Confucian immortals

Zhang Taiyan thinks that there are three branches of Confucianism in The Theory of National Heritage, namely, Guan, Lei, Private and finally Confucianism. Confucianism, warlock also. (Shuo Wen). ) The name of Confucianism was built out of necessity. If necessary, the clouds are above the sky, and Confucianism knows astronomical drought. Confucianism refers to a profession that makes a living from religion, and is responsible for various religious ceremonies such as mourning and offering sacrifices to gods. He said: "Confucianism is a teacher who asks for rain, so it has evolved into a warlock." Confucianism was originally a priest of Yin Shang Dynasty, and it was a Confucian (non-Confucian) priest. Haotian God created and educated all people. Since the pre-Qin period, Confucianism has formed a hierarchy similar to human bureaucracy. Generally speaking, the rank and title of each god are stipulated by Confucianism and included in the national sacrifice code. Usually, according to the regulations, they enjoy the sacrifice of one side, just like the fiefs and food cities of governors; At the time of the big sacrifice, it was shared by grades and enshrined in the Temple of Heaven. Those who don't enter the ceremony are called "obscenity". "Sacrifice to Heaven, God, Country, Sleeping Temple, Mountain Forest and Famous Sichuan". The stars in the sky and the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas on the earth are all Confucian gods in principle. Various natural phenomena, such as wind, rain, thunder and electricity, are also Confucian gods. Animals and plants that are beneficial to people or closely related to people's lives can also become Confucian gods. Various famous figures can also be regarded as the gods of Confucianism. But when they become gods, they must be recognized by the state and included in the sacrificial ceremony. Otherwise, it is considered "immoral", that is, sacrifice beyond the prescribed limits. This kind of sacrifice is opposed by Confucianism, which believes that it will not bring happiness: "Sacrificing something other than it is called lewdness. There is no blessing in prostitution. " Confucianism worships one god and many gods, and respecting immortals is the embodiment of benevolence, righteousness and holiness.

The so-called sacrifice, that is to say, sacrifice to those gods who should not sacrifice themselves. According to the Confucian sacrificial system, only the son of heaven can worship heaven, the world's famous mountains and rivers and all gods. Governors can't worship heaven, but only the famous mountains and rivers in their own territory. Ordinary people, there are even fewer public gods who can sacrifice. Except for the kitchen god, they can almost only worship their ancestors. Therefore, these gods in Taoism are worshipped by ordinary people. A few senior gods in Taoism come from Confucianism, but more come from folk myths and beliefs. Gods are more noble than land gods and human gods, but in Taoism, Sanqing's position is higher than that of the Jade Emperor. The corresponding relationship between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism is as follows: Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Heaven, Heaven, Jade, Five Emperors (East), Yang Qingling, Old Emperor, Five Emperors (South), Red Slave, Late Emperor, Five Emperors (Middle), Yellow Emperor with Yuanling as the hub, veteran of the Yellow Emperor Army, Five Emperors (West) and Bai Emperor. Hei Di Guang Zhi Wuji Lingxuan Laos Hei Di Polaris Zhongtian Weizi North Pole Emperor Qiyao Day, Month, Lunar New Year, Fluorescent Star, Zhenxing Star, Taibai Star, Chen Xing Wuxing Qiyao Star Jun Cihui Zhu Ri Tianzun, Wonderful Fruit, Month, Tianzun, Twelve Days, Four Values, Meritorious, Twenty-eight Nights, Twenty-eight Nights, Four Nights, Four Spirits, Twenty-eight Nights, Storm, Lightning.

