What kind of person is Yang Jian, the Erlang God in Chinese mythology?

Yang Jian, also known as "Erlang God", is an important figure in Chinese myths and legends. A hybrid of human and god, with infinite strength and boundless spells, he can make soldiers by spreading beans, knows seventy-three changes, has a divine eye on the top of his forehead (I don’t know whether it is a laser transmitter or has the same function as a demon mirror) and holds a 25,200-pound three-dimensional weapon. The two-pointed two-edged halberd [three-pointed two-edged spear] (second only to the 84,000-jin demon-subduing pestle of Wei Tuo Zuntian Bodhisattva) is made from the colorful stone used by Nuwa to mend the sky, and it also has the summoning beast Roaring God Dog. The master is Yuding Zhenren, one of the twelve immortals of the famous Kunlun sect.

Yang Jian has a noble bloodline and a bumpy life experience. He is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. He once resisted the gods and cut down the mountain to save his mother, and also tried to stop his nephew. Agarwood saves his mother, and Yang Jian is also the most powerful god of war in Chinese mythology. As the nephew of the Jade Emperor, his relationship with the Jade Emperor is not good. "Listening to the instructions but not the announcements" is a manifestation of his extreme personality.

The Jade Emperor named him "The King of Heroic Zhaohui, Lingrenyou and You", and his Taoist title was "The True Monarch of Qingyuan Miaodao". But Erlang always ignored this uncle and refused to live in heaven. Instead, he received incense in the lower world. In front of his tent, he was accompanied by the Seven Saints of Meishan and under his command were 1,200 grass-headed gods. To the Jade Emperor, he "listened to the tune but not the announcement". ", that is to say, just obey orders and don't get too close to anything. This is "the heart is high and does not recognize the family members of heaven, and the nature is arrogant and returns to the gods to live in Guanjiang."

Yang Jian's described "exquisite and delicate" is the same as the "fanning cloud crown and water-coated clothes" in the novel "Feng Shen" Yang Jian, who wears a silk ribbon around his waist and wears hemp shoes on his feet, is not completely different. It can only be that the hemp shoes have been replaced by brocade boots. Yang Jian is also a arrogant person, "If I lose to him, the princes don't need to help; if I beat him, the princes don't need to help." "It's a pity that Taishang Laojun is not an upright person." From these two sentences, It can be seen. Because he is an indomitable heroic god of war, the people's respect for him can be said to be one of the best. There are many legends about his origin, which are rare in folklore. [Edit this paragraph] The legend of Yang Jian's life experience: He has a clear and handsome appearance, with lobed ears and bright eyes.

Wearing a three-mountain flying phoenix hat and a light yellow collar.

The golden boots are lined with dragon stockings, and the jade belt is decorated with eight treasures of flowers.

A crescent-shaped slingshot is carried on the waist, and a three-pointed two-edged gun is held in his hand.

I once saved my mother by chopping the peach mountain with an ax, and beating up the twin phoenixes of Sui and Luo with a flick.

He is famous for his ability to kill the eight monsters, and is sworn to the Seven Saints of Meishan.

He has a high heart and does not recognize his family members in heaven. His nature is arrogant and he returns to God and lives in Guanjiang.

Akagi Akira Yingsheng, manifested as Boundless Erlang.

This poem is a description of Erlang Zhenjun in "Journey to the West". It can be said that it has both form and spirit. The heroic image of Erlang God Yang Jian is vivid in my mind. However, this person who is known as "the first god of war in heaven" "What is the origin of Erlangshen?" In what year and month did it come from where it has been passed down to this day?

First of all, judging from the poem written by Wu Chengen in "Journey to the West", at least in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the folk were still familiar with the legend of Erlang Shen, so this poem is just a summary. There is no explanation or annotation in the book. But today, the legend of Erlang Shen has been drowned in large numbers and cannot be tested. For example, the "axe splitting the peach mountain" mentioned in the poem is still known, but the "bounce to beat the phoenix" is unknown.

