Ningxiang Guanshan Ancient Town Lei Yi Zinc carved Guan Gong statue (Courtesy photo: Changsha calf)
The previous article introduced Zhang Zhongjing, who was also a "sitting doctor" in Changsha. Zhang Zhongjing lived in the last year of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the war was in chaos and plague, he died in 219 AD, and the second year of his death, in 220 AD, the Great Han Dynasty that lasted for 400 years came to an end, just in response to the opening words of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "All the things of the world will be divided for a long time, and the division will be united for a long time", and Chinese history has entered the period of the establishment of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. The State of Wei is in the north, Eastern Wu is in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the State of Shu is in Sichuan, is there any relationship with Changsha? Not only that, but the relationship is also big.
There is a passage of the Beijing song "Rap Face" that everyone is familiar with: "The blue-faced Doulton pirates the imperial horse, the red-faced Guan Gongzhan Changsha, the yellow-faced Dianwei white-faced Cao Cao, the black-faced Zhang Fei called The Beep ...". "Guangong Battle changsha" is a very famous chapter in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and has also left many monuments, many legends, and several Guan Gong sculptures and GuanDi temples in Changsha.
Statue of Guangong Cultural Park in Changsha Garden Ecological Park (Courtesy photo: Changsha calf)
Guan Gong, real name Guan Yu, character Yunchang, Shanxi Yuncheng people, eight feet tall, Dan phoenix eyes, crouching silkworm eyebrows, face like heavy dates, infinite strength, known as "Beautiful Hair Gong", riding a red rabbit horse, so that an 81-pound green dragon crescent knife out of the magic. During the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he married Liu Bei and Zhang Fei in Taoyuan, and became the head of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei.
Before the battle, Wenjiu beheaded Huaxiong, Baima Po beheaded Yan Liang and Wen Ugly, Tiger Prison Guan Sanying Battle Lü Bu, Thousand Miles Walked Single Riding, Passed Five Levels and Beheaded Six Generals, Huarong Dao Captured and Released Cao, Shou Jingzhou Single Knife went to the meeting, Battle Changsha subdued the veteran general Huang Zhong, Shen Wu was incomparable, and made great contributions to the establishment of the Shu state. Reading by candlelight, both literature and martial arts, scraping bones and healing, ancient and modern famous.
Successive rulers have enshrined Guan Yu as a model of "loyalty to the king and patriotism", as "Martial Saint" and "Guan Sheng Emperor", Taoism as "Guan Sheng Emperor Jun", and folk also called him "Wu Cai Shen" (Wen Cai Shen is Zhao Gongming), and there are countless Guan Di temples throughout the country.
Overseas Chinese in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and even around the world, including black and white, are widely worshipped. I have seen intricately carved statues of Guan Gong in Vietnam, and in Singapore, I have entered the Guan Di Temple, where the Hong Kong police regard Guan Gong as the "guardian deity", and they must worship Guan Gong before going out to handle cases. It can be seen that Guan Gong was deeply admired by future generations for "serving the country with loyalty, treating the world with righteousness, treating others with benevolence, and fighting with courage."
Statue of Guan Yu dragging knife (Courtesy photo: Changsha calf)
Why did Liu Bei send Guan Gong to fight in Changsha? To make a long story short, the most powerful state of The Three Kingdoms, the State of Wei, occupied the north, and Eastern Wu, which had deep roots, occupied a rich land in the southeast, while Liu Bei, although Liu Bei was the "Liu Han Sect' Room" after Liu Sheng, the King of Jing in Zhongshan, was only a "guerrilla" born in straw shoes, and for many years he defected to the warlords and chased deer from the Central Plains, but had no base area of his own, so he had to rely on Liu Biao, the assassin of Jingzhou. Cao Wei's army marched south, and Liu Bei joined forces with Eastern Wu to resist, borrowing the East Wind, borrowing arrows from grass boats, and burning Chibi, defeating Cao's army.
After the Battle of Chibi, Liu Biao fell ill and died, and Liu Bei took the opportunity to "borrow Jingzhou" and sent Guan Yu to capture the four counties of Jingnan (Changsha, Guiyang, Lingling, and Wuling), which gave him a piece of territory. Later, Liu Bei, assisted by Zhuge Liang and his generals, took Yizhou (Sichuan, Chongqing) in the west and made the capital Chengdu, which led to the Shu state. Therefore, guan gong fought in Changsha, and the other three counties surrendered without a fight, which was a great achievement.
Statue of Huang Zhong dragging an empty string (Courtesy photo: Changsha calf)
The Taishou of Changsha County at that time was Han Xuan, who succeeded Zhang Zhongjing, and the history books said that he was also a good official who was loyal to his duties and loved the people like a son, and his general Huang Zhong was also a famous general who was invincible, Guan Yu's battle in Changsha was not within reach, and Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang repeatedly advised him before leaving. Guan Yu led his troops and camped at Guanshan, Ningxiang County, about 50 miles west of Changsha City, and within a few days he challenged outside the South Gate, and before he could reach the triad, he beheaded Yang Ling under Han Xuan's men.
Han Xuantai, who was watching the battle from the castle tower, ordered Huang Zhong to hang up on the battlefield, when Guan Yu was 48 years old and in his prime, and Huang Zhong was 61 years old and still old and strong. The two men fought for a hundred rounds without winning or losing, Huang Zhongma lost his front hoof and fell to the ground, guan Yu was unwilling to take advantage of the danger of others, and asked Huang Zhong to change horses and fight again. The next day, huang Zhongliang let go of the empty string, and the third arrow shot down Guan Yu's helmet with a hundred steps through Yang Arrow method, in return for Guan Yu's mercy. On the third day, Guan Yu used the "dragging knife trick" to knock Huang Zhong off his horse and subdue Huang Zhong, and Liu Bei later worshiped Huang Zhong as one of the Five Tiger Generals.
