Myths are stories about ancient people's interpretation and imagination of natural phenomena and culture. They are a primitive, highly imaginative and unconscious artistic creation.
Entering the world of myths and legends, it is not difficult for us to realize human beings' curiosity and worship of nature, their unyielding and struggle against disasters and hardships, their admiration and love for heroes, their yearning for a better life, and their hatred of evil people... ...
The God of Wealth is a deity that is generally loved and well-known in society. He is known as Marshal Zhao Gong of Black Tiger Mystic Altar, and in Taoism he is also called Black Tiger Mysterious Altar. It is said that his surname is Zhao Minglang and his courtesy name is Gongming. He and Zhong Kui are fellow villagers, and their surnames are from Zhongnan Mountain in Shaanxi Province.
Legend has it that a long time ago, there were ten days in the sky, and they all came out to do evil. Nine of the suns lived on the lower branches of the hibiscus tree , and one of the suns lived on the upper branch. Emperor Yao ordered Hou Yi to shoot it, so Hou Yi shot it down for nine days. As soon as these nine suns set, they turned into crows, fell into Qingcheng Mountain , and became the Nine Ghost Kings. Eight of them were still victims of disasters, but only one of them deeply regretted his past evil deeds. The prodigal son turned around and became a human being, and was born into a family named Zhao. When he grew up, his parents named him Minglang and Gongming.
When Zhao Gongming was very young, he lived in seclusion in the famous mountains and rivers of Sichuan. He did not care about the rights and wrongs of the world, forgot the black and white troubles of the world, and practiced the Tao devoutly. Han Tianshi Zhang Daoling obtained the golden elixir technique in his later years. Renhe Mingshan Jing practiced elixirs. He met Zhao Gongming and felt that his practice was enough, so he accepted him as a disciple. And taught him spells carefully. Let him stand as a black tiger, hold a whip to protect the law, and guard Danzao day and night.
One day, the Heavenly Master's elixir was finally made. There were two pills in total. Tianshi took one himself, and Tianshi Zhang gave the other pill to Zhao Gongming and asked him to take it. Who knew that after taking the medicine, Zhao Gongming turned into a black face and thick beard, and his face shape also resembled that of Zhang Tianshi. And what's amazing is that Zhao Gongming has been able to change his mind and possess superhuman powers. He is highly skilled in martial arts and possesses magic weapons such as the black tiger, the iron whip, the Dinghai Pearl, and the dragon-binding rope. Zhao Gongming was invited by Taishi to fight Jiang Ziya . He helped the evildoer, and he would inevitably die in the end. Later, Jiang Ziya was conferred as a god by the order of Yuan Shi Yaozun. After Zhao Gongming's death, he was named "The God of the Golden Dragon Ruyi Zhengyi Dragon and Tiger Xuantan True Monarch", and led Zhaobao Tianzun Xiao Sheng, Nazhen Tianzun Cao Bao , the messenger of wealth Chen Jiugong , and the Immortal Official Yao Shaosi, who is in charge of all gold and silver treasures in the world. Among them, Marshal Zhao Gong is the True Lord of Zhengyixuantan. He is responsible for leading the other four righteous gods to welcome good fortune, receive blessings and bless the people.
His master Zhang Tianshi petitioned the Heavenly Court and asked the Jade Emperor to promote him to the rank of Heavenly General. The Jade Emperor agreed. The certificate is Shangqing Ruyi Jinlun Yuan, which is called Zhengyi Xuantan Zhao Yuanshuai in Taoism. Under the orders of Tianmen, he commanded the three realms, inspected the five directions, and promoted the nine continents. He was the general on duty and served as the censor in the North Pole. Zhao Xuantan has eight strong generals under his command to respond to the Eight Diagrams created by Fuxi; the Six Poison Gods, to respond to the evil spirits of heaven, earth, year, moon, , sun and time; the five gods of thunder, the five The square is rampant, to correspond to the five elements; the twenty-eight heavenly generals, to correspond to the twenty-eight nights; the two divine generals of Tiantai and earth are combined to resemble the gates of heaven and the opening of households on earth; the two camp generals of water and fire are to resemble the coming and going of spring and autumn. . In short, he is a very privileged god.
