If you want to give Chu culture an image symbol, I'm afraid there is nothing more suitable than the "nine-headed bird". What is more vivid, well-known and widely accepted than the phrase "nine birds in the sky, Hubei guy underground" However, what is a nine-headed bird? What's the special relationship between it and Hubei guy? What is the deep cultural connotation under its magical image? These will not only arouse our strong curiosity, but also be of great value to understand the special nature of Chu culture as a part of China culture.

First, the nine phoenix gods of the Chu people

The appearance of the image of the nine-headed bird originated from the nine-phoenix god bird of Chu people. Shan Hai Jing written by Chu people from Warring States to the early Han Dynasty is the earliest document to record the image of the nine-headed bird. Shan Hai Jing Huang Da's North Jing said: "In the desert, there is a mountain called the Arctic Pavilion. Sea water pours into the north. There are nine gods, a bird with a face, and a word "nine phoenixes"? Quot "Although we don't know the exact scope of Jiu Feng's" wild land ",it certainly includes Chu land, because Zhuan Xu, the first emperor of Chu people, and his nine concubines were buried here. The opening of Shan Hai Jing Huang Da Bei Jing wrote: "Outside the Northeast Sea, in the wild, between rivers, there are mountains with more than enough, and emperors Zhuan Xu and Jiuyi are buried." The book "Hai Zhong Dong Jing" says: "The Hanshui River comes out of the fish mountain, the emperor Zhuan Xu is buried in Yang, the ninth wife is buried in Yin, and the four snakes guard it." Attached to the fish, the old saying is universal. Qu Yuan, a Chu man, said in Li Sao that he was a descendant of Emperor Levin. "This is the emperor Zhuan Xu Levin. Zhuan Xu was buried in Hanshui River, and Jiu Feng and Zhuan Xu were in the same place. It can be seen that Jiu Feng is a nine-headed god bird worshipped by Chu people.

The divinity of "Nine Phoenix" can be proved by its name. Phoenix is one of the two most respected totems in ancient China, also known as dragon. It is a symbol of good luck and happiness. "Shan Hai Jing" and "Nan Shan Jing" say that Danxue Mountain "has a bird, which looks like a chicken and is called Phoenix ... singing and dancing by itself, and the world will be peaceful when you see it." "Er Ya Shi Bird" Guo Pu's Note: "Phoenix should be born in a Swiss bird." Shuowen: "Phoenix, the god bird also ... sees that it will bring great peace to the world." Because Phoenix is an auspicious bird, it is said that some ancient emperors, such as Shao Hao and Zhou Chengwang, would fly to celebrate when they ascended the throne.

Chu people have a tradition of worshipping phoenix. When Qu Yuan, a great poet, wrote the passage "Wandering around" in Li Sao, the first sentence was: "I made the phoenix fly, followed by day and night; The wind drove them away and the handsome Yun Ni came to the palace. According to Comrade Xiao Bing's textual research, the story of Phoenix Nirvana's use of authority, which spread all over the world, originated from Qu Yuan's Tian Wen. There are many records in the pre-Qin classics, and the Chu people compared Feng to an outstanding figure. For example, in The Analects of Confucius, a madman in Chu wrote a song to Confucius: "Feng Feng! What is the decline of He De? Don't remonstrate with the past, but you can still pursue the future. Already, already! Today's politicians are in danger! " There is a similar record in Zhuangzi's Life on Earth.

The phoenix worship psychology of Chu people has also been proved by archaeological data. Such as1the dragon and phoenix silk paintings unearthed in Chenjiadashan, Changsha in February, 949; The two discoveries of Jiangling 1963 and 197 1 in Hubei, and the silk paintings without clothes in Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, are both famous discoveries. Especially in Mawangdui's silk painting, around the snake-faced god, there are several big birds in the middle of the sky. In the middle of the picture, at the entrance to heaven, there is also an eagle-billed strange bird and two long-tailed phoenix birds. This is very similar to the artistic conception described in Qu Yuan's poems. Today, phoenix worship psychology still occupies an important position in folk aesthetic taste.

