In classical Chinese literature, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is undoubtedly a work that has a great influence on Chinese society and even the entire Han cultural circle. The "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has 700,000 words and more than 1,300 historical figures appearing in ink, and the series of characters it has created, such as Liu Bei, Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Lü Bu, Zhou Yu, Ma Chao, etc., have long been well-known in China, and women and children are well-known.
Jin Yong, the famous master of martial arts novels, was very respectful of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, praising: "Obviously, as far as literature is concerned, its character-building kung fu is indeed first-class, and later Chinese novelists have drawn nourishment from it." "The social impact of Romance of the Three Kingdoms far exceeds its literary value."
The wide dissemination of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has also played a positive and far-reaching role in promoting the worship of Emperor Guan in civil society, which is mainly manifested in the following aspects.
I. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" meticulously portrays the image of Guan Gong, making Guan Gong's heroic story and personality charm more abundant and full, more in line with the image of Guan Gong in the minds of the people, who is loyal and courageous, and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has become an important window for the public to understand the story of Guan Gong, enlighten The culture of Guan Gong, and inherit the spirit of Guan Gong.
In the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Guan Gong's heroic deeds of killing bullies in his hometown, his loyalty and righteousness to Liu Bei and Zhang Fei Taoyuan when he was in Zhuo County, his loyalty to Liu Bei when he was trapped in Cao Camp, his unswerving indignation in hanging seals and sealing gold, his heroic courage when passing through the pass, the Zhi En Tu Report when Huarong Daoyi interpreted Cao Cao, his loyalty when he went to the meeting with a single knife, his loyalty to death and his righteousness, his laughter and laughter when scraping bones and healing poison, his divine power, his northern expedition to Xiangfan, Wei Zhen's Huaxia's went to earth, his martial strategy and planning, all left a deep impression on the hearts of the sons and daughters of China. Guan Gong became a moral icon and heroic role model for the Chinese community.
Qing Dynasty scholar Wang Kan said in his "Jiangzhou Pen Talk": "The "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" can be used by women and children, and today there are all those who do not know Guan Zhongyi (Guan Gong) and also perform the merits of yanyi."
Second, the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" "the text is not very deep, the words are not very vulgar, the chronicle is actual, but also almost history", making the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" guan gong hero image, more three-dimensional, more grounded, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" once came out, the story of the guan gong hero also swept the land of Shenzhou, becoming a textbook for the people's daily life, study and work, entrepreneurship and management, and standing in the world.
Especially for the "out-of-school citizens", "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a wonderful popular history, and in the history of popular education for thousands of years, no book can match his magic." In the past five hundred years, countless out-of-school citizens have gained countless common sense and wisdom from this book, learned the skills of reading and writing letters and compositions from this book, and learned the skills of being a man and responding to the world from this book. They do not seek superb insights or literary skills; they seek only a kind of textbook that is very interesting and makes people refuse to let go. (Hu Shi)
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" will be the biography of historical figures for popularization of artistic processing, so that the Three Kingdoms period has become the most in-depth folk historical period, whether it is the Three Kingdoms opera, commentary, allegro and other popular culture, or local customs, place name landscape, Three Kingdoms ruins, etc., and even the popular film and television, comics, video games, etc. are affected by the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Guan Gong image as the most dazzling celebrity in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", active in the various stages of folk culture.
Third, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is based on the traditional morality and values of Confucian culture, with confucian ideas of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and faith as the main line, especially the "concept of loyalty and righteousness" of Confucianism is fully expressed and reflected through the image of Guan Gong and heroic stories, and the social moral value orientation of loyalty and patriotism, zhixing han room, sincere unity, and unity has played a good social and moral value orientation for the members of the whole society.
As the Ming Dynasty scholar Zhang Shangde said in the "Introduction to the Popular Interpretation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms": "Knowing orthodoxy must be supported, stealing positions must be punished, loyalty and filial piety must be a teacher, adultery and greed must go, right and wrong, under the eyes, beneficial to the style of teaching, extensive and great." ”
As the perfect embodiment of the spirit of loyalty and righteousness, as well as the moral practitioner of Confucianism, Guan Gong concentrated on the moral and spiritual cultural connotation of the Chinese national culture, laying the ideological foundation, humanistic foundation and public opinion foundation for Guan Gong to be revered as a martial saint, and the image of Guan Gong Zhongyi and the martial saint with the spread and fermentation of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has increasingly taken root in the hearts of the people and is admired and worshiped by the global Chinese society.
The scholar Gu Jiaxiang commented in the "Essays on The Five Yu Readings": "Gai Zi's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" prevailed and was revived as a drama, while women and children, shepherds and peddlers, all knew that Cao Cao was a traitor, Guan (Gong), Zhang (Fei), and Kong Mingzhi were loyal, and their subtle contributions were related to the hearts of the people in the world, which was not shallow. ”
As an important promoter and dissemination carrier of the worship of Emperor Guan, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has played a very important role in spreading and carrying forward the spirit of Loyalty and Righteousness of Guan Gong.
This article was published in Hong Kong Commercial Daily