Worship Guan Gong, forge good fortunes, learn from Guan Gong and practice good fortune
The surname Guan is one of the more common surnames in the Chinese nation. In the "Hundred Family Names" compiled by The Southern Song Dynasty Qiantang Confucian Sheng, the Guan surname ranked 394th. In the sixth national census on November 1, 2010, the ranking of the surname Guan increased to 153rd.
A closer look at the Guan surname clan has lived for generations, and it is found that it is still a special clan that has experienced glory and hardships.
Because of the Holy Ancestor Guan Gong, the Guan clan received unprecedented gifts and praise from the emperor during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, the Guan clan in the hometown of Yuzhi Guangong migrated to luoyang Guanlin Chengqi Shengzu Temple; in the Qing Dynasty, the Guan clan in the hometown of Yuzhi Guangong set up a "Guan surname stereotype" monument, which was responsible for the Guan Gong And sun Chengzu Temple, managing the incense gold in the temple, harvesting the good fields of worship, and inheriting the ritual ceremony; later, the "Hereditary Hanlin Academy Five Classics Doctor" of the Guan Gongyuan sect in Yuzhi Xiezhou, Luoyang, And Dangyang, was responsible for inheriting the Guandi Temple, Luoyang Guanlin, Dangyang Guanling, Jingzhou Nanmen Guanmiao, and Kyoto Guandi Temple.
During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court gave the Guan clan a "great gift, the Confucian gave the clothes to the top, and the peasants were exempt from miscellaneous errands." "Where the descendants of the Guan clan are to study and fall into the first place, the imperial court allows them to wear clothes and tops that mark their meritorious rank for life, and no longer participate in the examination of the imperial examination; those who cultivate the fields are exempted from all taxation and labor. At the same time, the tax-free official land was also allocated for the Guan clan to cultivate as a shrine to the Guan Temple. In addition, the Guan clan also enjoyed the reward of "Nine Pins of Imperial Grace", so that it did not have the petty officials of Feng Lu, and also received the favor and kindness of the emperor.
The "Genealogy" of the Guan family began to be sorted out and revised as early as the Song Dynasty, and was officially published and distributed. In 1995, the Beijing International Culture Publishing Company published a series of books compiled by Lu Yu and others, "Compilation of Guandi Literature", and the eighth volume of the series contained a photocopied copy of the Qing Dynasty woodcut movable type "Guan Family Tree".
Few people know that the Smile of the Guan Clan contains tears and the glory has endured hardships.
During the reign of Emperor Guang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Guan Gong had fled, the government wanted to exterminate the Guan clan, and the Guan clan in their hometown was forced to hide their names and live in exile.
During the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wu bing attacked Jingzhou, Guan Gong was killed together with his eldest son Guan Ping, and the Guan clan in Jingzhou city suffered a zhulian and fled in a hurry. Guan Ping's wife Zhao Shi left Jingzhou with her 8-year-old son Guan Fan and took refuge in an anxiang (安乡, in present-day Anxiang County, Changde City, Hunan Province) and changed his surname to Men.
In the first year of the Three Kingdoms of Wei Jing, after the fall of the Shu state, the Wei general Pang Hui, in revenge for his father Pang De's killing by Guan Gong in the Battle of Fancheng, led troops to exterminate the Guan clan. The Guan clan living in Yizhou (present-day Chengdu, Sichuan Province) in shu Han was forced to flee to Xindu (present-day Ji County, Hebei Province).
After the return of the Three Kingdoms to the Jin Dynasty, a clan of the Guan clan wanted to move back to their hometown of Xieliang (present-day Changping Village, Yuncheng), but they were escorted by the Zhao and Zhang families of the Zhong'en family, and they were able to return home safely.
As far as Guan Gong's family lineage is concerned, among the many historical figures in the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei died of illness in the White Emperor City for the crusade against Eastern Wu, Zhuge Liang died of Illness in the crusade against Cao Wei, Zhao Yun died normally, Zhang Fei was killed by his subordinates, Cao Cao died of head disease, and Sun Quan died of wind disease in the palace. Only Guan Yu's head was decapitated and buried in a different place, his son Guan Ping died with his father, his biological parents threw themselves into the well, tragically passed away, and his descendants went through several links, buried their names in anonymity, and hid in Tibet. This is not only a true historical record that cannot be distorted, but also a great sorrow that is difficult to erase in the minds of the descendants of the Guan clan, and it is also the direct reason for the existence of the "Guan Clan Genealogy" with broken generations and unclear order. No wonder it is recorded in the historical records: "Xuansun GuanLang, ZiMing, Xi "Spring and Autumn", "Yi Chuan", Wei Repeatedly Zheng shi, Guan Lang below the ethnic group is far from the full spectrum." Even during the Tang Dynasty, when Guan Bo served in Zaifu, he only called himself a xieren, not a descendant of Guan Gong. ”
Compared with the Cao Cao clan, in December 2009, after the cemetery of Xigaoxiao Village in Anfeng Township, Anyang County, Henan Province was declared to be Cao Cao's tomb, it immediately caused a controversy and doubt, for this reason, the human genetics laboratory research group of Fudan University first screened out 8 Cao ethnic groups with certain credibility from the 258 Cao surname "Genealogy" in the country, and then collected 79 Cao family members, 280 men and 446 male venous blood samples including Xiahou, Cao and other surnames, and then tested and verified their DNA. In November 2013, the latest research results were released: 100% determination of the chromosomes of the Cao Cao family DNA, and the ancestral intersection of 6 families was in the era of Cao Cao's life between 1,800 and 2,000 years ago.
