A large number of statues of gods have been unearthed in Sanxingdui, Sichuan, such as the famous bronze Dali people, large masks, and various ancestral heads with braids or hair buns. We can imagine the scene of the ancient Shu people worshipping these gods in the temple. Because modern Chinese worship temples, whether they are Buddhist temples or Taoist temples, there are statues of various bodhisattvas and immortals, and it is easier for us to understand the ancient Shu people worshipping gods.
However, if I say that in the early days, the Central Plains did not worship the statues, you may feel strange, then what do they worship? In fact, in the eyes of the Central Plains people in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, such a noble thing as a god is generally not imaged, so it is generally expressed in two ways. One is to use the word "god", which is a wooden plaque with the name of a god or ancestor written on it. Another is to use "corpses", that is, to make people act as actors, to play gods and ancestors.
The "Divine Lord" who represents God
The era when the Chinese used "god lord" is very ancient, and all the words related to religion, gods, and sacrifices in Chinese characters have a "show" next to the word, such as the word "sacrifice" next to the bottom, and the word "god" and "ritual" next to the left. "She" is also next to the word Shi, which is sacrificed to the god of the land. The "sect" of "religion" is a manifestation in the temple.
"Show" is the god expressed by jade and wooden plaques. The "show" in the oracle bone inscription is an image of a wooden plaque or something. As long as the words of the gods or ancestors are written, the gods without images can be attached to them to receive the sacrifices offered by the people. In the No. 3 tomb of Hougang in Yinxu, a god made of jade was unearthed, and the text on it was written in cinnabar. The ancients believed that cinnabar could communicate with the gods, and modern Taoist priests also used cinnabar to draw talismans.
Yinxu Hougang No. 3 tomb unearthed cinnabar written gods. Courtesy of the author
These jade gods have the names of their ancestors written on them, such as "Zu Bing", "Zu Jia", "Zu Geng", "Father Gui", "Father Xin" and so on. There was a lot of discussion about the use of the Divine Lord's hierarchy in later Confucianism. For example, Xu Shen and Zheng Xuan, scholars of the Eastern Han Dynasty, believed that only high-ranking nobles such as the Son of Heaven and the princes could use the gods. A nobleman of this rank as a doctor took a bundle of silk "bundles" as a place for his soul to attach.
When it comes to the lowest level of nobles, "scholars", the ancestral spirits cannot even use a bundle of silk with the things attached, but must use a lower level of thatch, and this bundle of thatch is called 菆 (zōu). The so-called "bound silk according to the gods, special animals are fed, priests are sacrificed, and the grass is knotted." ”。 Whether it's a god, a bundle of silk, or a bundle of thatch, you don't need a god idol anyway.
Using people to pretend to be gods is for "corpses"
In addition to using wooden signs, silk, and thatch, you can also make people become actors and play gods. This kind of character is called a "corpse". Of course, this "corpse" does not refer to a corpse, the word "corpse" in the oracle bone inscription is the shape of a person, referring to the human body. The corpse is to play the body of God.
In the oracle bone inscription, it is recorded that there were multiple corpses at the scene of the sacrifice. For example, on the 1402nd piece of "Oracle Bone Collection", a large group of corpses is recorded, guiding each other to accept the scene of eating and drinking. Bu Ci asked: "Do you let Shang Tang's corpse guide the corpse of the great god "Emperor", or let the corpse of the former king Dajia guide the corpse of the emperor?" ”
The 1402nd piece of the "Oracle Bone Collection" records that the gods of all walks of life guide each other. Courtesy of the author
"It is to let the first king descend on the corpse of B to guide the corpse of the emperor. Or is it to ask Da Jia's corpse to guide Shang Tang's corpse, or to call Xia Yi's corpse to guide Shang Tang's corpse? This group of old actors, playing the role of various gods, were lively together, guiding each other to "please first", entering the sacrificial banquet, and persuading each other to drink.
The "Book of Songs" describes the scenes of these old actors who play the gods, eating and drinking, and there is musical accompaniment when they leave the table. The old actors are full of food and drink, which means that the gods they play are full of food and drink. The so-called "god is drunk, and the emperor's corpse is loaded." The bell and drum send the corpse, and the god protects Yu Yu ("The Book of Poetry, Xiaoya· Chutz)".
The idea of the ancients was that there were no concrete images of gods and dead ancestors. So find those old actors who are full of emotions and play corpses. The corpse buddies eat a mess, which is very vivid, they eat and drink enough, that is, the gods and ancestors eat and drink enough. That is, the so-called "his death, no loneliness, longing and sorrow, nothing to write about, sitting on the corpse and eating it, destroying its food, gladly like a kiss is full, and the corpse is drunk like a god" ("White Tiger Pass Sacrifice").
So who can be a veteran actor? He Xiu, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, said that the Son of Heaven and the princes were very noble, and after they died, they could let their ministers play them. And those below the rank of doctor let their eldest grandson play it. Well, you read that right, it's really a big grandson. Sacrifice a dead grandfather, the grandson plays the grandfather, and the father has to worship the grandson, the old actor. Sun sits, dad stands; Sun was eating, and Dad was watching.
This picture is quite intergenerational. The ancients also said very clearly, what is the aristocratic style? The nobles only hold their eldest grandson, not their son. Because the eldest grandson can be his own corpse in the future, while the son cannot play his own corpse. ("The Book of Rites: Qu Lishang": "'A gentleman hugs a grandson but does not hold a son', this says that the grandson can be the corpse of the king's father, and the son cannot be the corpse of the father").
