What do Tianjin people do best?

Our place in Tianjin is a dock with many places, floods and droughts. When people are mixed, beliefs are mixed. Worship of nature, worship of animals, worship of ancestors, worship of various folk gods, etc. are all included.

Same as before. Belief has to be useful and respond to requests. If you believe for a long time and don't get any benefits, then the people will not believe it anymore. To put it bluntly, the essence of folk belief is transaction.

For example, Jade Emperor Pavilion. Don’t mention now, just before liberation. Just because the people felt it was "ineffective" at the time, its popularity has never been as good as that of the Thean Hou Temple next door (since the Qing Dynasty). It was even demolished in 1956 and turned into a primary school.

Nature worship

Worship of heaven

Heaven and earth, sun and moon, stars, water and fire, thunder and lightning, mountains and rivers, etc. But we Chinese people worship nature, which is significantly different from other countries or civilizations. That is, we will anthropomorphize these natural things. For example, the Jade Emperor represents the sky, the Earth Mother represents the earth, the Twenty-Eight Star Lords, the Thunder God and the Lightning Mother, the Dragon King of the Four Seas, etc., including the Queen of Heaven, who is actually a kind of sea god.

It is different from the Tocharians who simply worship God. Today's words such as Kunlun and Qilian all come from Tocharian, which means "heaven" (Mr. Lin Haicun's "Qilian and Kunlun"). In other words, the Tocharians also worship "Heaven", but unlike the Central Plains, they turn God into a person.

This man is the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor's surname is Zhang, the crown prince of Guangyan Miaole Kingdom. His mother's name is Bao Yueguang. According to legend, Bao Yueguang dreamed of Taishang Laojun, and then gave birth to the Jade Emperor. Later, he also gave up the throne. Being the emperor was boring. He went deep into the mountains to practice Taoism, and after one hundred and thirty million eons, he became the Jade Emperor.

The proof of our Tianjin’s belief in the Jade Emperor is the Jade Emperor Pavilion in Zhu Zhanji’s era. The dialect is pronounced as Jade Emperor Pavilion (gao).

At that time, this building complex was still very spectacular: mountain gate, archway, main hall, side hall, bell and drum tower, hexagonal pavilion and so on. But now the only thing you can see is Qingxu Pavilion. In the past, the bronze statue of the Jade Emperor was enshrined on the second floor of Qingxu Pavilion in the entire Jade Emperor Pavilion. This bronze statue should be considered a very precious cultural relic. It looks like the emperor of the Qin and Han Dynasties, with twelve crowns, nine chapters of robes, etc. At a certain period of time, this bronze statue just... supported construction. It didn't necessarily turn into something else in a certain copper factory.

As I said just now, the Jade Emperor Pavilion has been around since the Qing Dynasty, because it is not very effective and has no miraculous manifestations. The incense was not very good, and most of the buildings were relatively dilapidated, so in 1956, all the buildings except Qingxu Pavilion were demolished.

Old gentlemen who live in the city should know about Yuhuangge Primary School. At this point, all religious activities in Yuhuang Pavilion were gone. Previously, on the ninth day of the first lunar month, the Jade Emperor's birthday, and on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month when the Jade Emperor went on tour, the Jade Emperor Pavilion was quite lively. There will also be mobile vendors and the like at the door. It is a relatively important temple fair in Tianjin.

The current Qingxu Pavilion was renovated and opened in 2001. But there seems to be no major religious activities.

Worship and belief in the land

The sky is against the earth, the rain is against the wind, and the continent is against the sky. After talking about heaven, let’s talk about earth.

The worship and belief in the land mentioned here is not the Lord of the Earth, but the Mother of the Earth. Although the Tutu Lord is also a kind of belief, he even married a wife for the Tutu Lord later on, the Tutu Grandma. But Tu Tu is the kind of god who manages a small area. He takes care of everything, including peace, wealth, good harvests, etc. He even manages the affairs of the dead. For example, after someone dies, he has to go to the Tu Tu Temple to burn his watch and offer sacrifices. , saying that he was going to report to the Land Master. It is to give the dead a registered residence in the underworld.