Say "Phoenix" first, then "Nine". Nine, in ancient China, is a mysterious number. The sky is nine high, the ground is nine springs deep, the territory is nine domains, and there are nine princes. When it is nine days in Kuya, the danger is close to death ... Even it is eighty-one difficult for Tang Priest to learn scriptures, and the Monkey King is 9872. Why does the word "nine" become such a mysterious extreme number? According to some scholars, this is because the original meaning of "nine" is "hydra" (or hydra). There were many myths about the worship of Nine-headed Dragon in ancient China. For example, in Shan Hai Jing, there is a saying that "nine snakes go around themselves and eat in nine". Quot Myth, Liu Xiang's "Nine Snake Green Faces", the food of nine hills, the hegemony of nine continents and other nine mythological images. Nine-headed dragons are worshipped by people, and nine-headed birds are no exception.

In Chu culture, the tradition of worshipping "Nine" is also obvious. Qu Yuan's famous series of works is called Nine Songs. When Qu Yuan was exiled, his ci "saw Shu Ren's sacrificial ceremony, singing and dancing were fun but vulgar", so "Gengding Ci" was revised on the basis of Chu folk songs. Qu Yuan also has a work called Nine Chapters, and his student Song Yuyou has Nine Arguments. Qu Yuan once wrote in the poem "Choosing a Tour": "The morning sun rises in the valley, and the sunset leaves nine suns." The word "nine" is used in many places in The Songs of Chu, such as Jiutian, Jiuwan, Kyushu, Jiuyi, Jiukeng, Jiuhe, Jiuzhong, Jiuzi, Jiuze, Jiuqu, Jiuhe, Jiuzhe, Jiushi, Jiuguan, Jiuqian and Jiuhou. Even the harem of Emperor Zhuan Xu was a "nine wives". It can be seen that "Nine" has a great influence on Chu belief.

To sum up, Jiu Feng, with a face of nine birds, is a totem image of half man and half bird worshipped by the ancestors of Chu people, and is the earliest prototype of the image of the nine-headed bird in China.

Second, from bird god to bird monster

Jiu Feng in Shan Hai Jing is undoubtedly a bird god or a divine bird. However, since then, Jiu Feng has mysteriously disappeared from China's literature. Instead, the nine-headed bird with various other names not only completely lost its divinity, but also went from bad to worse with the passage of time and became a complete bird monster.

From the late Han Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties, the "nine-headed bird" in ancient literature has various names, mainly including:

1, ghost bird (ghost car)

Biography of Confucius is quoted from Record of Bai Mansion: "Ghost cars were seen by Confucius and Xia Zi in those years, so there are nine songs. "

The Book of Heaven (Volume 59) quotes Materia Medica: "A ghost car, which can fly when it is dark, is a ghost bird. Once upon a time, there were ten birds, one of which was bitten by a dog. It was said that it was afraid of dogs, also called the nine-headed bird.

2. Han Shi is quoted in Volume 40 of Extensive Tales: "Confucius and Xia Zi crossed the river, seeing birds vary, and people can't be named. Confucius said, "Hey, I heard people on the river say, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Kyubi no Youko. Selected Works of Zhaoming Guo Pu's Fu Jiang: "If it is a corner of the dragon carp, there are nine strange heads." Orthography: Owl, Ghost Car Bird and Nine-headed Bird. "Like a stork, big wings wide. He is blind day and night, and he is devout, and he can't fall down when he sees fire. "

3. Goo Goo bird (or female bird) "Xuan Zhong Ji": "Goo Goo bird can collect people's souls, and today people are also called ghost birds ..."

4. Nine-headed bird

"A Brief Introduction to the Three Kingdoms": "There are nine-headed birds in Qihou Garden, which are as red as ducks and all nine heads are singing."

Besides, there are other names, such as Cangxiao, Inverse Xiao and Nightcrawler. The reason why there are so many different names may be that after the image of the nine-headed bird spread from Chu, different regions called it differently.

