Different Dongshan Guandi Belief

Dongshan Guandi Temple is located in the sea corner of southern Fujian, covering an area of only one mu, but it is just as famous as Yuncheng in Shanxi, Dangyang in Hubei and Luoyang Guandi Temple in Henan, and ranks among the four Guandi temples in China. Yuncheng, Shanxi Province is the birthplace of Guandi, Dangyang, Hubei Province is the official burial place of Guandi, and Luoyang, Henan Province is the first burial place of Guandi. These three Guandi temples are very important and naturally rank among the four Guandi temples. But what is the uniqueness of the small Dongshan Guandi Temple and why can it rank alongside these three famous Guandi temples?

The reason why Dongshan is among them is that it is different from other places and has a very special Guandi belief culture. Guandi belief not only took root here, but also spread to Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan, and even to East Asia and other parts of the world. Today, there are nearly a thousand Fenling temples in Dongshan Guandi Temple.

So what's special about Guandi's belief culture in Dongshan, so that Guandi's culture can be carried forward? There are mainly the following aspects:

1. Special appellation of Guandi

Guandi is called "Guandi", "Guan Gong" and "Guan Sheng Di Jun" in other places, and only Dongshan is different and called "Emperor Zu". In other words, Dongshan people do not regard Guandi as a god, but as a person, a family member, an ancestor and an elder.

"The name is not correct, the words are not smooth", although the address is small, it can best explain the closeness of the relationship between the two. Dongshan people call Guandi "the ancestor", and the intimacy with Guandi is far from comparable in other places. When Dongshan people were young, they regarded Guan Di as a family member, the most important member of the family and the most wise elder. In this way, the belief that was originally out of reach and mysterious became natural, true and cordial to Dongshan people, as if the emperor was around. Emperor Guan is his ancestor, which makes Dongshan people feel very safe. Therefore, Dongshan people call Guandi "Emperor Zu" and nothing else.

Second, special historical origins

Dongshan people are not descendants of Guandi, so why should they call Guandi the "ancestor"? Is it because Dongshan people deliberately close the relationship with Guan Diye, and they just talk about it, but it can't be true?

no! Dongshan people call Guandi the "ancestor", which is not exaggerated, but appropriate. This is because Emperor Guan and Dongshan people have a special historical origin.

In the 2th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, Zhou De, Xiahou, Jiang, built the Tongshan Institute to appease the soldiers, bring Guandi incense and carve it as a sacrifice. Since then, Emperor Guan has blessed Dongshan. Later, Qi Jiguang fought the enemy, Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan Province, and Shi Lang unified Taiwan Province, all of which were embedded with the incense of Dongshan Guandi.

at the beginning of Qing dynasty, Dongshan people experienced the border relocation and re-establishment because of their active resistance to Qing dynasty and their subordination to military households, and the Qing government refused to naturalize Dongshan people. Without household registration, Dongshan people can't take the imperial examination, can't buy a house, have heavy taxes and live in dire straits.

According to legend, Emperor Guan gave a dream to Chen Ruxian, the magistrate of Zhangpu (then Tongshan belonged to Zhangpu), and asked him to petition the court in the name of Emperor Guan to naturalize the people of Dongshan. Since Emperor Guan came forward, the Qing government did not dare to lose face, and finally agreed to set up a large family with Guan Yongmao, the descendant of Guan, as the head of the household, so that all Dongshan people could join in. As a result, Dongshan people have the household registration of Guan's family and become the descendants of Guan Diye. Of course, they should call Guan Dizu.

third, special pilgrimage ceremony.

For most faiths, pilgrimage is far away, and it is often necessary to travel across mountains and rivers. Dongshan people don't have to believe in Guandi, because Guandi is around and at home.

Almost every household in Dongshan worships Guan Di in the middle of the lobby. Every morning and evening, they offer incense to Guan Di, asking him for instructions early and reporting later, and asking him for peace and harmony. In Dongshan dialect, it is called "burning and twisting fire". There are incense burners and holy grails on the table in front of the statue of Guan Di. Dongshan people often dare not make their own decisions when they are in trouble. Instead, they should burn incense and report to Guan Di, tell him their thoughts and get instructions from Guan Di through the holy grail. Especially when major decisions need to be made in the event of major events, Dongshan people should personally go to the big temple to invite incense to draw lots, and ask Guan Di Ye to make a ruling, so that Guan Di Ye can execute it as he decides, and dare not violate it at all.

It should be said that this belief has benefited the people, and it is particularly grounded, which can not only solve the mental confusion, but also solve the problems encountered in real life. Dizu is like an intelligent elder around us. He can consult with him at any time when something happens, and he takes pains to answer every time. This is a wonderful thing. While solving each problem, it is actually a "pilgrimage" process.

Of course, we can't pretend that this is science, but it is a kind of belief and a kind of folk culture. But in this process, it will at least make us reduce our impulses, calm down and think, and leave more room for discussion, which is quite instructive in reality.

Fourth, special ways of inheritance

When Dongshan people get married and move to a new house, their mother and uncle will send Guan Di's portrait and couplets, commonly known as "mother and uncle couplets", which are hung in the middle of the lobby for the new family to worship. In Dongshan, the measure of whether a child can be independent is not whether he is an adult, whether he is married and has children, but whether he can "worship Guan Di" independently. It is a unique way for Dongshan people to inherit Guandi's belief culture to determine the self-reliance of a new family by offering sacrifices to "Emperor Zu" independently. In this way, once a child is born, it is passed on from mouth to mouth, and unconsciously he lives in a cultural atmosphere of believing in Guandi, and naturally he will regard Guandi as his ancestor. The belief in Guandi was passed down from generation to generation.

v. Special soldier's bloodiness

Tongshan Institute was built in Dongshan in the early Ming Dynasty, where either soldiers or their families lived, and the blood of soldiers naturally flowed from Dongshan people. Lord Guandi is also a soldier. Dongshan people and Guandi are highly compatible in the characteristics of soldiers such as defending the country and defending the country. Naturally, they admire Guandi's "loyalty, courage, benevolence, courtesy and wisdom" and regard defending the country as their innate duty.

Therefore, Dongshan people have a strong blood that goes deep into the bone marrow and does not yield to the outside! Huang Daozhou led the "scholar carrying pole army" to fight against the Qing Dynasty and died, while Chen Xie, Chen Shiqi and Lin Rirui died unyielding in fighting against the peasant uprising. The people of Dongshan actively fought against the Qing Dynasty for a long time in the late Ming Dynasty. In particular, in all previous anti-aggression wars, he was indomitable and won many battles, defeating seven invasions by Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain and Japan. The people of Dongshan can be invincible in the war against aggression, and the spirit of "loyalty, courage, benevolence and righteousness" of Guandi is very important!

When doing good deeds, it is often more powerful to be encouraged by others. When someone stares coldly when doing something bad, they often think twice. Guandi is the ubiquitous "person" in the eyes of Dongshan people. Believing in Guandi makes Dongshan people cherish good thoughts and awe, and feel that holding their heads up three feet has a god.

Today, Dongshan has long-term stability, simple and honest folk customs, harmony and friendliness, and people feel safe and happy when they are alive. All this is inseparable from the different culture of Guandi belief!

October, 219, myna Yu Dongshan

Special note: The copyright of Emperor Zu Blessing Cartoon is owned by Dongshan Chituma Cultural Tourism Co., Ltd.