First of all, Yang Jian was born as a result of an affair. Legend has it that his mother was the sister of the Jade Emperor. Because she envied the loving life in the world, she secretly descended to the earth and met a scholar named Yang. Jun, and became friends with Qin and Jin. He also gave birth to a son, Yang Jian.

Erlang Shen once split a mountain to save his mother, but the mountain he split was Peach Mountain and the weapon he used was an axe. According to "Journey to the West": Erlangshen's mother was the Jade Emperor's sister. Sifan married a mortal man named Yang, and their son was named Yang Jian, which is what we call "Erlangshen". The Jade Emperor was furious because his sister married a mortal, so he put his own sister (who was Erlang Shen's mother) under the Peach Mountain. Later, Erlang Shen (the Jade Emperor's nephew) "chopping Peach Mountain with an axe" rescued his mother. There are also several different versions of splitting the mountain to save the mother. The story of "Splitting a Mountain to Save His Mother" at the beginning was definitely about Yang Jian, but later on, he added more details and spread the rumors, and it became the story of "Baolian Lantern". Yixiao's theory is well-founded, because the story of "Erlang chopped the peach mountain with an ax to save his mother" has obvious ancient mythological color, while the story of agarwood is obviously much more fashionable and was formed later. However, if you compare them, you will find that the two stories are of the same origin, including the relationship between the characters, mother and son, and nephew and uncle.

"Erlang Baojuan" mainly tells the origin history of Erlang Zhenjun: Erlang Shen's father Yang Tianyou was the "golden boy coming to earth" from heaven and a scholar in Quezhou City. His mother, Fairy Yunhua, fell in love with her old love and came down to earth to marry Yang Tianyou secretly. She gave birth to Erlang Zhenjun. Because he violated the laws of heaven, he was trapped by Sun Xingzhi on Huaguo Mountain and was trapped under Mount Tai. Later, Erlang Shen was instructed by the Queen Mother of the West of the Bullfighting Palace in the sky to "carry the mountain to chase the sun" and split the mountain to rescue his mother Yunhua Fairy, but instead used Mount Tai to suppress Sun Xingzhe. "Erlang Baojuan" depicts the image of Erlang God like this: "A mountain-breaking axe, a two-edged sword, a silver bullet and a golden bow; a hat for ascending to the sky, shoes on the clouds, soaring in the clouds and riding in the mist; a demon-binding lock, and a demon-slaying sword. All eight treasures are available. A demon-looking mirror reflects the demon king. , the six thieves surrender; the three mountain hats are full of murderous intent, with three lights on the top; the eight-treasure suit has four belts, fastened around the waist; and on the yellow robe, there is an eight-clawed dragon with rising purple mist." (See "Erlang Baojuan, Asking for Guizhuo". No. 10) "Erlang has magical powers to transform, and the eight holy treasures follow him closely. When I go out, I collect my teeth first, and the yellow-haired boy protects me. Later I collect the seven saints as protectors, and the white horses and white dogs have antecedents... Meishan Qi You are a sacred person, and you will be worshiped as a brother. The general will follow and support you, and the heaven and earth will become sacred together. "(See "Erlang Baojuan. Xin Yufu Fudo No. 11") The image of Erlang God depicted in "Erlang Baojuan" is very similar to the image of Erlang God in "Journey to the West". The "Ge Yazhi" in it is "Guo The other writing of "press straight" is the same as Erlang Shen's Zaju since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and "White Dog God Ai" seems to have the same origin as the "original appearance" and "shaped like a white elephant" of "Xi Dog" in "The Romance of the Gods" .