Cao Cao was originally a historical figure from 2,000 years ago, and it was difficult to conduct DNA "paternity tests" between Cao Cao's descendants and Cao Cao at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and it was difficult to find Cao Cao's direct lineage. Fortunately, Cao Cao's descendants are the imperial family lineage, and the genealogy is more complete and easy to find. The Guan surname genealogy is not as well recorded as the Cao Cao family genealogy, and the Guan family is not as lucky as Cao Cao's descendants, using modern high-tech means to identify and verify its lineage.
From this point of view, the generational reproduction of the Guan family's glory and hardship, scenery and frustration, is like a historical picture scroll that has gone through vicissitudes and weathered the wind and frost. This picture scroll is not only a true historical display, but also a precious cultural heritage.
First of all, this long volume of history contains the rich connotation of Guangong culture. Guangong culture has a long history, profound meaning, rich connotation, and its essence and core are "loyalty to the country, righteousness to others, benevolence in handling affairs, and courage in combat." However, behind this essence and core, there needs to be a strong spiritual pillar to support, and a strong moral force to adhere to.
"If you indulge in family affection, how can you be 'loyal, righteous, benevolent,'; if you gain by suffering from loss, how can you repay the cause of the state?" If Guan Gong had taken into account his personal gains and losses and the love of his children, he would not have sacrificed his wife and mother for righteousness and righteousness, eliminated violence and peace; would not have followed Liu Beiyong to bid farewell to his hometown and fought in all directions; he would not have killed his family and his grandchildren; he would not have touched the heavens and the people to admire! Although "loyalty and filial piety will not be twofold", Guan Gong failed to fulfill his filial piety to his parents, but his "loyalty to the country" is a great filial piety, and "treating others with righteousness" is a great virtue. Although "if you want to struggle, there will be sacrifices", Guan Gong sacrificed not only him, but also his son, as well as his biological parents, and even to future generations. The price of this blood is unbearable for ordinary people; who can do this huge sacrifice?
The spiritual pillar and moral force of Guangong have condensed the culture of Guangong and forged the spirit of Guangong.
Secondly, this long volume of history marks the long experience of Guan Gong culture. In this long history of more than 1,800 years, the Guan surname clan is sometimes famous and prestigious, sometimes it has stopped and snubbed, and even calmly walked through the experience of "ice and fire double heaven". These stem from the admiration and praise of Guan Gong by successive dynasties, and also make the Culture of Guan Gong pass on and continuously experienced.
In the history of our country, most emperors have praised and praised Guan Gong, but there are also a few emperors who feel that Guan Gong is insignificant, do not respect and give titles, and even obstruct them in every way. As early as the Sui Dynasty, the ancestor wise master of the Buddhist Tiantai Sect enshrined Guan Gong as the "Garan God" for the first time in the Buddhist temple, which can be described as a key step in becoming a "god", but the Martial Temple built by the Tang Ming Emperor Li Longji did not have Guan Gong in it. Later, when Tang Dezong increased the number of martial temples, he included Guan Gong, As well as Zhang Fei, Zhou Yu, Deng Ai and others, and Guan Gong made his debut in the official ceremonies of the Tang Dynasty.
However, in the early Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin also excluded Guan Gong from the wu temple and excluded it from the state sacrifice. Later, Emperor Huizong of Song, as the "Daoist Lord", crowned Guan Gong as "Chongning Zhenjun", giving Guan Gong a legal status in the Taoist temple. Subsequently, Emperor Huizong of Song added guan gong as "Righteous And courageous king of Wu'an", and Guan Gong was once again enshrined in the "Temple of King Wucheng". However, by the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang stripped Guan Gong of his title of Song and Yuan Dynasties, reinstated his official duties, and returned to the original title of "Marquis of Hanshouting". After that, Zhu Yuanzhangfeng changed his mind and ordered the construction of a temple for Guan Gong in Nanjing, and resumed the worship before the Ming Dynasty. Later, Emperor Mingwu gave the Nanjing Guangong Ancestral Temple the title of "Zhongwu Temple" and changed all the Guangong Ancestral Temples in the country to "Zhongwu Temple", which was the beginning of the Ming Dynasty emperor giving the name of the Guanguan Temple. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that Emperor Mingshen conferred the title of "Emperor" on Guan Gong, which made Guan Gong the main god of the Wu Temple, and was called "Wenwu Ersheng" together with Confucius, and the "Zhongwu Temple" was changed to "Guandi Temple". However, during the Republic of China, some places worshiped Guan Gong and Yue Fei in the Wu Temple.