In Confucian classics, another title equal to heaven is God, or proclaimed emperor, Emperor of Heaven. The name of the Emperor of Heaven comes from Zhao Gao Shangshu: "The Emperor of Heaven changed Yuan Zi, and the life of Yin Daguo." "The Analects of Confucius Yao Yue": "Dare to sue the Empress Dowager". Yao Dian in Shangshu: "Four categories belong to gods, only six grids, mountains and rivers, all over the gods." The ancient gods in China were the ancestors of China people at that time. The best of them are Huangdi and Yan Di. The so-called "descendants of the Yellow Emperor" first means that the son of heaven's family is descended from the Yellow Emperor or Yan Emperor, and later became the name of the ancestors of ordinary people in China. That is to say, before the Qin and Han Dynasties, China ancient people believed in God, but their ancestors.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, according to Zhou Li, the name of the supremacy of national unity was officially defined as "God". The meaning of loving God is based on Confucian Shi Mao's explanation of "idle days" in The Book of Songs. He believes that loving heaven means "great vitality" and that God means that heaven rules the world like a monarch. According to Kaibao thomas lee, it is full of vitality, so it is called Haotian. According to farsightedness, it is called heaven. People respect nothing more than the emperor, which is entrusted to the sky, so it is called God.

In the Song Dynasty, Cheng Yi, a Confucian, made a further explanation of the gods, thinking that the natural heaven with strong vitality was the body of the gods; God is a principle existing in vitality, which is inseparable from vitality and dominates vitality. So, in a sense, heaven, or God, is reason. This view of God was recognized by Confucian Zhu and became the orthodox explanation of the view of God in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. "Heaven, reason also; God, wonderful things and people who speak for them; The emperor is a famous master. " [23] Confucianism believes that God appointed a monarch and a teacher to educate and govern God's people, which is the representative of God. "Heaven sent down the people to be your teacher, but said that he helped God and spoiled all sides." "God, subtle and mysterious, unmeasurable, so you can know the situation of ghosts and gods, similar to heaven and earth. Knowing everything around, knowing happiness in life, peace on the ground, kindness in heart, covering the whole world, and winding everything day and night are all God's functions. The author of Yi, because of the god of nature, wants saints to use this shinto to be known to the world. Although it is the work of God, it is also the work of saints. " "Shinto subtle, become unexpected. If one can predict the weakness of the governor, he can live in harmony with Shinto. Generally speaking, ............................................................................................................................................................ If you know several gods, you will be the master of the world. Why don't you know many people? " [24] "Saint Shinto is based on observing the sky, and one yin and one yang is called, and the Tao is called yin and yang. God and heaven are heaven because heaven can't say anything, and everything can be born at four seasons. Sages hang down their clothes to rule the world, cover all the dry Kun, and saints are gods. " "Yin and Yang nurture each other, and the spirit is different. Drums thunder, moisten things silently, spring and summer, autumn and winter. The establishment of moral punishment is based on Shinto. The sage leads the gods between heaven and earth. " [25]

The king is the eldest son of the gods. His power was given by God, and he ruled the world according to God's will, so he was called the son of heaven. The king (emperor) is the highest authority of the integration of politics and religion, monopolizing the power of the secular and spiritual world. The final interpretation right of Confucian teachings is always in the hands of the emperor-the bureaucrats who passed the imperial examination.

A saint is the messenger of God. After the death of Confucius, according to the traditional principle of sacrifice, he can enjoy the sacrifices of his descendants and students in his hometown, but he is not a national god. At the beginning of Han Dynasty, Liu Bang passed by Confucius' hometown and once offered a sacrifice to Confucius. But that's just a personal act, and it's the worship of sages or sages by future generations. In the mid-Western Han Dynasty, natural disasters occurred frequently and the society was in turmoil. Confucian belle believes that this is because the sacrifice to Confucius was not properly arranged, so God was angry. At that time, the state power accepted Mei Fu's proposal and made Confucius a descendant of Shang Tang, inheriting the sacrifice of the former king. It was not until the Eastern Han Dynasty that Confucius was officially regarded as the public god of the country, and his status was equal to that of the national god. During the Tang Dynasty, every county was ordered to build temples to worship Confucius. There are two big sacrifices in spring and autumn every year, and two small sacrifices on the first and fifteenth day of each month. At first, the big festival was presided over by academic officials, and later by local officials. After the Tang Dynasty, the status of Confucius was constantly improved, and the titles of Confucius were also increasing. In the Qing dynasty, Confucius' sacrifice once became a "great sacrifice" at the same level as God and the national ancestor God. Confucius did not expect this before his death, just as Lao Tzu was regarded as the leader of Taoism and was not expected by Lao Tzu.