Who is this Earth Mother? The Earth Mother is also a great deity, as famous as the Jade Emperor, and is also called the God of Heaven and the Mother of the Earth. The Mother Earth Mother got a fish to use as a mount, with a amiable look on her face. It is completely different from the majestic imperial image of the Jade Emperor.

In Tianjin, the main purpose of worshiping the Mother Earth is to pray for children and prosperity.

So where is the Earth Mother Empress worshiped? It is also the Tianhou Temple. Every year on the 18th day of the third lunar month, people in Tianjin line up to worship the Earth Mother. It was not until more than fifty years ago that the statue of the Earth Mother was completely destroyed. Later, when the Tianhou Palace was rebuilt in the 1980s, the Earth Mother was not restored, and Tianjin's belief in the Earth Mother disappeared.

Sun and Moon Worship

Let’s talk about the sun and the moon. Let’s talk about the sun and the moon together. In the eyes of ordinary people, the sun and moon are one male and one female - the so-called Sun Star Lord and Taiyin Star Lord.

It is enshrined in Jade Emperor Pavilion and Thean Hou Temple. These two gods also have birthdays. The sun is born on the first day of the second month of the lunar calendar, and the moon, as everyone knows, is born on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.

When it comes to worshiping the Sun God, the more interesting thing is to use sugar cakes to offer sacrifices. Every February first day, neighbors give each other sugar cookies. By the time of the Republic of China, this belief and custom declined, and then disappeared completely

. But this August 15th must have been passed down, this is the Mid-Autumn Festival. The whole family gathering together to enjoy the moon and eat mooncakes have been preserved and passed down, but some of them have disappeared, such as the Rabbit Lord. It seems that this thing still exists only in the capital.

There used to be some in Tianjin. Look at this candy maker. Every August 15th, they would make some kind of candy rabbit with long ears and wearing a coat and a waistcoat. Most of the family can do it. Buy your kid one of those things.

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There is also the custom of worshiping the moon, but it no longer exists in Tianjin. At that time, only women came to worship the moon, and men did not participate. The so-called Women don't worship the stove, and men don't worship the moon. It's also fun to worship the moon. In addition to setting up a table and placing offerings to worship, there is another activity, which is to do divination by climbing on the moon.

How to do it. What? Just buy some small crabs at home, stick a very small candle on the crab shell, and then let the crabs crawl all over the yard and worship the stars according to their movement and stopping points.

For example, the lucky star is Jupiter. As long as your family has the word "luck" on it during the New Year, it can be regarded as belief and worship of the lucky star.

Lu Xing is Wenchang Star. This and Wenqu Xing have various intertwined and conflicting opinions. There are too many to expand on. Anyway, it is the worship of Wenchang composed of six stars, also called Kuixing. It's about managing fame and wealth. We used to have Wenchang Temple, Wenchang Pavilion, Jade Emperor Pavilion and Tianhou Palace to worship Kuixing. According to legend, the Wenchang God had two boys named Tian Deaf and Di Ya. It’s these two people who can keep secrets.

As for the longevity star, it seems that there is no corresponding one in the sky.

There is also the three official stars. These three brothers are collectively called the Three Officials. They are the Heaven Official, the Earth Official, and the Water Official, who are responsible for resolving misfortune. They have the same father, and their surname is Chen. It seems that the three brothers do not have the same mother, but they have the same grandfather. The three daughters of the Dragon King fell in love with the handsome Mr. Chen at the same time, and gave birth to all three of them.

Big Dipper is also very popular among the people of Tianjin. Worshiping the God of Heaven. You need to worship the Big Dipper in the Jade Emperor Pavilion, because the tablet of the Big Dipper is enshrined there.

