HaiZhou Guandi Temple and Guan Gong

Wen Kuo

Who is the most famous Shanxi historical celebrity in the country？ People may have their own opinions， such as Xunzi， Wei Qing， Huo Gou， Wu Zetian， Sima Guang， etc. But who is the most famous Shanxi person in the world？ People will blurt out in the same way - it is Guan Gong！

Whether it is in a small shop in Chinatown or in the main hall and lobby of a large enterprise， whether it is a small god of ordinary peoples home or a Guandi temple all over the world， Guan Gong is always full of smoke and incense. What people ask for is not only their own happy fortune， but also a national identity and a spiritual inheritance.

The image of Guan Gong has infiltrated all levels of society and has become the spiritual support for the ancient Chinese society to educate the people， to encourage progress， to uphold justice， to punish evil and to promote good. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties， the Guan Temple had already"smashed the world." The Ming Dynasty writer Xu Wei once said： "The god of Guan Hou， and the way of my Confucius， parallel to the world. However， the Confucius is only the county， but Hou is in the wide area of Kyushu， from the capital city， down to the market， ...If you are more than a Confucius， you will pass it." "In the temple， the name goes away，" the worshippers of Guan Gong will be from the emperor to the alleys， from the political to the civilians， and the scope of the believers can be seen.

In the modern times， as the overseas Chinese drifted across the ocean， the customs of Guan Gong were also brought to all parts of the world. Where there are Chinese people， there is a spread of Guan Gongs beliefs about the temple. Guan Gong has largely become a different industry. The common representatives of Chinese people from different regions and even different nationalities have become the spiritual bonds that the descendants of Yan and Huang have gathered together.

In todays "Guan Gong"， the exclusive name refers to more than just the famous Han Han Guan Yu. In the history and culture of the past millennium， in the hearts of the people who respected Guan Gong all over the world， "Guan Gong" has gradually evolved into a culture， a belief， and a spiritual symbol！

So how did Guan Gong gradually become a "three-environment demon emperor Shenwei Yuanzheng Tianzun Guan Shengdijun" from a general of Shuhan？ What magical power does the Guandi Temple have in the number of Confucius Temples in the number of Confucius？ How can Guan Gong be able to stand out from countless Chinese historical and cultural celebrities and get the worship of Chinese people all over the world？

All these want to find the answer must go to the hometown of Guanliang， the hometown of Guan Gong， to have a look. Because there is the worlds largest Guandi Temple， known as the"ancestor of the temple" and the "the crown of the martial arts temple" - the Shanxi Haizhou Guandi Temple.

Located in Haizhou Town， Yuncheng District， Yuncheng City， Shanxi Province， it is adjacent to the vast salt pond in the east and Zhengzhong Mountain in the south. This“mountain and sea” is the hometown of Guangong – once the Jieliang County， and the Haizhouguan The temple is located in the west of Haizhou Town， which is a large-scale palace-style building complex.

The total area of Xiezhou Guandi Temple is 220，000 square meters， and there are more than 200 houses. The front and back are sleeping， the shape is complete， and the combination is very beautiful. This martial temple was built in the ninth year of Emperor Kaihuang（AD 589）. Later， it was continuously repaired and expanded by Song， Jin， Yuan， Ming and Qing dynasties. The ancient dynasties， regardless of the official folks， attach great importance to the Haizhou Guandi Temple. The repairs of the past dynasties have assembled the craftsmen of the whole province and even the whole country， making their construction techniques and details are extremely excellent， even in Shanxi， the countrys ancient construction. The cultural relics province， such as the Haizhou Guandi Temple， such as melting buildings， plaques， couplets， sculptures， murals， literary works and other art forms in the palace-style buildings in the furnace， there is no such thing. Kangxi Yus "Yi Bing Qiankun"， Qianlongs "Dragon"， the "Feng Shiren" of the Xianfeng Royal Book， and the Empress Dowagers "Welling Shock" have made their unique historical and human values surpass any of the world. A Guandi Temple. This 1988 was listed as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units， "the worlds first Guan Temple"， and today continues to attract Chinese people from all over the world to visit and worship.

