First, the symbol of Guan Yu The reason why so many people believe in Guan Yu is because he first appeared in the history of the Three Kingdoms and was called "the general of the Five Tigers" with Guan Yu, Liu Bei and others.
Various folk arts and statues appear in people's lives. Guan Gong can be said to have influenced people's lives since ancient times. The reason why so many people believe in him is that Guan Gong represents all kinds of positive and beautiful wishes.
1 The representative of a brother is loyal and brave.
Guan Yu's oath in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms "not to be born on the same day in the same year, but to die on the same day in the same month in the same year" has influenced the brotherhood from generation to generation and has become a legendary story. Numerous painters have also shown their unique perspectives on Guan Yu through their own pens.
Guan Gong is a representative of loyalty and courage. Since Guan Gong was sworn in to Liu Bei's Taoyuan, his loyalty, dedication to Liu Bei's family and many people's pursuit of his team have become his typical images. Guan Gong pays most attention to benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith, which is also the reason why the ancient team with the nature of "underworld" became sworn to him.
"Guan Gong doesn't blink, but blinks and kills." Because Guan Gong's image is characterized by a beautiful beard, tiger eyebrows and phoenix eyes, every address of Guan Gong in the world is different. People pinned their good wishes on Guan Gong, which became their initial way of belief, and Guan Gong's beliefs and customs became an intangible cultural heritage for more than 2,000 years.
Guan Yu has also become something that must be worshipped, and it also symbolizes that we will face difficulties together in the future. The number of Guan Gong temples and Guan Gong statues in past dynasties is the largest, far exceeding that of Confucius Temple in Wen Sheng. It is also believed that inviting Guan Yu and offering sacrifices to Guan Yu are the most effective places to express their wishes, so Guan Yu was also named "warrior sage" by later generations.
Guan Gong in Folk Art
Influenced by China's Romance of the Three Kingdoms and four classical novels, Guan Gong's image has always influenced the world, and Guan Gong's heroic story has also been circulated among the people. The image of Guan Yu has long been fixed in people's minds, and the painter who painted Guan Yu has become a famous figure.
Guan Gong's works have also been collected by countless discerning collectors. It is precisely because of this phenomenon that these painters have also become "painters with a public aura", and Guan Gong has also been portrayed by painters of all ages.
In folk art, the image of Guan Gong has also been brought into play, and Guan Gong has become a typical image of exorcism in towns and houses. Some Guan Gong is for making money, some for making money, and some for keeping people safe. Among them, Shangguan Caixia became the most typical representative.
Folk painters shaped the image of Guan Gong into the imagination of the God of Wealth. In the past, people believed in literati, also known as "literary gods." Since Guan Yu was deified, people have regarded Guan Yu as "Wu Caishen". Because "Guan" and "Guan" are homophonic, sometimes representing the meaning of prosperous official career, so the image of "Guan" has always existed among the people.
Since ancient times, painters have painted Guan Gong not only for an artistic image, but also for the traditional virtue of loyalty and righteousness of the Chinese nation and the dedication to sacrifice one's life for righteousness.
From Portrait to Reading Picture to Fan Ceng's Guan Jun Picture, people all show their recognition of this cultural phenomenon, and ancient painters constantly describe Guan Gong for this phenomenon.
Second, the people offered sacrifices, and the emperor's love for Guan Yu constantly appeared in people's lives. His story is also sung by the world. People believe in Guan Yu because people believe that Guan Yu can bring them good luck. Guan Yu also appeared in religion, and Guan Yu was pushed to the highest peak of the altar for a time.
Because Guan Gong was originally a real historical figure, through the story of Guan Gong's appearance, he also successfully became the common belief of Confucianism and Taoism and his own belief.
The image of Guan Gong keeps appearing in temples.
Guan Gong is not a believer in Buddhism, and he has no lifelong pity, but he is regarded by Buddhists as the God of Galand. Guan Gong's position is also related to Tiantai Sect, one of the eight Buddhism sects in China.
According to legend, when the master of Tiantai Sect entered Yuquan Mountain, he heard a tragic cry in his dream, "Give me back my head, give me back my head." It turned out that Guan Yu's head was cut off by others, and he went on the rampage, so he looked for his own head everywhere, so the master told him about Buddhism, which made Guan Yu regret it and became a Buddhist disciple.
Because of knowing this master, it is easy to enter Buddhism. From then on, this respected hero officially entered the Buddhist temple and became one of the gods, also known as Galand Bodhisattva.
