Diseases, plagues, natural disasters, conflicts and wars... The long history of mankind is also a history of suffering.
The reverence for nature and the helplessness of the situation force people to imagine a being higher than human beings, to explain disasters and unknowns, to pin on the need to drive away evil spirits and pray for blessings. Thus was born the theory of gods and ghosts.
Our ancestors showed great talent in the creation of Gods. From the heavenly court to the earthly palace, a hierarchical kingdom was created according to the order of the human world, the sun, moon, and the star king, the thunder and electricity mother, the wind god Yubo, and the gods each took their places and performed their duties, and they were in charge of the operation of nature and the life, old age, illness, death, misfortune, and evil in an orderly manner. In addition, the Confucian belief in the "Heaven and Earth Emperor and Father" and the foreign Buddhist gods are already a lively and bustling world.
But the common people felt that it was not enough, worried that the gods were too busy to take care of their own trivialities, so they created some specific and micro gods, the circle gods who specialized in poultry and livestock such as pigsty, sheep pens, chicken pens, etc., the perfume flower sister and garden tree god who protected flowers and trees, the bean sister who avoided chicken pox and macules from children, the lady with the spotted rash, the bed mother who blessed the child not to fall out of bed... Cumbersome and trivial.
In addition, all walks of life have their own "protective gods" - zushiye. In myths and legends and celebrity allusions in history, people painstakingly search for "spokespersons" for their own industries. Cangjie, Shennong, LuBan, Hua Tuo, Cai Lun, Zodiac, Sun Zhen, etc. are all mythologized as the ancestors of different industries. It is naturally good to have a correlation, and it is also possible to rub one without a correlation.
There is a folk saying that "three hundred and sixty lines, no ancestors and no ancestors". With the grandfather, it seems that there is confidence.
A few days ago, the craftsman jun saw a new year painting exhibition of "Paper Horse Divine Code", which exhibited more than 50 qing Dynasty paper horse treasures collected by the Wang Shu Folk Folk Art Research Center, which may be glimpsed from the folk sacrifice culture.
Paper horses, a woodcut printed with images of various gods and Buddhas, are used as "please" gods to worship, and to burn "send" gods. In the past, after painting the image of the god, it was necessary to attach a picture of a horse, which was used as the mount of the gods ascending to heaven, hence the name. Because of its characteristics of incineration after the sacrifice, it is generally not exquisite, but it has a kind of ancient and frank beauty, and not many people have survived to this day.
Industry grandmaster and protector
The land is the god
In ancient times, it was called "Sheshen". Every year, the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar is the birthday of the god of the land, and the farmers will be prosperous because of the field affairs, and pray for the prosperity of the farmers. It is the protector of the ceramic industry and the brick and tile kiln industry.
Emperor Wenchang
Wenchang is originally a star name, also known as "Wenqu Star", and the astrological master believes that it is an auspicious star, and the Lord is noble. Later, he was revered by the Taoists as the god who dominated the examination articles and fame and fortune. He is the protector of the literati and the paper industry, the book shop, the printing industry, and the engraving industry.
Lu Gong lost his son first
Lu Ban, a craftsman in the Spring and Autumn Period, was born in a family of craftsmen, made great contributions in architecture, machinery, civil engineering and other aspects, and was respected as the grandfather of civil craftsmen.
The god of young seedlings
The upper painting of the green shoot god is centered, and the two attendants are separated on both sides; the lower painting is two farmers, the left one is hoeing grass, and the right one is helping the plough to whip the cattle to cultivate the land. Farmers worship the god of young seedlings and ask them to protect the wheat seedlings from being harmed by insects, and are the protectors of farming.
Celestial Lady
Tianxian Niangniang (Bixia Yuanjun) is the daughter of the god Taishan in Dongyue. Folk called "Taishan Niangniang" and "Sending Children Niangniang", it is the protector god of women and children. The sending lady and the child care lady are her incarnations.
