As one of the treasures of traditional Chinese culture, the history of the City God Temple can be traced back to ancient times. The origin of the City God TempleA sacrifice originating from ancient timesHe is one of the eight gods of the Zhou Palace。Johara refers to a high wall built by digging earth, and Kashihara refers to a moat without water. In order to protect the safety of the people in the city, the ancient man-made city built tall walls, towers, gates, moats, and moats. It is believed that everything that is closely related to people's life and production safety has a god, so the city and the god are deified as the protector of the city.
City God Temple is a temple used to worship the God of the City God, City God, also known as the City God in some places, is one of the important gods generally worshiped in the religious culture of the ancient Han nationality, most of them are played by the famous ministers and heroes who have contributed to the local people, and it is the god of the Han folk and Taoism who believes in guarding the city. The god of the city god, he is the magistrate of the underworld, and his authority is equivalent to that of the mayor of the yang realm. Therefore, the city god is related to the city and develops with the development of the city.
According to the record in the Book of Rites, the ancient Son of Heaven held a sacrificial ceremony in December, praying for good weather and good weather, among the gods worshipped, there was the god of Shuiyong, who believed that the god of Shuiyong could make the water and soil return to its original position, not to harm the world, and the god of Shuiyong was the original form of the god of Chenghuang. At the latest, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were already records of sacrifices to the god of the city god.
During the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, social turmoil, frequent wars, and people's lives were difficult. In order to maintain social order and stabilize the people's minds, the rulers vigorously respected the god of the city god and regarded the god as the guardian god and the god of administration of the city. At the same time, some folk legends and stories about the god Chenghuang also began to appear, and these legends and stories became important themes for later literary and artistic and theatrical performances.
During the Tang Dynasty, the god was officially included in the national sacrificial system. During the reign of Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court clearly stipulated that all prefectures and counties should build a city god temple to worship the city god god. During this period, the image of the city god was gradually stereotyped as a ** image wearing a crown, wearing an official uniform, and holding a magic weapon.
During the Song Dynasty, the city's economy developed rapidly, and the scale of the city continued to expand. In order to better maintain urban security and social order, the Song court paid more attention to the belief and sacrificial activities of the city god god. At the same time, with the popularization of folk beliefs and the rise of commercialization, the City God Temple gradually became an important cultural and commercial center in the city.
During the Ming Dynasty, the belief in the city god reached its peak. Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was born near the Chenghuang Temple, so he had a deep belief in the god Chenghuang. He ordered the widespread promotion of the Chenghuang faith and the integration of the construction and management of the temple into the state administrative system. During this period, the number and scale of the temple reached an unprecedented level.
During the Qing Dynasty, despite the constant social turmoil, the Chenghuang faith still maintained a strong influence. In the forty-fourth year of Kangxi, Kangxi personally sacrificed to the god of the city god and inscribed "bless the wind and rain, protect the country and the people", and in the twenty-sixth year of Qianlong, Qianlong personally sacrificed to the god of the city god and inscribed "the well-known and illustrious, bless the people", these poems have become important materials for future generations to study the belief in the city god.
In modern society, although the process of urbanization is accelerating, the City God Temple is still an indispensable part of China's cities. Many cities have protected and developed the temple as a cultural heritage and tourist attraction for the city. At the same time, with the development and change of society, the City God Temple has gradually become an important place for urban residents to pray for safety and pursue cultural identity.
In short, the history of the temple is closely related to the development of traditional Chinese culture. As one of the important parts of traditional Chinese culture, the City God Temple is not only a historical and cultural heritage, but also a cultural identity and spiritual sustenance.