Speaking of the name Li Jing, people always think of "Journey to the West", "The Romance of the Gods" and other mythological novels, the commander-in-chief who commanded one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, and the heavenly king with the pagoda in his hand; at the same time, he would also think of his famous son—— Third Prince Nezha. However, in the real history, Li Jing is an out-and-out military strategist, one of the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion, and the God of War of the Tang Dynasty who used three thousand Tangqi to break the tooth tent of the Turkic Khan.
So how did Li Jing, the founding general of the Tang Dynasty, travel to the Shang Dynasty and become Nezha's father? Why do you support the tower and become the king of the myth? All this boils down to the war arena in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties.
Li Jing, the word pharmacist, was born in 571 AD in Sanyuan, Yongzhou (now Sanyuan County, Shaanxi). His uncle was Han Qinhu, the famous Sui Dynasty general who destroyed Chen. He was the pioneer of Emperor Wen's destruction of Chen. He crossed the Yangtze River at night and captured Empress Chen. Born in such a house of generals, and influenced by the Guanlong nobles' ethos of advocating military merit, Li Jing has demonstrated outstanding military strategies since he was a child. He was regarded by his uncle as "the one who can discuss the skills of Sun and Wu, but he is the only one".
In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, heroes from all walks of life joined together. At that time, Li Jing of Mayi (now Shuoxian County, Shanxi Province) found out that Li Yuan left behind in Taiyuan had a move to raise troops, and he was about to inform Emperor Sui Yang. But after all, he alone could not run the Li Yuan army from Jinyang, but Li Jing was captured after Chang'an broke the city due to the road blockage. Later, because Li Shimin admired his talent and courage very much, he was released and entered the Qin shogunate.
When the Tang Dynasty was established, it only occupied a part of China, and other places were still segregated by various lords. Therefore, in 621 AD, Li Jing even ke Jingmen and Yidu, and it took only two months to destroy Nanliang. After that, Li Jing appeased the Lingnan area, brought down the minority leader Feng An, and successfully suppressed the Fugonger rebellion in the Jianghuai area. At this point, the Li Tang Dynasty achieved national unity.
Taizong Li Shimin praised him: "Li Jing is the elder of Xiao Xian and Fu Gong Er. How can it be done by the famous generals Han, Bai, Wei, and Huo!" In the third year of Zhenguan (629 AD), Li Jing was to solve the problem of East Turkic rebellion. Led three thousand elite cavalry, like Huo Qubing back then, Li Jing attacked the city in one fell swoop. In Yinshan, Jie Li Khan was captured, more than 10,000 beheaded in the first battle, and more than 100,000 captured, and the East Turks perished.
Li Jing relieved the scourge of the northern border of the Tang Dynasty in one fell swoop, and made the Western Regions Mobei and other regimes bow their heads, and Tang Taizong was revered as the "Khan of Heaven." In the ninth year of Zhenguan (AD 635), Tuyuhun invaded Liangzhou. Li Jing, who had already passed the sixtieth birthday, took charge again. After more than ten battles, Tuyuhun returned to the Tang Dynasty and Li Jing completed the last great cause of his life.
In the 23rd year of Zhenguan (AD 649), a generation of war god Li Jing died of illness at the age of seventy-nine. Emperor Taizong buried him with Zhaoling and built his tomb into the shape of an iron mountain and a stone mountain to commemorate his suppression of Turks. , Tuyuhun's great achievements. In 731 AD, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered Li Jing to share with Jiang Ziya Wu Temple, and Li Jing formally entered the national ceremonial ceremony. From this moment on, the image of Li Jing in the folk began to move towards mythology step by step.
The Tang Dynasty notebook "Sui and Tang Jiahua" once recorded the myth of Li Jing raining rain for the dragon. In many historical materials of the Tang Dynasty, there are also records of people praying to Li Jing Temple due to a severe drought or locust plague, and they were finally saved from disaster. While Li Jing was being mythological step by step, the reputation of a deity from Buddhism gradually spread in the land of China, that is, the King of Bishamon, also known as the King of Duowen.
Bishamon is one of the four heavenly kings of Buddhism. Buddhism believes that each of the four heavenly kings keeps one day and maintains the order of the world. Moreover, Bishamen was mainly introduced into the Central Plains from the northwestern region during the Han Dynasty. After hundreds of years of localization, it was symbolized as the god of war and had the responsibility of protecting the country and religion. Gradually, the image of King Bishamon was influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, showing unique Chinese aesthetic characteristics: wearing a golden armor, wearing a crown, holding a halberd in his right hand, and a tower in his left hand.
Li Jing's main battle exploits were the Northern Turkic and Xiding Tugu, both of which occurred in the northwestern region. This coincided with the spread of Buddhism. Li Jing and the Bishamen were both gods of war. In addition, Li Jing was highly valued by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and the folks. Love. After five generations of war to the Song Dynasty, due to the fermentation of time, the image of Li Jing gradually merged with the image of King Bishamon.
Finally, in the Yuan Dynasty's "Leyi Tuqi Seven Kingdoms Spring and Autumn Pinghua Later Collection", the section "Ghost Valley Down the Mountain" was written: "Dugu Horn fought alone with four generals and five horses in a melee. Li Tianwang , Bishamentota .” Also in the Yuan Dynasty, Yang Jingxian wrote in the ninth volume of "Yang Donglai Criticism of Journey to the West" : “Heavenly soldiers will return in a million, and the golden pagoda is high in the north of the town. Go down to Li Tianwang."
At this point, Li Jing and Tota Heavenly King have completely integrated and developed. After entering the Ming Dynasty, in various scripts, novels, and romances, Li Jing was the Tota Heavenly King, and the Tota Heavenly King was Li Jing. And there is a son-Nezha (Rojupo, transliterated as Nalakuvara in Sanskrit, where "Rojupo" refers to "Nazha"). In Buddhism, the people under the Pishamen Throne are also highly respected by people, and his third son is Nezha.
The "Vaishamen Ritual" of the Tang Dynasty contained: "Prince Nezha, the third son of the Heavenly King, and he often follows the heavenly king when he holds the tower." And the "Treasures of the Buddhist Monk" also records: "Ask'Prince Nezha's analysis of meat and mother. The bone returned to the father, and then incarnate on the lotus flower, to explain to the parents how to be the prince." These records provide thought resources for the story of Li Jing Nezha and his son in later novels.
The change from Li Jing, a famous general in the Tang Dynasty, to the deified "Torta Heavenly King" Li Jing is a manifestation of Chinese culture's absorption and development of foreign culture. This change also perfectly reflects the inclusiveness and openness of Chinese culture.
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