According to Chinese folklore and traditional customs, the people have a special love for the worship of the god of wealth, pour out heavy and simple feelings, and pin their good wishes for living and working in peace and contentment. Today, the author will discuss with you what is the difference between the two martial gods that the people respect, believe in, and worship.
First of all, let's talk about Guan Yu, who is more than 1800 years old.
Guan Yu (Chinese: 关羽;
Xiezhou Guandi Temple Guan Yu deity statue
Although some of them were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, the reconstruction and restoration of Guan Gong was also a matter of course with the people's admiration and trust in Guan Gong.
At present, the largest and best-preserved Guandi Temple in the country is the Guandi Temple in Xiezhou, Yuncheng, Shanxi, and due to the influence of Guan Yu, Shanxi Jin merchants mostly walk the world with "loyalty, sincerity, righteousness and faith". Jin Shang is a loyal believer in Guan Yu, walking outside mostly with Guan Yu as a protective god to pray and worship, with the expansion of Jin Shang's influence, all over the country and even the world have the traditional habit of worshipping Guan Yu as the "God of Wealth", but do not know that the god of wealth that went abroad is not yet magical.
The majestic Guandi Temple in Xiezhou
So, where did Guan Yu's temple come from? According to legend, after Guan Yu was defeated and killed, the soul of the wronged man was not scattered, and the body of the headless body often appeared in the Dangyang Mountain, and at that time, there were many supernatural things in the legend. Later, it was discovered by the Lingzhi monk who traveled here, so he was super-inspired by the scriptures, and with the help of Guan Yu and many unjust ghosts, the temple was built, and the Lingzhi monk built a temple for Guan Yu, which is also the origin of the first Guandi Temple.
Later, the ancients said that Guan Yu was "in Dangyang, his head rested in Luoyang, and his soul was in Shanxi". With the expansion of the folk worship team, the image of his loyalty and bravery was respected by the people as "Guan Gong, Guan Laoye". Successive emperors have a tradition of giving him a golden body and a title, such as "Guan Sheng Emperor Jun, Guan Di", etc., Confucianism enshrines Guan Yu as "Wenheng Saint Emperor", Taoism worships as "Xietian Emperor, Yihan Tianzun", and also has a place in the Buddhist community, and is enshrined as one of the protector gods, called "Garan Bodhisattva". Due to the reasons of the Jin merchants, Guan Yu is reverently worshipped by the world as the "god of wealth" to this day.
Speaking of another martial god of wealth, Zhao Gongming, it is said that during the Yin Shang period, Jiang Ziya once beheaded the general to be canonized, and the title of Zhao Langzi Gongming on the list of gods did not have the position of god of wealth, but made him, as the "Dragon and Tiger Xuantan True King", commanded the four envoys of the four wealth princes, "Zhao Bao Tianzun Xiao Sheng, Na Zhen Tianzun Cao Bao, Zhao Cai Envoy Chen Jiugong, and Li Shi Xianguan Yao Shaosi", who came to be in charge of the human affairs of "Yingxiang Nafu and Shangjia Trading".
Because of the Chinese people's worship and love for "ZhaoBao, Na Zhen, Zhao Cai, and Na Fu", Zhao Gongming is also the god in charge of the four gods of true wealth, and because his face is as black as the bottom of the pot, he sits down with a black panther, and makes good use of an iron whip, so naturally he has become the god of martial wealth.
A portrait of Zhao Gongming, the god of martial wealth enshrined in the folk
According to the Records of searching for gods and the "Three Sects of Searching for The Body" and the records of the "True Truth", it is said that Zhao Gongming was born in Zhongnan Mountain, and then followed Zhang Daoling's Heavenly Master to cultivate Dan, and after receiving the gift of Dan, he was promoted, and the Heavenly Master was titled "Marshal of Xuantan" because he could control thunder and lightning, call the wind and rain, remove plagues, and avoid diseases and disasters, but everything that was fair and everything he wanted was accepted by Taoism as the true god of the Protector of the Dharma and one of the four marshals.
Zhang Daoling is a Han Dynasty, according to this statement, Zhao Gongming should also be a Han Dynasty, which is nearly 800 years away from the Yin Shang Period.
Folk worship of the martial god Zhao Gongming
Specifically, whether Zhao Gongming is the same person in ancient history is no longer important. The folk believe in the god of martial wealth has existed since ancient times, and even Guan Gong is regarded by posterity as the god of martial wealth, which shows the people's desire for life.
Do you believe in Guan Yu or Gongming? This is all different according to the customs and habits of different places, without any deliberate and demanding.
As for whether the desire for wealth is magical, it depends on whether you have a pair of wise eyes and a pair of hard-working hands, if you succeed, don't forget to pray that this is a gift from the gods!
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