The origin of the custom of "worshipping the elderly" in Chaoshan area, please ask God for help.

Chaoshan area, a place of Chu in ancient times, is a typical marine cultural area in China, with its back to Wuling and facing the South China Sea. Compared with people in mountainous areas and grasslands, people here are well-informed, have a better understanding of the complexity of the objective world and have more questions, thus forming the tradition of "believing in ghosts and being good at shrines" of Chu people. Qu Yuan, a famous Chu poet in ancient China, put forward 170 questions about nature, which showed Qu Yuan's broad thoughts and spirit of exploring truth. This is the reflection of the whole culture of Chu people at that time and the crystallization of Chu people's active thoughts. Many questions raised by Qu Yuan two thousand years ago have not yet been answered scientifically. For people with active thinking, the blank space of science is a vast space for imagination to gallop. So the influx of people created many gods to explain. Most of the aborigines in Chaoshan are sea people and mountain people. They live by fishing and hunting, which is very dangerous and accidental. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the maritime ban and the military blockade of the modern Taiwan Province Strait increased this danger. A large number of men risked their lives to cross the ocean to make a living in Southeast Asia, drifting at sea, and narrowly escaped death. They can only hope for the blessing of the gods. There are 10 million people in Chaoshan at home and abroad, and almost every family has distant relatives. In the past, under the condition of long-term internal and external isolation, relatives could only comfort their hearts through silent prayer. All these make hipsters influenced by the worship of gods from an early age and adopt a more pious attitude towards them. Because Chaoshan area is separated from the Central Plains and far away from the battlefield of ancient Central Plains, it has become the first choice for people in the Central Plains to take refuge. Several large-scale migration climaxes, such as the late Qin Dynasty, the North-South Tide, the late Song Dynasty and the late Ming Dynasty, became the main source of Chaoshan residents. They left their hometown, and the only thing they can take away is their faith and nostalgia for the motherland. So they brought gods from all over the country and all kinds of systems. These customs, coupled with a strong feudal consciousness, have been firmly continued to this day. Although swept away by the storm of the Cultural Revolution, the beliefs of the lower classes have not completely changed. They often accept the new and keep the old. This makes more and more gods in Chaoshan area. Of all the gods worshipped by hipsters, of course, the most is the god of the whole country. In Buddhism, Buddha III, Guanyin, and Dizang all flourished. In Taoism, Tian Xuan God and Guan Yu prevail; Christianity and Thai Buddhism were introduced in modern times. In addition, it is a god created from other places and brought in by immigrants. The biggest one is the sea god Mazu (Tianhou), the founder of all walks of life. Other "Shuangzhong Temple" and Chaoyang are dedicated to Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan; Jieyang's "Yingyi Wang Sheng Temple" is dedicated to mesons. In the small temple in the folk village, there are many deities created by hipsters themselves. Hipsters know the mystery that "God is man-made" and can create whatever they need, which is very handy. Its image is based on three aspects: ancient and modern heroes, ancestors of all ethnic groups' surnames, and various myths and legends. They consciously think that these "own" gods are the most reliable, can protect people at critical moments, and have the highest frequency of worship. Usually, the so-called "worshipping the Lord" means worshipping these land gods. "Master" is a general term for all kinds of gods. 1. Ancient and modern heroes. Especially those who have done good things for the local people are regarded as gods after death. Han Yu, a famous politician and writer in the Tang Dynasty, was banished from the tide for eight months for "remonstrating and welcoming Buddha's bones". He cares about the sufferings of the people and has done many good things: running education, building water conservancy projects, treating crocodiles, and opening up the atmosphere, which has a great influence. After the Song Dynasty, the influx of people set up a shrine in memory of him, which has continued to this day, and even "got the scenery and changed his surname to Han". As a result, his grandnephew Han Xiangzi became a member of the Eight Immortals because of his meritorious service in escorting Han Yu. Buddhists in Lingshan Temple, which is closely related to Han Yu, are also enshrined in past dynasties, and the incense is constantly burning. Another later monk, Dafeng, raised funds to build the Chaoyang Peace Bridge, which was also sacrificed by later generations. This temple is very magnificent. Wen Tianxiang, a loyal minister at the end of the Song Dynasty, followed the emperor to Chaoshan. The influx of people felt that his loyalty was regarded as a god and set up a "loyalty hall" under the Lotus Peak in Chaoyang as a memorial. