Are Yang Jian and Erlang God the same person?

In common folk knowledge and Journey to the West, Erlang God and Yang Jian are the same person. However, Erlang God and his "becoming" the same person still have deep roots.

The legend of Erlang God originated in guanxian, Sichuan (now Dujiangyan City), which is directly related to the legendary' Li Bing's water control'. There was a serious flood in ancient China: "When Yao was in power, the world was not peaceful and the flood was cross-flowing." Dayu inherited his father's ambition to control water, "he left home for eight years and went through the door three times without entering", so "nine rivers were dredged, and Chongqing's economy crossed the ocean; If you decide the Ruhan, see the Huai River and inject it into the river, then China can get it and eat it. " (Mencius on Teng Wengong) Gong Yu said that "Min Mountain leads to the river", and Xun Qing said that "the river comes out of the mountain and its source can be traced back to its source", clearly pointing out that the source of Dayu's water diversion is Min River. Dayu is a hero of the Chinese nation in water control. The story of "Dayu controlling water" has been enriched and developed for thousands of years and has been circulated for a long time. This is a household name, known to all women and children. In addition to Dayu, there are more legendary heroes who control local floods, and Li Bing in western Sichuan is one of them. Historical Records Biography of Rivers and Channels says: "Shu kept the ice, chiseled away from the pile as foam water, and crossed the middle of the second river in Chengdu", and then "hung down the river for mourning, crossed the Mohe River and Jianjiang River, and other tributaries crossed the county. There are many bamboos, cypresses and bamboos in Minshan, which fall with the flow and sit on the wood, saving labor and labor. Irrigation in three counties, land reclamation in paddy fields. So Shu woye is thousands of miles away, counting land and sea. In the early days, water was diverted and infiltrated, and rainwater was blocked in the water gate. So the record says:' When there is no famine, there is no famine, and the world is rich'. This is a simple account of Li Bing's water control. However, it has gradually increased the color of many myths and legends in books such as Customs Tong. The article "Li Bing" in Taiping Guangji (29 1) quoted in Chengdu Ji also said: "Li Bing stayed in Shu County, was a dumpling age, and floated across the beach. The ice was cut into the shape of a cow. Yue Long river, frozen invincible. It came out, and hundreds of brave people chose it, holding strong bows and big arrows. Yue said:' I used to be a cow, and now I will become a cow. I use Taibai to practice self-restraint. You, a reporter, should kill him. "Then growled in. In a short time, the thunderstorm was strong and the world was the same. At one o'clock, there are two cows fighting on the river, and the practice is very long. The samurai shot his god in unison and died in the tunnel. Since then, Shu people no longer get sick because of water. Up to now, the big waves and the sand are all going to the temple of the public. So there is a bullfight in spring and summer, not necessarily without it. There are thousands of temples in the south, but the low embankment in Bian Jiang is not suitable, although it is autumn. This is Shi Niu, under the temple. In the fifth year of the Tang River, the flood collapsed and the ice god was a dragon. After fighting with the dragon, he still aimed at practicing in vain. The water then drifted down, leaving cotton buckets on the left, all floating in the river and overflowing the gorge, injuring dozens of counties, but Xishu was harmless. "

Li Bing's well-planned water control has achieved remarkable results, but it is by no means the credit of one person. There must be helpers. Even in Li's legend, the Chengdu Bull God mentioned above is said to have warriors with bows and arrows to help. "Records of Gong Li's Father and Son's Water Control" said: "Public water control is not a place or a person. If you are in Nan 'an and Jing Rong, you can taste it. Therefore, the story of leaving the heap is false. At the same time, Jiro is especially famous if Zhu Shi and Maolang also serve as Juexun. Jiro, born with Tao, inherited his family studies, is in his prime, and still likes hunting. Chop jiaozi at his father's command. His seven friends actually helped him, and the Seven Saints of Meishan were handed down to the world, saying that they had made contributions to the people, so they were called saints. " (guanxian Wen Wei, Volume V) The Six Volumes of Shu Scenic Spots also quote the Records of Ancient and Modern Times: "Li Bingling's son, Erlang Sanshi, town its river, and Wushi rhinoceros hates the water monster, chiseling away from the mountain to avoid the harm of foam water, crossing the 36th River and irrigating rice fields in more than ten counties in southwest Sichuan. Since Yu's flood control, the ice has been widely dispersed because of its old traces. There is Li Bing Temple in the cable bridge of the west 33 key weir in this county. " "There is a view of Long Fu on the pile, and there is a deep tan under it. It is rumored that Jiro locked the dragon in it. The first time the frost fell into the water, or sometimes I saw its lock. " (Miscellanies of Well Frog, Volume 9) Li Bing and his son have made great contributions to the water control in Shu. Shu people miss them very much, so they build temples and worship them all the year round. Li Bing was honored as the "Master of Sichuan" and his son as the "Erlang God": "Erlang Temple in the middle of Shu was built because Li Bing left the heap. Today, many monsters are his second son. " (Zhuzi School, Volume III)