Later, there were temples of Guan Gong of different sizes in temples all over the country. Because Guan Gong's head was buried in Luoyang, Luoyang became the seat of Guan Gong's Yuan God, and the gods of Guan Gong from all over the country would also come to Luoyang to open their lights.
As Guan Gong in the temple became a representative of Buddhism, many painters also believed in Buddhism and included Guan Gong's image in it. With the passage of time, Guan Gong has become an image that painters must draw, because Guan Gong is a hero that people believe in. After becoming a Buddhist disciple, painters even imitated them.
Many emperors loved Guan Gong.
Painters of past dynasties painted Guan Gong largely because of the emperor, and the emperor believed in Guan Gong partly because of religion. Song Huizong was a Taoist emperor. At that time, the portrait of "King Wu 'an" unearthed in Inner Mongolia, because of its exquisite shape and powerful image, made Song Huizong like this painting.
Therefore, Guan Yu's position in the royal family has become a trend. Guan Sheng's image is recorded in Ming History, and his worship of Guan Gong is no less than that of the people. In the eyes of the emperor, the image of Guan Yu must be placed among many gods who protect the ocean, the country and the people.
Influenced by the emperor, Guan Gong's statue has also become an idol believed and worshipped by border guards. During the period of Cixi, a mausoleum was built for Guan Gong, which was no less than the imperial tomb. Later, this place was called the burial place of Guan Gong's head by the world. Guangxu and Cixi also inscribed a plaque for the tomb, "Bright Moon" and "Brilliant Liuhe, Powerful and Tall", which once again raised the level of Guan Gong.
Influenced by the royal family, painters also kept painting Guan Gong to achieve the effect of publicity. In the team of painters, there is also a "Feng". Guan Gong in this period also had bright lines and vivid shapes, which once reached the peak of Guan Gong's painting.
Third, the image of Guan Yu on paper has always remained in people's minds. Drama is older than Guan Gong's culture. As a form of performance, Guan Gong culture is not only the unique content of Chinese drama culture, but also enriches the connotation of China traditional culture and promotes the progress of China traditional culture.
1. Guan Gong in traditional Chinese opera
As an important manifestation of Guan Gong, drama not only shows Guan Gong's image, but also depicts Guan Gong's moral quality and cultural concept, among which Guan Hanqing's Guan Yi Dao Hui is the most prominent.
Through vivid description, the spiritual world and the image created by drama are fully displayed, and many painting writers have a deeper understanding of Master Guan under the influence of drama.
Guan Gong's life is mainly embodied in the word "loyalty". Guan Gong's honesty and loyalty made many businessmen take advantage of this to build temples in various places and hold activities related to Guan Gong in these places.
Guan's plays are also widely sung by local people. Guan Gong's image makes the play express incisively and vividly. He is no longer a person with time and space span, as if he lives beside people.
Guan Gong's drama culture is full of China's drama, and Guan Gong's drama has also become an important part of China's traditional drama culture. We can find that China's paintings about Guan Gong all have some dramatic colors. Judging from the painting content, they all re-portray the drama. Many painters draw nutrition from the drama and give their paintings a soul.
2. The depiction of Guan Gong in works of art.
As the most basic mode of communication, books also played a great role in Guan Yu's communication. Compared with the strong worship of religion and the emperor, literary works seem to be the most successful and powerful way to shape Guan Yu.
It took Chen Shou nearly ten years to complete The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Later, in the Ming Dynasty, Luo Guanzhong adapted the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms based on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which made Guan Gong's image leap from the page. The story of The Romance of The Three Kingdoms was later passed down from mouth to mouth, and was adapted by many writers in the Jin Dynasty, which played a great role in spreading the image of Guan Gong.
These literary works provide a theoretical basis for painters. Many paintings about Guan Gong draw nutrition from words, thus drawing works full of Guan Gong's temperament. Only in this way can the works be passed down by countless people who believe in Guan Gong religion. Now Guan Yu has become a kind of spirit, which has been integrated into all walks of life.
Conclusion Guan Gong culture, drama, religion and painting are interrelated and influenced each other. The inheritance and development of Guan Gong's culture is actually the yearning and development of the loyalty spirit of the Chinese nation. Today, where there are China people, there is a public image, and Guan Gong culture has long been integrated into the traditional culture of China. Guan Gong also carries people's yearning for beautiful things, and Guan Gong will continue to influence people's lives in the future.