There are many examples of people becoming gods in history, such as the deification of Guan Yu and the sanctification of Confucius. The process of these historical figures becoming sacred is accompanied by the development and change of different social and purposeful characteristics of different periods and different characters, which serves the class rulers, who render a typical historical figure according to the needs of the society at that time to create a perfect character image that meets the needs and is for people to emulate and worship.
Looking at the historical materials, it is not difficult to find that Nong Zhigao appears as a negative character in the official Chinese documents, and is a barbarian who "does not follow the edict, has no king's law, and commits disorder".
The relevant records of Nong Zhigao's uprising were first found in the "Wuxi Collection" written by the party Yu Jing, and the chapters related to Nong Zhigao in the "Wuxi Collection" include "Pingman Jingguanzhi", "Jinping Manji Table", "He Sheng Capture Nong Zhigao Mother Watch", "He Yinong Zhigao Mother Watch", "Dai Di Xuan Fu He Jie Watch" and so on.
After the Song Dynasty, the records of Nong Zhigao can be found in the "History of Song" in the Yuan Dynasty, and the "Tongjian of Continuing Zizhi" written by Bi Yuan in the Qing Dynasty. In fact, the historical materials describing and commenting on the events of Nong Zhigao's uprising are far from this, but no matter which dynasty's historical materials and writings, Nong Zhigao cannot get rid of the image of a barbarian.
Since Nong Zhigao was a "barbarian", a "diao people" who rebelled and had no king's law, for the feudal ruler, there was no practical utility to meet the needs, and there was no motivation to elect him as a god. Therefore, the reason why Nong Zhigao became a god from a historical figure is different from that of general historical figures such as Guan Yu and Confucius, and Nong Zhigao's becoming a god is essentially different from Guan Yu and Confucius becoming a god.
To explore the cause and driving force of Nong Zhigao worship, it is necessary to see Nong Zhigao worship from the perspective of Nong Zhigao image, and look at Nong Zhigao image from Nong Zhigao worship.
The concept of immortality of the soul is the basis for Nong Zhi to become a god
If a living person dies suddenly for various reasons, where will he end up? The human mind ultimately has to find out what separates life and death, and eventually people define what separates life and death as the soul. Later, people called the independent existence of the human body after death as a ghost.
People have endowed those ghosts that are unpredictable from the human body with boundless fantasies, endowed them with supernatural, superhuman abilities, and thought that they can dominate and control human life, thus developing a reverence for these ghosts. In order to seek the protection of a ghost that exists independently of the body and exists alone in another world, people worship it and worship it, and people develop a belief in ghosts.
Since ancient times, the Zhuang people have had the concept of immortal souls and ghost beliefs. The tomb of Yuanlongpo, Wuming, Guangxi, unearthed more than 1,000 burial vessels from the Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn periods, including pottery, copper, jade, stone and other materials of living utensils, production tools, weapons ornaments, etc.
They believe that the soul will not disappear after death, so they place many funeral objects closely related to life when burying the dead, so that people's souls can continue to be used when they live in another world.
To this day, the concept of immortal soul and ghost belief is still reflected in Zhuang society. When the author did a survey in Ande Town, Jingxi County, I found that every family would set up a small ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and small ancestral halls were generally located at a high place in the house, and every festival, chicken, sticky rice, wine, fruits and other offerings would be placed to worship their ancestors, hoping that their ancestors would protect their lives in another world.
The custom of worshipping ancestors embodies the idea that the soul is immortal and that ghost beliefs are present in their minds. The inhabitants of Ande believe that deceased ancestors had souls that lived in another world and had the ability to dominate people's real lives.
In fact, the Zhuang people not only have a reverence for the human soul, but also believe that the inanimate and strangely shaped mountains and trees have a soul.
At the foot of Longwang Mountain in Ande Town, Jingxi County, there is an ancient tree, the trunk is very thick, about a dozen people can hold it, listen to the local introduction, this tree has a thousand years of history, and is very aura. Therefore, on the first and fifteenth day of each month, many people come to worship under the tree sincerely.
Therefore, the Zhuang people's deep-rooted belief in the immortality of the soul and ghosts is the basis for Nong Zhigao to become a god, and people believe that after the physical death of Nong Zhigao, the soul continues to exist in another unknown world, and his soul has supernatural and immortal ability to dominate human life, thus generating a reverence for Nong Zhigao's soul.