Who is Dou Mu, the Jade Emperor we just mentioned? His mother, Queen Bao Yueguang, gave birth to nine children. The eldest was the Jade Emperor, the second was the North Star, and the remaining seven brothers formed the Big Dipper Lord. When people worship Doumu, they usually go to the Jade Emperor Pavilion and Tianhou Temple. Now you can go to see the statue of Doumu with three eyes, four heads and eight arms. The ninth day of September is Doumu’s birthday in Tianjin. Common people go to the Jade Emperor Pavilion or Tianhou Palace to celebrate Dou Mu's birthday and pray for longevity and disaster relief.

In addition, Tianjin people also worship the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl during the Chinese Valentine's Day. But it is a matter for girls and women, and no men are involved. The girls only worship the Weaver Girl, praying for their skillful hands, and throwing a sewing needle into the bowl. Depending on the direction of the needle, whether the fortune-telling hand is a skill or an unlucky one.

As for women, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl worship together, praying for harmony between the bed and the weaver. You say this, the couple only see each other once a year, how harmonious can they be? Besides, it's so easy to meet people, and it seems a bit unhuman to have to worry about ordinary people.

Thunder God and Lightning Mother, He Bo, Poseidon and Fire God

As for other nature worship, there are also Thunder God and Lightning Mother, He Bo, Poseidon and Fire God (far more than these )etc.

Thunder God and Lightning Mother are, to be precise, a system. There are many gods attached to them, mainly to ensure good weather and the like, in an agricultural society. But the two of them also take care of some things that support justice part-time. For example, the common people will think that whoever does many bad things will be struck by Thunder God.

Not many people believe in He Bo in Tianjin. The God of the Yellow River may be a little far away from us. Only this Tianhou Palace has the Hebo Hall, but there is no statue of Hebo in the Hebo Hall, which is dedicated to the Dragon King. The Dragon King is definitely not just in Thean Hou Temple. Various temples will worship the Dragon King. The most famous one should be Qianfu Temple in Xitou.

Why? Because our Dragon King Club in Tianjin is jointly sponsored by Qianfu Temple and Yuhuang Pavilion.

According to folklore, whenever there is a drought, the Dragon King has to discuss the rain policy with the Jade Emperor. Their large-scale rain preparation seminar lasted three days. This can't be the case where the Jade Emperor goes to find the Dragon Prince. The Dragon Prince has to go to the Jade Emperor. Who can let someone be the superior leader? Since then, this has become a traditional sacrificial act in Tianjin.

Every time the Dragon King meets. People carried the statues of the four Dragon Lords from Xitou Qianfu Temple to the Jade Emperor Pavilion. It’s super busy along the way. Those who sell things, those who play gongs and drums, those who perform arts, etc. People will also set up tables along the way and place tributes. Burn incense and pray.

The last time Tianjin held the Dragon King Festival was in 1916. Coincidentally, it was drizzling when the Dragon King Meeting was being held. Oops, the common people have become more pious, and they all say that the Dragon King has appeared~~~

I never expected that the next year would be 1917! The Dragon King's apparitions have become widespread, and there has been a flood in Tianjin. Even the Qianfu Temple itself has been flooded. From then on, no one held this Dragon King Meeting anymore. The belief in the Dragon King also disappeared.

Now if you want to see the Dragon King of the Four Seas, you can go to the Thean Hou Temple. The North Hall of Tianhou Palace also enshrines the Dragon King of the Four Seas. But, the Dragon King of the Four Seas became a working man. They were arranged to become the subordinates of the Queen of Heaven.

This also talks about the most important belief in Tianjin, the belief in Queen Mother. Lin Mo, a Fujian woman who lived in the Northern Song Dynasty, later became the Queen of Heaven. She is a goddess loved by Tianjin people.

With the development of the times, the Queen of Heaven has also transformed from the God of the Sea into an all-round and multi-functional goddess. From safe entry and exit to fame and fortune, everything is included. Of course, the most important thing is to ask for and give birth to children. So much so that the most important temple fair in Tianjin - Tianjin Imperial Fair was derived.

