Whose son is Nezha?

Editor's Note: Recently, with the release of Nezha, the topic of Nezha and worship of gods in domestic animation was blown up again, and a film got a high score, far exceeding the Lion King (7.4) in the same period. It made more than 300 million box office in the first week of its release, and its idea of creating a "god universe" was welcomed by many people. However, the plot and setting of this film still caused great controversy. Many netizens think that the film's setting of Nezha in Pastime is a subversion, and it is almost different from the well-known story from the plot to the relationship between the characters, which is hard to accept at the moment. After all, now that the Internet is developed, even the strange theory that Nezha is the illegitimate child of Taiyi will appear. So, what is the real historical image of the "three heads and six arms" Prince Nezha? How did it come into being?

▲ Not an advertisement, just because this poster is handsome (the picture comes from the Internet).

In fact, fairy tales are for ordinary people to entertain themselves. Although many myths spread to the end with the function of promoting a certain religion or moral education, fairy tales themselves are constantly developing according to the requirements of the times. If we look back at history, we will find that the story and image of Nezha are constantly changing, and the "wonder boy" didn't grow up in a day.

▲ There is a big gap between the classic Nezha cartoon image and Nezha in Pastime.

The word "Nezha" comes from the transliteration of Sanskrit Nalashiwala or Nalashibala, including Rona Jiupo, Nezha Juvalo and Nezha Gupolo. It refers to a god in Buddhism. Perhaps because the word "Nezha" is the first two syllables and easy to recite, its name was finally simplified and fixed as Nezha. In the Buddhist classics translated in the Tang Dynasty, Nezha was called "General Nezha Yaocha", while in the Buddhist classics translated at the same time, Nezha was also named "Ghost King of South Nezha" or "Calling King Kwavaro of Nezha", which appeared frequently. Therefore, Nezha belongs to the Buddhist system.

In Buddhism, Nezha is the protector of the hag system, whose duty is to defend Buddhism and purify the evil in the world. Since he is the protector, there are many sayings in natural Buddhism called Nezha, whose original intention is to send Nezha to protect the good and eliminate the evil. According to Froni's Classic of Auntie Arresting Ghosts and Gods, "Nezha White Buddha said,' Dear Buddha, I am a god. If all ghosts and gods are innocent, all official duties will rest and all grievances will be solved naturally. If you want to practice, call me when you enter the altar. I'm like an idea, that is, I go to my place to be a guardian. ""Visible Nezha's important position in Buddhism.

▲ The lotus decoration on Nezha represents that he originated from Buddhism.

Before the Northern Song Dynasty, Nezha was gradually known for the spread of Buddhist classics. The image of Nezha in this period is the original image in Buddhist classics, and there are different opinions. Some classics say that "three heads and six arms are the best in the world" and "Nezha with eight arms chews pig iron." Some people call it "Nezha with eight arms and three eyes". (Magic Boy briefly shows its multi-arm properties. ) Because there are more records about the Eight Arms than the Six Arms in Buddhist classics, the name of Nezha, the God of War with Eight Arms, is widely circulated (whether the Eight Characters were lost in copying is still inconclusive). Some ancient books don't even mention the image of eight arms and six arms. They just said, "The Seven Treasures of Nezha are solemn. His left hand told him to shut up and his right hand told him to hold the three halberds around his waist. At the feet of his God, he made a medicine fork for a woman sitting cross-legged and made it black and not so red. " In Dunhuang murals, the image of the boy Nezha appeared as early as the late Tang Dynasty, but it is not the image of Nezha in the general sense.

Although there are different images, anger and ferocity are the characteristics of Nezha's image. The description of Nezha chewing pig iron, stepping on hags and having many hands and feet in Buddhist scriptures is the best evidence. However, it should be noted that in the Buddhist scriptures of this period, it is not clearly stated that Nezha is a child image. There are two versions about his life, one is the grandson of King Sha Meng and the other is the third prince of King Sha Meng. Because the latter statement was recognized in the Tang Dynasty, the statement of Nezha's three princes occupied the mainstream. Although many chaotic narratives in Buddhism are the source of Nezha myths in later generations, the image of Nezha at this time is far from the description of later generations. His father is also the king of Buddhism, not Li Jing with Taoist background.