These nine-headed birds of later generations have a source relationship with the image of nine phoenix of Chu people. For example, "nine-headed bird" is also called "ghost bird". According to scholars' research, in ancient times, "nine" and "ghost" were universal. Such as Records of the Historian, Yin Benji, Biographies of Lu Zhonglian and Biographies of Zou Yang, Shang Zhouwang regarded Jiuhou, Ehou and Wang Wen as three princes. However, in the Book of Rites and the Warring States Policy, "Nine Hou" was changed to "Ghost Hou". "National Records" says: "There is Jiuhoucheng, also known as Ghost Houcheng, five miles south of Fuyang County, Xiangzhou, which was built in Yin." "Nine" and "ghost" are universal. It is obviously in line with historical facts that the nine-headed bird evolved from a god to a demon. For example, the names of "wet nurse bird" and "mother bird" are all nine-headed women. As we all know, in feudal society, the dragon was the symbol of the emperor, while the phoenix was used for the queen. In China, the name "Phoenix" can be seen everywhere for women, but it is rare for men.

Jiu Feng is a lucky bird, but the nine-headed bird in later literature is full of charm, which is mainly manifested as: being cheap, shedding blood to eliminate disasters and taking people's souls. Liu Yao, a Tang Dynasty man, wrote in "The Record of Different Ridges": "When it was cloudy in spring and summer, a ghost car flew by. There are many outside the ridge. The love for others is amazing. " It's still cloud nine, and one of them was bitten by a dog, and the home of blood drops was accused of it. "

Second, order bloody clothes and take care of the children. "The Story of the Sky" said: "A bird caught by a bug can collect people's spirit. Today's people are like a group of wet nurse birds. It is said that it was caused by maternal death. I can treat a man's son as my own. " There are two breasts on the chest. If there is a boy's home, it is my ambition to get his clothes stained with blood. Now people who don't want to show their clothes are doing the same. "

Third, the image is ugly and the temperament is fierce. In the Song Dynasty, Qidong meticulous unofficial history said: "The body is round like a dustpan, with ten clusters, and there are nine heads, one of which is unique, but dripping with blood. As the world says, every cluster has two wings. When flying, the eighteen wings are actually moving, and they are not used to each other, so that there are disputes and injuries. " (neck)

In addition, it is said that it also likes people's nails to know people's fortune. Whoever has a disaster will sing in his home (in the volume of Lingyi). According to legend, during the reign of King Ding of Song Dynasty, the emperor fell ill. One day, I suddenly saw the nine-headed bird standing on the stone in front of the door in broad daylight, purring. That night, the emperor died of illness. In addition, it is said that it also likes people's nails to know people's fortune. Whoever has a disaster will sing in his home (in the volume of Lingyi). According to legend, during the reign of King Ding of Song Dynasty, the emperor fell ill. One day, I suddenly saw the nine-headed bird standing on the stone in front of the door in broad daylight, purring. That night, the emperor died of illness. The nine-headed bird is a catastrophe, and people's attitude towards it is naturally unfriendly. In the Chronicle of Jingchu, Liang people in the Southern Dynasties recorded the custom of Chu at that time: "On the full moon night, there are many ghost birds, and every family beats the door, hits the dog's ear and turns off the lights and candles to suppress it." Zhou Mi's madness in Qi Dong also said: "People who hear it bark at dogs and turn off the lights, so that they can pass Zeguo quickly."

Third, the battle of the Millennium reputation.

Why did Jiu Feng, who was worshipped by people, disappear and be replaced by Hydra? Why did you change from a god to a demon, and when and where did you become a demon? This is a puzzling mystery in the cultural history of China.

Fortunately, there are still some clues in ancient literature, which provides convenience for us to solve this mystery. Let's look at an ancient style written by Mei, a famous poet in the Song Dynasty: Once upon a time, there was a Duke of Zhou who hated this bird.

Call Ting's family in the evening and bend the arc to drive them out of Kyushu.

Since the dog bit a song and broke his head, the blood has been clear.

In recent years, they are separated by three centuries, hiding during the day and coming out at night, like snipes.

Every time it is cloudy and dark, at first glance, the fire is scary.

