[Wu Bingan]"Mount Tai Stone Dare" and the Worship of Stone God
After the belief and custom of "Mount Tai Shigandan" declared by Shandong was rated as a national intangible cultural heritage, some people did not understand it and said, can this be called heritage? In fact, this is a very ancient heritage!
In the past, in many towns and villages, you can see that there was often a piece of stone at the entrance of the house, engraved with the words "Taishan Stone Gandan" or "Shi Gandan", standing on the wall or embedded in the wall.
It is rare to see it now.
There is also a white stone slab engraved with this kind of writing embedded on the wall of a house on the south of Donghuangchenggen Road in Dongcheng Area, Beijing.
This is rare and rare.
This kind of stone existed at least in the Tang Dynasty.
According to the records of "Ji Zhi Bian", there were many famous Shi family members in ancient times, and later generations were all famous families;"dare to dare" means "invincible in all areas".
According to "Ji Gu Cong Bian","When people in Wu's houses encounter a street rush, stone figures must be set up, or stone stones must be planted, and 'Shi Gan' engraved with 'Shi Gan' to guard them." In ancient times, this kind of stone was regarded as an ominous town object.
There is a small legend recorded in "Mozhuang Manlu": During the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty, a man named Zhang Wei was an official in Putian and obtained a stone slab engraved with the following words: "The stone is brave enough to suppress all ghosts and suppress disasters.
The officials are blessed, the people are healthy, the wind is booming, and the ceremony is Lechang"; there are also words such as "In the fifth year of the Dali Dynasty, the county magistrate Zheng Yayu's record".
It can be seen that in ancient times, this stone stone of Shigandan was a magical item from gods.
As for the Shi family in ancient times, it was actually a kind of affiliated society.
In ancient times, the Shi family was transformed from skilled stone workers in the Stone Age.
The invincible refers to the power of the "stone" itself.
This kind of witchcraft that uses stones to make objects originated from the worship and belief in stones in ancient times.
As for the addition of the word "Tai Shan" to "Shi Gan 'an", it is related to the historical characteristics of this belief.
In ancient times, there were 72 families that sealed Mount Tai.
When Qin Shihuang was touring Mount Tai, his men planted carved stones on Mount Tai to sing praises of Qin's merits.
In the 13th year of the Kaiyuan of Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty, Mount Tai was worshipped.
Later, emperors praised Mount Tai the most and the highest of our country's famous mountains.
It can be seen that the stones of Mount Tai are different from ordinary stones.
Ancient people had a strong belief in rocks.
In ancient mythology, Nuwa once refined multicolored stone blocks to repair the collapsed sky; this shows how powerful the stone has in faith.
There is a story in "The Book of Mountains and Seas" about "Jingwei filling the sea".
It also tells the story of a little divine bird who took revenge and wanted to fill the East China Sea with stones from the Western Hills.
This is another reflection of the worship of stone.
In their epic, the Axi people of the Yi nationality kept records of offering sacrifices to the stone god in October.
Other ethnic groups worship meteorites under the influence of religion.
All of these, like "Mount Tai Shi Dare", originated from the worship of stone in the primitive belief.
As early as the creation myth of Nuwa mending the sky recorded in "Huainanzi·Lan Mingxun", the ancients 'worship of the divine stone was conveyed.
It is believed that in ancient times, heaven and earth were dilapidated, with endless fires and floods."So Nuwa refined five-colored stones to replenish the sky." To this day, this story is still circulated in the mythology of the Central Plains.
According to surveys, there are five-colored and rotten stones all over Tiantan Mountain, the main peak of Wangwu Mountain.
The local people still think they are the stones left over from Nu Wa when she mended the sky, and they call them "Nu Wa Stone".
At the same time, the Central Plains also believed in the so-called "Pangu Stone Mill","Pangu Stone Boat","Pangu Stone Lion" and other large stones left by Pangu during the ancient era on Pangu Mountain in southern Henan, saying that they were the ships that Pangu rode during the flood control, the token stone mill and the stone lion that Pangu used when he married.
It is also said in the myth of Dayu's water control,"Yu governs floods, passes through Huanyuan Mountain and turns into bears." He told his wife Tushan that she would bring food when she heard the sound of the drum beating.
Yu stepped on a stone and accidentally hit the drum.
Tushan came and saw Dayu turned into a bear, so Tushan turned into a big stone; Yu asked Dashi for his son, and the big stone cracked open and gave birth, so he called this big stone Qimu Stone.
There is also a Dayu Rock under Yunmi Peak in Hengshan, Hunan Province.
