The box office of "Nezha 2" continues to rise, as for whether the movie is good or not, it seems to be related to the great cause of patriotism, we don't understand, and we don't dare to say. Anyway, for me personally, I already live in a society full of slogans, and watching a high-mouthed movie is just very indifferent. However, Nezha, like Wukong, as a symbol of the Chinese animation industry, has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people, especially the flowers of the motherland. There is really a history of its ins and outs, so you might as well talk about it.
Li Jing, who became an immortal through the backdoor
Nezha is a mythical figure. As the saying goes, one day in the sky, one year on earth, the fairy world is immortal, but no matter how immortal it is, there must be a first come and a first come. It seems unclear when Nezha was born. But Nezha's father, Li Jing, the king of Tota, is from the Eastern Tang Dynasty.
Li Jing, originally a famous general under Li Shimin, has made great achievements in his life and has almost never been defeated. He pacified Jiangnan, pacified Lingnan, destroyed the Eastern Turks, and while stabilizing the northwest border, he also washed away the shame of the Tang Dynasty as a vassal to the Turks. In the year of the sixtieth year, he also went on an expedition to Tuyuhun, pursued for thousands of miles, and won a complete victory. Li Yuan thinks that he can be compared with ancient famous generals such as Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wei Qing, and Huo Quzhi, "how can the famous generals of ancient times, Han, Bai, Wei, and Huo, be able to reach it"; Li Shimin praised him for his surprise attack on the Turks with 3,000 cavalry, which was unprecedented in ancient times, "Jing rode 3,000 cavalry, captured the court with blood, and then took Dingxiang.
From the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River to the desert in the northwest, Li Jing laid half of the country for the Tang Dynasty. During his lifetime, Li Jing was named the Duke of Weiguo and ranked in the Lingyan Pavilion; After his death, he was buried in Zhaoling and deserved to enjoy the temple. During the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing was invited to enter the Wumiao and was ranked among the "Ten Philosophers".
Official admiration has led to folk worship, and worship inevitably produces legends. In the rumors of the common people, Li Jing, as an invincible general, is a god-like existence, omnipotent, and boundless mana. In the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing began the path of deification. In the legends of Zhiwei such as "The Legend of the Bearded Guest" and "The Record of the Continuation of the Virtuous Monster", he will have special functions, such as acting for the Dragon King to travel in the rain or something.
But the light spell can't work, and if Li Jing wants to really ascend, he has to rely on the power of religion.
During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism prevailed. And one of the Buddhism has a protector god - Bishamen Heavenly King, who is full of combat effectiveness, and seems to be rich, which is in line with the taste of the Tang people in the Eastern Soil, and is naturally preached. The image of this king is like this: wearing a crown and armor, holding a pagoda in his hand and stepping on a yakshatra on his feet. Not only does he look like a military general, but the king of Bishamen really has some "military talent". It is said that during the Tianbao period, the city of Anxi was besieged by the Tibetan army, and the king of Bishamen suddenly appeared, shining brightly, helping the Tang army to win a complete victory.
The name "Bishamen", which was a foreign product, was neither catchy nor pleasant, and was soon replaced by the name of "Tota Heavenly King", which was both figurative and intuitive. And the image of the "God of War" who can win battles and is good at winning battles coincides with Li Jing. The imaginary gods have gradually become concrete, and "Li Jing, the king of Tota" has gradually spread among the people. It is said that in the end, it also obtained official recognition: Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, issued an edict to officially canonize the famous Tang general Li Jing as the king of Tota. Since then, Li Jing has officially become an immortal through the backdoor.
In the Ming Dynasty, after the rendering of "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Gods", the image of Li Jing, the king of Tota, was fuller, and he was also ranked in the immortal class, and found a status in Taoism. Of course, in these two novels, Li Jing's appearance seems to be mainly to set off his son, Nezha.
I want to mention here that when you look at "The Romance of the Gods", you should not be limited by the background of the end of the Shang Dynasty explained in the book. Because, the whole book is actually an overhead background. The names of the characters in the book, their official positions, and the iron weapons and other elements do not fit the background of the Shang Dynasty in history. For example, Li Jing's Chen Tangguan General Soldier was obviously not an official position in the Shang Dynasty. In short, it is a mythological novel, and it should be read as a myth.
