Who's Shi Gandang?

Shi Gandang is not a person's name. Shi Gandang, also known as Taishan Shi Gandang, is a small stone tablet built outside an old house or at the corner of a street in China. Named after the inscription stone gan dang. Later, Taishan stone was personified, and its surname was, also known as General Shi. There is a folk legend in China that Shi Gandan is a subordinate of Taishan God and is famous for his bravery. Later, Shi Gandang carved in human form was developed.

1. The written record of "Shi Gandang" was first seen in the "Jizhang" of the Western Han History Tour: "Learn from the tiger, Shi Gandang, and the dragon will not invade." Its original meaning is: Lingshi can resist everything. In folklore, this stems from the primitive worship of stones by the ancients. Ancient humans used stone axes, knives and sickles to hunt animals, dig, plant, make fires and defend themselves, and stubbornly survived the hard years in the wild. "Shi Gandang" is the charm of stone worship and an interesting phenomenon in folklore.

2. In the Yuan Dynasty, Tao's Record of Dropping out of Farming in Nancun recorded that "if the main entrance of today's family is suitable for the running of the bridge road, it will be disgusting to set up a small stone general or plant a small stone tablet." Shi Gandang has different styles in different places, including bas-relief; Having a circular sculpture; Some are engraved with gossip patterns; Some don't have any decorations, but they are engraved with "Shi Gandang" or "Shi Gandang on Mount Tai".

3. The words "Shi Gandang" or "Taishan Shi Gandang" are engraved on the stone tablet, and there are bas-reliefs such as the head of a lion and the head of a tiger on the tablet. The custom of Shi Gandang in Mount Tai embodies the connotation of "keeping peace and driving away evil spirits". According to textual research, it originated from the old county and village of Qiujiadian Town, Taishan District, Tai 'an City, and spread all over the country and overseas. In the process of communication, a colorful "Taishan Shi Gandang" story group has gradually formed, which is widely circulated among the people in China. The State Council announced the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, and the custom of "Taishan Shi Gandang" was on the list.