Sometimes, when blood is red, every family will be broken.

Folk literature is mainly spread orally, and when, where and by whom this story is recorded in the literature is largely accidental. For example, the creation of Pangu was first seen in Three Li Wu Ji written by Xú Zhēng in the Three Kingdoms, and the brother-sister marriage of Fuxi Nuwa was first produced in the Tang Dynasty. Similarly, this poem by Mei may be an ancient legend. More importantly, the content of this legend is very close to historical facts.

According to historical records, after Zhou Wuwang's death, his son was young and his younger brother Zhou Gongdan was the Regent. Seven years later, Duke Zhou returned to politics as an adult nephew, assisting Zhou Chengwang. At that time, someone slandered the Duke of Zhou and had long wanted to usurp the throne. The young king hurt Duke Zhou, so Duke Zhou fled to Chu. Later, Zhou Chengwang found that the Duke of Zhou had been loyal to himself and regretted his recklessness, so he killed the slanderer and took the Duke of Zhou back from Chu.

Duke Zhou will not be granted "political asylum" and will be extradited. 2. Since Duke Zhou once took refuge in Chu, he must be familiar with the Nine Phoenix Gods of Chu people.

Historically, Zhou and Chu were indeed sworn enemies. King Zhao of Zhou led an army to make a personal expedition, but he died in Hanshui and became a ghost in a foreign land. The hatred of the Zhou people towards the Chu people can be imagined. We know that the god of a nation, in its hostile nation, must be called a demon. Like the Egyptian god sat, he became Satan in the Hebrew Bible. The deity Chiyou of Dongyi tribe in China has become a monster who can fly sand and stones in Huaxia nationality. Zhou people described the nine phoenix totems of Chu people as monsters, and made up the story that Tiangou broke one of them, which also conforms to the basic law of this comparative myth. As for the duke of Zhou himself or the folklore attached to him, it doesn't matter.

The story of Tiangou biting off the nine-headed bird reveals the clues of Zhou people's story. In ancient South China, there was a special mystery about "Nine", which was considered as extreme number, so "Nine Phoenix" was originally nine heads. The north is different. The south is "Jiuyang", as I said before. In northern mythology, it is the "Ten Yang", such as the story that he was born 10 days and stayed for nine days, which is very famous. They described the nine phoenixes of the Chu people as ten phoenixes, which were bitten off by the Tiangou. Obviously, according to their traditional habits, they naturally incorporated the psychology of worshipping "Ten" when making up stories.

Qin, who lived in Guanzhong for a long time, finally eliminated the heroes of the six countries, such as Chu, and unified China. Of course, this is not conducive to the spread of Chu cultural traditions. Therefore, after Shan Hai Jing, the image of the nine phoenix gods disappeared completely, while the image of the nine-headed bird as a bird demon was widely circulated throughout the country. Including Jingchu, it has become a custom to drive away "ghost birds" barking dogs.

However, as the historical saying goes, "Although there are three Chu, there will be the death of Qin", when the nine-headed bird became popular all over the country as a monster, a charming story changed from Chu and spread rapidly. This is the story of Feather Fairy, which is a variation of ancient birds. Lu Xun's "Ancient Fiction Hooking and Sinking" has this story:

"Birds fly by day and hide by night, cover ghosts and gods, clothes are birds, and clothes are women. A fairy, a night girl, a Crookedstar, an invisible man. Birds have no children and like to take other people's children as sons. Nowadays, children's clothes don't want to be exposed at night. I love it for this thing. Clothes that want to bring blood are to bring children. The dead are called ghost birds, and there are many in Jingzhou. Yesterday, a man in Zhang Yu saw six or seven women wearing Tanaka, but they didn't know it was a bird. They crawled to get the sweater, took it and hid it, and then went to find the bird. Birds go to sweaters and clothes fly away. A bird alone cannot marry a man and give birth to three girls. Her mother's maid asked her father that she knew the clothes were under Jimmy, so she took them and flew away. After welcoming the three daughters with clothes, the clothes of the three daughters also flew away. Is this a ghost car? quot