With the Tianjin people’s worship and belief in the omnipotent goddess Lin Mo, there were 16 Tianhou Palaces in Tianjin during its heyday. However, of these Thean Hou Temple, only the ancient cultural street has been preserved. A long time ago, that place was called Xiaozhigu outside the east gate, corresponding to the large Zhigu in the east of Hedong. It is said to be a building from the era of Kublai Khan. Even if there is controversy, it must have been built in the Yuan Dynasty. The incense will last for more than 50 years. The statue of Queen of Heaven was destroyed and the Temple of Queen of Heaven was used for other purposes.

In 1985, Thean Hou Temple was rebuilt. All the statues in Thean Hou Temple now are products of after 1985.

There will be a separate issue about Thean Hou Palace and Tianjin Imperial Meeting later. This will be explained in detail. Let’s put it aside for now and talk about animal beliefs.

Animal worship - fox, yellow, white, willow ash, unicorn, horse, fish, bird and turtle

There are ten types of animal worship in Tianjin, including fox, yellow, white, willow ash, unicorn, horse, fish, turtle and one more bird.

Fox yellow, white willow ash is more popular, and many people know it. Fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake, mouse. Some of them will be attached with adult images in Tianjin, and their names sound like their neighbors next door. For example, Mr. Hu San, Mr. Huang Er, Mrs. Bai and so on.

The most famous one here should be Mrs. Bai.

Mrs. Bai is a hedgehog. We Tianjin people believe that hedgehogs are mascots and represent wealth and good health. Therefore, Mrs. Bai is enshrined in Thean Hou Temple. There are idols. You can now see the statue of the old lady Bai when you go to Thean Hou Temple. This idol was donated by pilgrims in 1995 and the previous one is gone. It can be seen that Mrs. Bai's faith holds great weight in the hearts of Tianjin people.

Not to mention the weasel and fox snake, they just have aura. And this belief exists everywhere, with little differences. Rats are similar. But some people in Tianjin also regard rats as the god of wealth. I hope this smart and unpredictable little animal can bring wealth into your home. Therefore, Yangliuqing paintings, clay figurine Zhang Caiyu, etc. all have descriptions of the great mouse, such as "The Mouse Marriage".

Unicorn, horse, fish, bird and turtle. The relative popularity of these five is not as good as that of the Five Immortals. But it should be considered a household name.

Qilin, in Tianjin, is mainly used to send children and bless children to live a long life. Look at this unicorn's longevity lock. That's what it means.

Horse God, the three-eyed horse prince. It's about the harvest.

Fish, you can see a lot of New Year pictures, money hangings and the like. It expresses more than a year. I hope that life will be prosperous, such a wish.

Birds mainly worship cranes. Tianjin people say they are immortals~ This means praying for longevity.

Some people’s worship of birds refers to the Suzaku. This is basically not the kind of belief that ordinary people have. The so-called Zhuque twenty-eight constellations and seven constellations in the south are called the four gods of the four directions together with Qinglong Baihu Xuanwu.

Turtle, in the old days, had the function of sea god, and common people believed that turtles were spiritual and could serve as a medium for communication between humans and heaven. Therefore, turtles are creatures that know good and bad luck, and many fortune tellers use turtle shells to tell fortunes.

The Lord of Hell, Emperor Dongyue, and the City God

In addition to these worship beliefs of nature, Tianjin City must also have beliefs in authentic gods.

For example, the Lord of Hell, Emperor Dongyue, the City God and other gods.

The Great Compassion Courtyard is dedicated to the Lord of Hell. Ordinary people go to pray for the deceased to pray for the deceased and to pay homage to the Lord of Hell.

Emperor Dongyue is the god of Mount Tai. Mount Tai should be said to be a very important place in the Chinese mythology system. Before the term "Five Mountains" came into being, Yue specifically referred to Mount Tai. Emperor Dongyue, Bixia Yuanjun, Taishan Fujun, plus Naihe and Naihe Bridge in Mount Tai, as well as the so-called Taishan underworld where the soul returns to Mount Tai after death.