Garden tree god
The tree god wears a crown, a wrist, a woman's robe, a face like a woman, holding four folded branches and fruits, and sits in front of the incense case. A three-legged incense burner and a pair of wax sticks are placed on the case. The two tree gods in front of the case, wearing shoulder pads, waist and stomach, barefoot, holding trees in their hands, are separated on both sides. There are pictures of pine and willow trees evenly arranged. He is the patron saint of fruit growers.
The God of the White Tiger
The names of the two gods, the Green Dragon and the White Tiger, are often linked together, and they are the gods of warding off evil spirits, cursing disasters, praying for abundance, and punishing evil and promoting good. The main water of the Green Dragon, the main mountain stone of the White Tiger. Therefore, those who burned stone to refine white ash, stone smiths who chiseled stones as mills, and industries such as digging mountains and taking stones and carving stones as utensils were all worshipped by the white tiger god for peace. He is the protector of the stone cutting industry and the grinding industry.
Spirit should be the god of the river
The Dragon King has a green face and a hedgehog beard, Binggui sits on the top, the civilian officials and military generals are separated left and right, and there are twelve water gods of His Highness, which summarize the gods of the rivers under the heavens, and are all under the jurisdiction of the Dragon King of Binggui. He is the protector of the boat family and fishermen.
Meg Senwon
Sichuan Liangping used to have a Meige Temple, which is dedicated to the god of dyeing cloth cylinders. In the picture, ge hong is on the left, Mei Fu on the right, the two immortals sit side by side, and there is a scene of craftsmen doing dyeing cloth labor, which is the grandfather of the dyeing cloth industry and the pigment industry, and the fourteenth and ninth days of September of the lunar calendar are the sacrifice days every year.
Lacquer treasure real people
Qi Bao zhenren is Wu Daozi, with a cloud crown on his head and wearing a Bagua Star Dou Dao robe. He is the grandfather of the lacquer industry and the lacquerware industry.
God of worm kings
Liu Meng, the insect king, is the protector of insect pests in farmland. It is said to be based on the Southern Song Dynasty's anti-Jin general Liu Kun . Every year on the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, the insect king festival, farmers buy paper horses to pray in the fields, asking for shelter for crops from insect pests and a bumper harvest.
God of Fire
The "God of Fire" is Taishang Laojun and is the grandfather of the smelting and casting industry. The Gold Shop and the Silver Building are also dedicated to him as a protective deity.
Doji Izumi
When there is no tap water in Beijing, everyone drinks well water, and the water pickers provide images of "well spring boys" for safety, praying to protect the well water from being polluted. He is the protector of the well.
Circle God
The "circle god" is the god enshrined in the rural breeding industry, worshiping the circle god and praying that poultry and livestock such as horses, chickens, geese, pigs, and cattle will not be harmed by diseases and other diseases. It is the protector of aquaculture.
The god of the bull king
Cattle are a necessary auxiliary labor for farmers, and their status and importance are very high. People worship the cow god, hoping that the gods will bless the cattle and be the protector of farming and cattle trafficking.
The Four Kings of the Golden Dragon of the Yellow River
Xie Xu, a native of Qiantang in the Southern Song Dynasty, was intelligent by nature and lived in seclusion in Jinlongshan to study without seeking advancement. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, he heard of the humiliation of the country and went to the water to martyr the country in despair. People admired his noble integrity and sentiments, and built a temple for his statue. During the Ming Longqing period, he was posthumously honored as the "Four Kings of the Golden Dragon". He is the protector of the Yellow River's water transport industry.
Wine-making fairy
Du Kang, the "ancestor of winemaking" in ancient Chinese legends, created the method of brewing barley wine. Because of its good winemaking, it is revered by posterity as the originator of winemaking and the saint of winemaking, and is the ancestor of the sake brewing pot industry.
The richer the life on earth, the more gods there are. Isn't this god, big and small, another reflection of past life?
What is drawn on the paper is not only the gods, but also the wishes and fears of the people, and the truest and strongest voice in the heart.
Peace, health, harvest, abundance...
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