The written records of the legend of Erlang God appeared after the Song Dynasty. Before the Song Dynasty, in the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, Li Bing's son "Jiro" had never been heard of, and whether Li Bing really had a son "Jiro" whose name we don't know is beyond reproach. However, it is true that the incense of Erlang Temple at Guankou is increasing day by day, and the fame of Erlang God is also growing. Even in the works of Liu Yong, a famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, there is a epigraph called Erlang God. In Zhou Mi's old Wulin stories, there are also some titles, such as Erlang's Western Zhou Dynasty, beating rabbits with storks to become Erlang, and Erlang God to become Erlang God.

Later, Zhao Yu, the legendary satrap of history, competed with Li Bing and his son for the positions of "Master of Sichuan" and "Erlang God". "Yu Fang Sheng Lan" contains: "Zhao Yu hides Qingcheng Mountain, and Emperor Yangdi was a historical satrap. The key point is that when there is an old dumpling in the pool, you should lead a thousand soldiers to fight in the river and go into the water with a knife. After a while, the pool was completely red, showing jiaozi's head in his left hand and a knife in his right hand, and rushed out. One day, I gave up my official position. After Shi Sheng, Shu people saw Yu riding a white horse in the clouds. " Song Taizong was awarded the title of brave general. According to the Records of Jiading County, people felt Zhao Yu's kindness and built a temple at the mouth of Guanjiang River to worship, commonly known as "Jiro Guankou" and "Records of Changshu County". Ba Min Tong Zhi also said that when he entered Shu, he was helped by Erlang God. Later, Zhang Yong asked Zhao Yu, the owner of Fengchuan, to be "the real king of Qingyuan Miaodao". "Sichuan Master" was originally the title of Li Bing, and the Records of Gong Li's Father and Son's Water Control in Volume 5 of County Records Wen Wei recorded: "Yizhou governs Shu, hence the name Sichuan Master. "Now Zhao Yu is also known as the master of Sichuan. Regarding the fact that there are two "masters" in this legend, Pengshui County Records explains: "The master temple worships the county magistrate Li Bing and his son, or those who should be worshipped. Both Gao Zhao and Li advocated water control in Shu, and they were called the great masters in Shu. However, Li Xian and Zhao Hou; Li is the source of the whole Shu state, while Zhao is only in history. Li Zhitao Beach is also a weir, which contributes to the people and is not only famous for its unique features; If Chair Zhao avoids a temporary disaster, people will not benefit from it after one thousand years. "Although this is a compromise, it shows the sequence and similarities and differences of the two legends.

A similar story can also be found in Old Biography of Xiangyang: "Jin Dengyuan's words are far away and his courage is unparalleled. It was the prefect of Xiangyang at that time. There are dumplings in the sewage in the north of the city, which are often harmful to people, so I put my sword in the water. The dumpling was wrapped around its feet, and the sword in the distance cut the dumpling and made it bleed. The river was red. Because of the name of the day, it is also called scorpion. " Book Integration quoted Zhejiang Tongzhi as saying: "Erlang Temple is in Li Zhongqing, Hangzhou. God's surname is Deng, and Chen Jun is also a local. He was a warrior since he was a child. At that time, he was Fan Kuai. Huan Wen thinks that a general is a conqueror, a champion general, a magistrate of several counties, and the number is a star. There are dumplings in the north water of Xiangyang, which are harmful to people. When the remote sword enters the water, the dumpling wraps around its foot, and the remote sword cuts out several sections, so it naturally suffers from interests. The virtue of the villagers is to set up a shrine to worship them, taste them as Erlang generals, and therefore respect them as Erlang gods. The story of Deng Xia chopping jiaozi recorded here is also recorded in Biography of Yuhuan in Taiping and Biography of Jingzhou quoted by Sheng Hongzhi. As a result, the legendary Erlang God has another Dunya.

