Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 236: Emperor, Queen, Earth and National Sacrifice God System
Cao Sicheng knew in advance that the emperor was going to ask about religious sacrifices, so he was prepared for this matter.

After hearing that the emperor valued Nine Lotus Guanyin Bodhisattva, he immediately responded:

"There are Zhenwu temples in both Beijing and Nanjing, offering sacrifices to the true king of the Arctic Blessing Saint."

"There is the Tianfei Palace in Nanjing. In the seventh year of Yongle, she was named the Tianfei who protects the country and shelters the people. Miaoling Zhaoying Hongren Puji Tianfei."

"These temples are all worshiped by Taichang Temple officials."

"I believe that the ceremony for worshiping the Nine Lotus Guanyin Bodhisattva should be modeled after the Martial Arts Temple or the Tianfei Palace."

This answer made Zhu Youjian extremely satisfied.

The Ming Dynasty had great respect for the True Monarch of the Arctic Blessing Saint, and the official sacrificial ceremony attached great importance to him. The Heavenly Concubine Mazu also has a temple in Nanjing and is included in the official sacrificial ritual.

Cao Sicheng juxtaposed the worship ceremony of Nine Lotus Guanyin Bodhisattva with the two, and Zhu Youjian was naturally very satisfied.

After thinking about it, he decided:

"The Queen Mother is the empress in the human world, and after returning to become a Bodhisattva, she should also have the status of the Queen of Heaven, and the rituals of worship should be higher than that of the Concubine of Heaven."

"According to the specifications of Zhenwu Temple, Taichang Temple officials will offer sacrifices."

After setting the specifications for the ceremony, Zhu Youjian arranged for Cao Sicheng to handle it and write a memorial to explain it.

At the same time, he also became interested in the temples in Beijing and asked which ones were officially worshiped.

Cao Sicheng didn't know the emperor's intention, so he listed them one by one:

"In addition to the Zhenwu Temple, there are the Capital God Temple, Guan Gong Temple, Taicang Temple, and Sima Ma Ancestor Mu Temple in both capitals."

"Beijing also has Dongyue Taishan Temple, Hong'en Lingji Palace, and Prime Minister Wen Temple, a total of eight temples for worship."

"There are also Tianfei Palace, Meritorious Minister Temple, etc. in Nanjing. There are a total of fifteen temples for worship."

These are the official gods, Zhu Youjian thought to himself as he listened to Cao Sicheng's reply.

In addition to the two specialized temples, Taicang Temple and Sima Ma Ancestor Mu Temple, there are temples in Beijing and Nanjing, namely Zhenwu Temple, Capital God Temple, and Guan Gong Temple——

These three beliefs were most valued in the Ming Dynasty and were officially promoted.

Zhenwu Temple is closely related to Taoism, and Zhu Youjian has not found much room for maneuver for the time being. But the Capital God's Temple and the Guan Gong Temple made him see an opportunity.

Especially the City God Temple in the capital reminded him of the City God system in later incense Shinto novels. This divine system can be said to be famous, and they have built it very well.

If the city gods from various places could be integrated to form a complete city god system, and a supreme god could be found as the representative, it would be possible to stabilize the Ming Dynasty's beliefs and resist the invasion of monotheistic religions.

So Zhu Youjian asked:
"Who is the God of the city? Who is the supreme god?"

Cao Sicheng replied:

"In the second year of Hongwu, the City God attached sacrifices to the altar of Yuedu gods, and Taizu ordered him to be knighted."

"In Kyoto, the minister of Chengtianjian Kingdom was promoted to the Mingling King of Fumingling. Kaifeng, Linhao, Taiping, Hezhou and Chuzhou were all granted the title of king. The remaining prefectures and counties were granted the titles of Duke Weiling, Marquis Lingyou and Uncle Xianyou. There are differences between Gun, Zhang and Crown."

"In the third year of Hongwu's reign, the imperial edict was issued to banish him from the title, and he was no longer called the God of the City God of the prefectures, prefectures and counties."

"The City God of the capital attached himself to the Shanchuan Altar. In the ninth year of Jiajing, he stopped worshiping at the Shanchuan Altar and sent officials from Taichang Temple to offer sacrifices."

"The city gods of various places should be managed according to the imperial court level, with the highest being the city gods of the two capitals."

Zhu Youjian asked again:

"Do the city gods of the two capitals and the city gods of various places have names?"

"Who is their higher god?" This is more difficult to answer. Cao Sicheng considered it:
"The Wuhu City God Temple was built in the second year of Wu Chiwu. The City God God is Xu Sheng. It is said to be the earliest City God Temple."

"Some of the other city gods have names, some have no names, so we don't know the details."