Why is it said that Yao Ji was transformed by the sun in ten days:

Although there are different versions, they all end with Erlang splitting the mountain and rescuing Yao Ji, and it is not Yao Ji in the end. The mother and son, husband and wife, and the whole family were reunited. The two couples returned to heaven, and the son and daughter were both ennobled. In the end, although this family had gone through many hardships before, everyone was happy in the end. The Emperor of Heaven did not make a plan to kill the white-haired Yao in ten days. Ji Huohuo exposed his evil deeds. So where does this statement come from? It’s better to come back and read our oldest myth, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", there may be an answer here.

"The corpse of the ugly girl was burned and killed for ten days. It was to the north of her husband. Use your right hand to cover her face. For ten days, the ugly girl lived on top of the mountain." This text is found in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" "Overseas Western Meridian". We have mentioned before that the so-called "corpse" is the witch who performed the rituals of the tribe at that time, so the "corpse of the female ugly" is a witch named "Chou", not a dead person named female ugly. Otherwise, later There is no way to explain the phrase "Be born and burned and killed in ten days". Just kidding, is there such a thing as killing a "corpse" in this world?

Concerning this witch named "Nv Chou", "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" mentions it in many places: "There is a person who is dressed in blue and covers his face with his robes, and is called the corpse of Nv Chou" ("The Classic of the Great Wilderness") "), "There are two people in the sea, named Nv Chou. Nv Chou has a big crab" ("Overseas Western Classic"), and this big crab is on an island in the sea called Gushe Country, "surrounded by southwest mountains" ( "Hai Nei Bei Jing"). It can be seen from this that this ugly woman is either a sea god or a witch who is responsible for the rain ceremony. Both "Zuo Zhuan" and "Lun Heng" mention that Nv Chou is a wizard who can communicate with ghosts and gods. She dances to meet the gods and prays for rain when there is a drought.

The so-called guy with "white hair all over his body" is not a female ugly, but a drought demon - there are three types of drought demons, one of which "is transformed from a zombie. They can all be used to control drought and stop wind and rain." ". The Qing Dynasty's legendary novel "Zi Buyu" contains the term "drought monster", which is in the form of "a female zombie with a life-like appearance and white hair all over her body." In ancient times, there was a saying that the drought demon was a sign of a severe drought, so there was a rain-seeking ceremony in which the drought demon was burned to worship rain. To this day, in the Qiang area of ??Mianchi, Wenchuan, Sichuan, there is still a ritual of "catching away the drought demon". That is, a person dresses up as a drought demon and hides in a tree. A wizard leads the villagers to sound gongs and hold sticks, and search all over the mountains until the "drought demon" is found. Drive them down the mountain to achieve the purpose of praying for rain.

In our common understanding, praying for rain means nothing more than worshiping the Dragon King or the Rain God, inserting dragon tablets or even dragon boat racing. However, in ancient times, many rain-praying rituals were quite "cruel". Nowadays, scholars have verified that the ancients used the method of "violating witches to gather women" when praying for rain during drought. "They used witches to dress up as drought demons and burn them violently to avoid disasters. The violent witches are also violent demons." (Annotated by Yuan Ke) "Commentary Notes on the Classic of Mountains and Seas"). The images of ugly women contained in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" are all "images of violent witches", "shading their faces with their right hands" and "covering their faces with their sleeves", showing a pair of women who have been poisoned by the sun. appearance.

