The Hometown of God-China, China.
In the distant and mysterious East, China is the hometown of the legendary God, so it is called Shenzhou. Since ancient times, this God's people have thought that she is a country at the center of the world, so it is called China. She has a long history, which makes her culture long and endless. ┐ hey
However, China people's traditional characteristics of worshipping heaven and ancestors, and even regarding ancestors as gods, are different from other nations in the world. The "God Blessing" and "Ancestor Blessing" mentioned by ordinary people have been deeply rooted in our daily life. What is the concept of "heaven" in China's mind? Why do we believe that ancestors can have boundless magic to protect future generations like gods? What is "demigod culture"? Our series introduction of demigod culture begins with the worship of heaven and ancestors unique to the Chinese nation.
God Spreads Culture —— Why do China people respect heaven?
Throughout the history of China, starting from the oldest legend of Pangu's creation, three Jade Emperors, Nvwa 、 Fuxi and Shennong, appeared. In the long years, modern historians have always regarded this period as a myth. In this legendary period, the main characters are people with infinite magic like gods. First of all, it is especially necessary to mention Nu Wa Huang, who is the ancestor of the Chinese nation and a great mother. She imitated the image of God with the loess in the sky, created us in good faith, and at the same time "educated" all creatures for mankind. It is impossible for human beings who imitate God to be equal to all animals, so she established a marriage system specifically for human beings to distinguish people from promiscuity between animals, so she also got the title of "God Media" and let human beings begin to reproduce on the earth.
Another jade emperor, Fu, is also very powerful, setting up officials for the people, managing people, teaching people to cast nets for fishing and raising livestock. The most important job in his next life is to "create gossip", the so-called "dragon painting gossip". This is the famous river map, also known as Fuxi Bagua, innate gossip, and the original Book of Changes. This river map has left people a way to follow God's will, so people in China often talk about the change of heaven and earth, which is difficult to violate the destiny and has infinite respect for heaven. The reason for the change of heaven and earth is the so-called "Tao". Then Zhou Wenwang deduced the Book of Changes according to the river map, which changed from the original image to the literal image, that is, the so-called Book of Changes and the acquired gossip. In the era of Confucius, people began to annotate the Book of Changes with words, that is, the inheritance of the Book of Changes. Obviously, the more we rely on written language, the more difficult it is to understand this Taoism that represents the changes of the universe. In China, celestial phenomena and destiny have always been followed by emperors to guard against their own management. Even today, scientists are still very curious about why a few simple hexagrams can have the ability to predict without explanation. This is a classic to send information to people. Obviously, it was not created by human wisdom. It seems to silently remind people not to forget their own smallness.
The third jade emperor is Shennong. Shennong teaches people to make farm tools, reclaim wasteland and grow grain. His superb technology makes him known as "Shennong". There is also a record in Historical Records that "Shennong tasted a hundred herbs before he got medicine". Shennong came to this world and established a fairly complete medical foundation for China people. In China, "materia medica" has long been synonymous with traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, the development of Chinese medicine for thousands of years is based on Shennong's materia medica. Even today, it is still the noblest and most authoritative work of China's medicine. From this point of view, it is not difficult to see that God has always left a legacy in China. If Materia Medica only represents the accumulated experience of many ancestors in ancient times, then in history, Chinese medicine probably only has the level of herbal treatment like American Indians, rather than having such a well-structured theoretical and drug analysis record in ancient times. Pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine also deeply contains "Tao", which contains the truth that heaven, earth, man and five elements coexist and resist each other, and it seems unbelievable.
Judging from Huang San's long history in China, it is obvious that in China, after a period of time, between man and God, God once taught human culture directly, and the culture handed down by God can last for a long time and grow. Therefore, China people have infinite respect for heaven. "Respect for Heaven" not only represents China culture's belief in God, but also embodies the representation and connotation of Tianshou culture.
The origin of demigod culture-Why do China people worship their ancestors?
Until about 5,000 years ago, an important scene in human history appeared on the stage of China-the arrival of the era of the Yellow Emperor, who created a rich and splendid Chinese culture for the Chinese nation and was highly respected in the history of China. In fact, the characteristics of China people's "respecting heaven and ancestors" and even regarding ancestors as sacred sacrifices are closely related to the fact that the Yellow Emperor is regarded as the ancestor of the Chinese nation. In addition, it is also related to the relationship between man and god in ancient times. After the Yellow Emperor, there was a legend that "heaven and earth are connected", so man and god were separated. On the basis of the legendary culture, the Chinese nation opened the prelude of the people-centered and brilliant demigod culture from the era of the Yellow Emperor.