As a giant palace-style building complex， Xiezhou Guandi Temple is obviously different from other giant palace-style buildings such as the Forbidden City in Beijing， the Confucius Temple in Qufu， and the Taian Temple. There is no such thing as aweinspiring feelings of the other three. Less solemn， more fun， less solemn， more comfortable， and extremely close to the people. This has a lot to do with Guan Gongs believers. Unlike the Royal and Confucius， Guan Gong has a huge group of folk believers since ancient times. In addition to the official sacrifices， there are more Guan Gong worshippers in the streets. Their enthusiasm for sacrificing Guan Gong and repairing the Guandi Temple is far better than the official. The result is that the Guandi Temple has become a complex of official and folk styles. This point is evident in the architectural style of the Haizhou Guandi Temple. First of all， the building group used green glaze instead of royal yellow for the overall color. Secondly， there was a knot garden in front of the temple. The pond， rockery and archway in the park greatly weakened the solemn atmosphere of the temple. The pattern of this “first garden after the temple”is unique in the whole country. Thirdly， the numerous sculptures， murals and couplets in the Haizhou Guandi Temple make this temple of worshipping the gods more like a Museum of arts and crafts.

The Jieyi Garden was built in the forty-eight years of Ming Wanli （AD 1620）. It was built in the same mood as Liu， Guan and Zhang Taoyuan. It covers an area of 55 mu and was built by Zhang Zhelong， then the governor of Xiezhou. Jieyi Garden is a typical northern garden in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The buildings in the park include Jieyi Pavilion， Junzi Pavilion and Jieyi Square. The most notable of these is the Jieyi Square， which， unlike other buildings that have been expanded and expanded， was built at the same time as the Jieyi Garden. This imposing archway has been standing in the storm for nearly 400 years. There are a lot of beautiful paintings on the four sides of the Jieyi Square. There are not only landscapes， flowers， birds， scenery， but also many stories of the Three Kingdoms. Such as Taoyuan Sanjieyi， the ancient city of Caiyang， the moon， and so on， dazzling. These meticulous paintings are colorful， vivid and delicate， and the shapes are vivid and lifelike. The frontal banner of Jieyifang is “Wang Gu Gang Chang”， which reflects the ancient peoples observance of the outline. On the back， the amount of the book "Mountain Xiongshui" is a subtle summary of the scenery of the Jieyi Garden. Jieyifang and the main entrance of Guanmiao， the front door， are facing each other. When we look up to the two， the faint and cold appearance seems to show a lot of historical strength.

In the center of the official road in front of the end door， there are three large iron pillars standing diagonally and standing vertically. This is called，commonly known as "blocking the public." The function of this object is equivalent to the next horse pile. It is a formal procedure to remind people to worship Guan Gong. The military commander dismounts and the civil official gets off the sedan. Even the emperor has to start walking on foot to show respect for Guan Gong. The shackles in front of the Haizhou Guandi Temple were cast in the Qing Dynasty for five years （AD 1727）， and witnessed the unknown emperor who came to worship Guan Gong with a reverence.

The terminal is the main entrance of the Guandi Temple and the first door. The door is the special name for the door of the emperors residence. The door between Tiananmen and Wumen in the Forbidden City in Beijing is called the end door. The end of the Guandi Temple is far from the Forbidden City. The size of this door is not large. It is a sign-style door， a pure brick structure， and the shape is simple and heavy. There are only three doors， the middle door is high， and the two sides are lower. The front door of the middle gate is the"Guandi Temple"， and the back of the book is the "Fuhan character". The front and rear doors are consistently raised， the right door is "fine loyalty to the day"， and the left door is "the big right to join the sky." The amount of money on the top door is not only calligraphy， but also the writing is correct. The content is a high-level summary of Guan Yus life. "Fu Han" is the cause of Guan Yus lifelong struggle. "Loyalty" and"righteousness" are the foundation of the public. The ingeniously blending it into the joint language makes people shine.

Entered by the end door， after a long narrow road， it came to the second door of the Guandi Temple - Tuen Mun. "雉" is actually a pheasant. In ancient China， it was a kind of bird that symbolized wealth and auspiciousness. Therefore， "Tuen Mun" became a kind of"the five sons of the emperor" in "Zhou Li". Gao Yizhang is a "one glimpse"， and Tuen Mun is named after it. In ancient times， Tuen Mun was dedicated to the emperors entry and exit. Under normal circumstances， it was not opened. There are also two symmetrical gates on both sides of Tuen Mun， known as the "Wen Jing Men" and "Wu Wei Men". These two doors are the same as the Zhaodemen and Yudumen on both sides of the Forbidden Palace. They are used by the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs. They are named after the word"latitude and longitude"， which means that the civil and military officials are like the latitude and longitude. Governing the country is indispensable. When Emperor Mingzong Wanli Emperor and Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty came to Haizhou Guandi Temple to worship， they were entered by Tuen Mun， and the accompanying officials of the civil and military classes also entered the worship ceremony from Wenjingmen and Wuweimen according to the rules.

