How did Guan Yu become the god of protecting the country and benefiting the people?

When did Guan Yu enter the official vision of later generations and gradually climbed to protect the country and the people? In fact, it has gone through a long and tortuous process.

Wu Caishen Guan Gong

Guan Yu was the first to be enshrined, but this was only one of the sacrifices made by Wu. In the first year of Shangyuan in Tang Gaozong (AD 674), Confucius was made King of Wenxuan and Jiang Shang (Jiang Ziya) was made King of Wucheng. After the Anshi Rebellion, in order to boost the morale of military commanders, Tang Dezong accepted Yan Zhenqing's suggestion. In the third year of Yu Jianzhong (AD 782), 64 famous soldiers were added to the temple in Wu Wang, including Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. But not long after (AD 786), there was a suggestion from the Prime Minister that Jiang Shang Temple should only keep Sean to accompany him and withdraw other generals.

The largest Guandi Temple in China-Jiezhou Guandi Temple in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province

In the Song Dynasty, when the founding of the People's Republic of China was re-ordered, Zhao Kuangyin put forward the perfect standard of "those whose achievements have always been flawless" and expelled 22 generals, including Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, from the temple. But 1043, in order to boost the morale of the army, the original sacrifice was resumed. In the first year of Song Huizong Chongning (1 102), Guan Yu sealed loyalty and Gong Hui; In the second year of Daguan (1 108) and in the fifth year of Xuanhe (1 123), King Wu 'an was named "King Wu 'an's Hall for Worshipping the King Wu", which was more generous than other generals. With the nomads from the south, Guan Yu was regarded as an example and encouraged soldiers to fight bravely. Guan Yu was made the national emblem by the Southern Song Dynasty imperial court for many times, until the 15th year of Xichun (1 188), and he was named "King of Bravery and Security" in Dangyang. This is the highest knighthood for heroic martyrs in the Song Dynasty, and it is also the original record that Guan Yu is the god of praying for rain.

Jin and Yuan inherited the title of King An and directly called him "Guan Wang". In the first year of Tian Li (1329), Guan Yu in Han Dynasty was named "the king who showed great power and went forward bravely" and sent envoys to worship his temple.

The largest statue of Guan Gong in China —— Changping Village, Yuncheng, Shanxi Province

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Guandi Temple to resume the "Shouhou Temple". In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu (1394), a temple was built in Jiming Mountain, Nanjing, which was included in the sacrificial ceremony. During the Jiajing period, the title of "Wuwangan" was restored.

In the eighteenth year of Wanli (1590), Pan Jixun ruled the Caohe River and named the God of Gaojiayan Temple as "God helps protect the country and is the emperor of loyalty". This is the beginning of making Guan Yu emperor. Since then, temples have been built along the Grand Canal to pray for the safety of people and goods. This is also one of the important reasons why Guan Yu became a god of wealth in later generations. In the twenty-second year (1595), Xiezhou Guan Temple God proclaimed himself emperor, and in the forty-second year (16 14), Xiaguan Temple God in the world was proclaimed emperor, which was the beginning that all the temples in the world could be proclaimed emperor. From then on, Guan Yu became the supreme god.

Statue of Guan Yu

Before the Qing soldiers entered the customs, the Manchu court had begun to respect Guan Gong. The year before Nurhachi established the post-Jin regime (16 15), Guandi Temple was built at the south gate of the inner city of Hetuala City (now Xinbin County, Liaoning Province), and it was one of the seven temples in the post-Jin Dynasty. Huang taiji served in Germany for eight years (1643), with Shenyang as the capital, that is, he built Guan Temple, which was endowed with "eternal righteousness".

In the third year of Yongzheng (1725), Bilong was given Confucius as a gift, and Guandi was a duke for three generations. The memorial tablet is no longer chasing knighthood and is not famous. It was enshrined in the back hall of Baima Guandi Temple in Shi Jing, and an official was sent to tell about the sacrifice. Among them, Jiezhou in Shanxi, Zhongmiao in Luoyang County, Henan Province, and the largest temple in all provincial capitals and counties, the main temple is dedicated to the back hall and the Spring and Autumn Festival. This is the beginning of Guan Yu being included in the Confucian standard of offering sacrifices to the Lord God to protect the country and defend the country. Forty-one years after Qianlong (1776), all the obituaries of Guan Di in the History of the Three Kingdoms should be changed to "loyalty". In the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), a sacrificial ceremony was awarded to Gengdingguan Temple, which was exactly the same as the specifications of the sacrificial cave.

Portrait of Guan Gong's traditional Chinese painting

From Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty, emperors worshipped Guan Gong repeatedly. By Guangxu, it reached 22 words: "Loyalty and righteousness to SHEN WOO, spirit, kindness, benevolence, courage and prestige, protecting the country and benefiting the people, sincerely comforting and praising Xuande and Guan Sheng the Great", which was the most important figure in the past dynasties.

Loyal and brave Guan Gong

In addition, the Kunning Palace in the Qing Dynasty also reserved the Manchu primitive belief "Tangzi Sacrifice", offering sacrifices to Gamani Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Guan Jun and so on. Every year, on the second day of the first month, the first day of each month, the Buddha's birthday on the eighth day of April, the horse festival in March and September, the pig festival in the four seasons, the Buddha's willow festival and other occasions, there are prayers and offerings to the "commander-in-chief of the three armies", which are very religious. This custom runs through the courts of the Qing Dynasty. The three gods worshipped by Manchu folk family sacrifices are also related to the public, which shows the depth of worship.