On the external walls of some rural houses in the north, "Mount Tai Shi Gandang" is written. What do you mean?

Small stone tablets (or small stone people) stand on the bridge road or build by laying bricks or stones on the walls of houses, and are engraved with the words "Shi Gandang" or "Mount Tai Shi Gandang". To suppress ominous customs, which is very popular among the people.

The written record of "Shi Gandang" was first found in the "Urgent Chapter" of A Historical Tour of the Western Han Dynasty: "Learn from the tiger, Shi Gandang, and the dragon will not invade." Yan Shigu's note: "Wei has stone wax, stone, stone evil, and Zheng has stone, all of which are stones;" Zhou has a stone speed, a stone in the same place, and then lives in the house. Dare to be the first in the world. "Yan believes that history is a surname and dares to be world-beater. Tao quoted the "urgent chapter" and Yan's annotation in the article "Shi Gan Dang" in the Record of Abandoning Farmland in Nancun, and completely agreed with Yan's statement. Yan Shigu's explanation of Shi Gandang is not satisfactory. As we know, Urgent Chapter was a children's enlightenment literacy book at that time. According to Yan's notes, Shi Gandang's name is Shi Invincible. Unless the man surnamed Shi was famous at that time, it would be difficult for children to accept what he said and for teachers to explain it clearly. Deng Erya, a modern scholar, pointed out: "We searched through ancient books, but we didn't find the famous invincible hero Shi Moumou before the Han Dynasty." Shi Gandang. There is no such thing as an "urgent chapter", but later generations think it is a metaphor of Shi Gandang. "(Folklore 4 1-42) Li Zong. Comrade Liu Quner also thinks: "There is a saying in the" Urgent Chapter "of the Western Han History Tour: Learn from the tiger, be an official, do not invade, and the dragon is not in the middle. Yan Shigu thinks that Shi is a surname, and he dares to be invincible in the world. The spokesman said that the Shi Gandang Monument is an invincible writing. In town, it's a bit unsatisfactory, but it's still not finished. There are many such words in the old saying, so why choose them here (China folk gods).

Another way of saying it is: Shi Gandang was considered a warrior in the Han Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. Chen Duanru, an Amin scholar, wrote in Broken Groups: "In the Five Dynasties of Liu Zhiyuan, there was a warrior named Shi Gandang, who worshipped the names of the ancients." ? Is Yang a human being? "Yuan Zhuji" also said: "In the Five Dynasties, Liu Zhiyuan was the official of Jinzu, the king of Lu rebelled against Ke, and the emperor went out to see Weizhou. Zhiyuan sent Lux Shi Gandang to serve with an iron mallet. Emperor and Yu discussed this matter, and Zhiyuan pursued the victory, and Shi Gandang died. Zhiyuan killed the emperor and burned the national seal. Shi Gandang turned adversity into prosperity and saved the day. Therefore, the descendants who rushed to the bridge road must stone out their ambitions and write their surnames to defend the residents. "

We believe that Shi Gandang's stone tablet has nothing to do with Shi Gan, a warrior of the Five Dynasties, for two reasons:

(1) Looking through the old and new "History of the Five Dynasties", it is found that those who are famous for Shi Gandang in the world but not for Shi Gandang do not regard Shi Gandang, who is brave, as Shi Gandang's written record. According to the Record of the Old Five Dynasties History of Gaozu, "I should be obedient, and the town of Gaozu in Jin Dynasty is Changshan. When Tang Mingzong was called to Que, he met the Emperor Min on the road, entered Weizhou one by one and stopped at the post office. Ming Di murdered Jin Gaozu, and Ming Di sent the imperial scholar Shi Gan to support Jin Gaozu. But if you dare to carry Gaozu into a room with a huge wooden door, you dare to die. The emperor led the people to kill Emperor Min in order to avoid the difficulties of Jin Gaozu. " According to Ten Minutes of the History of the New Five Dynasties, it is recorded that "the king of Lu rebelled against Ke, the emperor went out, and the emperor went to Beijing. When he met the emperor in Weizhou, he stopped passing it on, and Shi Gan, a warrior of Zhiyuan School, served Gaozu with an iron mallet to avoid change. Gaozu and Yudi are undecided, and they want to fight left and right. Zhiyuan held his ancestors in the room and dared to fight and die everywhere. Zhiyuan led the troops to kill the emperor and left. " Although the New History of the Five Dynasties is different from the Old History of the Five Dynasties, it is agreed that the samurai is Shi Gan, not Shi Gandang.

