<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="26" > the legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival</h1>
Author/Lin Shuo (National Museum of China), the article was first published in "Chinese Taoism", please do not reprint without permission.
In the mid-autumn festival of August, the fragrance of dangui is an important traditional festival symbolizing reunion. Relatives and friends sat around, looking up at the starry sky, and the moonlight was exceptionally bright. From the poetry and song of the ancient literati praising the Mid-Autumn Festival, to the various legends about the moon in Western mythology, they all meander in the long river of history, bringing people endless expectations and reverie, making the distant moon palace appear mysterious and profound.
In Greek mythology, Artemis, the "goddess of the moon", specialized in hunting and delivering babies, and was listed as Zeus's favorite daughter alongside Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war.
In Chinese folk tales, there is also Chang'e, the moon goddess of the East, who is not inferior to Artemis at all. Chang'e is one of the "Three Emperors and Five Emperors", the daughter of Emperor Zhao, who soared to the "House of Guanghan qingxuan" because of the swallowing of the elixir, that is, Li Shangyin's "Chang'e should repent of stealing the elixir, the blue sea and the blue sky and the night heart".
Unexpectedly, after a thousand years, there was another legend of running the moon: Emperor Tang Ming followed Chang'e's footsteps and landed in the Moon Palace again, leaving behind the allusion of the Mid-Autumn Festival night "Tang King's Moon Tour".
Whether it is "Chang'e Running Moon", "Wu Gang Fa Gui", "Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine", "Tang Wang YouYue", all reflect the infinite yearning of the ancient working people for the moon, and pinned on the beautiful expectations of the Mid-Autumn Festival".
However, under careful reading, it is not difficult to find that among the above four legends, only Li Longji, the protagonist of "Tang Wang Youyue", is a real figure in history, and the rest are extraordinary people. In the story of "Chang'e Running to the Moon", Hou Yi retrieves the elixir from the Queen Mother of the West for her; in the allusion of "Wu Gang Fa Gui", Wu Gang, a Xihe person, is the body of xiu immortals, and only because of "learning immortals has been", he was punished to the Moon Palace to cut down the osmanthus tree five hundred meters high.
But Li Longji was an ordinary man, and he had no Way, how could he visit the Moon Palace? Emperor Tang Ming was able to fly to the sky and land on the moon, mainly with the help of the power of the Taoist Celestial Master. However, which Celestial Master helped him ascend to Guanghan? Some people say it is Ye Fashan, some people say it is Luo Gongyuan, and some people say it is Shen Yuanzhi.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="37" > Tang Xuanzong Li Longji and mid-autumn</h1>
As we all know, the Tang Xuanzong period was one of the famous Taoist flourishing periods in history, including Ye, Luo, shen and many other real people were active in the political stage, and one of the eight immortals of Shangdong, "Zhang Guolao", also accompanied the imperial front, so that Li Longji deeply felt that the Tao was profound and profound, leaving many good stories. Among them, especially Ye Fashan's travel to the Tang Dynasty, the matter of You Yue is widely circulated, and this article mainly discusses this version.
Ye Tianshi (叶天師), courtesy name Fashan, was born in the twelfth year (616) of the Sui Dynasty Emperor's great cause and ascended to the throne in the eighth year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign (720), at the age of 107. At the time of the Sui and Tang dynasties, Ye Tianshi was famous in the government and the public, from Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi and the female protagonist Wu Xie to Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian and Ruizong Li Dan, all of whom were treated with courtesy.
When Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji came to the world, he was even more favored by the Fa shan and respected it. Although Ye Tianshi was feathered in the early years of the new century, Li Longji "leisurely did not forget the old feelings"; the story of the two working together to tour the Moon Palace has been praised for thousands of years and has been prosperous for a long time.
Of course, Li Longji's association with the Mid-Autumn Festival is not limited to legends, but also to the popularity of the Mid-Autumn Festival in history. Originally, August 15 was just a gathering between literati to admire the moon and chant poems, and ordinary people did not have special commemorations.
