What is the selection criteria for Gu Wu Temple? Why was Zhuge Liang elected to the Wu Temple?

Later generations also like to rank these celebrities of the previous generation, both ancient and modern. People's comparison psychology will not change much, and the comparison between different celebrities will never stop.

Among them, men are more inclined to like the military, so they pay more attention to these famous men in history. In the ranking of famous soldiers, Wu Ci is an important standard. Many people regard Wu Ci as the basis for ranking military commanders. The Wu Temple is also known as the Hall of Honor for Military Commanders, and all the top famous soldiers can enter here. Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been different standards for the selection of generals in Wu Ci, either adding or subtracting some people. Since then, Wu Temple has been called the hall of honor for military commanders.

In ancient times, there was a habit of offering sacrifices in temples. These cultural celebrities, represented by Confucius, have long sacrificed in the Confucius Temple. In contrast, Wuci is a famous strategist in past dynasties, and many famous generals are here. People in different times have different selection criteria, but many people always sacrifice in the Wu Temple, which also reflects their military capabilities.

There are still some people in the Wu Temple whose access and selection are questioned, such as Zhuge Liang, Zhu Xi and others. Their biggest problem is the lack of good records. Zhuge Liang did have several northern expeditions, but they all failed, and the big battles he personally commanded were very limited. Sean and others didn't lead troops to fight. As a result, they ranked very high in the martial arts temple, and their status remained stable, which aroused the dissatisfaction of many military fans.

So what's going on in the Wu Temple? What are the criteria for selection?

In fact, Wuci is not for ranking famous soldiers and military strategists in past dynasties, but a temple symbolizing honor, and its selection criteria are also very complicated.

The temple itself was built for sacrifice. In the Tang Dynasty, Jiang Taigong was honored as the king of Wu Cheng. Like the sacrificial system of Confucius Temple, it has not only priests, but also saints and people who should be sacrificed. Jiang Taigong is regarded as the originator of military strategists. In fact, he has no convincing record, and most of his deeds are legends. Important military classics such as Liu Tao played a very important role in the development of ancient military history. His military thoughts also inspired the development of military strategists. Taigong's assistance to King Wu is also considered as a story in history, so he can get such attention, just like Confucius.

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, Wu Ci paid more attention to military ability, and later in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it began to pay attention to loyalty, so Yue Fei and Guan Yu became new priests. It can also be seen that there are two criteria for the selection of military temples, one is military ability and the other is loyalty. Confucian temples in military temples were all selected by the imperial court for political requirements. Excessive power of military commanders threatens the security of the imperial court. Therefore, the forces of military commanders have been very vigilant throughout the ages, and we must ensure that military commanders are loyal to themselves.

Guan Yu, for example, was erected because of his loyalty and was held up as an example, telling the generals below to be loyal to the country. Therefore, military celebrities in past dynasties, like those who once plotted against the government, are not allowed to enter the Wu Temple.

For example, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, like the famous Er Zhurong, his military ability can definitely overwhelm many people in the same period. As a result, he could not enter the Wu Temple. This is because he did regicide, and Wang Sengbian also made some mistakes, which is controversial in later generations. However, he spent his whole life as Chen Liang, helping Liang Chao to quell the chaos in Hou Jing. Even though his military ability is not as good as that of Er Zhurong and others, he can do it because of this loyalty.

Loyalty is definitely not enough. Since it is a martial arts school, military ability is very important, and it is impossible for anyone to enter. Then military capability has a broad meaning. Many people simply think that military capability is the result of actual combat. Indeed, people like Bai Qi and Han Xin have outstanding military achievements, and no one can beat them in history. There is no problem that they are elected to the Wu Temple and occupy high positions.

Famous soldiers like them have the ability to fight here and have actual results. They didn't make too many mistakes, so there is no problem in being selected. There is another kind of people whose military ability is not reflected in the battle. These people are called military theorists. Military affairs is a very complicated science. Fighting is one thing, but all aspects of thinking are conducive to military development. Therefore, people who have made great contributions to military theory can also be elected to the Wu Temple, such as the controversial Zhuge Liang. Many people don't understand Zhuge Liang's military achievements, and some have distorted his image because of romantic factors.

Why was Zhuge Liang elected to the Wu Temple?

Zhuge Liang's greatest contribution lies in his reform of army formation. In ancient times, we should pay attention to formation when fighting. As early as ancient times, the Yellow Emperor said that formation is inherited and developed. After the reform of Sun Wuzi, Wu Qi and others, the famous ancient eight-array method was formed. This is the standard formation of famous soldiers in past dynasties. This is basically the way to fight. Many generals began to learn these formations first.

Zhuge Liang later staged an eight-array diagram, and the result was described in Romance as creating an eight-array diagram for him. In fact, the eight-array diagram and the eight-diagram diagram are not the same thing. Zhuge Liang staged the ancient eight-array map left by his predecessors, and he made some reforms. Due to the change of the times, he also needs to combine the military environment at that time to create some arrays that are more suitable for the battlefield at that time. After his improvement, the eight-array diagram continued to be used. Later, many famous military strategists in the Tang and Song Dynasties followed Zhuge Liang's improvement.

He has played an important role in military development and is a connecting link between the past and the future. So he was selected not by his record, but by his own contribution. He can overwhelm many people. Loyalty and righteousness are more obvious in Zhuge Liang. In the mainstream military circles, these military theorists are often more respected. Sometimes, many famous soldiers with actual records are not necessarily as famous as military theorists.

Zhuge Liang and Sean, due to their great achievements in military strategy and tactics, have greatly influenced the development of ancient military, and they can become key figures in the Wu Temple. Of course, there will be some famous military celebrities in different periods, so the martial arts temple is not a fixed ranking, and personnel changes frequently. Every time the dynasty changes, there will be a big adjustment, and few people can really stay the same in the Wu Temple. The overall quality of the personnel discharged in the Tang and Song Dynasties is still very high, which can also be called authority.

Later, the Ming Dynasty abolished the priestly system in Jiang Ziya, and the Wu Temple was deposed, and Guan Yu was elected as a warrior sage, more out of loyalty. Of course, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the influence of civil servants began to overwhelm the military commanders' group, and Confucianism had an increasing influence on the country, and the status of military commanders was also declining. A celebrity like Qi Jiguang has to rely on civil servants for a foothold.

The martial arts atmosphere gradually disappeared, and the tradition of the martial arts temple could not be inherited naturally, and the cultural level also changed greatly, which had a great influence on the selection criteria of the martial arts temple. In addition to the martial arts temples established by the imperial court, there are also many folk martial arts temples, and some good military strategists are selected according to the preferences of the people.

Now people use martial arts venues to select famous soldiers, which is a very suitable standard. Regardless of prejudice or not, those who can enter the martial arts school are not bad in military ability. Of course, it is not appropriate to count Zhuge Liang as a famous star. Famous soldiers are only a part of military celebrities, and the rest of military theorists are not equal to famous soldiers. However, for many military fans, the achievements of the generals are still more concerned. As for the creation of ideas and theories by military strategists, many people can't understand this kind of thing, so they won't care too much. Different people think differently, and they look at things from different angles.

Reference: Master Program of Jason Wu.