(2) Shi Gandang once saw that the inscription "Shi Gandang" was unearthed in Putian County in the Tang Dynasty for five years in the "Urgent Chapter" of the Western Han History Tour. Accordingly, Shi Gan was earlier than the history of military commanders in the Five Dynasties. Zhai Hao, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, also clearly pointed out in the Popular Compilation that Shi Gandang had nothing to do with Shi Gan in the Five Dynasties: "According to the History of the Five Dynasties, Liu Zhiyuan was a Jin official, and his great-grandfather met Tang Gaozu, so he knew that he was far away from making military commanders serve his great-grandfather in danger, and he planted stone carvings here, which was immediately in the calendar."

The third argument is that "Shi Gandang on Mount Tai" is a "doctor" (that is, a doctor). Volume 10 of Notes of Tea Fragrant Room records: "Wang Shizhen was a mountain man in Wang Yuyang." Miscellaneous Notes of Fu Yuting said that Qilu customs were more than villages and lanes, and the words "Mount Tai and Shi Gandang" were carved to treat people with clouds and nights. People in the north call doctors doctors, so they are also called dr.stone. Press: There are five words in the south, but there is no such thing as doctors or doctors. "Just from this passage, we can know that the statement that Shi Gandang is a doctor on Mount Tai is not widely circulated, only in the north, but not in the south and central China. Why did Taishan Shi Gandang spread in the north as a doctor? Studying its origin is a long-term explanation of Shi Gandang's ability to subdue demons. When people say that Mount Tai Shi Gandang can cure diseases, I'm afraid no one is critical of whether he is a man or a god. Otherwise, why can he talk about "treating diseases at night" instead of practicing medicine during the day?

According to literature review and investigation in Tai 'an, it is known that stone is mostly used when carving (writing) "Shi Gandang" (or "Taishan Shi Gandang"), while other materials are rarely used. 1988, the inscription 12 "Taishan Shi Gandang" or "Taishan Town House" was found in Feicheng County. Except for two new houses, 10 is carved with stone. What are the basic functions of languages such as "Shi Gandang" in stone carvings? For example, Shi Mingyun, a five-year-old Tang Dali unearthed in Putian County, said, "Shi Gandang is a town full of ghosts and hates disasters". Other functions are extensions or extensions of this basic function. The word "Shi Gandang" contains the word "stone", and Shi Gandang was carved on the stone to suppress evil spirits. There is no internal connection from its deep connotation. Wang Zongyan's article "Shi Gandang" said: "Huainan Wanbi wrote:' The four corners of the room are marble, so ghosts can't hurt them', Geng Xin's" Small Garden Fu "also said that' the town house was buried with stones'. Wu recorded in the Chronicle of Jingchu: "At dusk in December, dig the corner of the house and bury the big stone in the town house." (Folklore No.86-89). Mr Wang Chengzhu thinks this may be the origin of Shi Gandang. At the same time, Mr. Wang also pointed out: "As far as the meaning of Shi Gandang is concerned, building stones can bear the brunt. Therefore, the town is located in Rushe, and it is also in front of the entrance of Wall Street. " (China Folk Immortals) Li Zong and Liu Quner thought that Wang Chengzhu's opinion was "quite reasonable" and further pointed out: "Song Faxian's stone carvings in the Tang Dynasty (referring to Putian stone carvings) are not like small stone tablets in later generations, but buried under the foundation of houses, which is quite similar to the stones introduced into town houses." In fact, this is the heritage of the worship of ancient spiritual objects. Stone is regarded as a spiritual object, and the magical power to ward off evil spirits is buried under the house. Later, the phrase "Shi Gandang" was borrowed to enhance its prestige. In other words, if it is simplified to a small stone tablet in modern times, then the small stone man is also regarded as the soul of evil spirits. "(China folk gods) Li Zong and Liu Qun thought that Shi Gandang was" the heritage of ancient spiritual worship ",which was very insightful, but they didn't discuss it.