They believe that although Nong Zhigao is dead, his soul still exists, and his soul can control and influence people's lives.
To this day, when local residents pass by Nong Yasi, cyclists get off the car and push their carts over. Pedestrians wearing hats also have to take off their hats. Therefore, without the existence of the Zhuang people's concept of soul, the concept of gods and spirits would no longer exist, and the worship of Nong Zhigao would no longer exist.
The tribal leader to the sublimation of the tribal gods
Nong Zhigao is the tribal leader who rules the state caves
Nong Zhigao was the chief of Guangyuan Prefecture, so the vast majority of the 7,000-strong rebel team was from Guangyuan Prefecture, and Guangyuan Prefecture basically mobilized all over the city. However, Guangyuan Prefecture is a prefecture of the Song Dynasty, and it is impossible for the prefecture to have so many people, so where do the other people come from? Looking back at this history, in the eighth year of the Song Qingli, Nong Zhigao attacked Jiaotoe for the second time after eight years of condescension to Jiaotoe, and finally won the victory.
In the second time he participated in the War against Jiaotoe, Nong Zhigao did not lead Guangyuan Prefecture alone to fight, but united with other state near Guangyuan Prefecture and Han outlaws to fight together. What are the other state caves, the author believes that Silangzhou, Thunder Cave, Fire Cave, Frequency Cave, Po Dong and other state caves should bear the brunt of it, because Nong Zhigao was captured in the first battle with Jiaotoe, and Jiaotoe "benefited from Thunder and Fire Frequent Po Four Passes and Silang Prefecture." ”
Nong Zhigao's next move after his victory over Jiaotoe was the anti-Song uprising, and Nong Zhigao planned the anti-Song uprising from 1048 after the victory against Jiaotoe to 1052 before raising troops against the Song Dynasty. In this short period of four years, the author believes that it is unlikely that Nong Zhigao will reorganize a whole team of 7,000 people to train troops, because the time is short, the number of soldiers recruited is extremely limited, and in the later anti-Song uprising, Nong Zhigao's army soldiers are brave and good at fighting, which requires long-term training to achieve.
Therefore, the author believes that the personnel who participated in the anti-Song uprising and the original participants in the war against the Jiaotoe have not changed much. During these four years, Nong Zhigao established the Southern Heavenly Kingdom in Andezhou, actively planned anti-Song strategies, and the people of Andezhou naturally became part of the anti-Song uprising team.
To sum up, Nong Zhigao united the prefectures from Guangyuan Prefecture, Silang Prefecture, Ande Prefecture, Leidong, Huodong, Pindong, Podong and other prefectures to form an anti-Song uprising team of 7,000 people, and Nong Zhigao became the tribal leader who ruled the prefecture of Dong.
Nong Zhigao has a high status in people's hearts
First, Nong Zhigao was the tribal leader who commanded the prefectures of Guangyuan, Silang, Andezhou, Leidong, Huodong, Pindong, and Podong. Since Nong Zhigao has been elected and recognized as a leader, his position in the hearts of the people of Dongdong in various states is already self-evident. Only when people recognize and admire Nong Zhigao's personal character and ability, will they elect him as a leader and respect his instructions.
Second, whether it was in the battle of Nong Zhigao against Jiaojiao or in the process of the anti-Song uprising, the people of the states were not afraid of hardships and dangers to follow Nong Zhigao's revelation. Nong Zhigao's anti-Song team was very large, and all human and material resources were fully entrusted, and the people of various states were willing to follow Nong Zhigao in the uprising despite hardships and dangers, which is enough to prove Nong Zhigao's prestige in the hearts of the people of Guangyuan Prefecture;
The anti-Song rebels descended east along the Yujiang River, landed at Hengshanzhai, and immediately captured Yongzhou. Nong Zhigao's team was invincible all the way, and successively conquered Guizhou, Gongzhou, Xunzhou, Fujizhou, Wuzhou, Fengzhou, Kangzhou, Duanzhou and other nine prefectures before directly attacking Guangzhou. Nong Zhigao's uprising team has achieved successes one after another, which can be described as invincible, and if it were not for the will of the people, such a record would be difficult to achieve.
Third, in a large number of folklore about Nong Zhigao, many of them tell how Nong Zhigao tamed the tiger and how he controlled the long dragon. In the legend, Nong Zhigao first subdued the tiger, and then the tiger instantly transformed into a golden dragon, and both the dragon and the tiger became Nong Zhigao's mount, and Nong Zhigao was above the dragon and tiger.
