign in Tang Suzong (760), King Taigong was made into a king, which met the specifications of Wenxuan King-since it met the specifications, King Taigong had only ten philosophers and Confucius had seventy-two disciples, which was too inappropriate! So, in 782, the third year of Tang Dezong Jianzhong, according to the memorial of Yan Zhenqing, a great calligrapher, began to recruit. Under the pressure of the emperor's old son, historians racked their brains to piece together 64 people to follow the ten philosophers! Ancient heroes such as Sun Bin, Lian Po, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhou Yu, Wargo, etc. in the Three Kingdoms period can finally rely on the Wu Temple. Although Guan Erge may feel uncomfortable standing with Zhou Yu, Deng Ai and others, he has become one of the worthy people, that's all. This is Guan Yu's official appearance at the official sacrificial ceremony in the Tang Dynasty.
However, throughout the Tang Dynasty, Guan Yu was still insignificant in the official eyes. At this time, although there were shrines to Guan Yu among the people and all over the country, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang were all like him, even Zhou Yu and Wargo-many heroes were regarded as gods by the people at that time, and Guan Yu was not prominent.
This situation lasted for five generations.
In the third year of Changxing in the late Tang Dynasty (932), a fairy said that when offering sacrifices at the Wu Temple, only the ten philosophers had food to eat, and Sun Bin and other 64 people had no dining tables, so they had to put a bean in front of them-hehe, it turned out that they were watching others eat for a long time and could only swallow saliva. Thanks to this immortal figure, their bellies are guaranteed-
None of the more than 20 emperors in the Tang Dynasty gave it to Guan Er posthumous title. I wonder what they would think if they learned that Guan Yu was so prosperous in the next spring, hehe.
No wonder Zhao Yi, a historian in the Qing Dynasty, couldn't figure it out: "The rise and fall, long-term and temporary, of ghosts and gods enjoying the blood food offered by temples seem doomed and unpredictable. Those who can become gods after death will be prominent for a while in the hundreds of years after death, and will be gradually abandoned after a long time. The Three Kingdoms, the Six Dynasties, the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty are only about not losing. "
In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Guan Yu was unlucky. In the name of "being captured by the enemy", the Emperor of the Song Dynasty once asked his old man out of the ranks of the Wu Temple (sad, the tragic situation of his second brother leaving the Wu Temple really made his relatives feel bitter and revenged). After the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, under the influence of Buddhism and Taoism, Guan Yu was brought into his own religious system, and the court began to notice the blushing Guan Yu, so Kaifeng was opened.
Hui Zong was the first person to discover Guan Yu. He thinks Guan Er, who is brave and loyal, is really a good tool to use. So in the first year of Chongning (1 102), Guan Yu was called "loyal to the monarch" by posthumous title-the second brother entered the duke from the marquis, which is gratifying!
In the second year (1 103), as a "Taoist leader", Guan Yu was named "true gentleman Baining"-this title made Guan Yu officially gain legal status in Taoism. In the second year of Daguan (1 108), Guan Yu was promoted as "King Zhaolie Wu 'an", and in the fifth year of Xuanhe (1 123), in the crisis of nomadic people going south, the emperor changed Guan Yu to "King Wu Yong 'an". Unfortunately, until he and his son Qin Zong were taken away by nomads, Guan gave no indication to this great benefactor who promoted him. In the second year of Jian Yan (1 128), Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty named Guan Yu as the "King of Strong Mu Renyi", hoping to rely on Guan Yu's benevolence and righteousness to boost morale and fight the nomads from the army.
The last emperor named Guan Yu in the Song Dynasty was Xiao Zong, in the fourteenth year (1 187), and Xiao Zong named Guan Yu as "Wang An Ying Ji" (well, I summarized all the titles of his previous emperors). Moreover, Guan Yu was greatly touted in the imperial edict: "..."
