Author: Jackie Chan Release Date: 2007- 12-02 06:35 Copy link
How did the image of the empress dowager evolve?
According to China folklore, there are two masters in the sky: the Jade Emperor and the mother in the sky. There is a saying that the Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor are husband and wife. They are like emperors on earth, who gave birth to seven daughters. The youngest seven fairies came to earth privately and married their dutiful son Yong Dong. Later, the Jade Emperor and the Empress Dowager learned about it and forced her to return to the Heavenly Palace by violence. Yong Dong's story originated from the treasure hunt "Sou Shen Ji" and Liu Xiang's "Biography of the dutiful son", but both of them are generally called "Heaven Emperor", which obviously contains the meaning of farming society. The Queen Mother in The Journey to the West, a famous ghost story novel, seems to have no husband-and-wife relationship with the Jade Emperor, nor is she a mourning hall. She has her own system in Xiyaochi, like a female leader. Her most important job is to prepare and preside over the annual celestial flat peach conference, which is a super gathering celebrated all over the world. Therefore, the origin of this diva naturally aroused the exploration of future generations. Half man and half beast said. The myth in Shan Hai Jing describes the Queen Mother as a monster who is half man and half beast. "The Queen Mother of the West, who looks like a human being, has a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth, and is full of Dai Sheng, is the acme of the five heavenly teachers (Guo Pu's note: the Lord knows the severity of the disaster and kills people with five punishments)" (Xishan Jing). "Someone, Dai Sheng, is called the Queen Mother of the West" (Classic of the Queen Mother of the West). Press: "Empress Dowager, Queen Mother of the West" (Later Han Dynasty. Zhang Hengchuan "note). Shan Hai Jing is a work from the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty. At this time, people imagined the Queen Mother as an intermediary similar to man and beast, half man and half beast. He has a human face, but he also has a part of an animal. More importantly, he lives in a cave, not in the sky. He seems to be a caveman in primitive society. As for the leopard-tailed tiger tooth, it is probably decorative, which shows its greatness. "The Queen Mother of the West, a half-man, half-beast, originated from the animal worship and totem worship in ancient China. The ancients worshipped tigers and leopards and other beasts, and the Queen Mother of the West probably regarded tigers and leopards as tribal totem gods, that is, tribal protectors (Hanshu God). Because she was called "the Queen Mother of the West", she was mistaken for a woman. This may be people's initial one-way mindset, but in any case, it also reflects an image recognition of the Queen Mother. The tribal leader said. The Queen Mother of the West was a totem tribe in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. "The Queen Mother of the West is in the west, and all places are desolate" ("Erya"). Release the land "). Where does this tribe live? One is Kunlun Mountain. "Kunlun is more than 2,500 miles high, and the sun and the moon are hidden as light. There are Liquan and Yaochi on it. " (historical records. According to the textual research of the Biography of Temple Gods in Taiwan Province Province, this Yaochi is now Fukang, Xinjiang. But there are also people who work in Jiuquan, Gansu. "Jiuquan Nanshan is the body of Kunlun Mountain. When Zhou Muwang saw the Queen Mother of the West, he forgot to return, which meant the mountain. There are stone chambers and the Empress Dowager Hall. " ("brackets". Suzhou Jiuquan) Second, Yushan. "Yushan is the place where the Queen Mother of the West lives." (Shan Haijing. "Four Classics of the Western Regions") "This mountain is full of jade, named after the cloud." "Mu Zhuan" refers to Yushan "(with Guo's note). According to the names listed in Shan Hai Jing, there are many unnecessary names, but they are not untraceable. It seems to be in Hotan and Moyu, Xinjiang. Third, Gengshan. "Mu Chuan" said that he had seen two Empresses and climbed the Maoshan Mountain, which was called the West Queen Mother Mountain. Maoshan, the empty mountain, is on the western border of Tianshui City, Gansu Province. It is said that Zhou Muwang took these eight horses to Yaochi to meet the Queen Mother of the West, which is the place. The Queen Mother, who fell in the west, is said to be the earliest record of China's daughter country. If so, it is still in the primary stage of matriarchal paternalism in primitive society. After Mu Wang's visit, this tribe disappeared, leaving behind many myths and legends: "Aunt Yaochi's window opened and the bamboos sang sadly. Eight kings go to Wan Li every day and never come back. " (Li Shangyin's Yaochi) The Queen Mother of the West here is the leader of the tribe. It seems that she is very personal and feminine. According to Mu Chuan, the Western Expedition reportedly came from the tomb of Wang Wei in Zhongji County, Xianning, Shaanxi Province. It may be a work at the end of the warring States period. In the book, Mu Wang visited the Queen Mother of the West and held a thank-you banquet in Yaochi. The two sides sang songs and agreed to meet again three years later. "The Queen Mother of the West here is not out of phase like a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth, but like a human king." (Mao Dun's Preliminary Exploration of China Myth) Because he said "I am the emperor's daughter" in his song, it seems that he began to hook up with the "Emperor of Heaven", but ancient chiefs such as Yao and Shun were all related to the "Emperor of Heaven", so the Queen Mother of the West could only be a tribal female leader.
