Who knows anything about the Queen Mother of the West?

brief introduction

The legendary goddess. The strange god, who was originally in charge of disasters and punishments, gradually became soft and gentle in the process of spreading and became an old and kind goddess. According to legend, the Queen Mother lives in Yaochi, Kunlun Mountain, and there are flat peaches in the garden, which can be eaten forever. Also known as the Golden Mother, the Golden Mother of Yaochi and the Queen Mother of the West.

history

According to the ancient book Shan Hai Jing, "The Queen Mother of the West is like a human being, with a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth. Dai Sheng, who is good at whistling, is the strength of the division and five scholars." The Queen Mother of the West is "human-like", with a leopard tail and tiger teeth. She is good at growling with high-frequency sounds. With messy hair and a square hat. It is a god sent by heaven to spread viruses and various disasters. It can be seen that he is ugly and is a demon god who sends disasters and epidemics! He lives on the top of Kunlun Mountain. There are three giant birds of prey called "Jade Birds", which bring him food and daily necessities every day.

However, in Mu's legend, the words and deeds of the Queen Mother of the West are like a gentle ruler. When Zhou Muwang traveled around the world in an eight-horse, he traveled to Kunlun Mountain in the west. He took out Bai Gui Xu Anbi and other jade articles to visit the Queen Mother of the West. The next day, Mu Wang hosted a banquet in Yaochi for the Queen Mother of the West. Both of them sang some poems and exchanged blessings.

The Legend of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty called her a goddess with peerless appearance and gave her a flat peach that bears fruit once every three thousand years. Taoism takes the third day of March every year as the queen mother's birthday, and holds a grand event on this day, commonly known as the Flat Peach Festival.

The evolution of the myth of the western queen mother

The fairy tales of the Queen Mother of the West have undergone two evolutions. The Han Dynasty is the first stage of the evolution of the myths and legends of the Western Queen Mother. During this period, the Queen Mother of the West lived in the cave of Yushan (also known as Kunlun Mountain) in the west, and was a monster with face and body. In addition, there is a monster with horns and leopard prints that sounds like a dog on the mountain-cunning, and there are three blue robins with red feathers who like to eat fish.

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is the second stage of the evolution of the myths and legends of the Western Queen Mother. At this time, people associate the myths and legends of the Queen Mother of the West with the historical facts of Zhou Muwang's Western Expedition and Emperor Wu's voyage to the West. The image of the Queen Mother of the West is anthropomorphic and the legend is mythical. Among them, the story of Zhou Muwang and the Queen Mother of the West meeting in Yaochi is widely circulated and has great influence. The image of the Western Queen Mother in myths and legends has gradually improved, which is closely related to history. In Shan Hai Jing, she is a monster who lives in a cave and is good at whistling, like a human being, inhuman and like a beast. In Mu's biography, she became an elegant, peaceful, good at singing and dancing and knowledgeable woman. In "The Story of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty", she became a goddess in her thirties with peerless appearance. In later literary works, there are many descriptions of the Queen Mother of the West, saying that she is a "golden girl in Yaochi" who grows flat peaches for three thousand years. Whenever the flat peach matures, the Queen Mother of the West holds a grand birthday party, and all the immortals come to celebrate her birthday. There is a wonderful description in Journey to the West, Wu Cheng'en.

The duty of the heavenly queen

She lives in Yaochi, so she is also called the Queen of Yaochi. She held a flat peach celebration in Yaochi, where she hosted a banquet for immortals from all walks of life, only to be disturbed by the Monkey King, the Great Sage of Qitian. The flat peach she planted is the most magical. Small peach trees have been cooked for 3 thousand years, and those who eat them are light in fitness and immortal. Ordinary peach trees are only cooked once in 6000 years. When people eat them, they soar in the daytime and live forever. The best food is cooked in 9000. People eat it with heaven and earth, with the sun and the moon. She is the most respected goddess in the Heavenly Palace. She is responsible for banquets for immortals in heaven and for marriage and childbirth on earth.

What is the relationship between the Jade Emperor and the Empress Dowager?