From this we can understand that the person who was transformed by the legendary Ten Suns was the wizard Nv Chou who dressed up as a white-haired "drought demon" and performed the rain ceremony, not Yao Ji. Since the name of Yao Ji in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is "Female Corpse", some people may misunderstand it as the abbreviation of "Female Ugly Corpse" T_T. The author is completely speechless here! In addition, there is a folk legend of "Er Lang carrying the mountain to catch the sun", which is consistent with the allusion in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" in which Emperor Yao refused to return to normal after seeing that the female ugly girl died in the sun for ten days, so he had to send the marksman Yi to shoot the sun. This created the crime of the Jade Emperor sending ten suns to burn the Yao Ji. Therefore, in ancient times, there was no theory of ten suns to kill Yang Mu, but some good people rewritten it to make up the story. [Edit this paragraph] There are many legends about Yang Jian, the god of war. The most representative one is "The Romance of the Gods". In this masterpiece that includes Taoism, Jie, Buddhism and the human world, Yang Jian is a master of the twelve immortals of the famous Kunlun sect. One of the disciples of Zhenren Yuding, he firmly occupied the position of Jiang Shang's first general since his first appearance in the battle of the four generals of the Demon Family besieging Xiqicheng. Whether it was Nezha before him or Huang Tianhua after him, they all Can't compare with him. In "The Romance of the Gods", Yang Jianchu appeared on the stage wearing a cloud crown, a hydrating suit, a silk ribbon around his waist, and hemp shoes on his feet, dressed as a Taoist priest. After paying homage to him, he asked Jiang Ziya to take off the war exemption card, "If we don't see the war, How can we adapt to changing circumstances?" He spoke extremely confidently without showing any hint of arrogance. He was truly a rare person in a thousand years. Nezha was shocked when he used his wisdom to get rid of the flower mink, and he did not brag at all, "You and I are Taoist disciples, each of us has mystical differences!" This saved Nezha enough face. Yang Jian was not only a humble man, but also a kind man. When Yang Jian was fighting Zhou Xin, he was worried that the people in the city might be slaughtered, so he fought quickly and killed Zhou Xin with the roaring dog. In "The Romance of the Gods", Yang Jian is a perfect man, or a true god!

As the most powerful god of war in Chinese mythology, Yang Jian has been defeated a very limited number of times. One time he used his arm to meet Yu Hua's blood-transforming magic sword. He wanted to see if there was any poison on the sword. This time There was no shame in defeat at all. The other time was when Empress Sanxiao used the Hunyuan Golden Dou to capture her into the Tianhe Formation. You must know that Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Cihang and other twelve real people were captured. In the end, it was the original Tianzun and Laozi who came forward to settle the matter. , there is no shame in losing this time.

Except for these two crises, Yang Jian is basically a person who turned the tide. He has repeatedly supported the overall situation in crises. He was rated by Jiang Ziya as "wisdom and courage, with eternal achievements!" But Yang Jian was not able to do so. He was always a grain supervisor. Maybe Jiang Ziya's military rations were too important. If it was important, he would rather have the whole army be besieged than Yang Jian to supervise the grains. When I was a child, I often thought that if Jiang Ziya asked Yang Jian to be the pioneer, he would probably be a triumphant one, and Nezha, Lei Zhenzi and others would not have the chance to perform. Even when the plague god Lu Yue knocked down all the people in Xiqi, and only Yang Jian and Nezha could leave, Nezha panicked, "People and horses are coming to kill, how can you and I resist?" Yang Jian was extremely calm. : "I have my own strategy for retreating!" He used the technique of sowing beans to form an army to scare away Zheng Lun, like Zilong who has a silver saddle shining on a white horse. There are two other grain transport officers, one is Tu Xingsun and the other is Zheng Lun. These three people are all strange people, but they have not been able to fight for a long time. They can only help fight two battles in their free time when transporting grain. Thinking of this, I feel that the loneliness of Yang Jian and Zhao Yun are very similar. Zhao Yun is also not reused. Maybe it is another kind of reuse, mainly for chores such as protecting the family and the divorce. In the battle of Jiejiao Shijue Formation, Yang Jian escaped from the formation completely, coming and going freely, how cool and unrestrained. However, Chi Songzi and Guang Chengzi, who were at the same level as his masters, were almost trapped in the wind roar formation. Yang Jian's unique skill was called "Nine Heavens Mysterious Skill", which is similar to the indestructible body magic skill of Vajra. It is invulnerable to weapons and poisons, and can have the soul to leave the body. Yang Jian relied on this skill to defeat the invincible male and female dragon golden whip in Taishi Wen's hand. In the battle of the Seven Demons of Meishan, Yang Jian killed several demons in succession, and finally fought hundreds of rounds with his boss, the White Ape Spirit (this demon had killed the Zhou Dynasty general and Yang Kun, Yang Jian's close comrade-in-arms) in one fell swoop. This is also the only equally matched opponent that Yang Jian has encountered since the war began. In the end, of course, Yang Jian was superior in skill and captured the enemy chieftain and retreated completely (the white ape spirit was induced by Bodhi using the map of the country and the country, and later turned into stone, which became Sun Wukong 1,500 years later. This is consistent with the fact that the Six Saints of Meishan called Wukong the second brother. , the eldest brother conquered their Yang Jian instead)