The average fairy said. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Huang Lao pursued the technique of inaction, so many people sought to live longer. The famous myth "Goddess of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" refers to the Queen Mother of the West, "Yi invited the fairy medicine to the Queen Mother of the West, and Chang 'e stole it to land on the moon" (Huai Nan Zi). In order to cater to Hanwu's psychology of loving immortals, Sima Xiangru wrote "Fu for Adults", in which the image of the Queen Mother of the West is similar to that of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, but the characteristics of "white head" are added. "Death without death is not enough to save the world". The true immortal is the one who makes others and himself immortal.
But her image is not beautiful, strong and stern, but just a charity photo of living with others.
The person in charge of the fairy class said. Zhang Hua's Natural History in the Western Jin Dynasty, the Biography of Hanwu and the Story of Hanwu written by Ban Gu in the Eastern Han Dynasty all tell the story of the meeting between Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the Queen Mother of the West, where she has been sublimated into a fairy middleman. "The Queen Mother went to the temple and sat in the east, wearing a golden sash. She was brilliant in literary talent, elegant and graceful, and her spirits were flying, and her sword was divided into scenes." I'm 30 years old, cut short, hidden, beautiful and really energetic! "("Hanwu Biography ")
Followed by her, there are "a thousand immortals, the court is shining" and "fifty immortals, near Luan jade", whose embellishment is obviously the ostentation and extravagance of the Han and Jin emperors. "This is the final evolution of the myth of the Queen Mother of the West. The revision and supplement of the myth of the Queen Mother of the West has been completed so far, but it has completely stripped the flavor of the original myth of China and become a legend of Taoism. " (Mao Dun's "A Preliminary Study of China Myth")
Because the Queen Mother of the West sent Emperor Xian of Han to prolong his life, he was positioned as the immortal leader who blessed life. The Queen Mother has many names, such as the Queen Mother of the West, Jin Niang, Jin Niang Yuan Jun, the Virgin of Jiuling ancestral temple, etc. The seven constellations in Yun Qi are called "The Queen Mother of the West is Mrs. Bai Yu in Shang Sheng". "The Complete Works of Liexian" said: "The Queen Mother of the West, that is, the Princess Jin Niang, was born in Yichuan and has the wonderful spirit of West China. Her surname is Gou (Ayang), and her handwriting is too weak. She coordinated all directions, integrated with Dong, and turned into heaven and earth, all kinds of women. " "Seven Signs of Yun Qi" says that her role is to "rule Kunlun and Beidou". Therefore, Taoism listed the Queen Mother of the West as one of the "Seven Saints" and worshipped her. Her magnificent appearance was thus shaped into the only model statue. Thus, it became the Lord of fairies. Today, in Taiwan Province Province, the Queen Mother is "a huge belief system with the most rigorous organization, single system and uniform dress" among all folk beliefs (Liu Huanyue's Encyclopedia of Taiwan Province Times, Taiwan Province Taiyuan Publishing House 1989). It has two systems, including 100 temples of all sizes. One is the Hall of Mercy, which is called the Golden Mother by believers, and is dressed in green when burning incense and offering sacrifices. First, the Sheng 'an Hall, which believers call the Empress Dowager, is covered in yellow when burning incense and offering sacrifices.
The evolution of the image of the Empress Dowager has been circulating in China for more than two thousand years. It has primitive myths and legends and the continuous processing and creation of future generations. It seems that we can find and deepen our understanding of it from a diversified perspective. (Sheng Yunchang)