Han Xuan Taishou was chased and killed by the disgruntled general Wei Yan because he suspected That Huang Zhongyi was in favor of the enemy, and now there is a "south-down boot lane" in Changsha's Tianxin District, which is said to be that Han Xuan deliberately took off his official boots here to confuse the pursuing soldiers when he fled for his life, but was eventually chased and killed by Wei Yan. The place where Han Xuan died was named "Thorn Han Lake", which was later transformed into "Shi Xian Lake" (Changsha dialect "Han" and "Idle" homophone hán), is now a scenic spot in Changsha's historical and cultural ancient neighborhood.
Han Xuan's tomb is in what is now Chang county middle school. Guan Yu used to tie the horse to rest in the place after the name of the hanging horse village, and now because of the urban reconstruction and demolition, there is only one old place name left. Legend has it that when Guan Yu crossed the Xiang River by boat to reconnoiter the terrain, the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Knife accidentally fell into the water and turned into a Green Dragon against the water, and the deputy general Zhou Cang chased it back, the river was named "Fishing Knife River", and the place where the Green Dragon Crescent Knife fell into the water was named "Falling Knife Mouth", and now the relevant public square is built.
Ningxiang Guanshan Ancient Town has "Taoyuan Three Knots of Righteousness" (Courtesy photo: Changsha calf)
"Many things in ancient and modern times are in laughter." Guan Yu has many sculptures in Changsha, and the ancient town of Guanshan in Ningxiang has statues of "Taoyuan Sanjieyi", "Guan Gong Statue" and "Wu Cai God". Luohan Zhuang, seven or eight miles up the River, is the legendary zhoucang knife land, is now a beautiful scenery of Changsha garden ecological park, the park by the river on the hill built "Guan Gong Pavilion", enshrined in the statue of Guan Gong, towards the twilight, accustomed to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze. On the pavilion pillar are engraved a number of paintings "a piece of Danxin Zhao Sun and Moon / Full of loyalty and righteousness zhuang river and mountain" "History to people to pass the red rabbit chasing the wind final number saint / River knife age green dragon Yan Yue jing shen".
In 2019, the Guangong Cultural Park was built in front of the cabinet, the statue is 8 meters high, and the pedestal has the "Record of the Sacred Elephant of the Laodao River Guan" written by Chen Shuliang, a well-known scholar in Changsha: "There is the Laodao River in the north of Changsha City, and the Han Yiyong Wu'an King conquered Jingnan, fell the knife in this water, and finally conquered Changsha, and posterity was named after the river here." Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Yun: The sword of the king is known as the Green Dragon Yanyue, and after the death of the king, Wu will obtain Pan Zhangzhi. Later Prince Guan Xing finally beheaded Pan Zhang to welcome back the sword. Oh Fu, the king was invincible in those years, wei Zhen Huaxia, adulterous concubines, manipulating the relocation of the capital, gu know this sword Chinese artifact also. Its fierceness is eternal and unbroken, so the kings cast this sacred image, leaning on the mountains and rivers, and the wind and clouds protect it. I want to use the traditional spirit of loyalty, righteousness, benevolence and courage, the fragrance of a hundred generations, and the miracle of a thousand years. ”
The mouth of the Laodao River into the Xiang River also has a golden statue of Guan Gong, gazing at the three-pronged Ji Bridge connecting the two banks, the green mountains are still there, and the sunset is red several times, as if permanently guarding the heroic city of Changsha. In terms of artistic level, it is believed that the two temple statues of the ecological garden and the falling knife mouth are still in the grade of the temple deity and bodhisattva, and the 19.8-meter-high Ningxiang Guanshan statue created by the sculptor Lei Yizin is more innovative.
Statue of Guan Gong at the mouth of the Knife River (Courtesy photo: Changsha calf)
A sculpture chronicles a period of history. "Rolling water in the east of the Yangtze River, the waves exhaust the heroes", through the ages, how many famous figures have been lost, and it is no accident that Guan Gong died in 1800 and was still sacrificed. The theme song of the once-popular "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was sung by singer Mao Amin, who poured out a deep affection: "Dimmed the shadow of the sword and light sword / Gone to the drum horn Zheng ming / Flying in front of the eyes of a vivid face." / Obliterated the Yellow Dust Ancient Road / Deserted Beacon Border City / Years, you can't take away the string of familiar names. / Gathering and scattering are all fate / Clutching the total concern / taking on the pre-life affairs / He Ji posthumous comment. / The Yangtze River deliberately turns into tears / The Yangtze River has a song of affection / The sky of history flashes a few stars / A heroic spirit in the human world is galloping across. ”
【Editing Notes】
Changsha was declared one of the first 24 historical and cultural cities in China in February 1982. So far, the State Council has announced a total of 134 famous historical and cultural cities in the country. Famous cities must have famous eagles. Each city has its iconic sculptures, which represent the spiritual outlook, human history and artistic achievements of a city, leaving a deep impression on visitors. Compared with words, photos and paintings, three-dimensional sculptures have a stronger and distinct artistic appeal, and the "Changsha Street Historical and Cultural Celebrity Sculpture" series will lead readers to appreciate the Changsha series of sculptures in the form of serialization.