In fact, there are still some interesting things about Erlang, such as his pet - everyone knows about his roaring dog, but few people know about him. And an eagle? In fact, when Erlang appears, he should be in the image of an eagle-riding dog that "leads the yellow to the left and holds the blue sky to the right, and rides thousands of horses to roll over the hillocks." This is mentioned in "Journey to the West".

At the same time, judging from the poem, he is also proficient in hidden weapons-"the crescent-shaped slingshot on his waist". This slingshot seems to have appeared in "The Romance of the Gods".

When Yang Jian was most majestic, he was probably beaten twice by Deng Chanyu. Although he was beaten, sparks burst out. He just pretended not to know and still pursued him. He has Xuan Gong to protect his body, and like Sun Wukong, he is also an iron warrior.

The Erlang Shen in "Journey to the West", "is really strange in appearance, and elegantly dressed. He is really: handsome in appearance, with lopsided ears and bright eyes. He wears a three-mountain flying phoenix hat, He wears a light yellow collar, gold boots lined with dragon stockings, a jade belt with eight-treasure flowers on his waist, and a crescent-shaped slingshot in his hand." (Chapter 6 of "Journey to the West") "In the past, he used his power to kill six monsters. He also had the Meishan brothers and the 1,200 grass-headed gods in front of the tent. He had great supernatural powers and had seventy-two transformations." The "Six Meishan brothers--" Naikang, Zhang, Yao, and Li were the four generals, and the two generals Guo Shen and Zhijian; this "Guo Shen Zhijian" implies the name "Guo Yazhi". When Erlang Shen fought with Sun Wukong, he "displayed his divine power and transformed himself." He became extremely tall, holding up a three-pointed and two-edged magic sword with both hands, which looked like the peak on the top of Mount Huashan. He had a green face, fangs, and red hair." He then released the "thin dog" and bit Sun Wukong's calf. , fell down again, and took the opportunity to capture Sun Wukong (Chapter 6 of "Journey to the West") Later, on the way to obtain scriptures, Sun Wukong and others chased the nine-headed insect monster that stole the relic treasure from the Jinguang Temple Tower of Saiguo, and encountered it returning from hunting. Erlang Shen and the six Meishan brothers did not care about the time left to help Sun Wukong, who had converted to Buddhism and learned scriptures. He "took the golden bow, loaded it with silver bullets, pulled the bow full, and then shot it." He also released the thin dog, "jump up and bark. With one bite, the (Nine-Headed Insect's) head was bitten off bloody. The monster fled away in pain" (Chapter 63 of "Journey to the West"). Although the Erlang Shen in this novel is surnamed Yang, his appearance includes a slingshot, a three-pointed two-edged sword, an eagle and a dog, and even sworn brothers (Meishan Seven Saints) , all seem to belong to Erlang God Zhao Yu, which clearly shows the close relationship between the novel "Journey to the West" and the legend of Erlang God in Yuan and Ming operas.