To sum up, the legend of Erlang God has been constantly changing in the long-term folk circulation: the name of the person is either Zhao Yu, the second son of Li Bing, or Deng Ya; Geographical location, or irrigation, or history, or Xiangyang; Times, or Qin, or Sui, or Jin. But the most basic plot has been handed down: the son of the Taishou or Taishou went into the water to cut jiaozi, quell the flood, and became a god after his death. The people were so impressed with him that they built a temple named "Guankou Erlang Temple" and named it "Guankou Erlang God" and "Erlang Zhenjun". These have not changed much in later legends.

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The legend of Erlang God in Yuan and Ming operas is very rich. Today, there are four kinds of dramas in Yuan and Ming Dynasties involving the legend of Erlang God: The Journey to the West's Zaju (Yang's Commentary Edition), Erlang God's Drunk Shooting and Locking the Magic Mirror, Erlang God's Locking the Great Sage, and Guankou Erlang's Chop. The eighth time in The Journey to the West's Zaju, Guanyin Bodhisattva secretly escorted Tang Priest to fetch Buddhist scriptures from the West, "playing the Jade Emperor, ten official duties", and the fourth official was "Erlang Guankou". The sixteenth issue of the fourth book said that Pig Bajie was a demon in black wind mountain and robbed Pei Haitang, a commoner. Later, the Monkey King saved Pei Haitang and asked her about the monster. Pei Haitang said, "That monster was drunk and said he was afraid of Jiro's fine dog." Later, Pig Bajie went to Pei Haitang and took the Tang Priest away. The Monkey King came to the South China Sea to ask Guanyin Bodhisattva for help. Therefore, Jiro followed the practice of Guanyin Bodhisattva to save the Tang Priest, fought with Pig Bajie and released the "refined dog". "Seeing is believing, I caught Pig Bajie. Here, the drama does not explain the specific image of the "skinny dog" who captured Pig Bajie, but in the later Romance of the Gods, there is such a description of the roaring dog named "waist" by Erlang God: "The fairy dog has a small waist, which is shaped like a white elephant and an owl"-this is probably the "true face" of the fierce roaring dog. In The Journey to the West's zaju, there is a poem describing the majestic posture of Erlang God: "Seeing the ups and downs of the sun and the moon, the mountains and rivers have changed. Mouthwatering and imposing, Yao Ya will have a surname. Guo zhi presses the soap eagle, and the golden-headed slave attracts the fine dog. With crossbows, with projectiles. Irrigation Jinjiang head, Li Anyun stack side ". This is the image of Erlang God depicted in Yuan and Ming operas, but it is not mentioned whether his surname is Li or Zhao. However, in later plays, such as "Erlang God Drunk and Locked the Mirror", "Guankou Erlang God Chopped Dumplings" and "Erlang God Locked the Monkey King", Erlang God became the historical satrap of Zhao Yu. In the first episode of "Erlang God Drunk Shooting and Locking the Mirror", Erlang God came to the stage and said, "My god's surname is Zhao Mingyu, and his words follow the Tao. When I was a child, I was a historical satrap. There are two rivers in Lingyuan in history, and there is a jiaozi in Hanoi, which makes waves and harms the people. Old man of history, tell my God that I personally hit the sword into the water, chopped its health jiaozi, raised my head with my left hand, and hit the sword with my right hand. Thanks To Drop, who saw seven people on the ground, is the Seven Sages of Meishan. I beheaded the healthy dumpling, gathered the seven saints of Meishan, rode a white horse to soar during the day, irrigated the people by the river, and built a temple with my God. The Jade Emperor gave me a charm plate and added my God to the position of Erlang God in Guanjiangkou, which is really the king of Qingyuan Miao Dao. "In the play" Jiro Guankou Chop ",the guest stars are all Dalang Shen's background, which is roughly the same as the description in the previously quoted" Dalang Shen Zui shoots the lock mirror ",except that (I mistakenly wrote) I ascended to heaven first, then descended to the seven saints of Meishan, and then chopped jiaozi, just in reverse order. Erlang God's generals also include Guo Yazhi ("Tooth" and "Pressure", and the sound turns), "Leading a dog" and adding a "grabbing a knife". Erlang God in The Monkey King Locked by Erlang God, under the command of the "Master of the Arctic Exorcism Institute", led the seven saints of Meishan and many heavenly soldiers to Guo Huashan to catch the monkey king who stole the elixir and wine. For example, "Erlang God locks the Monkey King" in Pig Bajie's "I'm afraid of Erlang God's refined dog" in The Journey to the West's zaju also said: "Erlang God can break the Monkey King only if it is clear about the true origin", which shows that Erlang God is a good hand at catching monsters. Although the Monkey King is not explicitly said to be the Monkey King in the play, in the first compromise, the Monkey King once said: "There are three gods and five sisters, the elder sister is a Kameyama jellyfish, the elder sister is an iron monkey, and the elder brother plays tricks on Saburo." This is similar to the Monkey King's statement in The Journey to the West's ninth play: "There are five brothers and sisters in the Monkey King: the elder sister is far from the mountains and mother, and the second sister is a witch. The only difference is that the Monkey King in The Journey to the West led to the Monkey King, and it was Nezha, not Erlang, who subdued him. It can also be clearly seen that the drama "Erlang Shensuo Qitian Sheng Da" is deeply influenced by "Journey to the West Zaju". "Erlang God Locks the Monkey King" focuses on the bravery of SHEN WOO, Erlang God and Meishan Seven Saints. They caught the Three Sages of Huaguo Mountain with no effort. Unlike the later novel The Journey to the West, they want to bet on change and rely on the diamond cutting of the old gentleman. Among the three saints of Guo Hua, Qi Yao was the leader of stealing Dan and wine. He is brave and fickle, but once caught, he kneels for mercy. The image of the great sage, the elder brother, is more prominent, which changes an iron bar and divine power, and has many similarities with the Monkey King in later novels. The Monkey King, the Great Sage of the Monkey in the novel The Journey to the West, can be said to be a fusion of the images of the three sages of Huaguoshan. Even the name "Sun Walker" is borrowed from "Xisaburo".