Lingshi worship is a very primitive and popular religious custom, which was formed in prehistoric society, and class society has its own customs. The worship of Lingshi is related to the worship of heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, ancestors and descendants, and the aversion to evil spirits and disasters. Here we only discuss the worship of Lingshi, which has a certain relationship with "Shi Gandang" and has the function of avoiding evil and hating disasters. Animism is the initial stage of the development of primitive religious thought. Some rocks have peculiar shapes, colors or special geographical environment, which may have been endowed with spirituality by the ancients. Locals in Taiwan Province Province call this sacred stone "Duke of Stone" and regard it as an object to protect happiness and avoid evil souls. In the Qiang area of our country, the worship of white stone is prevalent. About the origin of white stone worship, the legend of Qiang people: the ancient Qiang people fought with Geji people and could not win. At that time, in a dream, the Qiang people were instructed to use Grand White Rock as a weapon to defeat the Geji people. Qiang people succeeded as promised. But I don't know what this person's image is, so I changed it into a white stone to worship it. In rural areas of Nigeria, Africa, people provide food to sacred stones to treat diseases. There is a sacred stone in New Guinea. The local people think that there is an elf in the stone, which affects the circulation of other things. If you put it in the garden, it can increase the harvest. The above information is all folk information. As far as archaeological materials are concerned, there are also many examples. There are many funerary objects in the Qin cultural cemetery in Yongjing, Gansu. Stones are large and small, mostly white. These stones were placed on the head or sides of the deceased, while other stones surrounded the deceased. No matter men, women and children, no matter how they are buried, most of them are buried with stones, ranging from five or six to 105. Prehistoric tombs in Nanning, Guangxi, such as many tombs in Xijin and Changtang, are usually buried with one or two unprocessed flaky stones, most of which are placed on the heads of the deceased, while some tombs are surrounded by stones around human bones. 1945 In the spring, Mr. Xia Nai excavated two tombs in Siwa, Lintao, Gansu Province, both of which were buried with large gravel. In addition, some prehistoric tombs at Dadunzi Site in Yuanmou, Yunnan Province and some tombs at Daxi Cultural Site in Wushan, Sichuan Province were also buried with stones. It is worth pointing out that in prehistoric tombs or in the same tomb area, there are always several people buried with stones, which indicates that the owner of the tomb is likely to die abnormally, and the stone buried with stones in the tomb is likely to be lingshi, aiming to drive away evil spirits in the tomb with lingshi and prevent the dead from becoming spectres. Let's go back to the discussion in Shi Gandang. In the "urgent chapter" of the history tour of the Western Han Dynasty, there is a saying that "history dares to be", and Tang Yan has a note on the stone drum. It has been pointed out that it is inappropriate to take the surname "Shi" strictly. The real meaning of Shi Gandang should be interpreted as "a stone can be washed away if it is covered". In other words, this stone can ward off evil spirits and hate disasters. There is also circumstantial evidence of the custom of avoiding evil spirits and hating disasters in Ying Shao's "Customs" in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "A stone man stands in front of Peng's tomb in Ruyang, Henan Province, and a stone beast stands behind it. Mother Tian went to the market to buy bait, which made her exhausted. The stone man came down from the small coffin and left a bait, but suddenly she didn't realize it. " This matter was rumored by passers-by, saying that "stone people can cure diseases, and the more they cure, the more grateful they are." He also said that "people with headaches rub their heads, people with abdominal pain rub their stomachs" and "people who heal themselves by words", so they respect the stone man in front of the tomb as a "wise man". Obviously, this is an example that people regard the stone man as a symbol of avoiding evil spirits and treating diseases. By the way, there are two monuments in the courtyard of Bi Xia Temple on the top of Mount Tai, which are usually called the Imperial Monument. They have been used to prevent diseases with coins. The person who rubbed the imperial tablet read aloud: "When you rub the imperial tablet, you won't get sick." This custom is similar to that recorded by Ying Shao mentioned above. During the Qing Dynasty in Song Renzong, Shi Mingyun, who was unearthed in Putian County in the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty (AD 770), said: "Shi Gandang is full of ghosts and disasters, the officials are blessed, the people are well-being, the wind is prosperous, and the ceremony is prosperous." This stone carving was originally buried under the house, and its meaning of town house is self-evident. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the use of "Shi Gandang" (or "Taishan Shi Gandang") as a town house or town lane was quite prosperous. "Popular Compilation" quoted "Tracing the Ancient Compilation" as saying: "Wu Min's Lushe, when you meet the street, you must set up a stone man or plant a piece of stone and carve Shi Gandang as the town." Yuan Mei's "Essays on the Garden" also said: "Carving today's customs is a tired victory, and planting stones in Lujia is a' stone willing'." In the 1920s, Mr. Deng Erya investigated and said, "There are Shi Gandang stone carvings on Mount Tai all over Guangdong. Generally speaking, there are ghosts on the land or residents in welfare think that the situation is good, so as to slap in the face. Most of the information quoted above belongs to the south, but so does the north. In the last article, Wang Yuyang Ren Shan (that is, Wang Shizhen) in the Qing Dynasty said: "The custom of Qilu is not only to erect a monument at the entrance of the village, but also to carve Mount Tai and Shi Gandang". A strange rock was found in Dige, Zaozhuang City. It is red, with a height of 65,438+0.65,438+0 m, a width of 0.65 m and a thickness of 0.35 m, and the words "Devil in the Town House, Two Years in Qin Long" are engraved on it. Qin Long is the official name of the Ming Muzong after Zhu Zaihou, while Qin Long was 1568 in the second year. A small stone tablet named "Stone House in Taishan Town" was also found in Zhang Miao Village, Feicheng County. At this point, we can draw the following conclusions: Shi Gandang custom is a relic of ancient worship of lingshi, and its function, no matter where it is, is mainly to ward off evil spirits and hate disasters.