In the seventeenth year of the new century (729), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang set up a banquet on his birthday (August 5). Left Cheng Xiangyuan Qianyao and Right Cheng Xiang Zhang said that he led a group of ministers and hundreds of officials to play "the fifth day of August every year as the Thousand Autumn Festival (later renamed the Tianchang Festival)".
After the Outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, the crown prince Li Heng succeeded to the throne at Lingwu, honored Li Longji as Emperor Taishang, and in the first year of the Qianyuan Dynasty (758), he imitated his father and also set his birthday on September 3 as "Tianping Di Chengjie (Di Chengjie for short)". The coexistence of the two festivals is really a repetition, so between the "Tianchang Festival" and the "Earth Festival", august 15 is selected and celebrated on a holiday.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was popularized, and in addition to the vigorous promotion of festivals set up by the imperial court, it was also inseparable from the Taoist faith. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the people throughout the south generally respected Xu Xun, one of the "Four Great Heavenly Masters of Taoism". On the occasion of Xu Tianshi's flying period (August 15), tens of thousands of people went to the West Mountain of Zhongling in Jiangxi To visit the Temple (now under the jurisdiction of Nanchang City) to burn incense.
In the "Legend" written by the late Tang Dynasty writer Pei Yan, it is recorded that the grand situation at that time was recorded: the people from Wu, Yue, Chu, and Shu came thousands of miles away with qiming incense, precious fruits, embroidery, and money, "set up a jai, ask for blessings", "the cars and horses are noisy, the soldiers and women are compared, and the tens of miles are like a street market". It is precisely under the joint action of folk Taoist beliefs and official advocacy that the custom of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15 has not declined due to the change of dynasties, and the legend of Ye Fashan Tianshi and the Tang King's tour of Guanghan has also been talked about by future generations.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="38" > story evolution</h1>
The incident of "Tang Wang's Youyue" is recorded in the "Biography of Tang Ye Zhenren" and other Taoist documents written by Zhang Daotong of the Southern Song Dynasty, and its prototype comes from the "Miscellaneous Records of the Ming Emperor" written by Zheng Chuyi in the Tang Dynasty, which contains the "Purple Cloud Song Taught by the Immortals of Yuanzong Mengxian".
Since the Middle Tang Dynasty, Tang Xuanzong's visit to Guanghan Palace has been widely included in various literature. Later compilers added a lot of content to make the text more fleshed out. For example, in Bai Juyi's "Six Theses of Bai", in addition to the protagonist Li Longji, Ye Fashan Tianshi was also added to lead the Tang Ming Emperor to the moon, making the legend more logical.
For another example, Zheng Shujie's Xingyang compatriot Zheng Qi wrote the "Biography of Kaitian", searched for his will, and added the bridge section of "Silent Memorization of Neon Dress": for Li Bai's boot-off eunuch Gao Lishi appeared on the scene, he saw Xuanzong frequently pressing his abdomen on the Golden Ruan Hall, mistakenly thinking that the emperor was uncomfortable in the abdomen, and rushed forward to ask for warmth, and was told that he was recording the Moon Palace Xianle; although he was embarrassed, he added a bit of comedy to the legend. It is precisely under the joint efforts of successive generations of authors that the details of the "Tang King Youyue" have become more and more detailed, and they have a close connection with the Taoist Celestial Master.
The story of "Tang Ming Emperor's Moon Palace" has been widely circulated since the Middle Tang Dynasty and has endured for a long time: on the one hand, it reflects that under the comprehensive role of official advocacy and Taoist beliefs, the Mid-Autumn Festival moon appreciation has become an important part of the people's lives, so the stories and legends of related themes are favored; on the other hand, it shows that many Taoist masters, including Ye Fashan, have played an active role in maintaining national stability and caring for the well-being of the people.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="53" > The Tang Ming Emperor's Yueyue Palace</h1>
In order to better show this story to everyone, the author summarized and sorted out the relevant texts such as "Miscellaneous Records of the Ming Emperor" and "Six Posts of the Bai Dynasty", with reference to Ming Chongzhen Shangyou Tangben's "Surprise of shooting", and hereby summarizes this matter as follows.