This story is obviously born out of the legend of the nine-headed bird monster, and the storyteller even knows that the bird is a ghost bird or a ghost car. By the way, according to legend, the ghost car got its name, that is, it originated from the sound like a rickshaw made by the 18 wings of the nine-headed bird. However, the storyteller abandoned the grotesque image of "nine heads" to avoid evoking people's memory of the bleeding bird monster. He broke the psychological stereotype that "ghost birds" or "ghost cars" are ominous things in ordinary people's minds, and deeply touched people's hearts with the strange fantasy that "clothes and feathers are birds and clothes are women" and the good wishes of ordinary people to marry fairies and men plow and women weave. Therefore, it transcends the limitation of time and space and sublimates, becoming a very popular motif in China folk stories. From Zhang Tian in The Stone Chambers of Dunhuang to Zhu Qing in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, this story has many variations in the note novels of almost all dynasties. It also incorporates other stories, such as Cowherd and Weaver Girl, one of the four legends, borrowing the plot of stealing clothes and getting married.

In particular, the story of China Yuxian, the hometown of East Asia, is very popular in the world. According to AT classification of authoritative reference books of western folk stories, such stories are spread all over the world in more than 50 countries and nationalities, and 1200 foreign languages have been found, making them the most popular stories in the world. Professor Junshima Kuko, a Japanese scholar, said in the article "Fairy of the East" that this story was spread to Japan from China, and its historical record was hundreds of years earlier than that of Japan.

The earliest recorded stories of feather fairy in the world are Gan Bao's Searching for the Gods, Guo Pu's The Secret and Li Daoyuan's Notes on Water Classics in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The stories in these records took place in Chuyangxin, Hubei and Zhang Yu, Jiangxi.

The Chinese nation is a big one. Chinese culture is a culture accumulated by the labor and wisdom of people of all ethnic groups since ancient times, and it is a large system composed of many parts. In this big system, there are many subsystems, which also have great and lasting influence on people's ideology, mental outlook and psychological temperament. In other words, we should not only see the uniqueness of China culture, but also pay attention to the individuality of various regions and ethnic cultures. As the saying goes? Quot different winds in ten miles, different customs in a hundred miles. "

Folk custom is often a sign of local cultural characteristics.

The legend of the nine-headed bird has been circulated in China for thousands of years, and its evolution is itself an active history of cultural exchange. It is the crystallization of the integration of North and South cultures and the collective creation of the Chinese nation, and it also embodies the unique features of Chu culture as a member of Chinese culture. Its dramatic changes from god to demon and from demon to fairy reflect the tenacious psychological set of Chu culture in folk inheritance. Through the analysis of the cultural connotation in the image of the nine-headed bird, we can enter the deep structure of Chu culture along it.

Guqintai, also known as Boyatai, is located at the foot of Guishan Mountain in Hanyang and on the east bank of Yuehu Lake. This is a memorial building, which was built to commemorate the meeting between Yu Boya and his close friend Zhong Ziqi while playing the piano. According to legend, in ancient times, a pianist named Yu Boya played the piano here to express his feelings. Zhong Ziqi, the woodcutter, understood that his purpose was mountains and flowing water, and they became bosom friends. Later, Zhong Ziqi died, and Yu Boya was very sad. He broke the piano at his friend's grave and never played it again. The allusion of "bosom friend" comes from this. Guqintai was built by later generations in memory of the two close friends.

Legend of Guisheshan

Turtles and snakes often appear together in various literary works, which has a history. According to legend, when Dayu was in charge of water control, there were two generals, Tortoise and Snake, who would build dikes, build land and block the mouth with holy soil to prevent flooding. Snakes will use God's tail to move, open rivers and divert water and flood. Dayu cut the mountain, the river washed away and the flood was finally subdued. In order to prevent the flood from raging again, Dayu ordered two generals, Gui and She, to guard the banks of the river, and finally formed two mountains, Gui and She.

five hundred Rohan

Hanyang Guiyuan Buddhist Temple has 500 arhats with different shapes, all of which are vivid and moving. One year, when there was a flood, all the arhats were submerged in the water, but when the water receded, they were all fine.