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother are not husband and wife. The Queen Mother of the West is the first of all female immortals and is in charge of the Fairy Island in Kunlun. The head of all male immortals is Dong, who is in charge of Penglai Fairy Island. The Jade Emperor is the head of the immortals and the Lord of the gods. The Queen Mother of the West appeared before the Jade Emperor, so she was not husband and wife.

Taishan Folk Custom-Empress Dowager Belief

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Queen Mother has always held a high position among people who believe in men and women, and her influence has spread all over China. There is a poem "Flat Peach Palace" in the poem "Dumen Zayong" written by Zhi Zhu in Qing Dynasty, saying: "Born in spring on the third day of March, Flat Peach Palace burns incense; The wind rises slightly along the river and the red dust is everywhere. " The Flat Peach Palace in Beijing was originally named Taiping Palace. At Dongbianmen, the Empress Dowager was enshrined in the palace. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, there is a famous flat peach party, which is full of drama and excitement. So is Wang Muchi's Taoist view of Mount Tai. In the 24th year of Daoguang reign of Qing Dynasty (AD 1844), more than 240 pilgrims signed and engraved "Heshan Huibei" (existing in Tangyuan, Wang Mu), which read: "There is a meeting to worship Mount Tai in Shibei Village, Taiyi City, with a long history. Eating and drinking is virtuous, delicious, but not lacking. ..... After all the congregation are afraid of the world, good deeds may not continue. Therefore, in the fifteenth year of Daoguang, they hung a plaque on the Queen Mother ... Today, they set up a stone to build this gathering cloud forever. " In recent years, compatriots in Hong Kong and Taiwan have also continuously donated money to Taishan Wangmuchi to repair and whitewash the golden body, or carve tablets and send plaques. Of course, the reason why the Queen Mother is so worshipped by the people is not because she used to be an ugly and fierce monster such as leopard tail, tiger teeth, loose hair and A Dai Sheng, but because she has an elixir that can make people live forever.

It is very early to say that the Queen Mother of the West can make people live forever. According to Mu Chuan, the Queen Mother of the West once told Zhou that "the son will not die"; Huainanzi said, "Please give the elixir to the Queen Mother of the West". In "The Story of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty" and "The Biography of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty", it is known that this immortal medicine is "Xiantao" (flat peach). This peach is "as big as a duck's egg, round and green in shape", "peach tastes sweet and full of flavor" and "it has been fruitful for 3,000 years, and it is thin in midsummer, so it is not born". Because this kind of peach is related to the Queen Mother of the West, some people call it "Empress Dowager Peach". For example, in the book Luoyang Galand, there is a fairy peach (in Hualin Garden). Its color is red, shining from the outside to the inside, and it is frosted when it matures. Also out of Kunlun Mountain. A queen peach. "Eating the Queen Mother Xiantao can live forever, which not only affects emperors (such as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty) and people, but also affects serious scientists in ancient times. For example, in the tenth volume of Qi Yao Min Shu written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty, he said: "Fairy jade peaches will become immortals. "In addition, the people not only believe that the Queen Mother has the medicine of immortality, but also can bless, give children and eliminate disasters. For example, Han Jiao Yanshou's "Yilin" has a volume: "Ji is the ambassador of Yao, and I see the Queen Mother of the West. Ask for blessings and give me a good son. Lead the boat, although things are safe. The queen mother is good at praying, and disaster will not happen. "

Finally, talk about the relationship between the Queen Mother of the West and the Queen Mother of Mount Tai (Bi Xia Yuan Jun).