Readers may have noticed that the above cited materials include "Shi Gandang" and "Shi Gandang on Mount Tai", while the earlier materials only talked about Shi Gandang without talking about Shi Gandang on Mount Tai, as well as "Shi Gandang" and "Shi Gandang on Mount Tai", while the earlier materials only talked about Shi Gandang without talking about it. So when did "Taishan Shi Gandang" appear and become popular? What is the relationship between "Shi Gandang Mountain" and "Shi Gandang"? A folk story collected by Mr. Deng Erya tells: It is said that during the reign of Kangxi, the Middle East Gallery in the general's residence was opposite to the floating map, which was not good for the residents. When I left Jiangxi, because I wanted to go to Longhu Mountain and begged Zhang Zhenren to be tired of winning, I just sat with a monk in ochre clothes and sat in Yingxi. The real person pointed out that the general said, "Pray for this teacher." Because of worship. The Taoist priest said, "This house is very detailed, so it is the luck of a big town." The five words in the big book are "Taishan Shi Gandang". Use a pure Yoko book. The general was shocked and lost his position as a Taoist. The real person said, "Teacher Chunyang is on duty in the temple today, and the public is fortunate to meet him." Therefore, I was sent to the south. Xerox Dong Lang, the word diameter exceeds the foot. Seeing the salty people is going in and out between Henan and Chu.

