"In ancient times, there were no shortage of heroes, and it was rare to be called a sage; and many friends in the world, like brothers, who care?" This is a couplet of the Guandi Temple in Ningxiang, Hunan. In the history of the Chinese nation, famous generals are like clouds, heroes are born, heroes are revered as sages, and famous generals are revered as martial saints, ancient Buddhas, and heavenly dignitaries; for thousands of years, only the emperors are concerned; people in the world make friends, talk about friendship, talk about friendship, and can achieve the goal of being like brothers, life and death, Liu Guanzhang Taoyuan jieyi is a well-deserved model.
In the minds of Chinese people at home and abroad, Emperor Guan is not only the supreme deity who blesses the people and protects the country and the people, but also the spiritual totem that educates people's hearts and helps correct and dispel evil.
Guandi Temple in Zhenning County, Guizhou, said to Lianyun: "How powerful is the sound, how great the merits are, how heavy is the loyalty, and how heavy the true martial saints; the rich and the noble cannot be obscene, the poor cannot be moved, the mighty cannot be bent, and the husband is sincere." ”
The image of Emperor Guan's heroic sages is not only a clear record of the history book "Three Kingdoms Zhi, Shu Shu Vi, Guan Zhang Ma Huang Zhao Biography", as well as a collection of depictions of the Late Yuan and Early Ming Chapter Hui novel "The Popular Interpretation of the Three Kingdoms", and even more popular folk legends and stories, literary and artistic works praised and set off, making The image of Guan Di magnificent, tall, full, and rich, becoming the main indoctrination force of civil society to praise the good and suppress evil, enlighten the fans, and enhance moral cultivation, and the main output of patriotic education.
For thousands of years, the traditional virtues and personality sentiments of loyalty, filial piety, festival, courage, benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and faith advocated by Guandi culture have become a moral benchmark and value pursuit that all Chinese sons and daughters very much identify with and respect, from the imperial court to the people, down to the people, Confucianism, Taoism, and hundreds of deeds, making Guandi culture not only the core moral elements of folk beliefs and folk customs, but also an important component of the spirit of the Chinese nation and the spiritual genes of The sons and daughters of China.
Since the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Guandi Temples dedicated to and sacrificed to Emperor Guandi have spread all over the land of Shenzhou, not only in the inland areas where every village and society has a temple about the Emperor, but also in the outer and border areas, the Guandi Temple can be seen everywhere. Ruan Kuisheng, a jinshi and a servant of the Punishment Department during the Qianlong dynasty, said: "The Guandi Temple is full of sea dwellings, and there are villages and communities everywhere, although there are many temples and shrines."
A Guandi Temple is a moral temple that cultivates a magnificent and righteous spirit and cultivates the spirit of loyalty and righteousness, and is an important way for the Chinese people to carry out moral indoctrination and guide the people's simple customs, reverence for virtue and goodness.
Zhang Pengfei, a native of Suining, Sichuan, was a clean official during the Reign of The Qing Dynasty, and Kangxi praised him as "an incorruptible official in the world"; Yongzheng praised him as "a perfect person of the outstanding generation".
Throughout his life, Zhang Pengfei sincerely believed in Emperor Guan, enshrined the statue of Emperor Guan in his palace, worshipped incense day and night, and never slackened off, so as to be vigilant against himself, prudent and independent, impartial in enforcing the law, and being honest and self-guarding. In the 27th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Zhang Pengfei was appointed as a deputy envoy and accompanied Soetu to Russia to negotiate a border. While passing through the Krullen River, the vanguard of the mission was captured when the two tribes engaged in battle. The crowd panicked and wanted to retreat, zhang Pengfei stepped forward, and shouted to stop it: "When things are dangerous, when the courtiers sacrifice their lives to serve their lives, the public and others are timid, and a certain person deserves it alone!" Through Zhang Pengfei's plot, the misunderstanding was eliminated, and the pioneer was released and allowed to continue to move forward. Everyone admired Zhang Pengfei's loyalty and bravery.
When passing through Mongolia, Zhang Pengfei saw that the Naturalization City (present-day Hohhot) was also related to the Imperial Temple, and excitedly said in his notes: "Therefore, the distant people know their loyalty and righteousness."
Zhang Pengfei greatly admired the promotion and popularization of the spirit of Emperor Guan, which helped to educate people's hearts and strengthen morality. Zhang Pengfei said in his edited "Preface to the Chronicles of Guan Fuzi" that the spirit of Emperor Guan can make "the heavenly reason not be lost in the hearts of the people, and the straight path of three generations still exists." Fill the heart, filial piety with things, loyalty to kings, and faith in friends. For example, the source of Wan Hu is inexhaustible, and the use is infinite, it is (Guan) Hou's great creation of the famous religion. ”
Guandi culture inherits the fine cultural traditions of the Chinese nation and represents the loyalty, morality and code of conduct consciously observed by the sons and daughters of China.
The Ming Dynasty thinker Li Yan said in the "Confession of the King of Guan": "Gai Gong suppressed the lonely fox with the qi of Zhengda, although he did not go against his deception, but roared with the wind and thunder, and he was like a party that broke the power and treachery; he rode the fog and whipped thunder, and he was like a foot splitting the liver of a thief." It is advisable to be a thousand and one ancestors, and the footprints at home and abroad are not to be, and they all look up to the public. ”
The spirit of Guandi Zhongyi has a full range of moral and cultural connotations, is the essence of the Chinese nation's ideology and group wisdom, so that it can be passed down through the ages, and be applicable to all corners of the world, becoming a unique and unlimited landscape that crosses national borders, time and space, faith, and classes.
As the moral practice of Confucianism, the wisdom crystallization of Buddhist and Taoist thought, and the condensation and improvement of folk beliefs, Guandi culture has long been integrated into the blood and soul of the Chinese nation, and has become an important part of the Chinese national culture, national character, national spirit, and national characteristics, profoundly affecting the way of thinking, value orientation, attitude towards the world, living habits, and folk customs of Chinese civil society, forming a unique cultural and spiritual identity of the Chinese nation.
--This article was published in Hong Kong Commercial Daily