It's okay if you don't know clearly. If you really know it, there will be no room for adjustment.

Thinking about his previous approach to the Yellow Emperor's chronology, Zhu Youjian decided to "communicate with heaven" and organize the City God's divine system——

This is his authority as the emperor, and no one can take it away.

As the son of God, the emperor naturally has the power to canonize gods and can canonize gods on behalf of God.

"The major affairs of the country depend on the sacrifice of soldiers." It is hard to say how much power Zhu Youjian has now in military matters, but in matters of sacrifice, he has a great say.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian has planned to work hard on sacrifices and organize various divine systems.

Thinking about this matter, Zhu Youjian heard Cao Sicheng say again:
"The city god originally worshiped at the altar of mountains and rivers, but now the altar of mountains and rivers has been changed to the altar of gods and earth."

"The gods of the five mountains and five towns, the four seas and the four gods, worship the emperor and the earth in the altar of earth."

"Therefore, the gods above the city god should be the only gods of the emperor and the earth."

After hearing this, Zhu Youjian said thoughtfully:
"Is the Emperor of the Earth God the same as the Emperor of the Earth?"

"Taoism has the theory of four or six emperors. One of them is the earth emperor who followed the example of Chengtian. Is it the same deity?"

Cao Sicheng said:
"Chengtian imitated the virtues of the Empress Tuhuangdi, which was the emblem of the former Song Dynasty."

"The theory of four or six emperors is a far-fetched idea of ​​Taoism."

"Since ancient times, heaven and earth have been called together, and they are called the Emperor's Heaven and the Queen's Earth."

"Huang Tian is also called Huang Tian God. It was formerly called Haotian God. In the 17th year of Jiajing, it was changed to Huang Tian God."

"Those who follow the earth are like the gods of the emperor, and their rituals are like worshiping heaven."

This is the highest god worshiped by the imperial court and officially recognized as the supreme god.

The rest of the Three Pure Ones and Six Imperial Kings, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, etc. are not included in the official sacrificial canon. Some Confucian officials even bluntly said that "the Three Qing Dynasties are Taoist nonsense."

Zhu Youjian listened to Cao Sicheng's explanation and gradually deepened his understanding of the chaotic pantheon of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, he had realized that although the gods worshiped by the court were somewhat related to Buddhism and Taoism, they were not the same system at all.

The pantheon with Emperor Tianhou Tu as the supreme god can be called the Confucian pantheon or the national sacrificial pantheon. The theology of Buddhism and Taoism can be called the Buddhist theology and the Taoism theology.

Titles such as the Three Pure Ones and Six Imperial Guards, the Great Emperor and Heavenly Lord in the Taoist pantheon are not recognized by Confucianism. For example, the Great Emperor of the Five Mountains is only called the God of the Five Mountains in the official sacrificial rituals, and is only worshiped as the god of the emperor.

Zhu Youjian was also dissatisfied with the Taoist mess of the Three Pure Ones, Six Imperial Kings, and the Great Emperor and Heavenly Lord. He felt that the Confucian formula of emperor, queen, earth, and supreme god was much clearer than it.

But an embarrassing fact is that although the belief in heaven and earth is very widespread, God is the mantra of many people. However, as the invisible incarnation of heaven, it is difficult for the Emperor God to convince believers that he cannot stop religious invasion.

As a personal god, the Jade Emperor makes people feel more intimate. And because the Song Dynasty once gave the Jade Emperor the emblem of "The Supreme Kaitian Holding Talisman Yuli Hanzhenti Dao Haotian Jade Emperor God", many people confused the Jade Emperor and Haotian God and thought they were the same god.

Through this, Taoism incorporated the supreme gods of the two major national sacrificial gods, Huang, Tianhou and Tu, into the Six Imperial Guards. He also placed Sanqing before Liuyu, making Sanqing a higher-level deity.

This made the Confucian scholars very dissatisfied, and they directly denounced "the Three Qing Dynasties as Taoist nonsense" and believed that "taking Zhou Zhu as one of the historians and Li Er as one of them, and using humans and ghosts as the gods, is very false and false", exposing the Taoist background.

However, Confucianism also believes in "respecting ghosts and gods and keeping them at a distance" and does not take the initiative to spread beliefs at all. Therefore, the Taoist teachings of the Three Pure Ones and Six Imperial Masters gradually took root in the world's concepts. For example, in "The Romance of the Gods", Sanqing is listed in front of God Haotian. In "Journey to the West", Sanqing is also in front of the Jade Emperor.

It can be said that Sanqing has actually become a higher-level deity, ranking above the Emperor, Heaven and Queen.

(End of this chapter)