In "Journey to the West", Erlang God is the protagonist. Investigating the origins of the Jade Emperor's "nephew" and "Yang Jun's son", in addition to the legend of "splitting the mountain to save his mother", there is another clue that can be traced, which is the "Qingyuan Miaodao Xianzhen" written during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. Jun Yi Ding Zhenren protects the country, protects the people, is loyal and filial to Erlang Baojuan" (hereinafter referred to as Erlang Baojuan) and "Erlang Baojuan to eliminate the void". Liu Yinbai has an article "Journey to the West" and Yuan, Ming and Qing Baojuan (see "Documents"). "No. 3, 198") discusses the latter in detail; the latter is introduced in detail in Hu Shi's "Postscript to Xiaoshi Vacuum Volume" (see "Hu Shi's Collection of Classical Literature", Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1988 edition). "Baojuan" is divided into two volumes, the upper and lower volumes. The end of each volume is signed: "Made on the first day of September, the thirty-fourth year of Renxu, the reign of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty", that is, 1555 AD, which is earlier than today. "Journey to the West" was first published in the 20th year of Wanli (1592 AD). According to the common saying that Wu Chengen wrote "Journey to the West" when he was at home in his later years (after leaving the post of Changxing Cheng in 1568 AD), "Erlang Baojuan" was written in Before "Journey to the West" was written, even according to the saying that Wu Chengen was "writing "Journey to the West" or had completed the first draft when he was in his youth (the 21st year of Jiajing, 1542 AD) (see "Chronology of Wu Chengen" by Su Xing), "Erlang". It is unlikely that the author of "Erlang Baojuan" would be able to see the first draft of "Journey to the West" in more than ten years and rewrite it into "Erlang Baojuan". It is very possible that the legend had an impact on the depiction of Erlang Shen in Wu Chengen's "Journey to the West"

In the Ming Dynasty, the legend of Erlang Shen was widely circulated. Of course, there cannot be only one version, even the details. There is no difference. The author of "Journey to the West" (the final author) once saw a picture of "Erlang Searching the Mountains" and wrote "Erlang Searching the Mountains with a Preface". The "Preface" said: "Erlang Searching the Mountains." Mountain scroll, belonging to Wu Gong, the historian of my hometown. After being lost for fifty years, his descendant, Guanquanzi, found it again in the family of Mr. Li, the master of Shenzhi. The green felt is returned again, and the swords overlap, it is really a strange thing." This shows that "Erlang Searching the Mountain" has been circulated for a long time and is precious. The image of Erlang God depicted in "Erlang Searching the Mountain" is: "The young man is beautiful, Qingyuan Gong, the commanding officer From the spirit of things, the wind, the stars, flying and lightning, each was ordered to collect and make the mountains and forests empty. The famous eagle grabs the dog and bites it, and the long sword glistens with frost and snow. The monkey old man can't hold on to his desire to die, and the fox lady cries for blood in the empty wine. The river turned into the sea and stirred up six people, leaving no trace of the water monsters. The green front cut off the mad rush, and the golden locks intertwined to capture the poisonous dragon. The magic weapon hunts demons like beasts, explores caves and holds nests without any escaping bandits.

The flames of life are safe, and although the teeth and claws are still there, I dare to gallop." (Volume 1 of "Mr. Sheyang's Manuscript") "Erlang Searching Mountain Pictures and Songs with Preface" was written about the 18th year of Jiajing (1539), when the author was in his prime (Thirty-six years old), he commanded the magical soldiers of the Erlang God "Qingyuan Gong" (i.e. "Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun"), who was "all the boys were beautiful", wielding swords and knives, flying eagles and dogs, and catching demons and driving away beasts. The image of the hero is very enviable, and at the end of the poem he says, "The evil-killing knife in my chest is worn out, and I am powerless to quell the hatred." Save the moon with an arrow and save the sun with a bow, how can it be said that there are no heroes in the world?” This is probably the inner motivation behind the author’s praising Erlang Shen’s majestic appearance and bravery in “Journey to the West”.