▲ The image of Pishamen Tianwang holding the banner is far from that of Li Jing.

During the Song Dynasty, with the expansion of the civil class and the prosperity of culture, there were more and more stories circulating in Goulan Washe. Many famous historical figures, Buddhist and Taoist figures have been incorporated into the story, and their images have also changed. At this time, the father of the former Syrian Nezha, the Vishmen King, gradually evolved into the God of War Li Jing in the Tang Dynasty. In Yang Jingxian's "Yang Donglai criticizes the Journey to the West" at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in the ninth play "God Buddha Descending the Sun", Li Jing has become a heavenly king. He came to the stage and said: "Millions of heavenly soldiers always fall, and the golden pagoda is high and the town is north. It is known all over the world, and Vishnu is King Li Tian. " The plot of The Journey to the West, a traditional opera, should be earlier than the Yuan Dynasty, which was born in the Song Dynasty. Therefore, the Buddhist King of Vishamen evolved into Li Jing of the Southern Song Dynasty. (For the evolution of Li Jing's image, please refer to the Cold Weapons Research Institute, "Why did Li Jing, the God of War in the Tang Dynasty, become a mediocre and incompetent middle-aged man in myths and legends?" Nezha's becoming the son of Li Jing is an extremely important step in the evolution of Nezha's image. Since then, Nezha has changed from Indian descent to China descent. The image of God Nezha began to change from a vicious witch to the God of China.

▲ The image of King Kong Hag Wang Ming in Buddhism is also very common in Buddhism. On the contrary, in Taoism, Nezha with three heads and six arms is another type.

At the same time, Nezha's family stories are gradually enriched. For example, Su Zhe, one of the "Three Sus", once wrote the poem "Nezha", saying, "The King of the North has a crazy son who only worships Buddha but not his father. The Buddha knew it was stupid, but the pagoda asked his father to lift it. When a son comes to see the Buddha's head, it is slightly similar to worshipping his father ... "In the poem, Nezha rebelled against his parents and only knew how to worship Buddha. In order to educate him, the Buddha asked his father to hold a pagoda representing the Buddha, so that the father and son could reconcile. Su Zhe is from the Northern Song Dynasty. Although the King of Pishamen had not become Li Jing at this time, the elements of the story, such as attacking blood relatives and father surrendering to stupa, were close to the story of Nezha in later generations. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it appeared for the first time in Buddhist classics that "Nezha's bones belong to his father and his flesh belongs to his mother. What about Nezha himself? " Such a record. Many monks are very happy to talk about Nezha. In Song Dynasty's Ode to the Ancient Couplet and Collection of Zhu Tong, several wizards discussed the story of Nezha peeling meat and returning it to his father. It can be seen that the story of Nezha's breaking bones and cutting meat was very popular in the Southern Song Dynasty, but it is still closely related to Buddhism.

▲ How many people saw crying when they were young, instead of being moved to cry?

In the Ming Dynasty, The Journey to the West created a new image of Nezha in China based on Nezha's Buddhist deeds, stories and folklore of the Song Dynasty and his own imagination and fiction. Nezha was gradually pushed from the image of a Buddhist protector to an outsider and an inner Buddha. The Journey to the West described Nezha for the fourth time: "The general angle only covers the shoulders, but the hair is not covered. Magic is more sensitive and bones are clearer. Sincerely for the unicorn in the sky, it is even more misty and colorful. Dragon species are natural and vulgar, and teenagers are not like dust. With six magical musical instruments, flight changes infinitely. Today, I was ordered by the Jade Emperor of Jinkou to seal the three altars of Haihui. " Its external image has become the appearance of a Taoist fairy boy. As a result, Nezha became closer to Taoism, becoming not only the third prince of immortal general Li Jing, but also an important general of the Jade Emperor. However, in the battle with the devil, Nezha still retains the image of three heads and six arms recorded in Buddhism. For example, in The Journey to the West's fiftieth turn, "(Nezha) turned into a three-headed and six-armed man, holding six kinds of weapons, hoping that demons would behead him."