Guangdong xuwen county folklore provided by Li Zong and Comrade Liu Qun said:

During the Kangxi period, several local officials died in the office a few days after they arrived in the county. Huang knew about it and took a Mr. Feng Shui with him. Mr. Zhang found that the shadow of a pagoda in this county was falling on the seat of the county grandfather, and all the officials died because they could not bear the pressure of the pagoda. So, a stone tablet was erected in front of the county government, engraved with the words "Mount Tai Shi Gandang", saying that the power of Mount Tai can rival that of the pagoda. Nothing happened after that. Although these two folk stories are different in narration, they have some similarities: First, the stories both took place in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and secondly, they were both set in Shi Gandang, Mount Tai. Wang Shizhen (1634-1711) also talked about "Mount Tai and Shi Gandang". Accordingly, "Taishan Shi Gandang" was popular in the early Qing Dynasty, and its appearance time may be earlier than that of the Ming Dynasty. Shi Gandang added Mount Tai in front, with the intention of increasing his prestige with the help of the power of Mount Tai. The word "Tai" on Mount Tai was called "Tai" in ancient times, that is, "Da". In a broad sense, Mount Tai is a big mountain, which can suppress evil spirits. It is very common in ancient myths and legends. For example, Sun Monkey (the Monkey King) in The Journey to the West was once pressed by the Tathagata under the Five Elements Mountain for 500 years. In a narrow sense, Mount Tai refers to Mount Tai in Tai 'an today. Mount Tai is towering and tall, and it is a sacred mountain for emperors to close their shrines. Liu Che, Emperor of the Han Dynasty, praised Mount Tai as "high, strange, big, special, strong, strong, dangerous, fearful and confusing". Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, called Mount Tai "the root plate of Qilu Xi". I don't know that it is thousands of miles high into the sky, but I don't know thousands of miles. "It is self-evident that the power of Mount Tai is boundless, so it is not difficult to understand that Mount Tai should be added before Shi Gan swings to ward off evil spirits and hate disasters, so as to increase its power.

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, until today, there are many stories and legends about Shi Gandang (or Shi Gandang on Mount Tai). In addition to one collected by Mr. Deng Erya and one provided by Comrade Li Zong and Liu Qun, we also have more than ten folk stories and legends published in recent years, such as Taishan Story (Legend), Taishan Grand View Story (Grand View), Taishan Story (Folk Story) and Taishan Legend.

The above-mentioned two folk stories and legends about Mount Tai Shi Gandang collected by Mr. Deng Erya and provided by Li Zong and Comrade Liu Qun are based on the fact that Shi Gandang is a "stone". Although its popularity was not early (early Qing Dynasty) and its popular area was not extensive, as far as the deep connotation of these two folk stories and legends is concerned, they originated from the heritage of ancient Lingshi worship-the development of the evil meaning of Dangzhen, Shi Gan. The stone inscriptions unearthed in Putian County, especially the words "Shi Gandang, town ghosts hate disasters", have an important influence on the formation of this kind of folklore, which can also be said to be original. The other kind is folk stories and legends about the types of exorcism and treatment, with the basic starting point of "human" as the release of dry. Two articles about "exorcism" in Daguan, an article about exorcism (a variant of treating evil spirits) and the legend of Shi Gandang in Legend can all be classified into this category. Most of these folktales and legends are about Shi Gan Party, who is brave and fearless, and treats people who are haunted by ghosts and demons. Obviously, this is related to the northerners who Wang Shizhen called Shi Gandang "Dr. Shi" in Qing Dynasty. Although this kind of folk story treats Shi Gandang as a human being, the deep connotation of the story has something to do with Shi Gandang's worship as a spiritual stone, which has the function of suppressing evil spirits and avoiding disasters.