Erlang Shen The legend is very rich in Yuan and Ming operas. The Yuan and Ming dramas that can be seen today involve the legend of Erlang Shen, including "Journey to the West Zaju" (Critical Edition by Yang Dongcai) and "Erlang Shen Drunk and Shooting the Magic Mirror". ", "Erlang Divine Locks the Great Sage Qitian", "Guankou Erlang Kills the Jianjiao". The eighth chapter of the first volume of "Journey to the West Zaju" writes that Guanyin Bodhisattva traveled to the west to protect Tang Monk and "played to the Jade Emperor, who was short of ten." "Fang Baoguan" secretly escorted him, the fourth of whom was "Guankou Erlang". "The sixteenth chapter of the fourth book says that Zhu Bajie became a monster in Black Wind Mountain and robbed Pei Haitang, a civilian girl. Later, Sun Wukong rescued Pei Haitang and asked her for the details of the monster. Pei Haitang said, "The monster said when he was drunk. , it is afraid of Erlang and thin dogs. "After that, Zhu Bajie went to find Pei Haitang again and captured Tang Monk. Sun Wukong went to the South China Sea to ask Guanyin Bodhisattva for help. So Guankou Erlang went to save Tang Monk in accordance with Guanyin Bodhisattva's decree. He fought with Zhu Bajie and released the "thin dog". "See It turned out that Zhu Bajie was captured. The specific image of the "true form" of the "Xin Dog" who captured Zhu Bajie here is not explained in the play, but in the later "Fengshen Yanyi", the name of Erlang Shen's roaring dog "Xi Yao" is shown like this The description: "The fairy dog ??has been cultivated to have a slim waist, shaped like a white elephant and powerful as an owl" - this is probably the "true appearance" of the roaring dog that is extremely ferocious. There is a scene in "Journey to the West Zaju" (Yue Diao, Fighting Quail) that depicts the majestic appearance of Erlang God: "I have watched the sun and the moon wax and wane, and the changes in the mountains and rivers. I have shown my power through my mouth, and the surname of the Yaoya general has been revealed. Guo pressed his hand straightly. The golden-headed slave is holding a thin dog, carrying a bow and a crossbow, and is carrying a bullet at the head of the Jinjiang River, beside the cloud stack." This is the image of Erlang Shen originally depicted in Yuan and Ming operas, but there is no mention of his surname Li or Zhao. However, in later dramas such as "Er Lang Shen Drunk and Shooting Lock on the Magic Mirror", "Guan Kou Er Lang Beheading the Jian Jiao", "Er Lang Shen Locking the Monkey King" and other dramas, Er Lang Shen directly became Zhao Yu, the prefect of Jiazhou. In the first chapter of "Erlang God Drunk and Shooting the Locked Magic Mirror" Erlang God comes up and says: "My god's surname is Zhao Mingyu, and my courtesy name is Congdao. He was the prefect of Jiazhou when he was young. There are two rivers in Jiazhou, Lingyuan, and there is a strong dragon in the river, which creates trouble and harms the people. Elders of Jiazhou, tell me that I personally entered the water with my sword and killed the Jianjiao. I held the head of the Jianjiao in my left hand and came out of the water with my sword in my right hand. These are the Seven Saints of Meishan. Killed the Jianjiao, collected the Seven Saints of Meishan, and flew up in the daytime. The people of Guanjiang built a temple with my god, and received the gift from the Heavenly Talisman and the Jade Emperor. In the play "Guankou Erlang Beheads the Jianjiao", the whole story is about the origin of Erlang Shen. The description is roughly the same as the description in "Erlang Shen Drunk and Shooting the Magic Mirror" quoted above, except that Zhao Yu (wrongly written by Yu) ascended first Become a saint, then descend to the Seven Saints of Meishan, and then kill the dragon. It's just that the order is reversed. Erlang Shen's generals also have Guo Yazhi ("ya" and "pressure", the same sound is changed), who "leads the dog", and also adds a "knife-grabbing ghost". Erlang Shen Locks the Great Sage Qitian, Erlang Shen, under the orders of the "Master of the Arctic Exorcism Academy" who was "the body of Tai Chi incarnation of the Yuan Dynasty", led the Seven Saints of Meishan and many heavenly soldiers to Huaguo Mountain to capture Qi who had stolen the elixir and wine. The Great Sage. Just like Zhu Bajie in "Journey to the West Zaju" "is only afraid of Erlang and the fine dog", "Erlang Shensuo Locks the Monkey King" also says: "Only Erlang Zhenjun of Qingyuan Miaodao can defeat the Monkey King", This shows that Erlang Shen is a master who specializes in capturing monsters and monsters. Although the play does not explicitly state that the Monkey King is Sun Wukong, in the first episode the Monkey King recounts his life experience: "I have three gods and five sisters. The elder sister is a turtle mountain jellyfish, and the younger sister is called a monkey because of her iron color. "Brothers playing tricks on Sanlang" is almost the same as Sun Xingzhe (Wukong)'s self-narration in the ninth episode of "Journey to the West": "There are five brothers and sisters in the Little Saint: the eldest sister Lishan Laomu, the second sister Wu Zhijie Shengwu, the eldest brother Qi The great sage is the great sage, the lesser sage is the great sage, and the third brother is playing tricks." The only difference is that Sun Xingzhe in "Journey to the West" is the Great Sage Qitian, and it is Nezha who subdues him instead of Erlangshen. It can also be clearly seen that the drama "Er Lang Shen Suo Monkey King" was deeply influenced by "Journey to the West Zaju".