To this day, Tai’an’s housing prices are linked to these myths. After that, I will go to Mount Tai again and make videos and articles about the gods, ghosts and legends of Mount Tai.

Let’s get back to the subject. When people in Tianjin worship Emperor Dongyue, they also regard him as the king of the underworld. It's a prayer for the deceased. Dongyue Temple is just outside the east gate of the old city. But we Tianjin people don’t call it Dongyue Temple, we call it Tianqi Temple.

More than 70 years ago, Tianqi Temple became a large courtyard. The worship of Emperor Dongyue ceased to exist. But the name Tianqi Temple existed until 2003. During the demolition in 2003, Tianqi Temple Hutong was demolished. It should be said that from that time on, every trace of Emperor Dongyue disappeared.

As for the belief in the City God, I will leave a button. One is because the article is too long, and the other is that the temple fair in the City God Temple is also very lively. It may not be as good as the Tianjin Emperor’s Fair, but the whole temple fair is The scale is also one of the best. Therefore, I will incorporate this into the later video about Thean Hou Temple and the Tianjin Emperor’s Meeting.

Let’s talk about some folk gods later. For example, the door god, the kitchen god, and a number of gods who give birth to children, gods of joy, gods of wealth, and even Guanyin Bodhisattva, as well as various gods of medicine, Master Guan, Sage Kong, the two immortals of Hehe, the god of bed, Magu, etc. The eight immortals of the sea. These folk beliefs can be found in Tianjin at that time.

The door gods used to stick to every house, Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong at the front door. If you take advantage of a back door in your home, Wei Zheng will have to stick to the back door. This is mainly to keep the home safe. Later, it was also derived from various door gods. Generally, they are divided into civil door gods and blessing door gods, and these two must also appear in pairs. Due to limited space, I won’t mention it.

The Stove Lord, it is said that God speaks good things, but the earth is jealous and evil.

The Kitchen God is the head of the family, and he says he will record the affairs of this person's family, and then report them to heaven on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. If anyone in this family makes a mistake, a big mistake will cost them 300 days of life, and a small mistake will cost them 100 days. Therefore, no one dares to offend. Wouldn’t it be necessary to sacrifice sugar melons to the stove?

What’s interesting is that some pre-liberation articles or more serious books such as Tianjin General Chronicles say that the function of the sugar melon is to stick to the Stove Lord’s mouth so that he cannot say bad things. It's not as I understand now that the Stove Lord should be sweeter. In other words, the modern interpretation of non-violent bribery has replaced the past explanation of using violent means to silence the Kitchen God.

Everyone is familiar with the Stove Lord, and there are many opinions about it. Let’s not argue, all opinions are correct, let’s continue the topic below.

Belief in the gods who send children away

Tianjin people believe in too many gods, including Guanyin Bodhisattva. This is called Guanyin.

There is also the Taishan Empress, the old man in Tianjin calls the Kan Empress. In fact, she is Bixia Yuanjun, the daughter of Emperor Dongyue.

The descendant empress, this name is meant to give birth to children. The tied doll that we Tianjin people talk about may have originated from the descendants.

There are other immortals who give birth to children, such as the Thousand Sons Empress, the Hundred Sons Empress, the Mother-Inducing Empress, the Son-Giving Empress, the Birth-Giving Empress, and so on. As for the statues of these gods, except for the birth-giving lady, the other gods are accompanied by one or several children. This birth lady is different.

The mother-in-law has two faces. The front face has kind eyebrows and kind eyes, while the back face has a fierce look. Kindness and kindness are meant to give children to barren women. This evil spirit is meant to scare children. It is said that the children are reluctant to leave the mother who gave birth to her. What to do? Use your back face to scare the child. Once the child is frightened, poof~~ it will be born. Why would a child cry when he is born? Isn't that scary?