The third category is the folk stories and legends about the connection between Shi Gan, a warrior of the Five Dynasties, and Skandang. Such as Shi Gandang (including scenery) edited by Gu Yue and Shi Gandang (including legend) edited by Lu Yue. Shi Gandang on Mount Tai (containing folk stories) edited by Bao Jun and Comrade Qiu Shui said that Shi Gandang was originally named "Shigang" and was nicknamed "Shi Gandang". Obviously, Shi Gang is a transliteration of Shi Gan in the Five Dynasties. Such folktales and legends all say that Shi Gandang is heroic and invincible, and he is good at eliminating violence and calming down. Many people think that Shi Gandang has something to do with Shi Gan, a warrior in the Five Dynasties. The Records of Mount Tai edited by Jin Mao in Qing Dynasty also said: "Shi Gandang was a warrior of the Five Dynasties ... He served Gaozu with an iron mallet on his sleeve. When things changed, he died in the battle from left to right. Because it is necessary to avoid the evil spirits in the house classics, it is named Shi Gan as an ear. " Although Shi Gandang and Shigan are two different things, they are related to Shi Gandang's omnipotence and Shi Gandang's omnipotence.

The fourth kind of folk story about Mount Tai Shi Gandang, one is that Mount Tai and Shi Gandang are close friends, and the other is that Emperor Taizong was blocked by Mount Tai (see Grand View). According to the theory of girlfriends, Taishan and Shi Gandang used to be friends of classmates. Taishan is well-off, studies hard, and has passed the exam. Shi Gandang not only failed the exam, but fell into the situation of "living a wandering life alone". Once, Shi Gandang went to Taishan Mansion to beg and was detained by Taishan Mansion, and he always treated him with courtesy. A few years later, Taishan went on a business trip and didn't return for half a year. Shi Gandang has a high self-esteem and thinks he has lived a long time. Taishan deliberately hid and disappeared, so he "said goodbye". When Taishan returned from official business, he heard that Shi Gandang had passed away, and he was extremely sad and committed suicide. Because Mount Tai and Shi Gandang fell in love and died, later generations remembered them and combined the names of Mount Tai and Shi Gandang, namely "Mount Tai Shi Gandang". The chivalrous man mentioned in this folktale is Mount Tai, but Shi Gandang seems to be a random and suspicious little person. "Blocking Style" said: When Emperor Taizong rode Mount Tai back to Maling, he couldn't get up at the sight of the horseshoe board. He is curious, but he can't get up. As a result, he walked around the road. When he left, he said, "I came from Chang 'an and opened a road on the mountain. When I met the water, I built a bridge. I didn't get in the way, but Taishan stone blocked me. " With this sound, "Shi Gandang" cried. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, has never been to Mount Tai, not to mention being stopped by Mount Tai when he rode up the mountain. The so-called Shi Gandang (Taishan Shi Gandang) and Shi Gandang described in these two folktales are quite different in their real origins, connotations and functions, and are also quite different from a series of popular folktales in Shi Gandang. The author visited many elders in Taishan area, and no one knew when and where these folk stories were circulated. Is this suspected of fabrication?

To sum up, Shi Gandang is a relic of Lingshi worship in ancient times, which has nothing to do with "people". The language of "Shi Gandang" in a historical tour of the Western Han Dynasty "Urgent Chapter" should be interpreted as a stone that can be used against everything. Later, both the stone carvings unearthed in Putian in the Tang Dynasty and the "Shi Gandang" stone planted (or buried) at the bridge head and in front of the house had the same meaning. As for the addition of Mount Tai (namely Mount Tai Shi Gandang) before Shi Gandang, it began in the Ming Dynasty, became popular in the Qing Dynasty, and reached today, which means to increase Shi Gandang's power through the sacred Mount Tai. In the deep connotation, all kinds of folk stories and legends about Shi Gandang are consistent with the positive significance of Shi Gandang, some are related, while others are completely different. There are some reasons why folk stories and legends are far from the historical truth. Recently, however, some comrades have fabricated stories and legends in the name of collation, and then kept them away from the historical truth, which may not be desirable.