At present, the fairy medicine, blessing, giving birth, eliminating disasters and eliminating disasters of the Queen Mother of Mount Tai have the same meaning of giving birth, protecting and treating diseases. Taoist myths about the Yellow Emperor and the Seven Women are obviously related to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Taishan. Li E's Chi Yaoji contains:

"The Yellow Emperor wanted to build the Daiyue Temple, and sent seven women, and Yunguan feather clothes were burned to repair the reality. Jade girl is one of the seven girls, and her practice has achieved Tao. " Daiyue Temple is located in the west of Wang Muchi (called Yaochi or Qunyu Temple in ancient times) (Li Ju may have confused Daiyue Temple with Wang Muchi). The Yaochi in Li Jue's Biography of Yaochi undoubtedly refers to Wang Muchi, who supports the Queen Mother, so this jade girl is obviously the Queen Mother. Generally speaking, Jade Girl refers to Mount Tai Jade Girl (Mount Tai Empress), who is also one of the seven daughters of the Yellow Emperor. Such as Xie's "Deng" cloud: "One of the seven daughters of the Yellow Emperor." Wang Siren's "Taishan Ji" contains: "At the beginning of the examination, the Yellow Emperor sealed it and sent seven women to meet the real people in Kunlun. Yuan Jun is one of them. " Wen Xiangfeng's "Climbing Mount Tai" also has the same view: "To Bixia Palace. According to legend, when it was the Yellow Emperor, seven women sent Yun Guan Yu clothes, Dai Yue Shang, Kunxi Zhenren, and Jade Maiden Taoist. " It is not difficult to see from the above documents that the Queen Mother is one of the seven daughters of the Yellow Emperor, that is, the Jade Girl of Mount Tai.

Legends related to the Queen Mother

On the east side of Xiaoxi River in Longmen, Yesanpo, there is a big stone called Li Ershi. There is a stone pit two feet long, one foot high and one inch deep above the stone surface. There is a Buddha statue on the cliff fifteen feet away from Lier Stone.

Legend has it that a long time ago, the Queen Mother lived comfortably in the palace, but she was unhappy all day. Why? As the saying goes, "everyone has a hard experience", and she has been unhappy about one thing. Quite early, she gave birth to her first child, a girl, very happy. She gave birth to her second child, a girl and her mother's favorite. Seeing the third and fourth girls again, the Queen Mother will be unhappy-looking forward to her son. Who will inherit the throne without a son? In order to give birth to a son, the Queen Mother held her breath and gave birth to seven in a row, but all seven were ladies-in-waiting. It is still rare to have a son. Worried about this, she didn't think about eating and drinking, stayed up all night and sighed all day. The jade emperor is also worried about this.

One day, the Jade Emperor accompanied the Empress Dowager to visit Wan Ren Tianguan in Longmen Gorge for fun, and stood at the top of the mountain and looked down. It is really "two mountains close together, flying in the water in vain". The Jade Emperor exclaimed, "What a fairyland on earth!" Where does the Queen Mother have the heart to enjoy the scenery? She just stood aside with her mouth pursed. Knowing what was on her mind, the Jade Emperor suddenly remembered why he didn't let her go to the Tathagata to teach her how to have a son. He told the idea to the queen mother, who agreed. So I immediately set up Xiangyun and ran to the Western Heaven to find the Tathagata. He said: "I have given birth to daughters many times, and it is rare to have a son. I hope Daxian can teach me how to have children. " Tathagata thought: You have given birth to seven girls and want a son. Is something wrong? He had a brainwave: Why don't I try two tricks to let her try her luck by throwing stones, so she said to the Queen Mother, "There is a stone standing east of Tianguanxi in Longmen Tianmen 100 step. Boys and girls must throw three stones at the cave to ask questions. If all three stones are hit, there will be men and women immediately; If two pieces fall in, there will be only boys and no girls; If only one hit, then only girls will be born, not boys; If you can't hit a piece, there will be no men and women, which is' desperate'. " The queen mother wanted to have a child very much, so she went back soon after hearing it. At this time, the Tathagata pointed to the east side of Xiaoxi River in Longmen Tianguan Scenic Area of Yesanpo, and immediately highlighted a big stone weighing thousands of kilograms, and a shallow rectangular sinkhole was recessed above the stone. The Queen Mother stood on tiptoe and threw stones at the stone pit according to the Tathagata's words. The first stone missed, and the second stone didn't even touch the edge of the crater. Fortunately, the third stone fell into the sinkhole. Empress Wang, depressed, stood on the collar of Wang Er, the highest place in Longmen Tianguan, and sighed: "I can't ask my children, I can only pin it on my daughters!" " "

Later, on the fifteenth day of the first month, people from Yesanpo and newlyweds came to Li Ershi in pairs and threw three stones to beg for children, which formed a custom, and one of them has been passed down until now.

