The origin of lions is not in China, but in Africa, India and South America. As an exotic image of a Swiss beast, Lion One has been absorbed into the culture of China, becoming a typical artistic image with the national characteristics of China, and spreading all over the world. Whether it is sculpture ornaments or decorative patterns, lion modeling has obvious subjective expression color and strong national flavor. It is born out of the animal prototype, but at the same time it widens the distance from the natural form to the maximum extent, making the natural structure obey the artistic structure. It can be said that the lion shape reflects the essence of China traditional culture from one side. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian sent a mission to the Western Regions, which opened the communication between China and other countries in the Western Regions. The lion just entered China, which caused quite a stir in Luoyang, the capital at that time. From then on, the lion, a guest from afar, began to enter the folk life of China people, and was not only treated with courtesy, but also loved by China people. It is called the "Rui beast" and has been promoted to the status of the king of beasts comparable to the tiger.
Lions have such good luck in China, and they also benefited from the introduction of Buddhism into China in the Han Dynasty. "Recorded under the Light" said: When Buddha Sakyamuni was born, he made a lion roar: "Heaven and earth are the only ones". Therefore, Buddhists regard lions as solemn and auspicious beasts and worship them all the more. In the future, Buddhists said that the sound shook the heavens and the earth, and all animals were frightened, so it was called "lion roar". Many temples in Wutai Mountain, a Buddhist holy place in China, are dedicated to Manjusri Bodhisattva riding a lion. It is said that Manjusri Bodhisattva, who specializes in human intelligence, first came to Wutai Mountain on a lion, and Wutai Mountain became the Dojo of Manjusri Bodhisattva.
With such majesty, lions began to appear in front of imperial tombs and noble tombs in the Han and Tang Dynasties. However, at that time, it was only placed in front of the tomb. As a mythical beast, it is often placed with stone statues such as stone horse and stone sheep to show shock and awe.
At this time, the stone lion has not yet entered the folk, and its shape is obviously different from that of the stone lion who later guarded the city gate, that is, there is no tall stone pedestal under the stone lion statue, which can be clearly seen in the remains of ancient stone lions in Han and Tang Dynasties.
Shishi went to the folk and became a gatekeeper beast. This custom was formed after the Tang and Song Dynasties. According to Mr. Cheng's "Interesting Talk about Stone Chambers in Yuan Dynasty", most residents in the capital of Tang Dynasty lived in "houses", which were residential areas with walls and security doors designated by the government. Most square doors are made into memorial archways with Fang's name written on them. Put a pair of big stones at the foot of each square column to prevent wind and earthquake. Craftsmen carve lions, unicorns, sea animals and other animals on big stones, which is both beautiful and auspicious. This is the prototype of guarding the gate with auspicious animals such as stone lions.
Because everything in ancient times was divided into yin and yang and male and female, the ancients regarded stone lions as mascots and naturally divided them into male and female. They can be distinguished not only from their expressions, but also from the different things that their front feet have stepped on. What the female lion stepped on was a lovely little lion, while what the male lion stepped on was a delicate hydrangea.
There is Wenchang Pagoda in the traditional culture of China. Wenchang Tower in China has been a special symbol of literary prosperity since ancient times. It is of great significance in China geomantic omen. So today, the Encyclopedia of Wenchang Tower will share with you the origin of Wenchang Tower and some real people and stories in history.
Wenchang Tower (Wenchang, formerly known as Xingguan) can be seen in many cities in China. In other words, "Wenquxing" or "Wenxing" is often called "Wenchang Dijun". In mythology, wenchang star is in charge of the fame and status of the world. Therefore, satellites are admired by literati, and Wenchang Tower is not built in a temple. )
The ancients attached great importance to Wenchang, and friends who paid a little attention will find that Wenchang Tower can be seen in many cities in China, and some places are called Wenbi Peak. Every city with Wenchang Tower has produced many literati in the past.
The psychological suggestion function of Wenchang Tower is the same as that of Wenchang Emperor. According to legend, Emperor Wenchang is the god in charge of things in the upper world, so China ancient academies often offer sacrifices to Emperor Wenchang while offering sacrifices to Confucius. Some cities have built tall buildings, such as Wenchang Pavilion or Kuixing.