Now that we have the status of birthright, the supporting facilities should also keep up: the construction of the temple.
In the Song Dynasty, there was no Guandi Temple at first (there was Guandi Temple before the Tang Dynasty, but it was really not as good as the temple), and Guan Yu still had to stay in the dark corner of the Taigong Wu Temple.
In the third year of Taizu's reign (962), he ordered the martial arts to be built into a king's temple, and Zhao Kuangyin expelled the murderer from the temple, leaving others waiting as usual. It was different when Hui Zong declared peace for five years (1 123). At this time, Evonne is really accommodating. He not only invited Tian Lei back to the temple, but also named Li Guang, who has always been unpopular, "Huairou Bo". Of course, Guan Yu's "King of Wu 'an" goes without saying. As a result, Guan Yu, who was tied for king with Tai Wang Gong, became independent from the temple of King Wu and sat in his own temple for the first time-really proud. As can be seen from the above, Guan Yu was really unattractive for a long time before Evonne came to power. Later, thanks to Daojun Evonne, he began to emerge as king. However, careful analysis shows that at this time, he was simply used by the ruling class. Take it for example, he named Guan Yu "the true king who worships Ning"-what god is this? Taoist immortals are a dime a dozen, the highest is Sanqing, followed by the Three Heavenly Armies and the Five Old Armies, and then there are a large number of immortal groups. Among them, the title of "true king" does not rank high-the degree of its myth is not excessive. At this time, the official and folk evaluation gradually began to focus on "loyalty", and the people's worship of him (mainly in the construction of Guan Temple) was not very enthusiastic. Therefore, it can only be said that "the myth of Guan Yu began in the mid-Song Dynasty".
In the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolians felt that Guan Yu, who was revered by Buddhism as "the patron saint of Galand" and highly valued by the Song Dynasty, should also make good use of it. Therefore, Kublai Khan named Guan Yu as the "God of the Blue Altar", and in the official name, Guan Yu, theocracy and Buddhism were combined.
In the first year of the calendar year (1329), Yuan Wenzong did something far-reaching: he promoted Guan Yu to be "the king of Ying Ji, showing his spirit and being brave in Wu 'an"! The word "manifest" is very important, which is equivalent to officially pushing Guan Yu, the idol of the government, to the society and restraining the people with loyalty and courage.
As a result, according to various local chronicles, almost every period of the Yuan Dynasty was related to the construction of temples. There is a saying that "the temples of King Wu 'an are all over the world", and the people who built temples are also very complicated, including officials, people and Taoists. Under the advocacy of the government, Guan Yu's sacrificial activities have become more and more frequent, and the image of Guan Yu's god has gradually taken root in the hearts of the people. (For the grand degree of the ritual of sacrificing Guan Yu in the Yuan Dynasty, interested friends can find Hao Jing's "Rebuilding the Temple Sacrifice" in the Yuan Dynasty, which has a detailed description. )
Under the impetus of the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Guan Yu's official and folk status rose, but later ...
In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have a bad impression on Guan Yu, who was loyal to him. During his reign, Guan Er was not promoted, but was deprived of Guan Yu's title of Song and Yuan Dynasties, and Guan Yu was restored to his official position and the original title of "Hou Ting of Hanshou". What is even more ridiculous is that he didn't know that "Hanshou" was a place name, and omitted the word "Han", which only made Guan Gong return to such a confusing position as "Shoutinghou". The following officials knew they were wrong, but they dared not correct the emperor's mistakes, which lasted for more than one hundred years.
Zhu Yuanzhang's son Judy, like several later emperors, was not interested in Guan Yu. Among them, only Sejong corrected the mistakes of his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang in the tenth year of Jiajing (153 1), leaving Guan Yu as a "Han general".