In a word, in Jiro's plays, such as drunken shooting at the magic mirror, mouthwatering Jiro's chopping at jiaozi, and Jiro's locking the Monkey King, the image of Jiro has been described more concretely: he is "fantastic and changeable" (Jiro drunk shooting at the magic mirror), "flushed" and "riding across a dragon pony and inserting an arrow into a golden jar". His "Three Points and Two Blades" (Erlang God Locked the Great Sage in the Sky) led the "refined dog to break the array, and the golden bullet to disperse the demon soldiers" (Erlang God Locked the Great Sage in the Sky). In the collection of novels in Ming Dynasty, Awakening the World, there is a book "Looking for Boots and Documentary Erlang God" in Song and Yuan Dynasties. It is said that there is an Erlang Temple in Mu Jing, which is as spiritual as the true king of the Arctic. The statue of Erlang God in that temple is "wrapped in golden flowers, embroidered robe, jade belt around his waist and flying boots" and "holding a slingshot", similar to the image of Erlang God in Yuan and Ming operas. It can be seen that the legend and image of Erlang God (Zhao Yu, the satrap of Jiazhou) were described in dramas and novels in Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and even the statue of Erlang God enshrined in folk temples was shaped by the Qingwen depicted in the drama.

In Yuan, Ming and later dramas and novels, Erlang God was hardly written as the second son of Li Bing, with the only exception of Yang Chaoguan's drama Erlang God at the Beginning of the Pass. Yang Chaoguan, a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, was a magistrate in Dengzhou (now Denggan County) in western Sichuan during the Qianlong period. He found the former site of Zhuo Wenjun Makeup Building, built a Yinfeng Pavilion, and performed a short play by himself, named "Yinfeng Pavilion Zaju". He should be familiar with the legend of Erlang God circulating in western Sichuan. His "Erlang God at the beginning of Guankou" is referred to as "Erlang God" for short, and it is written that Li Bing, the magistrate of Shu County, dug the remaining piles, and the dragon girl and the dragon son picked Li Bing to fight. Jiro, the son of Bing, fought with an eagle and a dog, and finally captured the pig dragon mother and son alive, and locked them under the pile with chains. "Ask him to join the river sand, which is as deep as eyebrows and as shallow as feet", making Zi Long [Xiaolong] "attack the east coast, divide the water into Neijiang, and turn the barren land into fertile land and irrigate farmland forever". In the play, it is written that Erlang has made great contributions to water control. Shu people respect him as the master of Sichuan and worship him as the "true gentleman of Erlang", probably based on Zhu's. Centered on Li Erlang's chopping jiaozi, the script is always closely combined with water conservancy for the people, which fully shows the author Yang Chaoguan's good intentions of caring for the people's interests.