Due to the tyranny of Chiyou people, after the battle of Zhuolu, the Yellow Emperor was honored as the son of heaven by the governors. The son of heaven means the favored son of heaven. He is endowed with the fate of walking in heaven. Therefore, in fact, the Yellow Emperor became the first emperor in the history of China to submit to the vassal by force, and unified the Chinese emperor. The wise Yellow Emperor set up officials, made laws and regulations, promoted talents, sealed temples to worship heaven and ruled the world. People were ordered to build houses, grow grain, make clothes, build boats and cars, and even various inventions such as writing, medicine, calendar, arithmetic, musical instruments, pottery, sericulture and so on appeared one after another. China's civilization was founded in the era of the Yellow Emperor. According to historical records, during the 100-year reign of the Yellow Emperor, there was no struggle between thieves and bandits in China, and the people were modest and harmonious, with good weather and good harvest every year. Even the tiger and leopard didn't hurt people. Birds, animals, insects and moths were all educated by him. It is a prosperous model of "heaven and earth", so later generations respectfully call Xuanyuan Huangdi the ancestor of mankind.
Sima Qian, the first son of heaven in China's history, said in Historical Records that the Yellow Emperor had a golden tripod and a divine plan, and he managed the world "according to the discipline of heaven and earth, with a quiet life and a theory of life and death, it is difficult to survive". He described the Yellow Emperor as a man who practiced Taoism, understood the principles of Yin and Yang, changed life and death, and walked the world. In ancient history, there are many records of the Yellow Emperor seeking Tao and asking for heaven. After enlightenment, he managed state affairs, while refining alchemy and begging for tripod meditation. In 2598 BC, the Yellow Emperor cast a cauldron at the foot of Qiaoshan Mountain. Just then, the sky suddenly opened and a yellow dragon descended to meet him. The Yellow Emperor and his entourage of more than 70 courtiers set foot on Huanglong and ascended to heaven in vain, which was a complete success. Ministers without beards came too late and had to catch the dragon beard. As a result, the dragon beard fell off, and so did they. At this time, all the people looked up and saw this sacred and spectacular scene with their own eyes! These courtiers and those who didn't keep up with them, while appreciating their memories, buried the clothes left by the Yellow Emperor at the foot of Qiaoshan Mountain, which is the tomb of the Yellow Emperor in huangling county, Shaanxi Province today.
This is why the Yellow Emperor became the ancestor of the Chinese nation! That's why China people think that the happy ending of life is the reason why they become gods. Therefore, China people also believe that another form of ancestral death can protect and take care of their children and grandchildren. Therefore, every family worships their ancestors, and even builds ancestral halls with the same surname to worship their ancestors on the first day of the New Year. "Sacrificing to Heaven" has therefore become a major feature of China culture.
Semi-God Culture Makes Gankun —— The Essence of Humanistic Culture
Judging from the history of China, we all know that China began to have characters from the Yellow Emperor and began to develop people-oriented culture. Since then, mankind has indeed moved towards civilization step by step, constantly creating and enriching human culture. However, the appearance of characters has actually brought mankind into a more complicated and difficult world, and also represents the original nature of human beings, which has been gradually replaced by complex human nature. Huangdi inherited the handover of mythological culture and humanistic culture. Unlike Huang San in the mythical era, the Yellow Emperor no longer came to the world in the form of a god, but appeared in the world as an "emperor who manages the world" and a "Taoist practitioner". Humans can return to Heaven through cultivation, and Heaven represents God's world. Man was created by God. He came from heaven and returned to heaven. The concept of "harmony between man and nature" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of China people since ancient times.
The only channel between man and God is "cultivation". Man is the spirit of all things because he has this innate divinity, and "cultivation" shows the characteristics of this part of people. Therefore, many practitioners in history have many magical spiritual powers, special functions and detached and open-minded outlook on life. Jiang Ziya, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bowen, for example, were all famous military advisers and Taoist priests who assisted the Emperor of Heaven, like the founder of Dharma who crossed the river. Many historical celebrities, such as Su Shi, Wang Wei, Li Bai, Tao Yuanming, Meng Haoran and Bai Juyi, are practitioners. China's mainstream thought, which is composed of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, is full of the concepts of self-cultivation, keeping the family in order and keeping the family in order. Before the pre-Qin period, all walks of life, a hundred schools of thought contend.
From this perspective, we look at the whole history of China. If culture is handed down from God and man is created by God, then it seems that the purpose of God's creation of man is to make man create human culture on the basis of divinity, enrich human life and return to the innate nature of man. In the long river of life, many times we just came to this world and grew up on the earth. We got joy in ignorance, but we also tasted the bitter fruit of helplessness in life. We have both happiness and pain.
On the way to linger, I forgot the way home; Fallen in the world of mortals, reincarnation in the world.
When a person who has experienced the world of mortals rediscovers the divinity and innate nature of his own preservation, and opens the way for his life to return to its true nature, it shows the life characteristics of "demigod", which is full of the whole history and culture of China. This demigod cultural feature connecting man and God makes China culture diverse, mysterious, colorful, profound and long-standing.
When we are surprised to find that a cultural feature of "offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors" represents many connotations of life, this series of demigod cultures allows us to explore and think deeply about our own culture from this angle, and perhaps we can find back the life features that we have long forgotten and arouse the most primitive memories of our lives.