The position and explanation of the heavenly queen at home

Wang: Jade Emperor;

Empress Dowager: the older generation-the mother of the Jade Emperor;

Queen Mother: Another generation-the grandmother of the Jade Emperor;

Empress Dowager: the daughter-in-law of the mother of the Jade Emperor who fell three generations ago-the wife of the Jade Emperor.

Queen's daughter-in-law

The hometown of the western queen mother

The Queen Mother of the West lives in Shaoguang Mountain in Zhou State. The evidence is as follows: Ming Yongle painted an album of true Wuling shadows, as shown in "Pray for Sunny Children". There is a caption in the picture: Chen is out of favor, a man, who met the true martial arts legend at Shaoguang Mountain night and offered sacrifices every day. I feel that my speech is like an additional word. Asking for protection, everything meets the purpose, and the four are far away. What people do is not to love themselves, but as a reward. In the middle of the salty year, after summer and autumn, long rain hurts food. States and counties prayed for help, but there was no inducement. Many examples show that Chen provided support for Zhenwu and prayed for God's blessing. Knowing that he was in the county, he ordered Chen to go to the hall. However, Chen told him that he must personally raise a glass to welcome Chen Xijiu Zhenwu. From the accession to the throne to the state capital, seven Taoist priests were selected, and a clean Dojo was established. Slaughtering was prohibited and the sentence was reduced. Let the scholars burn incense every day, looking forward to praying for sunny Dojo. For three days in a row, Chen told all the officials who knew everything, attached a sacred word, and Meng Zhenwu made a speech. Zhou Guo is destined to give Cao Tian 60 days of rain, and if the grain production is reduced, it will not be harvested. It's been more than twenty days today, and the rain hasn't stopped. Since it is sunny today, will it serve the emperor? Objective: To reduce the number of yuan notes per day. By the fourth hour tomorrow, the foot of rain will gradually close from the north. At noon, the sky is mysterious, the plants are flourishing and are about to mature. He knows nothing about the revival and coming of Chen's spirit. It will rain heavily tomorrow morning, and then the north will be fine and the clouds will close. The state government restored Zhenwu, exhibited the Dojo for three days, prepared fragrant flower props, and sent Zhenwu back to the Chen family. The Dojo is also built in this hall. Thank you for the winter. There are no seedlings in five counties of Zhou. After the transfer, the department asked because it was tried by the court. If you continue to return to Zhou Guo, you should order the establishment of a photo and record it in the National Hall for inspection forever. In addition to the local branches and colorful silks on the wine surface, Chen was also named as Beijing camp. Zhou Guo is now Nanchong, and the evidence is as follows: Nanchong was inhabited by ancestors in the Neolithic Age. Xia Dynasty was the Guo kingdom, Yin Shang was the Ba kingdom, and Zhou was the Ba kingdom. During the Warring States Period, around 330 AD, the capital of Bazi was moved to Langzhong, Qin Huiwen and Wang destroyed Bazi in the ninth year, and Langzhong County and (now Chongqing) County were established in the eleventh year. During the Warring States Period, Qin destroyed Shu and Ba successively, and set up Shu County and Ba County respectively, and Nanchong belonged to Ba County. At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, Langzhong County established Han An (now Nanchong) and Guo Chong County. Xin Mang changed Han 'an County to Anxin County. In the fourth year of Tang Wude, Nanchong was named "Fruit State" because there was a fruit mountain rich in yellow fruit (citrus) in the west of the city, which was the beginning of the title of "Fruit City". In the Southern Song Dynasty, Li Zong Zhao Yun worked in Zhou State before he ascended the throne. After he acceded to the throne, he was promoted to the secretariat of Zhou State as usual, and was given the name Shunqing.