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Erlang God in The Journey to the West is not surnamed Li. The sixth time, the Monkey King made a scene in the Heavenly Palace and captured 100,000 heavenly soldiers of Li Yaowang in Huaguoshan, so Guanyin Bodhisattva recommended Erlang God to help Li Yaowang. This Erlang God "is that His Majesty the Jade Emperor lived in Guanjiangkou, Guangzhou in order to let his nephews see the real Erlang God", and even the Monkey King "remembered that when Sifan, the sister of the Jade Emperor, cooperated with Yang Jun, she gave birth to a man who once split Taoshan with an axe". This Erlang God. Since he is a son, he certainly won't be surnamed Zhao or Zhao. "The axe split Taoshan once saved the mother and struck the double phoenix", and "The heart is high and the nature is proud to live in the river" (The Journey to the West's sixth time), obviously from another myth and legend. Ghost Record by Zhong Sicheng in the Yuan Dynasty recorded the zaju "Prince Aquilaria Chopping Huashan" in the Yuan Dynasty, and Taihe Spectrum by Zhu Quan in the early Ming Dynasty included the entries of Li's zaju "Shen Ling Chopping Hua Yue" in the Yuan Dynasty (the selected works of Yuan Dynasty were called "Giant Chopping Huashan", and the Garden Bibliography was also called "Chopping Huashan and Aquilaria Chopping Mother"). The story of using agarwood to split the mountain to save mother in the Pihuang drama Lotus Lantern in Qing Dynasty may have evolved from the above-mentioned Yuan drama "Split the mountain to save mother". Otherwise, why is the protagonist's name ("Aquilaria sinensis") exactly the same as the story's name ("saving the mother by splitting the mountain")? In Lotus Lantern, the stubborn uncle who destroyed the marriage of agarwood's mother was Erlang God Yang Jian, while in The Journey to the West, it was Erlang God Yang Jian who split the mountain to save agarwood's mother. The legend of "cutting down the mountain to save the mother" on which the two men are based comes from an unstable inheritance. Of course, we can't guess that Erlang Shen also appeared in many of the above-mentioned Yuan zaju "Cutting the Mountain to Save Mother"-these Yuan zaju have long been lost and cannot be verified.

Erlang God in Journey to the West, "the fruit of appearance is curious and delicate. The whole is: handsome and handsome, with light on the earlobe and shoulders. Wearing a three-mountain flying phoenix hat and a light goose yellow collar. Golden boots lined with dragon socks, jade belt with eight treasures makeup. With a slingshot at his waist, a crescent moon and a three-pointed two-edged gun. " (The Journey to the West's sixth time) "He punished six monsters before, and there were Meishan brothers and 1,200 toothed burclover gods in front of the tent. They are miracles with 72 changes. " That is, "Meishan six brothers-Naikang, Zhang, Yao, Li Si, Guo Shen and general Li Zhijian; This "Guo Shen Zhijian" implies the name of "Guo Ya Value". During the war between Erlang God and the Monkey King, he "turned himself into a towering figure, holding out a three-pointed and two-edged god's front with his hands, just like the peak on the top of Huashan Mountain, with his face blue and his hair red". He released a "fine dog", took a bite on the Monkey King's calf, pulled it down again, and seized the Monkey King. (The Journey to the West's Sixth Return) Later, on the way to learn the scriptures, the Monkey King and others caught up with the nine head worm monster who stole the relic treasure on the tower of Guangjin Temple in the tournament country, and met Erlang God and six Meishan brothers who came back from hunting. Regardless of the previous gap, Erlang God the Monkey King helped convert to Buddhism and learn Buddhist scriptures. He "took the golden bow, loaded it with silver bullets, stretched the bow and fought" and let the good dog go. The king jumped up and took a bite, biting nine head worm's head to pieces. The monster escaped in pain (The Journey to the West's sixty-third). Although the surname of Erlang God in this novel is Yang, his appearance, slingshot, three-pointed double-edged knife, eagle dog and even sworn brother (the Seven Saints of Meishan) all seem to belong to Erlang God Zhao Yu. This clearly shows the close relationship between the novel The Journey to the West and the legend of Erlang God in Yuan and Ming operas.

