An auspicious god worshipped by Chinese people.It can make believers have many happy children.It has a very early origin. It is said that there were dwarfs in Daozhou in the Tang Dynasty and they were sent to the imperial court as playthings over the years.Tang DezongWhen Yang Cheng, the governor of Daozhou, took office, he abolished this practice and refused the emperor's request to select dwarfs.The local people felt their kindness and worshipped them as God of Happiness.In the Song Dynasty, people generally worshipped. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Yangcheng was also said to be Yang Cheng, the man of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.In the future, there will be more heresy, either respecting the heavenly officials as the god of blessing, or respecting Zhang Xian as the god of blessing, who is carrying a baby.Zhang Xian is known as "Immortal Zhang" because he can not only send children but also bless them.[1]
The three stars of "Fu", "Lu" and "Shou" originated from the ancient worship of stars.According to their own wishes, the ancients endowed them with extraordinary divinity and unique personality charm.The lucky star, Jupiter, is the main blessing.
Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the reputation of the Blessing Heavenly Officer has become higher and higher, gradually replacing the old god Nianxing and the blessing god Yangcheng as the new blessing star.Blessing is the duty of heavenly officer.According to the Three Officials Light Instrument, "the true capital of Yuanyang, the leader of Ziwei Palace, is the great saint of nature, who can bless the heavenly officials, control the heaven, use ghosts and gods, and keep the heaven alive".[3]
In 1986, An Yunwu played Fuxing in Journey to the West
Historical evolution
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Fuxing originated from the ancestors' worship of Jupiter.Since the Western Han Dynasty, he has been a blessing star officer for the harvest - Suixing.However, in the Tang Dynasty, the sinister side of Taisui God was over publicized, which greatly weakened the blessing meaning of Suixing. People turned to place their desire to accept blessings and welcome good fortune on a good official in the world, Yangcheng, who believed that he was a lucky star coming down to save the suffering.Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties,Taoist theologyThe Tianguan in the middle came from behind and eventually became the commonly recognized blessing Tianguan - Fuxing.
Star worship
Jupiter isEight planets in the solar systemThe ancients called it "Suixing" or "Fuxing".There are records about Jupiter in the silk book Five Stars Occupy unearthed from the Han Tomb at Mawangdui more than 2000 years ago.Since the Western Han Dynasty, people have regarded Jupiter as a blessing star.
The ancients observed that during the 12 year cycle of Jupiter's activity, the climate also showedPeriodic change。Climate is crucial to agricultural production.Therefore, in the Historical Records, Hanshu and other historical books, it is clearly recorded that Suixing is a star official in charge of agriculture, and its position is extremely lofty.
According to the Records of the Historian, the Book of Heavenly Officials, more than 2000 years ago in the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were specially built temples to worship the stars, and this sacrificial system lasted until the late Qing Dynasty. Next to the Xiannong Altar in the south of the Forbidden City, there was a hall to worship the stars. Every autumn, the emperor led civil and military officials to hold a grand ceremony here to pray for the stars to bless the world,Bless the grain harvest.Food is the most important thing for people. Harvest is of course a blessing, so Suixing was later given the title of blessing star.[4]
Good luck and bad luck
The oldest extant portrait of a star official, The Five Stars and Twenty Eight Constellations, was drawn 1300 years ago in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty.In the picture, five stars of gold, wood, water, fire and earth and 28 star gods are depicted.Fuxing, who ranks first among the stars, looks like a monster: his head is like a tiger, his eyes are wide open, and he sits cross knee in a simple gown, which is also like a scholar.His transportation tool was a huge wild boar.