For the admiration and praise of Guan Gong, the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty are the formation period, the Song and Yuan dynasties are the development period, the Ming Dynasty is the prevailing period, and the Qing Dynasty is the peak period. According to statistics, there have been 16 emperors in China's dynasties, 23 times for the Guan Gong Imperial Decree, and one is higher than the other, so that the Guan Gong title from the knight to the marquis, from the hou to the king, from the king to the emperor, from the emperor and the saint, from the saint and the god, and then also made the Guangong a super-national, super-faith, super-time, super-national moral idol.
At a time when folk, religious, yanyi, and emperors of successive dynasties have spent hundreds of years jointly advocating Guan Gong, there are still some people who distort the facts, make false judgments, and even desecrate Guan Gong so that they have suffered unknown injustices. For example, it is said that Guan Gong has courage and strategy, is self-conscious, carelessly loses Jingzhou, arrests and releases Cao against orders, Guan Ping is a righteous son, and Guan Gong does not have the surname Guan.
Truth needs to be tested by practice, and culture needs history to accumulate. The reason why Guangong and Guangong culture have endured in various historical periods and been passed down widely is because it has a continuous experience, irreplaceable cultural essence and an unstoppable popular foundation.
Third, this long historical scroll indicates that the Culture of Guangong has been passed down for a long time. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Guan clan fled in anonymity because the local tycoons were in charge, the war was chaotic, and Guan Gong killed the bullies for "righteousness", beheaded Pound, and caused a disaster. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the Guan clan was distraught because the founding emperor Zhao Kuangyin expelled Guan Gong from the temple in order to defend against the people's "righteousness", challenge the authority of the monarch, and overthrow the ruling position. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Guan clan panicked because the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang understood the consequences of the people's worship of Guan Gong and advocating force, and he removed the title of Guan Gong in order to control the people's practice of martial arts, restrict the people's righteous deeds, defend against popular rebellions, and affect the stability of the regime.
From the time of Emperor Huizong of Song to the Qing Dynasty, the Guan clan revived its prestige because although Emperor Huizong of Song had the genius of being able to write poetry and painting, he did not have the ability to govern the country and secure the country. In the face of the continuous invasion of the Liao and Jin states, the morale of the Song army was weak and difficult to resist, and it was difficult to defend the situation, and it was necessary to honor Guan Gong in order to encourage the soldiers, fight bravely, and defend the country. After nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, led an army into The Customs and conquered the Central Plains, successive emperors were given the title of Guan Gong in order to gradually integrate into Han society and avoid ethnic division and social turmoil.
In short, although the emperors of the past had different understandings of Guan Gong, different needs, and different degrees of faith and admiration because of their different origins, different learnings, or different governing philosophies, their purposes and methods were completely the same, and they all borrowed the prestige and influence of Guan Gong to launch new measures to meet the needs of consolidating the position of power and safeguarding the interests of the country.
In today's era, we are in a period of economic development and transformation. In the face of such undesirable phenomena as the expansion of selfish desires, the lack of creditworthiness, the decline of morality, and the weak concept of the legal system in society, our party, while strengthening ideological and moral construction, affirmed the importance of inheriting and innovating excellent traditional culture.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the opening ceremony of the International Symposium to Commemorate the 2565th Anniversary of the Birth of Confucius and the Fifth General Assembly of the International Federation of Confucianism in September 2014: "The rich philosophical thoughts, humanistic spirit, indoctrination ideas, and moral concepts of China's excellent traditional culture can provide useful enlightenment for people to understand and transform the world, can provide useful enlightenment for governing the country, and can also provide useful inspiration for moral construction." He also stressed: "Only by not forgetting history can we open up the future, and only by being good at inheritance can we be good at innovation." Excellent traditional culture is the foundation of the inheritance and development of a country and a nation, and if it is lost, it will cut off the spiritual lifeline. We must be good at organically integrating the promotion of excellent traditional culture with the development of realistic culture, closely integrating it, and developing in the course of inheritance and inheriting in the course of development. ”
General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech has put forward new goals, new tasks and new requirements for us to vigorously strengthen ideological and moral construction, and we must use noble traditional culture to enlighten people's moral concepts and cultivate people's world outlook, outlook on life, values and aesthetics. Guangong culture is the long-standing spiritual accumulation of the Chinese nation, the quintessence and excellent cultural heritage of China's exquisite sinology, and the useful inspiration and positive energy for moral construction in the new period of socialism. In the real society, it is necessary to carry forward the culture of Guangong; the development of the times needs to inherit the spirit of Guangong.
Source: Xiezhou Guangong