Fourth, the dragon and tiger have always been the symbol of the king in the traditional Chinese concept, the dragon in the ancient mainland is actually a combination of a variety of animals, dragon horns are similar to deer, dragon body is the same as snake, dragon scales and fish scales are the same, it as a flying in the sky, swimming in the water, but has the limbs of beasts.
It is precisely because of this that the dragon can exist in people's hearts as a fetish. People compare Nong Zhigao with dragons and tigers or even control them, which is enough to see the lofty status of Nong Zhigao in people's hearts.
Therefore, whether from the perspective of Nong Zhigao's large uprising team or folklore, different aspects can reflect that Nong Zhigao has an important position in people's hearts as a tribal leader.
Nong Zhigao was elevated from tribal leader to tribal deity
Nong Zhigao had a high status in people's hearts before his death, so the ghost after death was even more feared by people, and the ghost of Nong Zhigao was endowed with extraordinary abilities beyond normal ghosts, and people gave Nong Zhigao ghosts more wisdom and abilities through imagination, making him divine; By giving him the power to dominate and manipulate human life, he was given divine powers, and Nong Zhigao rose from a tribal leader to a tribal god.
Subsequently, as Spencer said, in order to obtain the protection of this tribal deity, people held ceremonies and worshiped offerings, which gradually developed into a system of worship.
The psychology of the worship of heroes
In the course of fieldwork, the author learned that the people of China and Vietnam regard Nong Zhigao as a "heroic ancestor god". Therefore, in people's hearts, Nong Zhigao God has two lofty positions, that is, hero and ancestor. From the evaluations of Xiao Gu, the envoy of Guangxi, and Yu Jing, the envoy of Guangxi, we can see that Nong Zhigao is a very capable person.
First, he was brave and good at fighting and had strong military organizational ability; second, he is brilliant and proficient in strategy; Third, Nong Zhigao's heart for the toiling masses, anti-confrontation, anti-oppression, killing corrupt officials, punishing corrupt officials, helping the poor, etc., are closely integrated with the desire of the poor masses to change the status quo, so Nong Zhigao has been highly affirmed by people, and it is natural that the uprising is regarded as a heroic righteous deed.
And Nong Zhigao's tragic end is regarded as the embodiment of excellent quality and selflessness. Therefore, in Nong Zhigao, the morality, talent, stratagem and heroism of the word "hero" are vividly interpreted, and the tragedy of death has dyed a layer of divine color for Nong Zhigao.
Nong Zhigao was revered as the "heroic ancestor" after his death, it seems that the ancestors are difficult to explain here, because Nong Zhigao was in the same era as the people at that time, and it was impossible to become their ancestors, even if the descendants regarded Nong Zhigao as their ancestors, not all of them came from the same source.
What did the ancestors mean? In fact, Nong Zhigao is an "ancestor" who shook the decadent ruling policy of the Song Dynasty with his life, and Nong Zhigao's historical achievements include the following:
First, the Song Dynasty agreed to the request for annexation of Zhuzhou Dong. 2. Buying and trading. Third, the Song court strengthened its armament in the Lingnan region, with Wuchen as an official, which to a certain extent curbed the ambition of Jiaotoe Tuozhang; The Song Dynasty alleviated exploitation for a period of time, allowing the people in ethnic minority areas to recuperate, and at the same time ordered strict prohibition of corrupt officials and robbery, and entertained people for examinations.
Therefore, although the anti-Song uprising led by Nong Zhigao failed, it shocked the feudal rule of the Song Imperial Court, causing the Song Imperial Court to change its policy towards the Lingnan region, and this series of policy changes made the people of the Lingnan region, which had been neglected, receive relative attention and feel tangible benefits, and this policy change was unprecedented for the people of the Lingnan region at that time.
Nong Zhigao is an "ancestor" who used force and life to open this historical precedent. Therefore, the meaning of this "ancestor" is people's high recognition of Nong Zhigao's contribution to promoting the development of the Zhuang society and improving the people's life, and Nong Zhigao enjoys the same status as "ancestor" in people's hearts.
Therefore, the worship of heroes and the affirmation of Nong Zhigao's historical achievements are important reasons for Nong Zhigao's transformation from a historical figure to a god.