It was the early year of the new century, the mid-autumn of August, the osmanthus flowers floated jade, and the moon color was like silver.
Emperor Tang Ming admired the moon in the palace, sang into the wine, looked up at the fence, and when he saw the frost everywhere, the thousands of miles and a blue, he secretly kicked the degree: Since the moonlight shines in all directions and the light is brilliant, then above the moon must be the Lan Palace Gui Hall, looking at the Que Saga, and it is magnificent. Folk often say: Chang'e stole the elixir and went to the Guanghan Palace on the moon. I was fascinated, but how did I get it?
In order to fulfill his wishes, Emperor Tang Ming immediately sent someone to invite Ye Fashan to the front of the palace and asked if the Venerable Master could take him to the Moon Palace for a visit? Ye Tianshi replied confidently, "What's so difficult about this?" Please drive the royal driver. After saying that, he threw the wat in his hand, revealing a silver bridge, like a snow chain leading straight to the Moon Palace Wonderland.
Emperor Tang Ming and Ye Fashan paced onto the bridge, and although they walked steadily on the bridge, the silver bridge behind them disappeared wherever they could pass. About a mile away, I saw a four-pillar archway with six golden characters written on it, "Guanghan Qingfu".
In front of the court, there is a stout osmanthus tree, which is sparsely shaded and shaded, and I don't know how many miles it is covered. Under the tree, there are countless white-clad fairies, dancing on white birds. Seeing the Ming Emperor walk by, he was neither surprised nor picked up, but bragged and danced.
Ye Tianshi explained from the side: "These fairies, named 'Su'e', wear white clothes on their bodies, called neon feather clothes; the song they play is called 'Purple Cloud Song'. Li Longji knew the rhythm of the music, pressed his hands to the knots, and memorized them in his heart. After the qu finally dispersed, Ye Tianshi drove up two auspicious clouds and returned to the human world with Emperor Tang Ming.
Moreover, when the two of them passed through Luzhou (一作腾州), Fa Shan said to Tianzi: Your Majesty is accustomed to listening to Xian le, why not audition for a song here? Emperor Tang Ming was also skilled, but the jade flute was far away in the sleeping hall of the Xingqing Palace, which was the so-called "difficult for a smart woman to cook without rice". When Ye Tianshi saw what was happening, he sent the gods to Chang'an Da Nei to take it, and he did not come soon. The Son of Heaven plays the flute like a heavenly sound.
The next day, when The Tang Ming Emperor was approaching the court, Gao Lishi saw that the emperor was "pressing his abdomen up and down" with his fingers, thinking that the dragon's body was in trouble, and he was going to retreat to the front to inquire. Li Longji replied with a smile: "There is no disease in the world." Last night, he flew to the Moon Palace with Ye Tianshi, listening to the music of the Shangqing, the light and clearness, and the sound in his ears. Shi Cai suddenly remembered this matter, deeply afraid of forgetting, so Huai Yudi silently wrote it up and down with his fingers.
Later, Emperor Xuanzong ordered the Lefu to rename the Purple Cloud Song to the "Neon Dress Feather Song" and pass it on to Yang Guifei, becoming the "Voice of Tang Jia Xi". The Song dynasty Ge Qiuya once had a poem cloud: "Qin and Han's quest for immortals is no longer enough, but they meet concubines in the moon." How not to look for elixirs, just remember the neon dress a song return. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="57" > the origin of the title "Tang Ming Huang"? </h1>
Although the Tang King Youyue has been passed down through the ages, in the final Tang Dynasty, there is no title of "Tang Ming Emperor". Li Longji was the third prince of Emperor Ruizong, known as "Sanlang", honorific title "Kaiyuan Shengwen Shenwu Emperor", temple name "Xuanzong", and "Emperor Mingxiao of the Great Saint of the Dao", all of which were not called "Ming Emperor".