After entering Tuen Mun， the tall building that can be seen from afar is the Wumen Gate， which is the third and final gate of the Haizhou Guandi Temple. The afternoon facade is five wide， three deep into the deep， the top of the temple， seven beams， and the beam structure is reasonable and ingenious. Although it was rebuilt in the early years of the Republic of China， its architectural style and ancient style should be from the hands of famous artists. Wumen was the main entrance of the imperial palace in ancient times. The ordinary temple is not allowed to have a noon gate. The establishment of a tall noon gate here is on the one hand to reflect the identity of Guan Gong，“the emperors sanctification”， and on the other hand， the explanation of Haizhouguan. The special status of the temple "the ancestor of the temple".

On the morning gate， you can see the huge color painting on the walls on both sides of the door. The left is Liao Hua and the right is Zhou Cang. Both of them are loyal subordinates of Guan Gong， and it is natural to put them at the gate of the gate to make a "gate god" for Guan Gong. In addition to the two "door gods"， on both sides of the wall are also painted "Zuo Qinglong， right white tiger"， these two beasts are actually two orientation gods in the Taoist "Four Spirits God"， let these two and Liaohua， Zhou Cang together "gates the door" for Guan Gong， which shows that Taoism attaches importance to Guan Gong. Because in a long period of history， the Haizhou Guandi Temple is a temple of Taoist management. The Taoist priesthood of Guan Gong has been promoted from "Chongning Zhenjun" to "Three Realms of the Emperor of the Three Kingdoms". "It is not surprising." Of course， later developed into Confucianism， Guan Guan， who liked to read "Spring and Autumn Annals"， was regarded as "Guanfuzi" and "Wushengren"， and compared with "Wensheng" Confucius； Buddhism regarded Guan Gong as "Gala Bodhisattva" and "protecting the law" Ming Wang Buddha." The common respect and attention of Confucianism， Buddhism and Taoism can be seen in the influence of Guan Gong.

Through the midday gate， you can see an imposing archway. This is the "Shanhai Zhongling" workshop. The square is built on the abutment， four columns and three floors， and the underarm arches are well-coordinated and extremely beautiful. The archway is a unique form of commemorative architecture in China. Nowadays， more and more arches are built in Chinatown around the world， highlighting the uniqueness and beauty of national culture.

Next to the "Shanhai Zhongling" square is the unique building of the Haizhou Guandi Temple - Yushulou.

In many Guandi temples around the world， the basic pattern is roughly the same. On the central axis， buildings such as Duanmen， Qimen， Wumen， Chongning Hall and Chunqiu Building are constructed in turn. But the Haizhou Guandi Temple is different， and there is also a Yushu Building on the central axis. Why？ According to the temple monument： "In the forty-two years of Emperor Kangxi （AD 1703）， the Emperor Kangxi of the Kangxi Emperor Xuan Xun drove the West to tour the state， visit the ancestral temple to worship the Emperor， and see the miserable scene after the fire in the temple. In order to commemorate the righteousness of Emperor Kangxis deliberately in the Jinxiu Temple to solve the problem of the Guandi Temple， and to save the plaque of the Emperors handwritten book， the local officials and civilians decided to add a pavilion to the central axis of the Haizhou Guandi Temple. Bagua House， the name comes from the octagonal well in the building. Walk into the building， look up， you can see the octagonal wellhead in the center of the slab， the octagonal algae well in the wellhead is stacked up， complicated and beautiful， until the top is turned into a wooden structure of the gossip pattern， like a kaleidoscope It is fascinating and does not deserve the reputation of the"Bagua Tower".

In the 27th year of Emperor Qianlong （AD 1762）， the Emperor Qianlong， who also worshiped Guan Gong， sent people to renovate and understand the Guandi Temple. Among them， the Bagua Building added a second floor to the top of the mountain， and also built three houses， the Emperor The pen changed the name of the Eight Diagram House to Yushulou. Since then， Yushulou has not only become a place to commemorate the plaques of Emperor Kangxi， but many later masters have followed the example of Emperor Kangxi， writing plaques here， and proudly displaying their works.

