In many cities, why are there temples?

In Lu Xun's **, we often see the "City God Temple", which is a place of chaos or a terrible "hell on earth". In civil society, the Temple is also a sneaky place.

The temple, we all know what it is used for, it is a place to worship the gods in ancient times, and it is used for religious sacrifices. What kind of temple is the City God Temple? "City God" can be traced back to "Zhou Yi Taifeng":

The city is restored to Long, don't use the teacher. ”The "city" mentioned here refers to the city wall, and the "god" refers to the moat, that is, the moat outside the city, which was also called the moat in ancient times. Therefore, the city god also has the meaning of protecting the moat of the city.

Since ancient times, the Chinese people have had the custom of offering blessings to the gods, so the word Chenghuang has been transformed from its original meaning to the guardian god of the city.

In the "Book of Rites: Suburban Characteristics", there is a record of the "Eight Emperors of Great Wax", that is, last month the emperor wanted to worship the eight gods, the seventh of which was the god of Shuiyong. Zheng Xuan explained that water is a god, Yong is a city, and Yong is a water god. It can be seen that the "water eternal god" of the Zhou Dynasty is still the god of nature.

During the Three Kingdoms period, people began to worship the city god. However, at that time, the city god did not have a specific name and was also a natural god.

In the Tang Dynasty, with the rise of cities and the prosperity of the commercial economy, the belief in the city god began to prevail. When many** prayed for relief in their local area, they often worshipped the City God. For example, the famous Han Yu, Du Mu, Wei Liangzai, Zhang Jiuling and others all went to pray for the blessing of the city god for the local weather, and left related poems.

During this time, the city god itself also changed. After the death of the general, the god of the city god changed from the original god of nature to a ghost, for example, the god of the city god temple in Hangzhou was the son of Wu Shangshu's son, and the name of the city god of Shaoxing was Yu Yu. This person used to be the first of the Yue Kingdom**.

The city god of Ezhou is called Jiao Ming. It can be seen that the city gods worshiped in the Tang Dynasty are all people with surnames and names, and they are no longer vague nature gods. At this time, the function of the city god also changed.

They are not only the patron saints of the city, but also the stewards of the people's survival. Therefore, people began to offer sacrifices to the city god in order to transcend the spirits of the dead and punish the evil and promote the good. After the Song Dynasty, the City God Temple became more crowded.

During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in the market and had a relationship with the local temple, was full of praise for the city god. From historical records to the present, the city god has been endowed with many legendary colors. It is not only an object of worship, but also a history of the evolution of folk culture.

In many cities, the construction of the City God Temple is a kind of faith, a kind of worship, and a national culture.

Originated from the ancient water (God) Yong (city) sacrifice, for the "Zhou Palace" one of the eight gods. "Cheng" originally referred to a high wall built by digging earth, and "God" originally referred to a moat without water.

Lord Chenghuang guards the water and soil, and worships Chenghuang to bless this place with good weather for a year.

The God's Temple is the reason why you can pray for peace, and there are more people in the south who believe in sentient beings.

Nowadays, people's hearts are under a lot of pressure, and they ask the gods for help and support.

Temples are where people worship the gods, which is a culture from ancient times to the present day, and it is also a respect for the gods.

The construction of the City God's Temple has the implication of seeking peace and peace, and the wind and rain are smooth, and everything goes well.

The temple is a place where you can pray for peace and prosperity, and the place wants the people to live a good life.

Nowadays, there is a lot of pressure in people's lives, and only with faith can there be a sense of belonging.

The City God Temple is a temple dedicated to the City God, and of course it is the City God that is enshrined in it. The god of the city god is also called the god of the city, and it is the guardian god who guards the party. This city god is not an immortal from the sky, but a hero of local history.

The City God Temple is not a temple unique to one place, this temple is found in many places. As mentioned above, Chenghuang is not under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court, he is the ** sent to the world by the underworld. Therefore, the City God Temple is more like a kind of ** office, which is an organization for the communication between the underworld and the world.

The City God Temple is similar to the county government in the world, each place has its own City God Temple, and each place has its own City God.

What does the city god do, the city god is in charge of the life, old age, sickness and death of the local people. The city god is a god in the underworld, and he can pray for peace, health, children, wealth and officials. Although there are special gods for asking for children and peace, it is also possible to make a wish to the city god.

The City God Temple is like a current management, although these are not his main management areas, but he can manage it.

The direct subordinate of the city god is the land lord, and the city god and the land lord all over the district protect the local people. The job of the land is to record the good, evil, beauty and ugliness of the world and people's wishes and wishes, and then sort them out and pass them on to the city god. Then the city god dealt with it and handed it over to his superiors, and finally gathered in the hands of Hades.

And the basis for black and white impermanence and bull-headed horse face to judge people's good and evil also comes from these materials.

To put it simply, the city god is equivalent to a county magistrate, and the land lord is equivalent to the village head in various places. Many people may feel that the power of the city god and the land lord is too small and not enough to be spiritual. In fact, this is your delusion, there are requirements for the setting specifications of the City God Temple, and it must be set at least at or above the county level.

Even the land lord has a famous saying: "Laugh at my old decay and incompetence, make a wish to try; Even if you have a lot of wealth and good money, don't burn incense and see."