Who is Chenghuang? Between the city god and the land father-in-law, who is more majestic?
The term "city" literally refers to the gathering of people to protect the land under their feet. In traditional Chinese culture, there is the so-called "city god", which is meant to surround the people of an area and defend the land of their hometown. "God" is a ditch built by people in ancient times to defend against foreign invasion. When the word "Chenghuang" is combined, it means that the gate of the city is closed and impregnable, and it can resist foreign invasion. In the human world, there are many ** who work in the city and shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the peace of the city, but in the underworld, the same responsibility is naturally the city god or city god we are familiar with. So, are the city gods all over the place exactly the same? Which way is the city god sacred? Can he be as invincible as the father-in-law of the land and protect us? Let's continue to explore the mysteries of the City God with a lot of questions!
After all this time, it's finally time to get to the point – what exactly is a Chenghuang? We all know that in ancient times, wars were frequent, and in order to protect their homeland, the people threw themselves into the long history of China, and were fortunate to start their own "Jin Ge Iron Horse Years". In addition to organizing defenses with all their might, there is also a popular way to go to the temple to light incense and candles and pray for the blessings of the temple. If you can successfully resist the strong enemy, the incense at the temple will become more and more vigorous. However, it is worth noting that, unlike the common temple deities, the gods in the temple are not limited to a specific deity, but have a lot of souls with their own unique characteristics. According to historical records, the Han Dynasty may be the earliest age of the appearance of the Chenghuang Temple.
However, the question arises: although all the gods are derived from the human world, why do we see so many City God in the City God Temple? The City God in different regions is like a star in the sky, which is different, and not every place can see the figure of the City God Temple, why does this phenomenon happen? The answer is in front of you, the City God Temple is not all over Liuhe, protecting the land of the Eight Desolations, and can only be established in the administrative level above the county. This inevitably makes people wonder, why only by reaching such a scale can we have a City God Temple? It turns out that this implies the ancient Chinese political system, that is, the city can only be controlled from the county level and above, and the common people can only live and work here in peace and contentment. Therefore, the official status of the City God Temple has also gradually increased with the promotion of administrative positions at all levels in Fuzhou County. At the same time, the status of the city god offered in the temple has also been dispersed to various regions, each with its own characteristics. After thousands of years of wind and rain, the title of the city god is also changing, and the rank of the city god has also changed due to the different times when the city god temple was established in various dynasties and generations. The titles of each subordinate official also changed, for example, during the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, the titles of the respected city gods were different.
So, you may ask, every city god is made up of deceased people, right? As you might expect, it does. These deceased people or those local parents who have made outstanding achievements and are deeply loved by the people, such as the city god of the city god temple at the foot of Wolong Mountain in the southwest of Shaoxing City, named Pang Yu, an outstanding general in the early Tang Dynasty, who served as the governor of Yuezhou. You may still remember the Wu king Qian Biao who shot the tide, he once wrote a "Shaoxing City God Temple Inscription" to commemorate Pang Yu; Or those local heroes who are famous in history for their integrity and bravery, such as the city god of the city god temple in Jieyang City, who was a brave man in the Song Dynasty, and became a city god when his soul returned to his hometown. In addition, such as the famous Danish Manneken Boy, in a sense, is also the city god of the region!
Dear readers, the City God Temple is hard to find in China, so where can we see the traces of the City God Temple? It is true that not every place can find the figure of the City God Temple, after all, only the administrative units above the county level can form a vast city. The solemn place of the City God Temple is often a symbol of solemnity and majesty. In the administrative divisions below the county seat, because the city cannot be formed, the city god temple is naturally nowhere to be found. Even so, it does not prevent us from finding the solemn figure of the City God Temple in the town, let us pray for them, and thank them for bringing stability and prosperity to their hometown.
When it comes to the relationship between the city god and the world, what is shocking is that there is a gold and stone inscription in Jinyun County, which is the authentic handwriting of Li Yangbing, the county commander during the Tang Dynasty! Everyone, please see, how shocking is the breath of skinny and close to Li Si's seal calligraphy! The inscription not only warns the city god to hurry up and rain, otherwise it will burn down his temple and destroy his old nest. The wonderful thing is that only five days later, the auspicious rain descended from the sky, so this inscription soaked in joy and sorrow was recorded. However, on this basis, in comparison, no matter which immortal, I am afraid that it cannot compare with the status of the land father-in-law in our hearts. So which god has more influence, the land lord or the city god?
Which god is taller, the land lord or the city god?
The father-in-law of the land, everyone may know the image of the little old man in "Journey to the West". In fact, the land god is one of the oldest gods in our country. According to legend, he is a descendant of the Gonggong clan, a descendant of Emperor Yan. When the Gonggong clan ruled all over the world in Kyushu, one of its descendants had the authority to control the land with hard work, and became the land father-in-law as we later knew it. There is a character "she" in Chinese characters, and its original meaning is the crops that stretch on the land, that is, the land god we worship. It is precisely because of the reverence for the land gods that the meaning of "she" has gradually evolved into a sacrifice, such as the widely spread "shehuo". It shows the historical traces of our land-based agglomeration and formation of villages, so "she" is often used to refer to a family-like settlement, and finally the word "society" is now born.
For those of us who are dominated by agricultural civilization, how can there be a god who feels closer and more dependent than the father-in-law of the land? As a result, shrines to the fathers of the land are almost everywhere. Unlike the Chenghuang Lord, who only has a mansion in a county-level institution, the Land Temple can be found everywhere in the countryside. Even a small village often has a small shrine and even a few large stones built to worship the deity, which is also a land temple. As long as we pray sincerely in front of this small shrine, the land father will surely bless the wind and rain and help others. For us, the father-in-law of the land is like an elderly elder in the family, always silently accompanying us.
Strictly speaking, the Father of Heaven and Earth is undoubtedly much more powerful, because the Father of the Land has only one god, he is a real god, and he controls all the land in the world; However, there are hundreds or even thousands of gods in the city gods, and the city gods of each county, every state, and every prefecture have their own characteristics. However, although the land lord and the city god are not subordinate to the hierarchy, they represent different realms and perform their own duties, and together they protect the land and the good people.
The difference between the Temple and the Wonderland Temple is that for non-local residents, they usually do not easily set foot in the Temple to pay respects. According to the rules of ancient times, after meeting with local bureaucrats and squires, the newly appointed local ** would first come to the Chenghuang Temple to worship, hoping to echo the Chenghuang and work together to defend the country and help the needy. Although the Land Temple can still be seen everywhere in today's rural scene, it is invisible and invisible, but it has been inherited for a long time, protecting and caring for this land and sheltering the broad masses of people. Whether it is the city god or the land, they all carry the most simple prayers from the heart: hope to be able to have smooth weather, peace and prosperity of the people, happiness and health.