Another novel about the same period as The Journey to the West, Romance of the Gods, also depicts Yang Jian. But he never said that he was the God of Erlang Guankou (the words "the God of Erlang Guankou" did not even appear in the book), but said that Yang Jian was the master of Ding Yu in Jinxia Cave of Yuquan Mountain, and was ordered by the master to help Jiang Ziya destroy Yin. He also used a three-pointed double-edged knife and wore a "light goose yellow" shirt, "golden all over"; He has a "fire eye of Samadhi, which is bright as day" and a roaring dog named "thin waist", which is "shaped like a white elephant". He "refined Yuan Gong for nine rounds, changed seventy-two times, achieved infinite wonderful Tao, sanctified his body, sealed the source of wonderful Tao, and made it a true gentleman". The image and skill of Yang Jian in the Romance of the Gods are so similar to Erlang God in Yuan Zaju and The Journey to the West's novels, even the title of "The True King of Qingyuan Miao Dao" is verbatim. The Romance of the Gods and The Journey to the West were both developed on the basis of folk literature, and were eventually created by literati. At the same time, because the exact time when the authors of the two books finished their books can't be verified, it is still controversial who published the books first, so there is a phenomenon that the two books infiltrate, relate and even copy some folk stories and details. This is not surprising. An example is the story of Emperor Wen of Sui, a story of "clearing the source, being wonderful and being the true king".

In the Ming Dynasty, the legend of Erlang God was widely circulated. Of course, there can't be only one statement, and there is no difference in details. Wu Cheng'en, the author of The Journey to the West (the last author), once saw the portrait of Erlang God and made a preface to Song of Erlang God. The preface said, "Erlang Sou Shan Juan is the property of my hometown Wu Gong. After it was lost for 50 years, his descendant Sun Quanzi took it back after learning about Gong Li's family. The return of the green carpet and the overlapping of swords are miracles, which shows that the "Jiro Sou Shan Tu" has a long history and is precious. The image of Erlang God depicted in "Song of Erlang God Seeking Mountains" is: "The youth is beautiful and clear, and the headquarters worships the spirit of things and the stars fly to make the mountains empty. Eagle fights dog, broadsword fights frost and snow. Monkeys can't prolong their life, and the fox mother cries blood with empty wine. The river turned over and stirred Liu Ding, but the monsters didn't find it one after another. The green front suddenly screamed and the golden lock caught the dragon. Magic soldiers hunt monsters as well as beasts, and there is nowhere to escape from exploring holes and holding nests. Life is proud, although the claws dare to rush. " (Sheyang Survival Draft, Volume I) The Preface of Erlang Searching Tushan Pavilion was written in the eighteenth year of Jiajing (1539). The author is in the prime of life (36 years old), commanding magic soldiers, waving broadswords and long knives, and shooting eagles and dogs at "beautiful boy" Erlang. There is a goal to save the moon, and there is no hero in the world. This is probably the author's intrinsic motivation to describe Erlang's kindness and kindness in The Journey to the West.

Yang Jian, who was attached as Erlang God, did exist in history. He was a very powerful eunuch in the Northern Song Dynasty. The History of Song Dynasty has his biography in volume 468. It is not clear what kind of legend Yang Jian became Erlang God. The legend on which Pi Huang's drama Lotus Lantern is based is ancient (Yuan Dynasty Zaju), and it also shows some clues to be pursued. However, the play was formed in the Qing Dynasty after the novel The Journey to the West was widely circulated. Whether Yang Jian, the uncle of Erlang God, who "saved his mother by splitting the mountain" in the play, happened to be born out of The Journey to the West or "Romance of the Gods" is still uncertain.