The ancient people built Wenchang Pagoda to make up for the shortage of local Wenfeng, thus producing more literati. For example, "Three Essentials of Yangzhai" said: "Where there are provincial capitals, prefectures and counties, and the literati are unfavorable, it is advisable to set up a pen tower on the words A, Shen, C and D, as long as it is higher than other mountains, that is, to send a guest; Or writing on the mountain, or building a tower on the ground, are all Wenfeng. " Therefore, in order to successfully take the exam, especially in ancient and modern Hong Kong and Taiwan, it is not surprising that literati worship Wenchang Emperor and put pocket Wenchang Pagoda at home or office. There is Wenchang Pagoda in the traditional culture of China. Wenchang Tower in China has been a special symbol of literary prosperity since ancient times. It is of great significance in China geomantic omen.
Wenchang Tower can be seen in many cities in China.
The ancients attached great importance to Wenchang, and friends who paid a little attention will find that Wenchang Tower can be seen in many cities in China, and some places are called Wenbi Peak. Every city with Wenchang Tower has produced many literati in the past.
The ancient people built Wenchang Pagoda to make up for the shortage of local Wenfeng, thus producing more literati. For example, "Three Essentials of Yangzhai" said: "Where there are provincial capitals, prefectures and counties, and the literati are unfavorable, it is advisable to set up a pen tower on the words A, Shen, C and D, as long as it is higher than other mountains, that is, to send a guest; Or writing on the mountain, or building a tower on the ground, are all Wenfeng. " Therefore, in order to successfully take the exam, especially in ancient and modern Hong Kong and Taiwan, it is not surprising that literati worship Wenchang Emperor and put pocket Wenchang Pagoda at home or office.
For example, according to Neijiang Guan, a gifted scholar in Fushun, Sichuan, let's take a look at the Fushun Confucian Temple in Sichuan. During the nearly 400 years from the establishment of the county in the second year of Tianhe in the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the early year of the Northern Song Dynasty (567-960), Fushun Confucian Temple was located in the border area where Liao and Han nationalities lived together. Although the salt industry is prosperous, the style of writing is not open. In the third year of Song Renzong Jingyou (1036), the imperial court sent Zhou Yanjun, a famous doctor and scholar from Taichang, to Fushun as an inspector, devoted himself to promoting education, running schools and training scholars. In the sixth year, that is, the second year of Li Qing (1042), Li Mian, the top scholar, finally came out of Fushun County, and the people of the county were happy. At the initiative of Zhou Yanjun, people raised funds in the fourth year of Li Qing (1044) and built a Confucian temple at the south gate of the county center, which was mainly used by Confucius and called "Wenxuan Jingmiao". And set up a stone tablet "Yanta Monument" in the temple, engraving the names of all previous pilots in the county. Since then, all inspectors in Fushun have been enthusiastic about education and are pro-Confucian professors. They often come to the temple to give lectures to students after politics, so the style of writing is wide open. In Song Dynasty, there were as many as 67 Jinshi who carved their names in Yanta. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Confucian Temple was renamed "Xiansheng Temple". In the fourth year of Ren Xianzhong, the magistrate of Fushun (13 1 1), the halberd gate was built, ritual vessels were installed, and Dacheng Hall was repaired, which became the fence in the cool back room. During the Yingzong period, Wang Na, an assistant magistrate, quickly built the Imperial Book Pavilion. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, pacified Jiangshan, ordered the world to set up schools and educate scholars, and changed the Xiansheng Temple to "Shixian Temple". In the sixth year of Hongwu (1373), Zhong Xuan, the magistrate of a county, reorganized the temple altar, built a school, and laid stones and Chi Pan. After eight repairs and a small increase. Yongle period in Ming Dynasty was called "Confucian Temple". Since then, the style of writing has become increasingly prosperous, education has developed and the number of students enrolled has increased year by year. In the Ming Dynasty, there were 139 scholars who went to Beijing to take exams, accounting for one-thirteenth of the total number of scholars in Sichuan Province, thus gaining the reputation of "a talented person in western Sichuan and a talented person in Neijiang".