This neglected situation was fundamentally changed when Zongshen became emperor. In the tenth year of Wanli (1582), Guan Yu was first named "Xie Tiandi"; In the eighteenth year of Wanli (1590), Guan Yu was named "Emperor Xie Tianbao's Defending the Country and Loyalty"; In the forty-two years of Wanli (16 14), Guan Yu was even named as "the emperor who banished demons three times was far away in Megatronus, and Guan Sheng was the emperor" (since then, no one can stop the start of the God-making movement).
Although Guan Yu was called the "emperor" in the Yuan Dynasty, he was not an official history after all. Here, Guan entered the ranks of "emperors", ranking first among gods and men! Not only that, Emperor Wanli also held a grand celebration for Guan Yu ..... (the details are omitted). Guan Yu's wife was crowned queen, and his son was crowned king. Even Zhou Cang, who was carrying a broadsword, was named as "Hui Yonggong of Ling Wei"-it is simply the best interpretation of "one person gets the word, and chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"! (Hey hey, Huang Xu Coss Lv Meng knows something about Lu Xun's underground. I'm afraid I'll regret why I didn't go to the second-hand store to grab a job of washing horses, or at least I can get a duke at this time ...)
Corresponding to the respect of the emperor, temples in the Ming Dynasty can be seen everywhere, enjoying the fireworks on earth. Its temples have expanded rapidly. At that time, all government offices in prefectures and counties would build official temples, and there were countless private temples! Someone made a statistic in Wanli, and there are 5 1 temple in wanping county county alone (wow ~ ~).
Before the Ming Dynasty, the main god of Wu Temple was Tai, and Guan Yu could only stay in the last seat. The Ming Dynasty appointed Guan Yu as the main god of Wu Temple, and Guan Temple naturally became a Wu Temple. In ancestor worship, the specifications are also very grand. According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, there are nine temples where the capital worships, and Guandi Temple is one of them. When sweeping, it is the official chief sacrifice of Taichang Temple.
Comparatively speaking, Confucius in the Confucius Temple is too far away from Guan Er. Xu Wei once said: Confucius worshippers stop in counties, Guan Yu lives in Kyushu, goes up to the capital and down to the market. When offering sacrifices to Guan Temple, even women and children cheered warmly for fear of backwardness, but when offering sacrifices to Confucius, it was not so lively.
Why was the Ming Dynasty so keen on Guan Yu? The answer is loyalty and justice. The ruling class took a fancy to him and received very obvious results.
In the Ming dynasty, Guan Yu's position surpassed that of ordinary ghosts and gods, and also surpassed that of Confucius. He can be on an equal footing with the emperors on earth, and his position is quite lofty, but compared with the Qing Dynasty, he is much worse.
The worship of Guan Yu in Qing Dynasty reached its peak. Its status is not only equal to that of human emperors, but even worse. Almost all emperors in the Qing Dynasty, except Kangxi, gave Guan Yu a new title. Finally, its title is staggering: "Loyalty, righteousness, Wei, protecting the country and benefiting the people, sincerely comforting and praising Xuande Guan Shengdijun" (Are you dizzy? Besides Guan Yu himself, his great-grandfather, grandfather and father were also knighted.
The main reason why the Qing government favored Guan Yu so much was that they were Manchu and belonged to the alien race that ruled the Central Plains. Although they have won a great military victory, they know that the opposition of people's hearts will determine whether their regime can last long. Guan Yu has been famous since the Tang and Song Dynasties, and brave men have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Why not use the gods of the Han people to restrain the body and mind of the Han people? As a result, Guan Yu appeared again!
The praise from the government completely determines the value orientation of the people. Besides, under the rule of foreigners, the Han people bear a heavy sense of national humiliation and need a spiritual pillar in their hearts. Guan Yu's "righteousness" and "courage" let them see the light and hope (many gangs worship Guan Yu, which is the best explanation. )
For different needs, the ruler and the ruled have achieved amazing agreement on Guan Yu, which is also an ancient miracle! Therefore, there are more stories related to enlightenment than any previous generation. Because everyone wants to paralyze ordinary people with the name of his old man's family.
