The power of example is infinite. A positive heroic image can enlighten people's minds, enlighten their morals, baptize their hearts, and elevate their souls.
The heroic image of Emperor Guan, who is upright and loyal to the heavens, is undoubtedly a moral idol and heroic model that has been highly respected by civil society for 1,800 years and has a far-reaching influence. The Ming Dynasty thinker Li Yan said in the "Confession of the King of Guan": "As for today, although men, women, young and old, have no knowledge, they all worship the statue of the public and fear the spirit of the public, and the knowledge of the public is upright, as if in the universe." ”
Yu Shinan, a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, was a famous minister of the early Tang Dynasty and one of the "Twenty-Four Heroes of Lingyange". Together with Ouyang Qian, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji, he was known as the four major scholars of the early Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, said that Yu Shinan had five absolutes: "One is loyal, the other is youmi, the third is Bowen, the fourth is rhetoric, and the fifth is Shuhan." "The virtue of loyalty and integrity is at the forefront.
Yu Shinan admired Emperor Guan's personality deeds very much, and once wrote a three-character poem praising Emperor Guan: "Profit does not move, color is not happy, wei is unyielding, harm is not broken, loyal and geng, righteous and fierce, great husband, true Haojie, Gang Changbei, ancient and modern." ”
Shandong Feicheng folklore: When Guan Gongqian rode alone to find his brother, he once took shelter under the Ziyun Bridge in Feicheng, saw the green bamboo on the shore swaying with the wind, remembered the love of Taoyuan' righteousness, suddenly sighed, and used the green dragon crescent knife on the stone slab to form poems with bamboo leaves, carving out the exquisite and famous "Wind and Rain Bamboo Poetry Painting": "Don't thank DongJunyi, Danqing's independent name." Do not feel lonely leaves, and will not wither for a long time. ”
During the Tang Dynasty, Yu Shinan traveled east to Mount Taishan, passing through here, saw the "Wind and Rain Bamboo Poetry Painting", admired it more sincerely, gladly ordered the pen, wrote down the three-character poem of "Profit does not move, color is not happy, wei is unyielding, harm is not broken, loyal geng geng, righteous martyr, great husband, true Haojie, Gang Changbei, ancient and modern", he generously funded the purchase of 100 acres of land, let people cultivate, rent for the sacrifice of Guan Gong, and also funded the construction of a stone stele building, and placed the wind and rain bamboo stone carvings in the stele building for the world to appreciate and study. Soon after, the guandi temple presided over the invitation of skilled craftsmen to carve Yu Shinan's three-character characters praising Guan Gong on a large stone ding, called "Wu Ci Ding", which was also placed under the stone stele pavilion for people to admire.
Three years after the apocalypse of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Weijing of Feiyi ZhiXian came here to pay respects to Emperor Guan, saw Emperor Guan's "Wind and Rain Bamboo Poetry Paintings" and Yu Shinan's praises, and after drinking, he thought of Emperor Guan's unparalleled loyalty and righteousness, and his admiration was unstoppable, and he was proud of his hair, and with a wave of a cooking broom, he wrote down Zhuge Liang's praise for Guan Gong's "superb group of extraordinary" four large characters, which were still unfinished, and then wrote Yu Shinan's praise in cursive on the stele, that is, "Wu Ci Ding Zang", and wrote "Wind and Rain Bamboo, True Handwriting" on both sides of the stele. It is still treasured in the territory of Feicheng and has become a precious cultural relic of Feicheng.
In the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen Pengchen Kejinshi, one of the "Later Seven Sages" of Chaoshan Province, Jieyang County, a native of Jieyang County, the capital of Chaozhou, worshiped Emperor Guan since childhood, was upright and generous, neglected wealth and righteousness, was open-minded, and informal. During his tenure as commander of Guangchang County in Jiangxi and Renhe County in Zhejiang, he was diligent in government and loved the people, and was honest and clean. At the beginning of his appointment to Guangchang County, he cleared up the backlog of cases over the years, redressed unjust, false and wrongly decided cases, and relieved those who had been wronged and wronged. We should straighten out public order so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment; vigorously build schools and churches to cultivate talents for the localities. Donated money, built bridges and roads, and repaired temples. Because of the death of his mother, he returned home worried, and the local people felt his moral integrity and built a shrine for him. Serving as the commander of Renhe County in Zhejiang For five years, he has an outstanding political voice, has done a lot of practical things for the local people, and is deeply loved by the people
Song Zhaoyu followed the example of Emperor Guan's loyal and righteous spirit everywhere, clean and self-righteous, pragmatic in style, not attaching himself to the powerful, and not pandering to his superiors. Song Zhaoyu often said in front of the statue of Emperor Guan: "Only when the public is clear, honest and virtuous, honest and honest can live up to the high expectations of the people." The inscription for the Guandi Temple said: "Starting from the true hero, directly participating in the position of the sage; with the great general degree, reproducing the body of the emperor." In this way, he expressed his admiration and reverence for Emperor Guan.
The image of Emperor Guandi is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the spirit of loyalty and righteousness has been passed down from generation to generation, and for 1,800 years, all people with lofty ideals in China have taken the spirit of Loyalty and Righteousness of Emperor Guan as a moral model, guided by the spirit, sincere and righteous, advocating morality and righteousness, and cultivating the personality of loyalty, integrity, righteousness and trustworthiness.
"Chao Shang" magazine has a story: There is a young man surnamed Lin in Jieyang Mianhu, who is a gambler by nature and often has a tight hand, but the factors come to respect Emperor Guan, and he is generous and righteous, and it is clear whether right or wrong. One day he found three hundred gold by the river, thinking that this amount of gold must be of great relevance, so he waited by the river for the owner. When the owner arrived, he realized that this money was used by the owner to pawn the house and land to prepare for business. The young man surnamed Lin returned the money to the owner. The lost owner pays him, and he doesn't want it.
The owner returned home and told his wife about the incident, who said, "The hardest thing to find in business is a partner, and this person is so loyal and righteous that he is the best partner." The owner found a young man surnamed Lin to cooperate with him to do business, and after hearing this story, the people of Mianhu took the initiative to make deals with him, and the young people surnamed Lin have since become rich.
--This article was published in Hong Kong Commercial Daily