It is believed to be a stone altar used to worship heaven during Dayu's flood control.
In the myth of Jingwei filling the sea recorded in "Shanhai Jing·Beizi Three Classics", there is the story of Emperor Yan's girl named Nvwa, swimming in the East China Sea, drowning but never returning, turning into a Jingwei bird, taking stones from the West Mountain to fill the sea, which also expresses the Han people's ancient concept of worshiping stones.
The most representative worship of stone and stone gods in my country is the worship of white stone by the Qiang people.
Many myths and legends about white stone are circulated among the Qiang people.
Some people say that when the Qiang ancestors moved from northwest to south, they were attacked by the Goki people with snow masses.
They received guidance from God Mubita and defeated the other party with white stone as a weapon.
From then on, they worshipped white stone.
Some people said that a fire broke out in the ancient Qiang residential area, and nine suns would fall in the sky.
A Qiang young man told all the people in the Qiang village in advance that he fled and was rescued.
However, this young man was turned into a white stone.
In order to express his gratitude, people prayed to Baishi.
Some also said that when the Qiang people migrated south, they used white stones as road signs in order not to get lost, and the white stones became the guiding stone for the Qiang people and worshipped them.
There is also a saying that when the Qiang people moved south, they fought against the Goki people.
They were defeated and fled in a white cave to hide.
When the enemy chased them, white fog covered the cave and avoided disaster.
From then on, they respected the Baishi God as the protective god.
It is also said that Rebiwa, the hero in the Qiang myth, went to heaven to steal the divine fire.
She was blown out by the strong wind for the first time, poured out by the heavy rain for the second time, and hidden in the white stone for the third time and brought to the world.
From then on, the white stone became the symbol of the fire god.
The Qiang people first started from directly worshipping Baishi as the starting point of their original worship, gradually worshiping Baishi as a god, and later transformed into symbols of various gods that helped the Qiang people.
In places where the Qiang people lived, no matter in the mountains, forests, fields, roofs, and fire ponds, white stones are worshipped almost everywhere.
There is also a saying in the myth that the snowy mountains are transformed by white stones.
The Qiang people call the stone "Russian", and the sacrifice to the mountain is commonly known as "Russian".
It can be seen that the worship of white stones is closely connected with the worship of mountains.
The top of Gangtou Mountain in Qiang Village is marked with white stones, and mountain gods are placed.
Every Tibetan family in Sichuan also provides white stones and regards them as gods.
The Gelao people have a long tradition of stone worship in the worship of natural objects.
In particular, the worship of megaliths still has widespread influence.
They called the huge stone "Shibao Lord" or "Shibao Lord" and was the patron saint of the people.
Families who are infertile after marriage or who have few descendants all sacrifice to this god and make a vow to return their vows; in addition to those who pray for children, those who want their descendants to be healthy and auspicious also sacrifice huge stones and name them in front of the huge stone.
Children also take more "Shisheng" and "Shibao" to recognize the giant stone as relatives and protect their descendants.
Stone sacrifices are mostly held on New Year's Day or children's birthdays.
Usually, chickens are used to sacrifice, pigs and sheep are used to sacrifice.
Similar to this, there is the worship of the stone gods of the water people.
They call the rock gods and the stone gods "Gesan" and believe that they are the greatest gods on earth who bless people with children and seek wealth to ensure peace.
Often after giving birth to children, it is believed that it is a blessing from the rock god, and the children are often named "Shi Sheng" or "Shi Chang".
People sacrifice pork squares or chickens, ducks, and fragrant paper to ask God to make a wish.
After giving birth to children, they also make a great sacrifice to thank the stone god.
Family relatives and friends gave gifts to congratulate him, and even set up a song hall to praise the god and thank the god for his blessings.
Dong children who were sick and in disasters also offered sacrifices to the big rock god.
Most of the stone gods believed in by the Zhuang people are tall stones standing side by side of the village or along the road.
They burn incense to the stones and sacrifice them during festivals, praying for the protection of the village and the safety of people and animals.
The surroundings of the stone god are kept quiet and clean, and smashing or filth are strictly prohibited, and the ancient characteristics of worship of natural objects are still maintained.
The stone god worshipped by the Bai people often became the main god of the village.
There is a myth of "Baiyan Emperor" among the people.
To put it bluntly, Shishi was once a group of white sheep, and was once deified into a big white stone who specialized in sheep.
It entrusted dreams to the world.
If he respected it, he would protect the safety of the sheep in the village.
Therefore, people provided Baishi as a god and built his own owner to sacrifice.
