When did Guandi Temple first appear? The real image of Guan Yu?

In order to consolidate their dominance, the feudal ruling classes of past dynasties regarded Guan Yu as the embodiment of "loyalty". Guan Yu's status was raised higher and higher. ", and was eventually revered as the "Martial Saint". During the Chen and Sui Dynasties, the Buddhist capital built Guan Yu's temple in Dangyang under the pretense that Guan Yu would appear. In the third year of Jianzhong of the Tang Dynasty (782), Guan Yu was listed as one of the sixty-four famous generals in ancient and modern times, and was put into the Wu Temple to share with Jiang Taigong. After the Song Dynasty, Guan Yu was crowned "Martial Saint". Guan Yu, who had been unknown for 800 years, was promoted three levels by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty: first, he was named "Lord Hui Gong", then "Zhenjun Chongning", and then "King Zhaolie Wu'an" and "Yiyong Wu'an King". Emperor Wenzong of the Yuan Dynasty named Guan Yu the "King of Zhuang Miao Yi Yong Wu An Xian Ling Ying Ji", and Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty named him "The Great Emperor of the Three Realms to Conquer Demons with Divine Power and Shocking Heavenly Zun Guan Sheng Emperor". He also named Guan Yu's temple the "Martial Temple", together with the Confucian Temple and the Confucian Temple. juxtaposed. The emperor of the Qing Dynasty praised Guan Yu as "the ultimate human being in the world" and named him "the loyal, righteous, martial, benevolent, brave, powerful, protective of the country and people, sincere appeasement, praising Xuande Guan Sheng" ("Manuscripts of Qing History·Rites and Music"), and built the Guan Yu in Beijing. The emperor's temple also issued an order throughout the country to build Guan temples and offer incense on time. The number of Guan Gong temples of Wu Sheng is far greater than that of Confucius Temple of Wen Sheng. During the Qing Dynasty, there were 116 Guan temples in Beijing alone. Moreover, the architectural scale of some Guan temples far exceeds that of Confucius' Confucian Temple. Some people say that Guan Gong is a culture; others say that Guan Gong is a spirit. Otherwise, why are there so many Guan Gong temples in China and even overseas.

Among all the Guan temple buildings in the country, there are five or six that are best preserved so far: Guandi Temple in Changping, the hometown of Guan Yu in Shanxi, Guanlin in Luoyang, Henan, Guanling in Dangyang, Hubei, Guandi Temple in Jingzhou, Baling Bridge, Guandi Temple, Xuchang, Henan, etc. The largest and most magnificent one is the Guandi Temple located in the west of Jiezhou City, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, the hometown of Guan Yu. It still intactly retains the largest Guandi Temple in the country. There are more than 300 pavilions and pavilions in the temple, making it one of the tourist attractions. It can be called the best temple in the world.

In the historical process of the development of Chinese drama, there was a craze for "Three Kingdoms Opera". Many famous dramas have a considerable number of "Three Kingdoms Opera" and "Guan Gong Opera". Taking Peking Opera as an example, there are 148 "Three Kingdoms Operas", of which 20 are about Guan Gong alone. Taking Puzhou Bangzi from Guan Yu's hometown of Yuncheng as an example, there are 88 recorded "Three Kingdoms Operas", including 18 "Guan Gong Operas". On the stage, Guan Gong is portrayed as a perfect hero, with a face as heavy as a jujube, a long flowing beard, and a mighty appearance. Even in "Zoumaicheng", his heroic qualities are still unabated.

For thousands of years, through the posthumous titles given by rulers of all dynasties, and the descriptions in operas and literature, a person who is "loyal to the country, treats others with kindness, handles things with wisdom, makes friends with justice, and fights with courage" , the perfect image of Guan Gong, who represents the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, appears in front of the world. He rose from "the great man of all times" to "the god among gods" and became the god of war, the god of wealth, the god of literature, and the god of agriculture. Together, worship up and down.

It goes without saying that the feudal rulers of all dynasties respected Guan Yu. Even the leaders of the peasant uprising such as Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and Hong Xiuquan also regarded Guan Yu as a hero to worship.

Not only that, not only in China, but also in Japan, Southeast Asia and overseas Chinese, the worship of Guan Yu is also everlasting.

In Taiwan, which has a population of more than 20 million, there are as many as 8 million followers of Guan Gong. Almost every household has an incense burner, a memorial tablet, and a holy image for Guan Gong. The annual sales volume of Guan Gong portraits in Taiwan far exceeds that of Mazu, their most worshiped deity.

The "Longgang General Association" in the United States is a non-governmental organization with Guan Gong as its ancestor. It has more than 140 branches all over the world where Chinese people live.

Countries in Southeast Asia are competing to build temples to worship Guan Gong, and the most prosperous one is Thailand.

In Japan, there was a Guan Temple as early as the Qing Dynasty; a few years ago, a new Guan Temple was built, which is said to be the largest overseas construction.

Mr. Davidk Jordan (Chinese name: David Jiao), a professor at the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Chicago, once said a very interesting thing; "I respect this great god of yours, he deserves Respected by all. His benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and courage are still meaningful to this day. Benevolence is love, righteousness is credibility, wisdom is culture, and courage is not afraid of difficulties. If God’s people are like your Guan Gong, we will be respected. The world will become a better place.” The American scholar’s ??words are quite insightful.

The loyalty, righteousness, trustworthiness, wisdom, benevolence, and courage condensed in Guan Yu and suppressed by all generations contain the ethics, morals, and ideals of traditional Chinese culture, and are permeated with the essence of the Spring and Autumn Period of Confucianism. , and the values ????of life that are consistent with the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism are essentially the shining sun and moon, the majestic soul of China.