In The Journey to the West, although Nezha's story of cutting flesh and dissecting bones is more perfect, it is still a Buddhist story, which is different from later generations. First of all, in The Journey to the West, Nezha was killed as a dragon in the sea, but the name and identity of the dragon are not clear. Secondly, Nezha's death was forced by his father, not by the Dragon King. After Nezha's death, his soul flew to the west. It was the Buddha who saved Nezha with lotus root as the bone and lotus leaf as the clothing, not Taiyi. Finally, after he was resurrected, he claimed his life from his father. In order to adjust the contradiction between them, the Buddha gave Li Jing the exquisite golden pagoda of the relic to live in. In The Romance of Gods, Li Jing and Nezha escaped in three wars. Before they could restrain Nezha, the Taoist priest who burned the lamp gave the tower. At this point, Nezha's story is greatly enriched and Nezha's image is basically localized, but the contradiction between Jing Li and Nezha's father and son is still contrary to human relations. For example, Excavate forced Nezha to death, which is ethical, but not human. This also left room for Nezha's story to be further enriched and developed.

▲ Although the image of Chen Musheng version of Nezha doesn't quite match, his acting skills are still in place. He saw it once when he was a child and cried once.

The appearance of Romance of Gods, a little later than The Journey to the West, completely fixed the image of Nezha. "Romance of the Gods" used more pen and ink to describe Nezha, and wrote his experience of growing from a stubborn and ignorant child to a fearless and immortal general. Compared with the short narrative in The Journey to the West, the story of Nezha in The Romance of the Gods is more tortuous and dramatic. For example, Nezha died to save his parents. His resurrection is not only the lotus incarnation in Journey to the West, but also the emotional entanglement between father and son. These stories are more humane and instructive than those in The Journey to the West. Therefore, the image of Nezha in The Romance of Gods is more widely circulated than that of Nezha in The Journey to the West.

▲ It may be a hard BUG in the story. Li Jing helped Nezha finally recognize him as his father. This father-son relationship is too twisted.

In addition, The Romance of the Gods turned Nezha into a pure Taoist immortal. Judging from the story of Nezha in the Romance of the Gods, the original version of the story was The Complete Compilation of Three Religions written in the early Ming Dynasty, and other legends were adopted to completely erase the Buddhist imprint on Nezha. For example, if Nezha's life experience is further extended to the pre-reincarnation, it is called "Lingzhu" reincarnation, and the person who saved Nezha is a Buddha in "Searching for the Gods of Three Religions and Nine Streams" and The Journey to the West, but it is changed to Taiyi in "Romance of the Gods", and the giver of Li Jingta has also changed from a Buddha to a burning Taoist. Although the external image of Nezha in The Journey to the West is not much different from that in The Romance of Gods, the weapons in his hand have also changed. In The Journey to the West, Nezha used six kinds of weapons: "demon-cutting sword, demon-cutting knife, demon-binding rope, demon-reducing pestle, hydrangea and steam wheel." In the Romance of the Gods, Nezha's weapons were changed into fire-pointed guns, hot wheels, Gankun Circle, Tencel, and BRIC. And basically all of them were taught by Taiyi real people, and the "magic pestle" of Buddhism was completely excluded.

▲ In the cartoon "Make a scene in Heaven", Nezha fights with the Great Sage with muskets, fooling around and doing Quan Kun circles. In fact, in the Westward Journey universe, Nezha does not have these weapons.

At this point, Nezha has completely completed the conversion from Buddhism to Taoism. Apart from the resurrection of the lotus incarnation, there is no Buddhist mark on him. From the transformation of Nezha's image from the patron saint of Buddhism to the immortal of Taoism for hundreds of years, we can clearly see that the early image of Nezha spread with the Buddhism believed by the bottom people. As Nezha became more and more famous, he gradually divorced from religion and turned to people's cultural life, forming his own development path. His stories have become more and more abundant in people's accompaniment and interpretation, and his image is constantly changing.

In the later period, because of the most wonderful description of the legend of Nezha in the Romance of the Gods, Nezha's image is also richer, and its image is thus shaped. As for stories and images, whether there is active competition between Buddhism and Taoism, we can't be completely sure. After all, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are integrated, not divided. The premise of the widespread spread of mythical characters is that ordinary people like it. If Buddhism cannot make its gods attractive, why not reform Taoism? By the same token, if everyone is tired of hearing the story of Nezha in The Romance of the Gods, what's wrong with modern people to transform it?