Guan Gong has been revered by the world for more than a thousand years with his spirit of loyalty and righteousness, and his image of reading "Spring and Autumn" at night has deeply penetrated the hearts of the people. Wensheng Confucius wrote "Spring and Autumn", and Wusheng Guangong read "Spring and Autumn", which is the brilliance of the historical intersection and the light of Chinese literature, and "Spring and Autumn" is the intersection of Wenwu Shengcai.
Confucius's "Spring and Autumn" records the intricate contradictions and struggles in the great changes in history, and is famous for remembering the chaotic world, praising and depreciating, and clarifying the great righteousness. Its purpose is to restore the Zhou rites, to enable everyone to abide by the etiquette system, to take their own places, not to transgress, not to violate discipline, so as to achieve the political ideal of peace under the heavens. Confucius wrote history in the Spring and Autumn Style, with the aim of secrecy for His Holiness, for his relatives, for the sages, for the rectification of chaos, with a grand and righteous path, as a warning to his subjects, and to return to the royal way. He not only remembers the affairs of the world, but also uses it to pin down small words and righteousness, evaluate personnel affairs, and pinpoint the world. Therefore, "Spring and Autumn" is not only a history book, but also contains cultural reflections on humanistic philosophy.
Guan Gong read "Spring and Autumn" to find an interpretation of social phenomena and how to behave in the world, and also explored the value and meaning of life in life. Mencius once said: "Confucius became the Spring and Autumn Period, and the thieves were afraid." ("Mencius Teng Wen Gongxia") Guan Gong's life in the Three Kingdoms era at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a weak decline in the world, and the Gang was often decadent, which was very similar to the background of the Western Zhou Dynasty. And when Guan Gong was alive, he was loyal and courageous, and the brave were fearless, which was the embodiment of justice. Guan Gong's reading of "Spring and Autumn", vigilant against life from historical praise and criticism, and practicing loyalty and righteousness are precisely the concrete images of the spirit of righteousness.
What is righteousness? The Book of Rites has a cloud: "The righteous, it is advisable to do so." "Proper is righteousness; Han Yu's "Original Tao" explains: "The predicate of doing what is appropriate" means that the proper behavior is righteousness, that is, what should be done, what should be said, what should be sacrificed, what should be taken. Guan Gong loyally serves the country, eliminates violence and peace, knows grace and rewards, is loyal to the king and courteous, and has affection for friends, reflecting Confucian ethics and morality and the fine virtues of the nation. Guan Gong exerted righteousness to the extreme, and was widely praised for his righteousness. The righteousness of Guan Gong can be described as the great righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period.
Guan Gong and "Spring and Autumn" are the classic plots in Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". There are two most famous novels in which Guan Gong read "Spring and Autumn". One is that Guan Gong read "Spring and Autumn" when Hua Tuo scraped his bones to heal his wounds, which was natural and his face did not change color, showing extraordinary patience and kung fu. One is that when Guan Gong and Lady Liu Bei temporarily surrendered to Cao Ying, Cao Cao let Guan Gong and his sister-in-law be in the same room. At night, Guan Gong let the inner chamber sleep peacefully for the sister-in-law, and he himself lived in the outer room to read "Spring and Autumn" at night with candles, strictly guarding the great defense of men and women, never exceeding the due courtesy and measure of his brother and sister-in-law, which represented his high degree of restraint beyond desire and self. In the novel, Guan Gongwu is brave and disciplined, loyal to his brother Junshang, knows etiquette and keeps manners, and is the most righteous practitioner.
"Spring and Autumn" reveres orthodoxy, noble names, emphasizes faith, emphasizes ethics, does not yixia, and uses historical writing to warn future generations of people to be vigilant and cautious. Guan Gong was loyal to the death with the Taoyuan Alliance, and forged ahead and made unremitting efforts to support the orthodox righteousness of the Han Dynasty. Guan Gong's personality traits and behavior in the novel practice the meaning of "Spring and Autumn", and the plot of Guan Gong's night reading of "Spring and Autumn" can also be described as the visualization of Guan Gong's loyal and righteous spirit, which is the author's use of the book "Spring and Autumn" to mark Guan Gong's loyal personality and remind future generations of readers to think deeply about the essence of Guan Gong's loyal and righteous deeds.
Guan Guan Gongsheng paralleled, in his youth to eliminate violence and eliminate evil for the people, he was righteous in the Taoyuan Dynasty, he obeyed the etiquette and kept his duties all his life, he did not forget the old lord at all times in cao camp, he worked hard to restore the Han room when he rode on the battlefield, and his sister-in-law did not exceed the rules when he returned to the camp. Guan Gongli honored his elder brothers, brothers and children, friends and friends, and loyal kings, embodied the Confucian moral ideals and traditional virtues, practiced the self-encouragement borrowed from the "Spring and Autumn" brushwork, and later generations praised it as the best commentary on the spirit of loyalty and righteousness, so that even after his death, he was still remembered by thousands of people, and finally promoted to be sacred, continued to enlighten all people with loyalty and morality, and left behind for thousands of years.
In the Spring and Autumn Period of complex mutation and struggle, Confucius put forward the expectation of "kings and subjects, fathers, and sons" in a serious way, calling for society to return to human morality. "Spring and Autumn" rebukes those who transgress the law with small words and great righteousness, and the ugly state of the unscrupulous courtiers and thieves is fully exposed in "Spring and Autumn", which should be used as a reference by future generations, showing Confucius's adherence to the concept of respecting the king, correcting his name, and emphasizing ethics. Guan Gongxi read "Spring and Autumn", experienced the chaotic world of the Three Kingdoms in which he lived from the chaotic world of history, and got inspiration and guidance from it. The righteousness of Guan Gong can be said to originate from the Spring and Autumn Righteousness. His wisdom and heroic demeanor of loyalty, righteousness, and courage have inspired countless hearts and have been revered for more than a thousand years. The Tainan Ancestral Wu Temple in Taiwan hangs high with famous plaques such as "The Pole of The World of All Worlds", "Wen Wu Sage", "Wen Jing Wu Wei", "Supreme Greatest Gang", and "Most Holy and Most Divine", which brilliantly shows the respect and praise for the spirit of loyalty and righteousness of Wu Sheng Guan gong and righteousness from the emperor down to the subjects over the centuries. Even today, in the 21st century, the moral tradition of ethics is still used to guide hundreds of millions of people around the world to improve their character and move towards the right path. It is also in the chaotic and dissociated human society, revealing the reflection of "Spring and Autumn Unification". Through the continuous review, rumination and extension of the Spring and Autumn Scriptures, we can take care of this body and do a good job in this life, so that the times can be better enhanced and the greater consummation of the value of life can be promoted.
The Guan Gong faith is particularly profound in the Chinese world and has a profound role as a moral model, which has great significance for the improvement of personality and the cohesion of people's hearts. Even in the modern information age, it continues to play a supervisory role. The worship of Guan Gong, with the spirit of loyalty and righteousness in "Spring and Autumn" as the core, is a strong force of faith that can still produce a strong faith force that conforms to the interpretation of the times even with the different times and regions. (To be continued next Friday)
Professor Lin Cuifeng of Zhongyi Talent Cultivation College
Source: Hong Kong Business Daily