Not only China, but also in Southeast Asia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines and other countries, the United States, the United Kingdom of the Chinese region, the faith of Guan Gong is also quite prevalent, overseas Chinese in foreign businessmen are many, therefore, for the god of martial wealth Guan Gong is also more revered. Moreover, Taoism also enshrines Guan Yu as the "Guan Sheng Emperor", that is, the "Guan Emperor", which is often referred to as "Guan Di", one of the four protectors of Taoism.
In fact, during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was no so-called "Guan Yu cult". At that time, when people mentioned Second Master Guan, they would often carry Third Master Zhang and hold Guan and Zhang at the same time. The purpose of the juxtaposition is also very simple, that is, to compare someone's martial arts in this way. As for the two, especially Guan Yu, people label him only "Xiao Yong and Good War", and his admiration for him has not risen to the height of personality.
The reason why Guan Yu had the opportunity to become a "martial saint" was also due to Tang Xuanzong Li Longji.
In the nineteenth year of the new century, Li Long set up a "Taigong Temple" based on the capital to worship Jiang Ziya. When the ancients sacrificed to saints, they often placed some statues of other people in the temple as a background, in order to "deserve". At that time, the people who served as green leaves for Jiang Taigong were lian po, Wei Qing, Huo Fuyi, these ancient famous generals, of course, including Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
Since it was worthy of enjoying the Taimiao Temple, it was natural that he could not call it by his name, so Shiren took out the most glorious official title of Guan Yu's life, "Marquis of Hanshouting of the Former Shu General". Since then, Guan Yu has become a must-worship for emperors in the Tang Dynasty. However, at this time, Guan Yu was juxtaposed with the famous generals in history, and no one related him to "Dayi".
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the two brothers Guan and Zhang were also expelled from the ceremony, and the "unfair treatment" received by Guan Erye continued until the time of Emperor Huizong of song.
Why didn't most of the Emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty wait to see Guan Yu?
It was because he had become a prisoner of Boss Cao and "captured by the enemy country." The emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty emphasized literature and light martial arts, and his vision of military generals was also relatively picky. Since he is a historical famous general who is brave and good at war, he must win every battle. Even if you suffer losses during the war, at least you can't become a prisoner of the enemy country.
When the time came to the song Huizong period, Guan Yu finally ushered in rehabilitation.
Song Shenzong's view of history is not the same as that of the previous Northern Song Emperor, he was a typical "pro-Liu", and he scorned the concept of "Emperor Cao", because Song Shenzong often compared himself to Liu Bei and loved Wu and Wu. Emperor Shenzong of Song's "care" for Shu Han once influenced Emperor Huizong of Song, so after Emperor Huizong of Song ascended to the throne, Guan Yu, who had been loyal to Liu Bei's former horse and horse for a lifetime, was enshrined as the "Duke of Zhonghui".
Judging from the title of "Duke Marquis Bozi", Guan Yu was finally promoted to the rank of Duke after serving as the "Marquis of Hanshouting" and "Marquis of Zhuangmiao" for nine hundred years. However, perhaps because Emperor Huizong of Song felt that Guan Yu's exploits had surpassed those of an ordinary duke, he was crowned "King of Wu'an" six years later. From then on, Second Master Guan returned to the rituals of the Northern Song Dynasty.
On the surface, Guan Yu is still worthy of the Taigong Temple, but his title has surpassed other historical celebrities and become the first person under Jiang Ziya. It can be said that this is the first climax of the ancient "Guan Yu worship".
Zhu Yuanzhang was born in the grassroots, and since he was a child, he has listened to many stories about the Three Kingdoms told by Mr. Storyteller, and he has a good feeling for Guan Yu. After Lao Zhu became emperor, he did not forget to pull up this childhood idol and let Second Master Guan "stand on his own" and become a saint on the same level as Jiang Taigong. Since then, the Ming Sect has to sacrifice Guan Yu six times a year, and each time it has to prepare a fat pig and a fat sheep as a sacrifice.
In terms of specifications, although Guan Gong did not enjoy the "three animals" at this time, his status was already quite high, at least he no longer had to live in the temple of Jiang Ziya. Emperor Myeongjinzong was a rather maverick emperor, and in the eighteenth year of the Wanli Calendar, he named Guan Yu the "Emperor of Zhongyi of the Heavenly Protectorate", making Guan Yu the first courtier in history to be promoted to emperor after his death.
Therefore, when narrated from the perspective of narration in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu is usually called "YunChang" or "Guan Gong", and his name is rarely directly called, and in the entire Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in addition to calling the emperor emperor, only Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang have this treatment.
In contrast, the "Guan Yu cult" of the Qing rulers was clearly somewhat impure.
According to the records of the literature, the two emperors, Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, had already read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in their early years outside Guanwai, and they had a cult of the Shu general Guan Yu. In the first year of Shunzhi, as soon as the Qing court entered the Guan, the GuanDi Temple was built, and Guan Erye was given a new title of "Emperor Wuguansheng of Loyalty and Righteousness", elevating Guan Yu to an equal status with Kong Sheng.
Why did the Qing court support Guan Yu at this sensitive time at the beginning of the customs entry?
Some netizens said that Yue Fei had already occupied this position before Guan Yu became a martial saint, and the Later Jin Emperor knocked Yue Fei off the altar because of his old grudge. In fact, this kind of statement is completely fictitious. The reason why Yue Fei became a martial saint was thanks to Yuan Shikai. Before Yuan Shikai honored Yue Fei as a martial saint, Yue Fei's status in the Taimiao temple was only "king" or "gong".
Therefore, there is no practical basis for this statement, and the so-called replacement of Yue Fei as Wusheng by Guan Yu is pure nonsense. The Qing court also respected Yue Fei as a famous general, and treated Yue Fei's descendants kindly, such as Yue Zhongqi's ancestors for three generations in a high position in the local area, enough to spy on the leopard.
There are two real reasons:
First of all, the Manchu rulers needed to use an image to get close to the people of the Central Plains, and Guan Yu was already a well-known object of worship at this time, so the worship of Guan Yu would undoubtedly add points to the hearts of the people.
Second, the Qing court constantly emphasized the word "loyalty" in order to educate the people to maintain centralization. Since ancient times, "loyalty" has been a quality repeatedly advocated by feudal emperors, and the Qing emperor is no exception.
Resources:
【Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Zizhi Tongjian", "History of Ming"】