There are a lot of plaques in the Yushulou， the most notable of which is the “extraordinary singular group”of the Haizhou dialect in the Qing Dynasty. This is the pertinent evaluation of Zhuge Liang on Guan Gong. The plaques are round and full， smooth and natural. At the same time， Ruo Ruo was also the commander of the temple that was ordered to repair the temple， leaving valuable experience for the later generations of Haizhou Guandi Temple. In addition， in the south of the building， there is also the calligrapher Gong Haos plaque， "Wan Dynasty to pay tribute"， the body of the willow body， strong and powerful， a lot of praise， very popular with later calligraphers.

Cross the Imperial Palace. I came to know the main hall of the Guandi Temple， Chongning Hall. The reason why Chongning Temple can become the main hall of the worlds temples， including the Haizhou Guandi Temple， is not only because the Chongning Temple is magnificent， but also because of the poetry of the Song Huizong."Zhen Jun" is the starting point for Guan Gong to break away from the characters of a group of people and to"close the gods" independently. Since then， the emperors of the dynasties have continually given Guan Gong"improvement" of the priesthood， and made Guan Gong all the way to become the "Wu Sheng" who is the same as the"Wen Sheng" Confucius - Guan Fuzi. In the center of the Yuetai Imperial Road in front of the Chongning Temple， the Tang Dynastys Tanjung was preserved. This is a treasured cultural relic that is rare all over the country. At the same time， it also witnessed Guan Gongs becoming an “Wushan” from an ordinary Shuhan general. The whole process.

The Chongning Temple is seven wide and six deep， with a heavy topping on the top of the mountain. The green glaze covers the roof， and the sun shines brightly. In front of the Chongning Temple， there is the "Fa Yong" plaque of the Qianlong Emperors handwritten book； on the porch of the corridor， there is the "Wanshirenji" plaque appointed by the Emperor Xianfeng； in addition， the Kangxi Emperor who took it out from the Yushulou and placed it in the temple. The royal pen "Yi Bing Qian Qiu" plaque."One hall， three emperors"！ This is extremely rare in many cultural relics and monuments throughout the country.

The most spectacular of the Chongning Hall is the 26 huge stone dragon pillars that surround the temple. The height of the column is 3.78 meters and the diameter is 46 centimeters. The giant pillars of this shape can only be compared with the Dacheng Temple of the Qufu Temple. Although the Longzhu of the Dacheng Hall of Qufu is two more than the Chongning Hall of Haizhou， its dragon column is made more than 160 years later than the Chongning Hall. According to the evidence， there are 23 dragon columns in the Chongning Hall， which were made in the 37th year of Jiajing （AD 1588）， and the remaining three were replenished during the Kangxi period. There are 34 dragons on the 26 dragon pillars. Each of the 8 pillars on the front pillars is a pair of dragons. It flies in the mountains and seas and the clouds in Xiangyun， and the columns are varied and varied. A similar. The rest of the three sides of the 18 dragon columns are carved with a single dragon. The carvings are thick and powerful， and they are contrasted with the carvings on the column heads. Each has its own charm. These 26 dragon pillars are the most artistically valuable cultural relics in the Chongning Temple， and are unique among the national palaces and temples. Just like the temple monument： "The stone pillars of the temple， the dragons are carved， the temples are magnificent， and the world is in the world." This is not a famous word， but a true portrayal.

From the Chongning Temple， through the highest archway of the Guan Temple， “Qi Su Qian Qiu”， you will come to the Spring and Autumn Building， the largest building in the Guandi Temple.

The Spring and Autumn Building is the highest point of the entire complex. It is seven wide and six deep. It is a two-story， three-story mountaintop building with a total height of 33 meters. Chunqiu Building is named after Guan Yus “Spring and Autumn” image in the building. Its structure is wonderful， the algae is gorgeous， and the sculpture is fine. It is a rare boutique in the history of Chinese architecture. When people stand outside and look up， they will notice that a circle of columns on the second floor hangs around the main hall in the air， so that the building has a kind of vacant space， just like a castle in the air. This kind of structure is a kind of unique work in the history of Chinese ancient architecture， called the hanging beam hanging column. It uses the principle of leverage. It seems that the pillars are suspended. In fact， the loadbearing members are not the pillars， but the waist beams and the short columns hidden inside， and the support of the low-column and the short pillars of the waist beam is used to support the building. ， bear all the internal and external loads， and at the same time make the pillars firmly above the beam structure. Such whimsy is really a sigh of the wisdom and skill of the ancients. Chunqiu Building is the only successful example of the existing pavilion building in the country that successfully uses the principle of leverage to put the“cantilever hanging column” into reality. Its significance cannot be underestimated.