Why do you have to use old actors? Because there is a "Zhao Mu system", the family generation is the "Zhao" generation, the next generation is the "Mu" generation, and then the next generation is "Zhao". Grandpa and eldest grandson are in the same camp in the "Zhaomu system", and dad and great-grandfather are in the same camp. So, dad can play the corpse of his great-grandfather.
The ancients had a short lifespan, and sometimes the grandfather ascended to heaven, and the grandson was still young when he was sacrificed, so he couldn't be an old actor. In response to this situation, Confucius pointed out that at this time, it is necessary to find a group performer, hold the eldest grandson, and play the corpse. ("The Book of Rites: Zeng Zi Asked": "Confucius said: 'Those who are sacrificed to mourn must have corpses.' The corpse will be grandchildren, and the young grandchildren will be embraced.'").
When the corpse played the ancestral god, he had to wear the clothes he wore during his lifetime, and at that time, the nobles were responsible for collecting these clothes before their death, and then sent them to the old actors to wear during the sacrifice. ("Zhou Li, Chunguan, Shou You": "The temple of the first king and the first prince is guarded, and his clothes are hidden. If there will be sacrifices, then each will be given to the corpse in his clothes). ”
The statues of the gods used in the Central Plains were influenced by Buddhism
In the early Central Plains culture, it was always insisted that there was no specific image of God. Whether it is using gods, silk, and thatch as a medium for the gods to attach, or letting a big living person play it, there is no need for a god statue anyway. The use of gods and goddesses in the Central Plains was influenced by Indian Buddhism as late as the Han Dynasty. The Taoism of the Central Plains culture, until the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, still adhered to the tradition that there was no image of the god and did not worship the image of the god.
At that time, Taoism believed that there was no image of God, so a great god like "Huang Shen Yue Zhang" - this god you must know that the "Huang Tian" in the slogan of the Yellow Turban Army "The sky is dead, the yellow sky should stand" is this great god. It is necessary to use the Yellow Heaven of Taoism to defeat the Heavenly Heaven of Confucianism. The Taoist expression of "Huangshen Yue Zhang" is represented by the seal of this god, not a statue. The Taoist priests of the Southern Dynasty still believed that the use of gods and statues was Indian Buddhism.
The Taoist "Yellow God Yue Zhang" seal does not need a god statue. Courtesy of the author
Therefore, the worship picture that we are familiar to modern people, whether it is entering a Buddhist temple or a Taoist temple, there are a large number of gods on display, which is actually a product of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Prior to this, the Central Plains culture did not use statues of gods, which is a relatively unique phenomenon in the world.
The ancient Shu culture produced the earliest statue of Confucius in China
After going around in a big circle, at this time, when I return to Sanxingdui, I can suddenly see it. This Sanxingdui uses a large number of statues to worship, which is still different from the Central Plains culture. What does this mean? It illustrates the richness of ancient Chinese civilization, the Central Plains and the Great Southwest, each with its own merits and characteristics. Although the ancestors of Sanxingdui also used the summer rites and Yin rites of the Central Plains, they also retained their own unique "Shu rites".
The ancient Shu people liked to use idols, and after the Qin State ruled Bashu, they adopted a relatively moderate policy towards the southwestern ethnic groups, and did not force the use of the Central Plains sacrifice methods. In the Han Dynasty, the culture of using gods in the Bashu region actually produced the earliest Confucius statue in China. Before this, the descendants of the Confucian family sacrificed to Confucius, which should be played by the gods and corpses. Confucius's grandson, Zisi, should have played the corpse of Confucius.
The descendants of the Confucian family and Confucian scholars in the Han Dynasty still used the sacrificial methods of the Central Plains, so there is no statue of Confucius. However, according to Gu Yanwu's research, Shu County of the Western Han Dynasty was too shou Wenweng, spread the Central Plains culture in Shu, and made a "stone room" school, among which there was a kneeling statue of Confucius, and there were also statues of seventy-two disciples on both sides (Gu Yanwu's "Daily Knowledge" volume 14: "The corpse ceremony is abolished and like a matter of prosperity, and it is covered in the Warring States period". Original note: "Han Weng Chengdu stone room, set up Confucius sitting statue...... Seventy-two disciples served on both sides").
That's weird. The appearance of gods in the Central Plains is a product of the influence of Indian Buddhism since the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, Wen Weng was in the era of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty at this time, which belonged to the early period of the Western Han Dynasty and was introduced much earlier than Buddhism. But how did the earliest statue of Confucius and the group portrait of the seventy-two sages of Confucianism appear in Chengdu, Shudi?
The only explanation can only be that Wen Weng respects the cultural habits of the people of Shu who like to worship gods, and according to the Shu tradition of making statues since Sanxingdui, he went to connect with the Central Plains culture, so he made the earliest Confucius statues and a large number of group statues. In later generations, we entered the Confucian Confucian Temple and saw the scene of the statue of Confucius, which appeared in Shu thousands of years in advance.
The afterglow of Sanxingdui actually produced the earliest statue of Confucius in China, which has to be said to be an interesting cause.
• (This article is the author's personal opinion and does not represent the position of this newspaper)
Li Jingheng
Editor-in-charge: Xin Provincial Chronicles