China people's fairy world is very complicated, each with its own residence and coffee place. How is this designed?

The belief world of China people is very complicated, but what is certain is that the main belief is the belief in immortals. The belief in immortals is mainly constructed by Taoism. A huge immortal belief system, if there is no clear division standard and immortal order, the immortal system will be very chaotic. The fairy world in China is very orderly, so how is this order constructed?

First, primitive belief in immortals.

Immortals are the core content of Taoist belief, and the belief in immortals in China has already appeared in primitive society. For example, The Classic of Mountains and Seas records many things about the immortality of the body and the legend of the elixir of life. During the Warring States period, with the popularity of Yin and Yang, the belief in immortals became more extensive. At that time, people believed that immortals lived on sacred mountains overseas, and Qi Weiwang and Yan Zhaowang sent alchemists to the sea to look for fairy medicine. After the arrival of Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi, their enthusiasm for immortality stimulated them to send alchemists overseas to seek fairy medicine. Historians suspect that Qin Shihuang's many expeditions to the East had the purpose of seeking immortality.

Qin Shihuang's eastward tour

The earliest explanation of "immortal" was Ban Gu in Han Dynasty. He said: "Immortals are people who protect the truth of their own lives, while those who travel outside seek the truth. Talk about peace of mind, live and die together, and don't rest in your chest. " This definition mainly emphasizes the detachment of immortals from the secular world and the characteristics of immortality. Regarding the origin of the concept of immortals, Mr. Wen Yiduo pointed out in "An Examination of Immortals": "Immortals are imaginary or semi-imaginary figures produced with the gradual concretization of the concept of immortality of the soul."

Immortality of the soul is an idea that existed in primitive society. The ancients in China believed that after death, the soul could live forever. In Mozi, it is said that "when a relative dies, firewood is collected and burned, and then smoked, which means that after cremation, a person's soul can fly to heaven with the help of fire." Taoist immortal theory absorbed this concept. However, Taoism has improved this theory, thinking that besides the immortality of the soul, the human body can also live forever, that is, practicing the way of longevity, practicing or taking Dan medicine. And to achieve this isolated state is the first step to become a fairy. In addition to longevity, immortals also need to have an important feature, that is, they have rich magic changes, that is, they have mastered magic skills, such as stealth changes, imperial sword Feng Ling, making clouds for rain and so on. These fantasies actually originated from the desire of ancient people in China to conquer nature.

An alchemy furnace in film and television dramas

Second, the standard of Taoist God-making

So how are the immortals in the Taoist system constructed? Some immortals in Taoism inherited and absorbed some gods in myths and legends and processed them. For example, China people had the belief of the Queen Mother in the pre-Qin period, and Taoism evolved it into the Queen Mother; Such as the twenty-eight stars, originated from the worship of stars in ancient China; For example, the King of Mars, the King of Mercury and the Dragon King of the Four Seas all originated from the worship of primitive Vulcan and water gods.

Xitianwangmu

In addition to these ancient gods, there are many gods built by Taoism itself. The first basis for creating new immortals is "Tao". "Tao" is the core doctrine of Taoism and the basic basis for Taoism to create gods. The first god created by Taoism with "Tao" was Laozi. When Taoism deified Laozi, it said "Laozi is a Taoist". It was born before the invisible, before the beginning, in Yuan ". Immortals' cultivation is generally judged according to the standard of Tao. The deeper their Tao, the higher their coffee status in the divine world.

Another basis for Taoism to create immortals is Qi, which is a very mysterious existence. It gives birth to three elements in nothingness, and three elements are transformed into three elements. In the Six Dynasties, there was a "three-day interpretation of classics", which pointed out that "one gasification and three purification". The jade emperor in Taoism is said to have been transformed by the ancestors' spirits and Sanqing, so he became the master of the celestial world.

jade emperor

Third, the classification and rank of immortals.

Although collectively referred to as immortals, with the gradual development of the immortal system, the distinction between immortals and immortals is becoming more and more detailed. Belief in God has existed since ancient times. God is a variety of born gods. Such as the God of Heaven, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West; There are gods in the earth, such as mountains, forests and rivers; The gods of the underworld, such as the Emperor Dongyue, who is in charge of life and death, and the Ten Halls of the Ghost House.