There are even more extreme examples: Emperor Qianlong constantly falsified history in order to "hold" Guan Yu! He felt that Chen Shou was really unfair to Guan Yu, so he asked that all posthumous title about Guan Yu in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms be changed to "loyalty" when copying Sikuquanshu.
After Qianlong, the life of the Qing emperor became more and more difficult, and the external strength was strong and the internal struggle was rebellious. At this moment of internal troubles and foreign invasion, Guan Yu was hugged tightly, and the "brave man" sealed by Emperor Jiaqing was to help him calm down the chaos with Guan Yu's great power. Later Daoguang also seemed to benefit from Guan Yu. It is recorded that he specially wrote an imperial edict praising Guan Yu's spirit in order to defeat the disorderly army.
Xianfeng, after Tongzhi, the upsurge of peasant uprising swept across the country. At this time, Guan Yu was more prestigious and busy, and kept coming out to help the Tatars of the Qing court clean up the mess (it was really tiring to be a tool for rulers) ......
Of course, the incense of closing the temple reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty: "Where there are people, there are praises". The yellow glazed tile roof of Guanmiao can only be used for palaces, imperial sleeping halls, Buddhist temples and Confucius Temple halls, which shows its high specifications. Guan Yu is indispensable to the most important ceremonies in the Qing court, such as "Tang Zi worships heaven" and "Kunning Palace worships the gods". During the Xianfeng period, Guan Yu's sacrifices were even included in the national sacrifices (with gods, earth gods, Tai Sui, Asahi, Xiyue, emperors, teachers and farmers), and Taizai (the highest specification for ancestor worship) was taken as the standard.
An ordinary military commander in China for thousands of years, in the Qing Dynasty thousands of years later, became the supreme god, enjoying the honor that even the emperor and former teacher Confucius could not enjoy.
Guan Yu, although he was in high spirits before his death, did not make outstanding achievements compared with many sages. But why did most of the others die in Sun Shan, and Guan Yu was the only one who passed down from generation to generation and reached the peak? I think Buddhism, Taoism, emperor and romance all have their own intentions, but what * * * has in common is Guan Yu's "being both civil and military, keeping loyalty and righteousness". Therefore, in the eyes of the ancients, although there are many loyal ministers and good generals, Guan Yu is the only one who can combine loyalty, righteousness, courage and strength. In this way, religious emperors and ordinary people unanimously recognized this great god. It also formed a brilliant image of today's customs.
If nothing else, from the above analysis, in modern times, no matter what kind of people, it is futile to try to restore Guan Yu's true colors, haha. ....
Before the Ming Dynasty, the main god of Wu Temple was Tai, and Guan Yu could only stay in the last seat. The Ming Dynasty appointed Guan Yu as the main god of Wu Temple, and Guan Temple naturally became a Wu Temple. In ancestor worship, the specifications are also very grand. According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, there are nine temples where the capital worships, and Guandi Temple is one of them. When sweeping, it is the official chief sacrifice of Taichang Temple.
Comparatively speaking, Confucius in the Confucius Temple is too far away from Guan Er. Xu Wei once said: Confucius worshippers stop in counties, Guan Yu lives in Kyushu, goes up to the capital and down to the market. When offering sacrifices to Guan Temple, even women and children cheered warmly for fear of backwardness, but when offering sacrifices to Confucius, it was not so lively.
Why was the Ming Dynasty so keen on Guan Yu? The answer is loyalty and justice. The ruling class took a fancy to him and received very obvious results.
In the Ming dynasty, Guan Yu's position surpassed that of ordinary ghosts and gods, and also surpassed that of Confucius. He can be on an equal footing with the emperors on earth, and his position is quite lofty, but compared with the Qing Dynasty, he is much worse.