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Weng Wanda, a hipster, repaired the Great Wall in the north and returned to his hometown to repair water conservancy. His idol was taken to Thailand by hipsters and called "Emperor Weng Yong", also known as "Brave Emperor". One hundred temples were built in Thailand alone. During the Sino-French War in the late Qing Dynasty, Fang Yao, a hipster, used the Guangdong Navy as the prefect to guard Humen, so he was heavily guarded. Up to now, there is a "Fangdaren Temple" dedicated. Second, the ancestor worship system. In addition to worshipping their ancestors, the "Sanshanwang Temple" dedicated to their ancestors is all over Chaoshan. The origin of Sanshan King is very early, and the literature says that it originated in Sui Dynasty, appeared in Tang Dynasty and was sealed in Song Dynasty. Now on the surface, it is the representative of the three peaks of towel, Ming and Du in Jiexi County. The image is that three brothers ride tigers to patrol the mountains, so they are also mountain gods. But the essence should be the three brothers who led people into this place in the early days. Because they contributed to the development and protection of this place, they were regarded as the "three kings" gods. There are many museums dedicated to the development history of the Chinese nation in Lintianjiaci, Hepo Town, Jiexi County, which is the place where the lower classes in China spontaneously carry out traditional education. Every year, many Chaoshan people and Hakkas from all parts of eastern Guangdong, Taiwan Province Province, Hongkong and overseas travel across Qian Shan to pay homage to their ancestors. This virtue of not forgetting our ancestors is the embodiment of the cohesion of the Chinese nation. Third, local legends. Almost every legend, deification and story circulated in the local area has finally crystallized into a god. There are several islands near Laiwu Bay in Chenghai, so the goddess Laiwu was created, saying that she was dismembered by the jade emperor and turned into this island. In ancient times, there was a clever child in Jieyang who died young and was regarded as a "sage of wind and rain" to bless the good weather. Rowers created a "Grandpa Paddle Officer" with their humorous and optimistic characteristics. Their image is wearing a rain hat, sitting on one knee, holding a folding fan in one hand and a big tobacco pouch in the other. The strangest thing is wearing sunglasses and funny coke. Goddess Desheng, in charge of fertility; There is a Pearl Empress who takes care of children with measles. The land god and kitchen god in Chaoshan are mostly held by the land god, and each has its own story source. What are the characteristics of the deity worship of hipsters? First, secularization. Most believers can't tell the difference between Buddhism and Taoism, and no matter what its original purpose is, as long as it is a god, it is considered that it can't be neglected, which is more psychologically safe. Old trees, boulders and even magnificent buildings are all worthy of worship. I don't talk about religious ceremonies, and I don't have to read any scriptures. Today, the worship of God by hipsters has completely become a habitual behavior. Most of them would rather believe in it and treat it well than believe in it and humiliate it. Second, worship but not complete superstition. "Han dynasty history. Geography says: "Chu people believe in witches and ghosts, and they cherish the shrine." Great changes have taken place. Because of the popularization and development of medical technology, the situation of "believing in witches and ghosts" has basically disappeared in Chaoshan, and few people seek medical treatment from witches and gods. Nowadays people worship God, and when they act, they are completely entertaining themselves. It is the custom to "send the prince" in the play, that is, invite the prince doll in the play to the statue for a while and then return to the troupe after the play. This is an auspicious performance in essence. Another example is: In Yanzao Township, Chenghai, there is a behavior of dragging the master when wandering, that is, swimming to a certain place, many strong men crowded on the sedan chair carrying the idol and scrambled to drag it, so they were lucky enough to drag it beyond recognition and rebuild a new image. It is rare to introduce new products in such a "disrespectful" way in the world. Third, combine with modern civilization as much as possible. In Chaoshan, no matter what temple is in front of you, the memorial tablet of Tiandi's parents is usually set up first, with the purpose of praying for the peace of the country and the people and the health of parents. Temples often do their best to decorate: stick porcelain and plastic flowers, each with its own splendor; Relief, round carving and through carving all show their magical powers. Coupled with modern audio and photoelectric means, it changed the gloomy atmosphere of the old temple and became a place for folk activities and people to rest. Some performances originally used to worship gods and exorcise ghosts have also changed their original purpose and become artistic activities for people to entertain themselves. The song and dance of Chaoshan famous city is magnificent and unique in shape. In recent years, it has won many awards in national cultural performances, and its prototype is a team dance used to drive away ghosts and epidemics when wandering. Generally speaking, the worship of gods in Chaoshan area is relatively prosperous, but it is allowed to exist because it does not harm people and conforms to the principle of freedom of belief. The government and people of insight are working hard to gradually transform and mutate it into activities beneficial to people's lives and social spiritual civilization. This is also the ultimate goal of our study of the worship of gods.