It is said that in the beginning, in the portraits of the God of Wealth posted by people, Marshal Zhao Gong, the God of Wealth, was always accompanied by a dignified and beautiful Goddess of Wealth. Later, this kind-hearted female Bodhisattva suddenly disappeared. It turned out that she was divorced by the God of Wealth. Why did the God of Wealth divorce his wife? It starts with a beggar.
There was a beggar who was so poor that he had nowhere to go. He passed by an ancient temple to beg for food. After entering the temple, he did not worship any Bodhisattva. He simply walked to the statue of the God of Wealth, bowed his head, and prayed to the God of Wealth for wealth. Marshal Zhao Gong was dozing off at the time and did not receive him or hear his request. Naturally, he did not fulfill his request.The beggar thought to himself: My heart is very pious! The God of Wealth will always help the poor. The rich don't have to worry about food and clothing, so what's the use of asking for money? He kept kowtowing and thanking him.
At this time, the God of Wealth Queen felt compassion and wanted to wake up her husband, the God of Wealth, from dozing off, and persuade him to be kind and give some charity to the beggar. But the God of Wealth ignored him, yawned twice and closed his eyes. Although she is the God of Wealth Empress, the financial power is in the hands of her husband. If the husband doesn’t agree, how can he give money to the beggar? The empress had no choice but to take off her earrings and throw them to the beggar. The beggar suddenly threw something down from the shrine. When he saw it was a pair of gold earrings, he knew it was a gift from the God of Wealth. He hurriedly kowtowed and shouted, "Kowtow to the God of Wealth Bodhisattva." When the God of Wealth opened his eyes, he found that the Empress had actually given the love gift he had given her to the poor beggar. He was so angry that he drove the God of Wealth out of the shrine.
Later, because of his loyalty to his duties, it is said that the divine title given to him by Tianting Sheng was: Inspector of the Five Directions, Governor of Gaoshang Shenxiao Yufu, Datidian of the Order of Jiuzhou Society, General on Duty Palace, and Chief of Thunder. The marshal, the censor of the North Pole, the chief governor of the three realms Yingyuan Zhaoliehou, the chief of charge and the account envoy, the governor of the twenty-eight camps, and Marshal Zhao of the Shangqing Zhengyi Xuantan Flying Tiger Jinlun Law Enforcement. Such a long title is rare. From this, we can also see that the Emperor of Heaven values and favors him.
At this point, Zhao Gongming looked like a God of Wealth, no longer full of evil, ghost and pestilence as before. Not only can he drive away thunder and lightning, eliminate plague and avoid disasters, but he can also uphold justice and make people prosperous. The gold ingot from the God of Wealth is given to a gentleman who has a right way to make money, while the golden whip is given to a despicable person who is greedy for profit. I would like to remind those who make and sell counterfeit goods to defraud people and make dirty money, be careful not to have their heads broken by the golden whip of the God of Wealth.
The common people respectfully call Zhao Gongming the God of Wealth. They worship him every year on the second day of the first lunar month and post his portrait on their doors. They often have a black face and thick beard, wearing an iron crown on their head, holding an iron whip in their hands, and standing astride a black tiger. There are often paintings around them such as cornucopias, large ingots, orbs, corals, etc., which convey the meaning of abundant wealth.
Chinese mythological stories show ancient Chinese people’s artistic imagination of innocence, simplicity, sincerity, and beauty of all things in the world, and reflect people’s yearning and pursuit for a better life.
The famous myths and stories of ancient China are always full of dreams, but they also represent a culture. Reading myths and stories is like wandering in the ocean of dreams. Classic myths and stories all demonstrate the working people's understanding of nature and endless dreams in ancient my country, and embody people's yearning and pursuit for a better life. Listening to the myths and legends left by our ancestors can not only enrich children's imagination, but also help them understand Chinese classical culture.