In the novel The Journey to the West, Erlang God is the nephew of the jade emperor and the son of Yang Jun .. Besides the legend of "cutting down the mountain to save the mother", there is another clue to pursue, that is, Erlang Baojuan (hereinafter referred to as Erlang Baojuan) and Erlang Baojuan written during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. The former is discussed in great detail in Liu You's Bao Juan of Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (see Literature No.3, 198). The latter is described in detail in Hu Shi's "Notes after Vacuum Volume" (see Hu Shi's Classical Literature Collection, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1988 edition). "Jiro Bao Juan" is divided into two volumes. At the end of each volume, it says: "Daming Jiajing was honored in Ren Xu on September 34." In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, namely 1555, the earliest publishing time in The Journey to the West was 20 years earlier than this (ad 1592). If, as The Journey to the West usually said, Wu Cheng'en was at home in his later years (after he left Changxing in A.D. 1568), Jiro Bao Juan was written before The Journey to the West became a book. Even according to Wu Cheng'en's statement that he "wrote a journey to the West or finished the first draft" when he was young and middle-aged (in the 21st year of Jiajing, AD 1542) (see Su Xing's Chronicle of Wu Cheng'en), it is unlikely that the author of Erlang Baojuan will see The Journey to the West's first draft ten years later and rewrite it into Erlang Baojuan accordingly. Therefore, it is very likely that Erlang Baojuan or the folklore of Erlang God based on it had an influence on the depiction of Erlang God Wu Cheng'en in The Journey to the West.

"Jiro Bao Juan" mainly describes the birth history of Jiro Zhenjun: Yang Tianyou, the father of Jiro God, is a "golden boy" in heaven and a scholar in Quezhou City. Mother Yun Huaxian fell in love with her old love, married Yang Tianyou privately, and gave birth to Jiro Zhenjun. Because she violated the dogma, she was trapped in Guo Hua by Monkey and was crushed under Mount Tai. Later, Erlang God was instructed by the Queen Mother of the West to "go up the mountain to catch the sun", split the mountain to save his mother Yun Huaxian, and turned to Mount Tai to crush Sun Walker. "Jiro Bao Juan" describes the image of Jiro God in this way: "A mountain axe, a double-edged knife, a silver bullet and a golden bow; Ascend to heaven, ride the clouds, and walk the clouds; Tie the demon lock, cut the magic sword, and have all the eight treasures. Look at the demon mirror, look at the devil, and the six thieves surrender; Three mountain hats, combative, topped with Three Lamps District; Eight treasures, four belts, and a waist; The yellow robe is covered with eight-claw dragons, and the purple fog is filled. " (See "Jiro Bao Juan, Begging to Sign the 10th Made in Guangxi") "Jiro turned into a magical power, and then I went out to get my teeth closed, and the young man protected me. After accepting the seven saints as guardians, the white horse and the white dog have their own reasons ... Meishan worships seven times and worships brothers. Handsome generals will always support them, and heaven and earth will become sacred with spring. A white horse rides on a horse, followed by a white dog. Guan Jiang sent demons to catch ghosts, and the evil spirits disappeared. " (See Jiro Bao Juan. The image of Erlang God depicted in "Jiro Bao Juan" is very similar to the image of Erlang God in The Journey to the West, in which the spelling of "treating teeth" is the same as that of Erlang God's zaju since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, while "white dog has a god" is in the shape of a white elephant with the "thin dog" in the Romance of the Gods. Hu Shi also thinks that Jiro Bao Juan was written by Wu Cheng'en and The Journey to the West before. He read the story of Tang Priest's Buddhist scriptures in Jiro Bao Juan, and thought that "the Buddhist scriptures at this time are still in a state of free change, so the programs inside, such as Jiro's saving the mother, leave the walker at the foot of the mountain, which is completely free from the constraints of legends, which is completely different from the later version of Wu Cheng'en. This is a work of Jiajing period, which gives us such freedom. After Jiajing, with a unified structure, free conversion is not easy. " Postscript "For the release of vacuum scroll, see Collected Works of Hu Shi's Classical Literature Research").

Conclusion: The Erlang God in The Journey to the West has the embryonic form of Guan Erlang, the son of Li Bing, the magistrate of Shu County, benefiting the people, the image of Er Shen, a historical magistrate who made great contributions to water control in Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and the son of "cutting the mountain to save his mother" in Yuan Zaju and Bao Juan, a folk rap literature in Yuan and Ming Dynasties. In a word, Erlang God in The Journey to the West is the crystallization of the legend of Erlang God in Wu Cheng'en that has been circulated among the people since the Han and Tang Dynasties. It fully shows his artistic talent of attaching importance to folk literature and being good at learning from others, as well as his unique ingenuity in venting his ambition of "fighting evil" and "calming evil" through the image of Erlang God.