King of hell

Compared with God, it takes practice to become immortal. There are fairies, fairies and corpse fairies. "Bao Puzi" said: "The staff sergeant raises his body and raises his air, which is called the fairy; The sergeant traveled to a famous mountain and was called a fairy; The corporal dies first and dies, which is called the corpse to solve the fairy. " This is judged according to the level of cultivation. If you practice well, you can fly directly into immortality. For the average, you can only stay on the ground, but the body is already a fairy body, that is, a fairy; The person with the worst practice can only become immortal after death, which is called "returning the corpse to the immortal".

When the concepts of gods and immortals were mixed together, people began to evaluate the level of immortals by the level of human beings. The most intuitive frame of reference for evaluating immortals is the hierarchy of people. After the immortals demarcate their ranks, they demarcate their residences, which mainly include 36 days, 10 caves, 36 caves, 72 blessed lands, 10 continents and four blasphemies.

fairyland

The most important thing is 36 days. The theory of thirty-six days was established in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and formally formed in the Tang Dynasty. When answering Tang Gaozong's question, maoshan taoist Pan Shi pointed out that there are three lines and three realms. The state of Sanqing is Jade Qing, Shangqing and Taiqing; These three realms include desire realm, color realm and achromatic realm. The bottom is the realm of desire, which is divided into six days; In the middle is the color world, which has eighteen days; The above is colorless and lasts for four days; Above the three realms, there are four kinds of people and four kinds of days. * * * 32 days, after 32 days, Sanqing will be one day, and there will be another * * * 36 days. Of course, the highest plough is Luo Tian, and the gods can't touch it. In addition to thirty-six days, there are many immortals living in the abode of fairies and immortals, which are called caves and blessed lands, including ten caves, thirty-six caves and seventy-two blessed lands.

An imaginary paradise

Fourthly, the construction process of Taoist immortal pedigree.

The belief of "Sanqing fairyland" originated from Taoist belief, that is, Sanqing fairyland composed of Yuqing, Shangqing and Taiqing. The three gods, Tianbao, Lingbao and Shenbao, originated from the belief in the territory of Sanqing and ruled the territory of Sanqing respectively. Sanqing realm, Sanbao God and the legendary gods of Taoism together constitute the highest god of Taoism-Sanqing.

Sanqing

Laozi is the earliest supreme god in Taoism-Taishang Laojun. In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, yuanshi county Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun were built respectively. Especially the Buddha of the Yuan Dynasty came from behind. Tao Hongjing in the Southern Dynasties recorded this title and regarded it as the highest god of Taoism. He thinks that it is the same as the universe, robbing people, and the old gentleman in Taishang has become his disciple. It was not until the late Tang Dynasty that the complete Sanqing statement appeared, and Sanqing Temple began to appear in temples.

The most distinguished Lao Wang, Lao Zi, was awarded by Taoism/Taoism]

The Song Dynasty continued to construct the immortal pedigree, the most prominent of which was the "Four Imperial". The Four Emperors were the four heavenly emperors who dominated everything in the world after the Sanqing period, namely the Jade Emperor, who was responsible for directing the gods in heaven. Emperor Wei Zi was in charge of the sun, the moon, the stars and the climate of the four seasons. Emperor Shanggong, in charge of the North and South poles and the three talents of heaven and earth; The emperor is in charge of the creation of Yin and Yang and the mountains and rivers on the earth.

The establishment of Taoist immortal pedigree in Song Dynasty is closely related to the active participation of the rulers in Song Dynasty. On the one hand, Taoism is spreading more and more widely among the people, and a systematic Taoist structure is needed to satisfy the religious psychology of the people; On the other hand, the emperors in Song Dynasty believed in Taoism, especially Zhenzong and Hui Zong, who were addicted to Taoism. For example, the title of "Jade Emperor" was added by Song Zhenzong, and Zhenzong called it "Li Yu, the symbol of Tai Shang Huang Tian Kai" when offering sacrifices to the Jade Emperor. True Sect also ordered Prime Minister Wang Qinruo to arrange Taoist ceremonies and ordered Taoist Lin to "arrange the three realms", so the original scattered immortals were compiled into the immortal system.