As for the immortals who give birth to children, I want to focus on one, that is Zhang Xian. We Tianjin people affectionately call him "Zhang Xianye". This man is said to be Meng Chang, the emperor of Hou Shu. After Hou Shu was killed by Zhao Kuangyin, Meng Chang's wife Mrs. Huarui was favored by Lao Zhao. This couple is so loving. Mrs. Huarui misses her ex-husband all the time. So he made a painting of Meng Chang holding a bow and shooting an arrow. Unexpectedly, Zhao Kuangyin saw it and became very jealous, so he asked her who she was. Mrs. Huarui talked nonsense seriously. Tell him, this is our Sichuan god Zhang. So this slowly spread. To this day, the statue of Zhang Xianye still shows the image of a man wearing luxurious clothes and holding a bow and arrow.

Why do you focus on Zhang Xianye?

Look at this, this is Zhang Xian Pavilion. Once upon a time, Zhang Xian was worshiped here. The incense is particularly strong. It was later demolished, and although Zhang Xian Pavilion was rebuilt, the statue of Zhang Xian was no longer there. The worship and belief in Zhang Xian no longer exist.

The God of Joy and the God of Wealth

The God of Joy is a goddess, and the God of Wealth is divided into civil and military gods. Nowadays, the God of Happiness basically only retains the post of someone who looks up to express happiness during the New Year, but the God of Wealth is probably found in all major temples, and the incense is strong.

The gods who send doctors and medicines

There are several gods who send doctors and medicines. There are only four Princes of Medicine - Sun Simiao, Bian Que, Hua Tuo and Pi Tong.

There are also many temples, such as the Yaowang Temple in Fengshan, the Yaowang Temple outside the North Gate, the Yaowang Temple in the Laoyantuo area, and the Jade Emperor Pavilion Tianhou Palace, etc., all of which have offerings and incense. Very exuberant. In particular, Fengshan Yaowang Temple holds a grand temple fair every New Year. In 1994, pilgrims from Tianhou Palace donated the statue of King Yao, and the belief in King Yao was restored in Tianjin. In 1997, Fengshan Yaowang Temple was rebuilt. This belief still exists.

In addition to these four, there are a lot of gods who specialize in smallpox. There are eight immortals including the Spotted Lady, the Medicine Immortal Official, the Smallpox Fairy, the Pox Boy, Lord Naosi (three) and the water-carrying brother who is most familiar to Tianjin people. Now except for the statue of Brother Water Bearer, which was rebuilt in 1995, the others no longer exist.

There is also Grandma Wang San, who also treats illnesses and saves people. It is said that she was from Miaofengshan in Beijing (another saying is that she was from Tianjin and was a mother-in-law in a wealthy family) and once rode a donkey to Tianjin. Once you enter the Tianhou Palace, you will immediately become immortal.

Legend has it that Grandma Wang would ride a donkey and be guided by a boy. Treating illnesses and saving lives everywhere.

Not to mention Guan Gong, Confucius, the eight immortals who crossed the sea, and Magu who was in charge of immortality.

Hehe Erxian and Bedxian

The last two are Hehe Erxian and Bedxian.

Hehe Erxian is the god of marriage. In the past, Tianjin people generally worshiped heaven and earth when they got married. There are portraits of Hehe Erxian in the wedding hall. This is used to pray for newlyweds.

There are also two immortals in this bed. Also divided into men and women. The male is called bed master, and the female is called bed mother. They are in charge of marital harmony. Reproduce offspring. You see, those who get married nowadays will have the tradition of pressing the kang, which originates from the worship of the bed fairy.

In addition to these, there will also be some gods without any origin. For example, in the former Tianhou Palace, there were gods such as the silly uncle and the lumpy Mr. Liu.

Except for a few of these gods, they still remain in people's lives. In fact, most of them have been lost in history with the development of the times. These acts of worship can be described as superstitious or ignorant. In fact, in the final analysis, it is our Tianjin people’s yearning for a better life.