Later generations changed "Xuanzong" to "Ming Emperor", which is related to another Emperor who was a firm Believer in Taoism.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, it was another peak in the development of Taoism, and the third generation of Tianzi Song Zhenzong's reverence for Taoism was not inferior to that of Tang Xuanzong. In the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1012), Emperor Zhenzong recounted the dream of the god and man, informing him that his ancestor was Zhao Xuanlang of the Qin Dynasty, that is, Zhao Gongming, the familiar god of wealth, and was honored as "Emperor Tianzun of the Nine Heavenly Orders of the Holy Ancestor Shangling Gaodao" and the temple name "Song Shengzu". In this way, in order to avoid the word "Xuan", Li Longji was renamed "Tang Yuanzong" or "Tang Ming Emperor", and the two theories were parallel. For example, the "Xuanzong" in the "Letter of the Kaitian Biography" was changed to "Yuanzong". However, due to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the temple name of Li Jing, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was also "Tang Yuanzong", which was very easy to cause ambiguity, so the use rate of "Tang Ming Emperor" was higher.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="58" > ye fashan's special status in the Xuanzong dynasty</h1>
Of course, whether Li Longji was "Xuanzong" or "Emperor Ming", he could swim in Guanghan thanks to Ye Fashan's strength; at the same time, in the process of his ascension to the throne, he could not do without Ye Tianshi's help.
Ye Fashan, also spelled Daoyuan (道元), also spelled Taisu (太素), was born in Kuocang County, Kuozhou (present-day Songyang County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province). According to the Old Book of Tang, his great-grandfather was a Taoist monk for three generations, "all of whom had the method of cultivating divination" and grew up in a Taoist family. Ye Tianshi learned the family secret method from an early age, and at the age of thirteen, he traveled all over the world, determined to "read the books of the world and prepare the techniques outside the square". In addition to traveling, Fa Shan also visited famous teachers, proficient in spells, yin and yang divination, slashing charms, curing diseases and saving people.
During the Xianqing period, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhijiu, was famous for his fame and enlisted him in Beijing, hoping to be knighted, but the Heavenly Master was devoted to cultivation, and his love was fluffy, and he did not accept it, so he "stayed in the inner dojo and offered a lot of favors.". Since then, the five generations of Heavenly Sons have appreciated it, "summoned to the forbidden place from time to time", and even reached the level of "three times a day".
At that time, the princesses and princesses of the kings, the children of the hundred officials, and the Daoist priests in the capital and the prefectures, and the people who received the scriptures by Ye Tianshi, could be said to be like clouds, and only The Gaozong dynasty "counted more than a thousand people before and after" in the dynasty. When Emperor Xuanzong succeeded to the throne, Ye Tianshi was even more trusted, and played a key role in Li Longji's political career in the first half of his life.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="63" > Kuang Guo's auxiliary master</h1>
In the second year of the First Heaven (713), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang made Ye Fashan "Hongxu Qing", the title of "Duke of Yueguo", the title of "Golden Purple Guanglu Doctor", and the gift of his father as the Assassin of Shezhou, with Jinglongguan as his station, "at that time, he was favored, and he was not compared with it".
Ye Tianshi was able to receive such a special honor because he "yin had helped" in the process of Li Dan and Li Longji's father and son seizing power. However, the four characters in the history of zheng are vague and vague, and in order to clarify the praises and merits of Ye Tianshi, it is still necessary to use the "Tang Ye Zhenren Biography" in the "Daozang", "The True Immortal Body Dao Tongjian of the Past Generations", and the "Ancient Golden Purple Guanglu Doctor Hongxu Qing Yue Guo Gong Jing Longguan Guan Lord's Gift to the Governor of Yuezhou Prefecture Ye Zunshi Inscription and Sequence (Imperial True Monument)" and other documents to explain.
First, it predicts that Merriam-Webster will rebel. Li Dan was able to succeed to the throne, mainly relying on his third son Li Longji to plan and launch the "Tanglong Coup" (710), which destroyed Wei Hou, who had killed Emperor Zhongzong and sought self-reliance, and his henchmen Princess Anle. In fact, as early as when Ye Tianshi accompanied Li Longji "in the bright rain in Dizhou", he had already learned of Wei Hou's treacherous plot and informed him in advance, so Li Sanlang could calmly prepare and wipe out Wei Shi in one fell swoop.
