In the middle of Xi'an City, there is a Taoist temple on the bustling and modern West Street, which enshrines the patron saint of the city, Xi'an [Capital City God Temple]. Founded in the 20th year of Ming Hongwu (1387), the Xi'an Capital City God Temple was called one of the three major city god temples together with the city god temples in Beijing and Nanjing at that time. So what exactly is a "city god"? Who is enshrined in the "City God Temple"?
The pre-Qin cultural classic "Zhou Yi" has a cloud: "The city is restored to the god, do not use the teacher" This is the earliest record of the word "city god" seen today. The Eastern Han Dynasty classicist Xu Shen gave an authoritative definition of the two words "city and god" in the "Explanation of Texts and Characters". The city refers to the high wall built of earth and the settlement of the people; the cloud refers to the moat surrounding the "city", and the one with water is the "pool", and the one without water is the "god".
Ordinary people believe in the city god, but they pin their good wishes and blessings for the city on it. The Guardian Lord enshrined in the City God Temple is responsible for protecting the people of the area from war, floods and plagues. The City God Temple in each city has its own City God. The city god lord of Xi'an was Ji Xin, a general under Liu Bang of Han Gaozu.
During the Chu-Han War, when Liu Bang was besieged by Xiang Yu in Xingyang City, the two sides were in a months-long stalemate. When Liu Bang had reached the point of running out of ammunition and wanted to surrender to Xiang Yu, Ji Xin, who had been following him from birth to death, stepped forward and took the initiative to offer a plan: "The matter is urgent, please be king for Wang Qichu, and the king can come out of the room." So Ji Xin pretended to be Liu Bang and surrendered from the East Gate.
At this time, the Chu army besieging the city on all sides instantly relaxed, and many people ran to the east of the city without authorization to watch and celebrate this war that was won without a war. On the west side of the city, Liu Bang took Zhang Liang and dozens of cavalry, dressed in black clothes and black pants, and fled. When Xiang Yu found out that he had been deceived, he killed Ji Xin in anger. As one of the heroes of the Han Dynasty, Ji Xin has impressed generations of people, enough to impress the history of Qingqing.
After Liu Bang seized the world, he posthumously sealed Ji Xin and gave him a yellow robe. A temple was also built for him in the town of Wangqu (in present-day central Chang'an District, Xi'an). By the time of the Second Emperor Wenjing of the Han Dynasty, in order to conform to the people's will, they sealed Ji Xin as the god of the city. Since then, Ji Xin has become the protector of Chang'an City, and has become an indispensable part of Chang'an City by holding regular sacrifices every year.
After several dynastic changes, the Ming Dynasty was established. In the 20th year of Hongwu (1387 AD), the City God Temple was built in the area of Guanghui Lane. Xi'an, as the largest military town in the northwest region, when Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang sealed the world under the heavens, the City God Temple in Xi'an was enfeoffed as the "Capital City God Temple", which became the city god temple that ruled all the large and small city god temples in the northwest provinces.
The Metropolitan God Temple has the highest level and greatest influence in the sequence of beliefs of the City God. The Xi'an Capital City God Temple was also one of the three major city god temples in the world at that time. Later, because the Qin King's Mansion and the City God Temple were in the same area, in the eighth year of Xuande (1433 AD), the Capital City God Temple was moved to the location of the current West Street. During the Qing Yongzheng period, a sudden fire burned down the Xi'an Capital City God Temple.
Nian Qianyao, who was then the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, demolished the residence of Zhu Shuang, the King of Qin in the Ming Dynasty, and rebuilt it with its brick and stone wood. After the reconstruction, "the scale is grand, the Dongyu is reverent, majestic, and the armor is in Guanzhong". After the founding of New China, the Xi'an Capital City God Temple in the 1960s became a well-known wholesale market for small commodities. In 2003, in order to protect cultural relics, the Xi'an Municipal Government moved away the shops and rebuilt the City God Temple.
Nowadays, when people come to the Xi'an City God Temple, they will always be attracted by the exquisitely patterned ancient archway, the front of the archway is written "Capital City God Temple", and the back is written "Are you here". These four words are actually Taoist warnings, the city god not only guards the city, but also is in charge of being competent for the undead, rewarding the mountain and punishing the evil, life and death blessings and so on. The good comes here with a good heart, and the evil is more than the fear of my door.
In ancient times, when local officials took office, they had to pay homage to the city god, first praying for the safety of the country and the people, the wind and rain were smooth, and secondly, they had to report their deeds to the city god. Even the common people, when they go out of the City God Temple and see this sentence "Are you coming", this is to warn people to do good things, if we are frank and frank, we can confidently say: I am coming.
In addition, the city god in many places is different in various eras, and there is more than one "good person" and "god man" in the hearts of the people, so some city god temples will worship many city god gods at the same time, and the city god temple in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, will simultaneously erect a monument to enshrine Wei Yingwu, Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi, Fan Zhongyan, Wen Tianxiang, Zhou Chen, Guan Zhong, Ren Huan, Zhang Guowei, Tang Bin and other 10 city god gods.
The city god is not the name of God, but a kind of official position of God. The reason why Chenghuang is supported by the people is because of the priesthood he shoulders, and his mission is to defend the city and the people.