The worship of Guan Yu in Qing Dynasty reached its peak. Its status is not only equal to that of human emperors, but even worse. Almost all emperors in the Qing Dynasty, except Kangxi, gave Guan Yu a new title. Finally, its title is staggering: "Loyalty, righteousness, Wei, protecting the country and benefiting the people, sincerely comforting and praising Xuande Guan Shengdijun" (Are you dizzy? Besides Guan Yu himself, his great-grandfather, grandfather and father were also knighted.
The main reason why the Qing government favored Guan Yu so much was that they were Manchu and belonged to the alien race that ruled the Central Plains. Although they have won a great military victory, they know that the opposition of people's hearts will determine whether their regime can last long. Guan Yu has been famous since the Tang and Song Dynasties, and brave men have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Why not use the gods of the Han people to restrain the body and mind of the Han people? As a result, Guan Yu appeared again!
The praise from the government completely determines the value orientation of the people. Besides, under the rule of foreigners, the Han people bear a heavy sense of national humiliation and need a spiritual pillar in their hearts. Guan Yu's "righteousness" and "courage" let them see the light and hope (many gangs worship Guan Yu, which is the best explanation. )
For different needs, the ruler and the ruled have achieved amazing agreement on Guan Yu, which is also an ancient miracle! Therefore, there are more stories related to enlightenment than any previous generation. Because everyone wants to paralyze ordinary people with the name of his old man's family.
There are even more extreme examples: Emperor Qianlong constantly falsified history in order to "hold" Guan Yu! He felt that Chen Shou was really unfair to Guan Yu, so he asked that all posthumous title about Guan Yu in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms be changed to "loyalty" when copying Sikuquanshu.
After Qianlong, the life of the Qing emperor became more and more difficult, and the external strength was strong and the internal struggle was rebellious. At this moment of internal troubles and foreign invasion, Guan Yu was hugged tightly, and the "brave man" sealed by Emperor Jiaqing was to help him calm down the chaos with Guan Yu's great power. Later Daoguang also seemed to benefit from Guan Yu. It is recorded that he specially wrote an imperial edict praising Guan Yu's spirit in order to defeat the disorderly army.
Xianfeng, after Tongzhi, the upsurge of peasant uprising swept across the country. At this time, Guan Yu was more prestigious and busy, and kept coming out to help the Tatars of the Qing court clean up the mess (it was really tiring to be a tool for rulers) ......
Of course, the incense of closing the temple reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty: "Where there are people, there are praises". The yellow glazed tile roof of Guanmiao can only be used for palaces, imperial sleeping halls, Buddhist temples and Confucius Temple halls, which shows its high specifications. Guan Yu is indispensable to the most important ceremonies in the Qing court, such as "Tang Zi worships heaven" and "Kunning Palace worships the gods". During the Xianfeng period, Guan Yu's sacrifices were even included in the national sacrifices (with gods, earth gods, Tai Sui, Asahi, Xiyue, emperors, teachers and farmers), and Taizai (the highest specification for ancestor worship) was taken as the standard.
An ordinary military commander in China for thousands of years, in the Qing Dynasty thousands of years later, became the supreme god, enjoying the honor that even the emperor and former teacher Confucius could not enjoy.
Guan Yu, although he was in high spirits before his death, did not make outstanding achievements compared with many sages. But why did most of the others die in Sun Shan, and Guan Yu was the only one who passed down from generation to generation and reached the peak? I think Buddhism, Taoism, emperor and romance all have their own intentions, but what * * * has in common is Guan Yu's "being both civil and military, keeping loyalty and righteousness". Therefore, in the eyes of the ancients, although there are many loyal ministers and good generals, Guan Yu is the only one who can combine loyalty, righteousness, courage and strength. In this way, religious emperors and ordinary people unanimously recognized this great god. It also formed a brilliant image of today's customs.
If nothing else, from the above analysis, in modern times, no matter what kind of people, it is futile to try to restore Guan Yu's true colors, haha. ....