Second, set up an altar and set up a temple, and all that is sought is a spiritual experience. Ye Tianshi's Dao Method was profound, tasting the altar in Lushan Mountain, the land in the corner of the altar was gushing, its water was luscious, and the cranes danced with it. Whenever there is a drought or flood disaster, Fa Shan will set up an altar to stand up, "the snow is full of feet, please rain and tuo", bless the grain and abundance, Guotai Min'an, not only for Xuanzong to share worries, but also for the "Kaiyuan prosperous world" has made contributions.
Third, Mishen Youzan changed the yuan to "Kaiyuan". At the beginning of Xuanzong's succession, the era name was "Xiantian", but Emperor Ruizong retained some of his rights as "Emperor Taishang", and Princess Taiping also arrogantly indulged in her meritorious service. In July of the second year of the first day, Li Longji eradicated the Princess Taiping with a swift thunder and no hurry, seized absolute power, and planned the New Year's number. Suddenly remembering that when he was the king of the domain, Ye Fashan had miyun: "In the past, when I met a god, I tried to say that there was a Kaiyuan Emperor", but in response to this language, I changed the yuan to "Kaiyuan".
Fourth, bless the Son of Heaven and see through the treasure letter organs. At that time, Tufan sent envoys to see him, presented a treasure letter, and said, "Your Majesty please open yourself, and do not let others know the secret." All the courtiers were silent, and only the Fa Shan said: "This is not clear, it is advisable to let the envoys open themselves." "Emperor Xuanzong ordered the emissaries to enlighten themselves, and if a crossbow arrow was fired from the letter, his people died in response. Afterwards, the people up and down the court sighed and trembled, and paid more and more respect to Ye Tianshi.
On June 3, 720, in the eighth year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty (720), in the middle of the Jiashen Day, Ye Fashan "turned the sword into a corpse" and "dissolved the clouds" at the Dragon Temple in Xijing. When Emperor Xuanzong heard about it, he personally visited the funeral home on three days, posthumously presented it to the governor of Yue Prefecture, and returned it to Cangshan. Although Ye Fashan had long since multiplied the other side, his deeds of "counting Changyan and conspiring to participate in hidden irony" made Li Longji unforgettable; twenty years after the death of Tianshi, Emperor Xuanzong personally wrote the "Imperial True Monument", especially recalling Ye Fashan's character of "always traveling from the decay, looking up to migao, and drilling the mijian".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="66" > "Tang Dynasty Moon" in the cultural relics</h1>
For thousands of years, the "Tang Dynasty King's Moon Tour" has been widely circulated. Since the Tang Dynasty, all generations have had cultural relics with this theme, emerging in an endless stream.
For example, the "Ming Emperor Youyue Palace Map" fan surface in the Palace Museum.com. The whole picture is a gold note, color, 18.6 cm in length, 50 cm in width, with the inscription "Written by Dongcun Zhouchen, Ming Emperor Youyue Palace Diagram" eleven characters, and has a "Shunqing" white text square seal; it can be seen that the painter is a mid-Ming dynasty painter and Tang Bohu's mentor Zhou Chen.
The fan brushwork is exquisite, the characters convey the gods, and the scenes such as the Ming Emperor's moon tour and the fairy dancing are vivid and vivid. Ye Fashan's "Tang King's Moon Tour" has been included in the literature of previous dynasties and many folk texts, and is widely used in painting, bronze mirrors, porcelain, lacquerware, wood carving, New Year paintings, moon plates and other art forms, which not only witnessed the vigorous development of Taoist culture in the Tang Dynasty, but also reflected the ancient people's vision of the moon landing and its cosmology from one side. Author/Lin Shuo (Deputy Research Librarian, National Museum of China), the article was first published in "Chinese Taoism", please do not reprint without permission. Image from the web.