After Confucius became the national public god, the religious status of Confucianism also improved accordingly. In the Tang Dynasty, Confucius was set up a system of "worshipping from the sacrifice", that is, accompanying him to enjoy the sacrifice. At the earliest, 22 Confucian scholars who had made great contributions to the annotation of Confucian classics were selected to accompany Confucius, and later they were extended to all Confucius' disciples and famous Confucian scholars in past dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, the sacrificial system was gradually improved. There are four pairs of the tallest, which are called "four pairs". They are Yan Hui, Zeng Shen, Zi Si and Monk. Followed by the "Ten Philosophers", the ten outstanding disciples of Confucius. "De: Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ran Boniu, Zhong Gong. Word: Kill me, Zi Gong. Politics: You Ran, Lu Ji. Literature: Ziyou, Xia Zi. " Once again, it is a "sage", offering sacrifices to those disciples who have personally accepted the teachings of Confucius. Finally, the "pre-Confucians" offered sacrifices to the best Confucians after Confucius' disciples. Later Confucian scholars also regarded it as the highest honor to enter the Confucius Temple after death and become a former Confucian. All the gods of Confucianism have formed a hierarchical system similar to the world bureaucracy, headed by God. Generally speaking, the rank and title of each god are stipulated by Confucianism and included in the national sacrifice code. Usually, according to the regulations, they enjoy a sacrifice, just as princes have fiefs and food cities; At the big sacrifice, the Temple of Heaven is sacrificed in grades. Those who don't enter the ceremony are called "obscenity".

"Sacrifice to Heaven, God, Country, Sleeping Temple, Mountain Forest and Famous Sichuan". The stars in the sky and the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas on the earth are all Confucian gods in principle. Various natural phenomena, such as wind, rain, thunder and electricity, are also Confucian gods. Animals and plants that are beneficial to people or closely related to people's lives can also become Confucian gods. Various famous figures can also be regarded as the gods of Confucianism. But when they become gods, they must be recognized by the state and included in the sacrificial ceremony. Otherwise, it is considered "immoral", that is, sacrifice beyond the prescribed limits. This kind of sacrifice is opposed by Confucianism, which believes that it will not bring happiness: "Sacrificing something other than it is called lewdness. There is no blessing in prostitution. " The so-called "no sacrifice" is to sacrifice the gods who should not sacrifice themselves. According to the Confucian sacrificial system, only the son of heaven can worship heaven, the world's famous mountains and rivers and all gods. Governors can't worship heaven, but only the famous mountains and rivers in their own territory. Ordinary people, there are even fewer public gods who can sacrifice. Except for the kitchen god, they can almost only worship their ancestors. Confucius is the national god, but according to the regulations, sacrifices can only be made by Confucianism. Officials can offer sacrifices to Confucius, because in countries that only respect Confucianism, officials are generally Confucian. "All scholars who start to stand up should be freed from the vision of saints and teachers, and also make sacrifices to teachers. When the son of heaven returns from the war, he will present a prisoner gift to his former teacher to announce his good news. "

Historically, Confucian countries generally have three attitudes towards the rising worship of gods among the people.

One is to "woo" them and nationalize them. Among them, the most famous are Huang Cheng, Guan Di, Zitong God (Wenchang) and Mazu.

The second is the prohibition of alcohol. Confucian scholars, such as Cao Cao and Di, have always been state officials. They are forbidden to sacrifice to gods, tear down temples and destroy statues, which they think are harmful to social stability and people's health.

Third, there is no way. When the country encounters great disasters, we even appoint state officials to pray for these gods.