Later, the flock of sheep prospered, and people respectfully called him the Emperor of Baiyan.
It is also said that there is the Red Sand King, who is the main god who protects the harvest of grains and the safety of people and livestock; there is also the main god of Heiyan Hewei, who is the black stone god who built the main temple and is the stone god who protects people and livestock.
The Korean people in the north worship huge rocks and call them rock gods.
They believe that there are gods in the stones and hold cave sacrifices to pray for the stone gods to give them treasures and health.
The Oroqen people also have megalithic myths.
It is believed that there are mountains and rocks in the north of the Xing 'an Mountains with hunting gods on them.
This is the image of a god appearing to drive away demons.
People worship him for the safety of people and animals.
The Hezhe people still worship the gods Zhuolu Mafa and Zhuolu Mama, which means "Grandpa Stone" and "Grandma Stone", asking them to protect the people from illness and disaster or ghosts.
Now there are stone carvings and small temples.
The Hezhe people have an old tradition of worshiping huge rocks.
In the upper reaches of the Qixing River in Heilongjiang, there is Qixing Lazi, which is believed to be the embodiment of the seven goddess sisters.
There is also a huge rock on Jiejin Mountain called "Delqima", which means "old man stone".
It is believed that it was formed by an ancient hunter couple and hounds, and the top of Shili Peak is the god of mountain control.
The Manchu worshipped the stone god Zhuolu Ma Fa, and the myth of the stone god has been circulated.
It is said that this religion made stone tools for the ancestors to live a good life, so people sacrificed to him and placed three divine stones on the divine pole used to worship heaven.
In addition to supporting the sacrificial pot, it was also used to eliminate evil spirits and drive away evil spirits.
The Manchu people also have the custom of wearing spirit stones to ward off evil spirits.
It also combined the worship of fire god with the worship of stone gods, believing that fire came from stones.
The Mongolians set up a sacrifice to the "Aobao" on the grassland, which is a stone mound piled with stones, with divine poles, tree branches, and sacred worship objects tied with animal hair and cloth strips.
It is believed that this is the place of the tribal protective god, either mountain gods, hunting gods, grazing gods, or livestock patron gods.
Usually there are thirteen piles of stones, and there are nine to twenty-seven piles of stones.
This is the evolution of the ancient stone god worship.
When the herdsmen pass by, they worship, say greetings, add stones, and pray around the stone piles.
The "Aobao Festival" is held regularly every year in various places, which is very solemn and enthusiastic.
Combining the worship of stone gods with the worship of ancestor gods is the development of belief in primitive natural objects.
Some ethnic groups are confident that the ancient clan originated from stone, so they also call the Ren Zu "Shi Zu".
The Pumi people have the myth of "Jiumulu", which is a myth of the origin of mankind.
Legend has it that the goddess Jizzama came from heaven and married the stone "Bawo" in the mountain cave.
She gave birth to many children and married each other and passed down to mankind.
Therefore, people regard Bawo as "Jiumulu", or "Shizu", and call the goddess "Ayimu", or the female ancestor god.
At the same time, a stone is placed next to the fire pond, which is sacrificed both in peacetime and on New Year's Day.
It is called "Kuolu", or Guozhuang Stone.
The Li people also worship the god Shizu.
The stone is in the shape of a long conical column, symbolizing the male root and sexual organ.
The stone temple is built outside.
People sacrifice the stone and pray for children.
Combine the worship of stone gods with the worship of reproduction.
The belief that combines the worship of stone gods with the ancestor god is widely spread among the Gaoshan ethnic groups in Taiwan.
It is said that in ancient times, a huge stone burst and a man and a woman were born.
When they grew up, they married and gave birth to the Atayal people.
The Ami and Puyuma people in the southeast believed that their ancestors were born from a large rock.
It is also said that Dashi gave birth to the female ancestor Lanin, who later married a man from the Rukai people and bred.
The Yamei people believed that their ancestors were male gods born after a huge stone burst on top of Babut Mountain.
A pair of men and women were born from the left and right knees.
Later, they married the children of another male god born after the big bamboo burst, and gave birth to the Yamei people.
The Paiwan people also believed that their ancestral male god was stone and the goddess was bamboo.
They were called the "Nakmadi" couple gods and were the supreme gods during the farming period of the people.
The birthplace of the Atayal people is called "Binsbagan", which means "a living man who cracked a stone", and it also comes from the myth that the ancestor was a big stone.
As for the belief of worshiping the Huotang God Stone or the Three God Stone (that is, the stone for supporting the pot), it has been combined with the Fire God and the Kitchen God in many ethnic groups to become the family god