Liang Lingzan, the author of this portrait, is a famous figure in the history of ancient Chinese astronomical technology. He is a famous astronomic instrument manufacturer in the Middle Tang Dynasty, and also a figure painter. What he depicts must be the image of a star official recognized by most people at that time.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Suixing God had both good luck and bad luck.If you worship piously, you will be blessed; if you offend lightly, you will suffer disaster.However, as the dangerous side of Taisui God became more and more bizarre in folk stories, people forgot the original status of blessing star officer of Nian Xing.When they were afraid, they kept away from him. From then on, the lucky star parted ways with this awesome old star, and people turned to look for other idols who could place their blessings and good luck.[4]
Image transfer
During the Dezong period of the middle Tang Dynasty, that is, around 790 AD.In Daozhou, Hunan Province, a young official took office.This official is the new governor of Daozhou, named Yangcheng.According to the New Book of Tang · Biography of Yangcheng, he was a Jinshi in the time of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty. His original official position was to advise a doctor, and he was honest and upright.He was demoted to governor of Daozhou due to impeachment of power traitors.The first thing he did after taking office was to remove and depose a wicked custom - paying tribute to gnomes.
In feudal society, as usual, local special products were paid to the emperor every year, which was called Ren Tugong.The local specialty of Daozhou is different - short people are sent to the palace as tribute to be eunuchs.
The arrival of Yangcheng, the new governor of Daozhou, brought hope to the people.Yangcheng proposed for the first time to cancel the tradition of paying tribute to dwarfs, and risked his life to write to the emperor of the current dynasty, refusing to pay tribute.He said: First of all, there was no stipulation in the ancient laws and regulations that subordinates must pay tribute to the dwarf slaves.In addition, even if there are short people in Daozhou, they are just short people, not short slaves.
There are not so many dwarfs in Daozhou.In order to appease the emperor, or under the influence of obscenity, successive provincial governors put well behaved children in pottery jars, with only their heads exposed, and special personnel provided food. They used this cruel method to create deformed dwarfs to pay tribute to meet the absurd needs of the emperor.
This true story was later written by Bai Juyi, a great poet, in his poem "The People of Daozhou": "The people who live in the soil and water of Daozhou are only dwarf people without slaves.".
Yangcheng's solemn statement might have made the emperor's conscience known at that time, or he was afraid of the opposition from the government and the people, and the tribute to the Dwarf people would not end later.
People were grateful to the parents who saved the people, so they built temples to worship them.And because Yangcheng reunited the mother and son of the people in Daozhou and regained family happiness, he was worshipped as the God of Happiness. Yangcheng Temple is also called the Temple of God of Happiness.500 years later, Taoist works of the Yuan Dynasty《Collection of Three Cults》Yang Cheng, the god of fortune, is completely a kind old man, very close to the appearance of a lucky star.[4]
Taoist theology
Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the reputation of the Blessing Heavenly Officer has become higher and higher, gradually replacing the old god Nianxing and the blessing god Yangcheng as the new blessing star.
The belief in the three officials promoted by Taoism has been spreading far and wide. The heavenly officials bestow good fortune, the local officials forgive evil, and the water officials dispel disaster. Especially, the heavenly officials' blessing is the most popular. Even the son of heaven believes in the heavenly officials' blessing.Taoism reshapes the image of Tianguan and deeply integrates the belief of three officials into the daily life of ordinary people in a special way, which is called festivals.
Taoist works《General Guide to Immortals of Past Dynasties》The myth of the birth of heaven, earth and water is linked with three important folk festivals.It is said in the book that at the beginning, the Heavenly God absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, and became the Holy Body of Spiritual Embryo in his body.On the 15th day of the first lunar month, Emperor Yao was born.On July 15, Emperor Shun was born.On October 15, the Great Yu Emperor was born.Their three birthdays will become three important folk festivals, namely, Shangyuan Festival, Zhongyuan Festival and Xiayuan Festival.In particular, the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of Tianguan's birthday, is one of the most influential folk festivals.
In the happy atmosphere of the festival, the blessed Tianguan finally came down to earth.In the past, those who sat high in the temple and accepted the emperor's devout worship of the majestic heavenly officials became the lucky stars with rich and gorgeous costumes and pleasant faces, and earnestly sent good luck and blessings to the audience.[4]