Aspirations and reality are at odds with each other
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the people of Lingnan were not only subjected to heavy taxes and miscellaneous taxes within the state, but also constantly harassed by external relations, and were in a state of panic for many years. In the mainland saying "troubled times produce heroes", Nong Zhigao pleaded for the people of Lingnan in such a contradiction between internal and external exchanges, hoping that the Song Dynasty could agree to the internal request of the Lingnan region, but several requests were refused, and the resentful Nong Zhigao could only lead the people of Lingnan to rise up to resist external disturbances and oppose internal oppression.
Foreign invasions have been disrupting for years
Jiaotoe always paid courtesy to the Song court and paid tribute from time to time. However, during the reign of Li Huan, Jiaotoe gradually lost the courtesy of the vassal and expanded northward. In 966, Li Huan personally led more than 100 warships to attack Ruhongzhai in Qinzhou; In 999, the Li Dynasty occupied the "Nineteen Prefectures of Hodong" and coerced the people of the prefectures to submit to him; In 1027, during the reign of Li Gongyun, he sent his son Li Dezheng to attack Qiyuan Prefecture and Wenzhou under the jurisdiction of Yongzhou in the Song Dynasty; In 1050, Li Dezheng captured Xiping Prefecture and set up the three caves of Drought, Dafa, and Wenxiang in Xiping Prefecture, forcing the people of the region to submit to him.
Although Jiaojiao offered offerings to the imperial court every year, he had evil intentions and often invaded the mainland Lingnan region, so that the border people could not live in peace. After conquering the mainland territory, they continued to force the people to submit to Nagong, and the people in the Lingnan region lived in fear and anxiety.
Internal class contradictions are sharp
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the people of Lingnan were not only subject to foreign relations, but also oppressed by the ruling class of the Song Dynasty. In addition to supporting huge bureaucratic officials, the Song Dynasty also offered a large amount of gold to the Khitan and Western Xia in the north every year, and where did these large amounts of state treasury expenses come from?
Therefore, the Song court only increased the exploitation of the people and imposed a heavy burden. The peasant movement continued to break out. As a place of "miasma", the people's lives are even more miserable. Later, because officials obstructed them and privately lowered the price of cloth, the burden on the working people was even greater, and the degree of exploitation reached an intolerable level.
Nong Zhigao repeatedly begged for help
Before rising against the Song Dynasty, Nong Zhigao repeatedly requested the imperial court to attach it, but all were refused. From Sima Guang's records, we can see that it was not the first time that Nong Zhigao had made an internal request to the imperial court, and his previous requests for an official and a half-post had been rejected, so he "did not dare to repeat the assassination history" this time.
This time, Nong Zhigao asked the imperial court to pay tribute to the imperial court, so that the imperial court recognized the relationship with the monarchs of the Lingnan region, but the weak imperial court still refused his request. Later, Nong Zhigao "begged for a thousand taels of tribute in every southern suburb, willing to exchange markets with Yongzhou, but they were not allowed."
From this point of view, the imperial court's behavior of not allowing tribute and not allowing mutual markets was actually a social and economic blockade of Nong Zhigao's prefecture cave, and although the prefecture cave ruled by Nong Zhigao was actually the territory of the Song Dynasty, it existed in name only.
The opposition between desire and reality pushes Nong Zhigao to God
The people of Dongdong in the prefectures of Lingnan are burdened with multiple oppressions, trapped inside and outside, and their lives are miserable, and the degree of exploitation has reached an intolerable level. At this time, Nong Zhigao, as the leader of the Zhuang people, made internal requests to the Song court on behalf of the Zhuang people but were repeatedly rejected, so multiple oppressions and pains were superimposed on the lives of the masses, and people wanted to get rid of such an environment but could not stop, which became a contradiction between desire and reality.
In the face of the reality that cannot be broken, people need a kind of support mentally. In order to break this contradiction and antagonistic relationship, people put their desires and ideals on supernatural gods, hoping to be protected by gods and thus divorced from the helplessness of reality.
Nong Zhigao was the hero and leader who ruled the state caves before his death, and his soul will be the best spiritual sustenance carrier for people, and people put the unsolvable problems in reality on the gods through the worship and sacrifice of the gods of Nong Zhigao, so as to obtain spiritual satisfaction and hope, thereby breaking the contradictory relationship between people's psychological wishes and cruel reality. Therefore, the contradiction between desire and reality pushes Nong Zhigao to God.