"Erlang Shen Suo Qitian Monkey King" focuses on describing the martial prowess of Erlang Shen and the Seven Sages of Meishan. They captured the Three Sages of Huaguoshan without much effort, unlike the later novel "Journey to the West" where they had to fight for changes. , it can only work with the help of Taishang Laojun's King Kong Zhuo. Among the three sages of Huaguo Mountain, the Great Sage Qi Yao is the leader in stealing golden elixirs and immortal wine. He is brave and versatile, but once captured, he will kneel down and beg for mercy. On the contrary, the image of the eldest brother, the Great Sage Tongtian, is more prominent. He uses an iron rod and changes in magical powers, which are also very similar to the Sun Wukong in later novels. The Monkey King, the Monkey King, in the novel "Journey to the West" can be said to be a fusion of the images of the three sages from Huaguoshan. Even the name "Sun Xingzhe" was probably borrowed from "Sanlang Shuashua".

In short, in dramas such as "Erlang Shen Drunk and Locking the Magic Mirror", "Guankou Erlang Beheading the Jian Jiao", "Erlang Shen Locking the Monkey King" and other plays, the image of Erlang Shen has been more concretely depicted: He has "vast magical powers and various transformations" ("Erlang Shen drunkenly shoots the magic mirror"), "green face and red beard", "horse astride a dragon colt, arrows stuck in a golden pot, robes and brocade are blurred, clusters like showers, and branches are stunned." "Erlang Guankou Beheads the Jianjiao"); his "three points and two blades, sharp as the wind when the knife passes" ("Erlang Divine Suo Qitian Monkey King"), leading the "thin dog to break through the siege" Formation, golden bullets dispersed the demon soldiers" ("Erlang Shensuo Monkey King"). There is a song and Yuan storybook in the collection of Ming Dynasty story-telling novels "Awakening the World Hengyan", which says that there was an Erlang Temple in Mujing of the ancient Song Dynasty, which was dedicated to Erlang God of Qingyuan Miaodao and the Blessing Saint of the North Pole. The real king responds as well. The statue of Erlang in the temple, "with its head wrapped in gold flowers, wearing an embroidered robe of storage clothes, a jade belt from Orchid Field around its waist, and flying black boots on its feet" and "holding a slingshot", is similar to the image of Erlang in operas of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. resemblance.