From the Buddha of the West to the Chinese Fairchild
In "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Gods", Li Jing, the king of Tota, has three sons, Jinzha, Muzha, and Nezha, and Nezha is the most prestigious, known as the "third prince".
In "Journey to the West", the third prince of Nezha is a small favor for Wukong to descend demons and eliminate demons, and he comes out to make a scene, not the main character. But in "Romance of the Gods", Nezha is the pioneer under Jiang Ziya and the main force of King Wu's war. Therefore, the book gives a detailed introduction to Nezha's birth, naughty trouble, learning to participating in work.
Chinese children grew up listening to "Nezha in the Sea" and watching "Journey to the West", listening to the name "Nezha", except for being cordial, they don't think about it, but if you think about it, you will find abnormalities. Li Jing's eldest son and second son are called Jin Zha and Mu Zha, and the third son should be called Shui Zha, Jin Mu, water, fire and soil are a set; Besides, Li Jing's surname is Li, and Nezha, as his son, should also be surnamed Li, but he has never been called "Li Nezha". Speaking of which, the name "Nezha" is not like a product of the Eastern Tang Dynasty, but in fact, it does come from the Western Heavens.
It is said that the king of Bishamen had a son named Nezha, who was also the protector of the Dharma. "Kaitian Biography Letter" records: "The young man said: 'A certain extraordinary person, that is, Prince Nazha, the son of King Bisha. In the Eastern Tang Dynasty, since Li Jing borrowed someone's shell to become an immortal, even Nezha's son was borrowed and digested and absorbed into his own son.
From the Buddha of the West Heaven to the Chinese Fairchild, there is a process. During this period, Nezha's image also changed from a green-faced and fanged yaksha to a fairy child with pink makeup.
At first, Nezha was a thousand-armed giant god dressed in tiger skin, like a yaksha. Later, Nezha became three heads and eight arms, the main face is the blue-faced fangs, the left is the statue of the boy, the right is the statue of the old monk, the eight arms are holding the vajra, the sun wheel, the moon wheel, the pagoda, the conch, the foot ghost, or a fierce appearance. In the Northern Song Dynasty, in the image of Nezha, Indian elements still existed, but Taoist elements such as Chaotian Aya appeared. In the Yuan Dynasty, Nezha's image underwent major changes, with the first appearance of a boy statue, a double bun, and began to make up jade, and the "Western Heaven" elements such as the vajra also disappeared, basically realizing sinicization. In the Ming Dynasty, Nezha had the "human" appearance that we are familiar with: a single head and two arms, and the law of three heads and six arms will appear during the battle.
In fact, in Nezha's deeds, it also reflects the unity of Buddhism and Taoism. Cutting meat and removing bones, this is a frequent episode in Buddhist stories, it is the deeds brought by Nezha from the Western Heavens, but the separation of soul and flesh is the basic theory of Taoism, so the incarnation of the lotus flower is the legend of Nezha after the sinicization.
The most prestigious deed, Nezha making trouble, is an artistic creation of the Chinese. It is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people that in the hearts of the Chinese, Nezha is the nemesis of the Dragon King. It is said that before the Yuan Dynasty, Youzhou, which is now Beijing, had a dragon monster underground, which was called the Bitter Sea Youzhou. In order to suppress the evil dragon, Liu Bingzhong built the Yuan capital of "Pimen Eleven" according to the image of Nezha's "three heads, six arms and two legs". Because of this, Yuan Dadu is also known as "Nezha City".
Nezha should be surnamed Li, but not "Li Nezha". Because, he is not from the Tang Dynasty, his father is not his father, and his grandmother is not his grandmother.
Interesting, Nezha, as a big IP in the Chinese animation industry, fundamentally speaking, comes from "learning from the West" and from the acceptance and absorption of foreign culture by the ancient Chinese. Does this also prove that an open attitude and an inclusive spirit can promote prosperity?