Walking into the building， you can see a layer of Zhengzhong plastic about the public attire of the golden body， full face， dignified and flat， sitting firmly， elegant and generous. On the top of the statue， there is also a "Welling Shock" plaque on the Empress Dowager Cixi. Going up to the second floor， I went to the second floor and read the "Spring and Autumn" image in the middle of the temple. I saw his left hand and the right hand， and looked at the Spring and Autumn Period. Vivid， revered hearts come to life.

Looking up， you can see another one of the Spring and Autumn Buildings- the algae well. The general algae well has square， polygonal， circular concave surface， etc. The algae well of the Spring and Autumn Building has become a circular convex surface， which is thousands of in the country. The same example has never been found in the algae well. The whole is radial， layered， and the shape is like a huge chrysanthemum， and it looks like a peacocks glare. It is amazing.

Stepping out of the second floor of the door， standing on the cloister of the surrounding vacant space， overlooking the porch， the ancient cypress in the garden， the temple， the distant mountains， the royal garden， the wind， the air， the air， the air， the air I am very happy and thoughtful.

According to Xu Weis statement， at least after the middle period of the Ming Dynasty， the Chinese nation has formed a cultural pattern of “Beibo Confucius and Wubai Guangong”. Guan Gong has gradually become a"spiritual idol" jointly recognized by the people and the government because of its loyalty， integrity， integrity， courage， principle， and willingness to bear the spirit. According to statistics， there were 16 emperors in the dynasties who had sealed the Guan Gong 23 times， so that they would be made up of Hou and Wang， by the Emperor and by the Emperor and by the Holy Spirit. In the statistics of the "History of Literature and History"， in the middle of the Qing Dynasty， the Guanzhong Temple was the most prosperous in the Qing Dynasty. There were more than 300，000 Guandi Temples in the country， and the number of them was the first in various temples.

In the civil customs， it is not only the god of war， the god of morality， but also the god of business and the god of wealth. There are three reasons why Guan Gong will become the god of business and the god of wealth. First， when the legendary Guan Gong left Cao Ying to re-enter Liu Bei， he invented a concise bookkeeping method to return all the property that Cao Cao had rewarded. This kind of bookkeeping method is well documented and very easy to use， so the merchants use it as it is， and call this method "commercial bookkeeping method". Guan Gong is thus recognized as the founder of the original accounting. Second， the most important thing for businessmen to do business is to be honest and loyal. "The Analects of Confucius" has a cloud： "I am not righteous and rich， and I am like a cloud." And there are similar views in Western values. They think that doing business is a contractual relationship， and its first principle is integrity. Guan Gongxin， both righteous and loyal， and loyal and unparalleled， so won the worship of business people. Third， the image of Guan Gongs military commander and the righteousness， in the myths and legends， the best in the town of evil， anti-small people， guarding peace， peace， in order to keep money， to live， so whether it is a businessman or ordinary people He is highly respected by Guan Gong and has elected Guan Gong to the status of "Wu Cai Shen".

In China， every year on the fifth day of the first lunar month， there is a custom of “accommodating the god of wealth”. Among all the gods and gods worshipped by the common people， Guan Gongs “Wu Cai Shen” is undoubtedly the most influential and the most extensive. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties， every year on the fifth day of the first month.

Until today， I still remember that when I was young， the first five days of the first month of the first month， and the four or five oclock in the morning， my parents had to wake up the family， go to the yard to set off firecrackers， set up sacrifices， and collect wealth， and the neighbors also In the same breath， the firecrackers were set aside. In the sound of the firecrackers， the children cheered and screamed， and the activity of the god of wealth became a sea of joy...

Overseas， Chinese overseas Chinese， as ethnic minorities， need to be more united and friendly， and hope to help each other. Therefore， overseas Chinese will build a temple and worship Guan Gong as a customary way of inheriting Chinese traditional culture. The Guandi Temple has also become an important place for the Chinese to worship the ancestors， the Yi people， the Syrian community， the business， and the people.

The Guandi Temple， which is spread all over the world， bears the historical memory of the Chinese ancestors who crossed the ocean and swayed the blue sky. It reflects the love of the “roots” of the Chinese land. Guan Gongxin is a concentrated expression of the special living habits and ethical norms of the Chinese nation. It is the moral soul of the Chinese childrens grandfathers atmosphere and the sun and the moon.