Guiyuan Temple Luohan, blisters are not bad, which has a history:

When Guiyuan Temple was completed that year, two clay sculptors were invited from Huangpi County to build 500 arhats. These two men are both father and son and master and apprentice, and this is the way to go.

Lohan spectrum comes from Tianzhu country. It is said that there are only two sets in China, one in Tiantong Temple in Zhejiang and the other in Zhu Sheng Temple in Hunan. The old sculptor traveled across mountains and rivers to Zhu Sheng Temple, painted the Lohan spectrum one by one, took it back, and then began to make statues.

It's easy to make a statue, but difficult to show it. The sculptor doesn't want to paint a gourd ladle. It is difficult for him to shape all kinds of expressions of Lohan! Guiyuan Temple is surrounded by rural areas. When farmers are farming, resting, passing by or sleeping in the shade, the old sculptors watch them one by one, keep them in mind and skillfully turn them into arhats. That's not enough. Sometimes, he called the children nearby, deliberately let them play, carefully observed and pondered, and even remembered their naughty appearance of digging their ears and hugging their feet, and shaped them on Lohan's body. It's said that "six sons play Luohan" is shaped in this way.

Plastic clay tires are easily deformed and damaged. How can it be passed down from generation to generation? The old sculptor tried many methods and failed.

Once, when he saw a Fujian bodiless lacquer ware, he asked how to make it. According to that method, he used a mixture of hemp fiber, kudzu cloth, raw lacquer and Guanyin soil to paste the molded clay tire layer by layer, dried it, and filled it with water to melt the mud, and the hollow arhat was made. The water is not wet, the fire is not rotten, it is strong, vivid and lifelike, just like a real person.

The old sculptor devoted all his sculptures to Lohan and died before he finished carving. His son inherited his stepfather's business and then began to carve. His craft is also very clever, and it has been shaped to 499. Suddenly, his heart beat, and he thought, among all the arhats, which one doesn't have his father's efforts? His old man's house will also be enshrined here as a memorial for future generations, so the old sculptor will be molded into the 500 th arhat.

Therefore, when burning incense for arhat, an arhat has a column of incense, which is exactly 500; But if one, two, three, four ... count the arhats, there will only be 499, and there will be no immortals!

Yellow Crane Tower

There is a snake mountain near the Yangtze River in Wuchang, and there is a magnificent Yellow Crane Tower on the mountain, with a spire flying over the eaves. If you want to ask about the origin of the Yellow Crane Tower, you must start with the flying cranes in Lv Dongbin!

According to legend, after visiting Mount Emei in Sichuan, Lv Dongbin had a whim and decided to visit friends and immortals in the East China Sea. He went down the Yangtze River with a sword on his back. On this day, I came to wuchang city. Fascinated by the beautiful scenery here, he climbed the snake mountain excitedly and stood on the top of the mountain looking up. Wow! I saw the mountain on the other side as if it were a crouching turtle, stretching its head to suck the river; The mountain under my feet, like a long snake, held its head high and watched chinemys reevesii's movements. Lv Dongbin thought: If a tall building is built on this snake head, wouldn't it be better to stand on it and see the beautiful scenery around? But this mountain is high and steep. Who can build a building on it? Yes, or talk to some fairy friends.

He drew his sword into such a circle and went straight into the sky. He Xiangu came in a colorful cloud. He quickly told her what he thought. He Xiangu smiled: "You asked me to draw dragons and embroider phoenixes with needles. If you want to repair the building, you'd better find someone else! " Lv Dongbin invited Tie Guai Li again, and Tie Guai Li smiled: "If your hair is dizzy, I have a panacea here. If you want to repair the building, please find someone else! " Zhang was invited, and Zhang shook his head and said, "I can only ride a donkey backwards and read a song book." Just say it and leave. Lv Dongbin thought, this is over, even the Eight Immortals can't do it. Where can I find craftsmen? At this moment, I suddenly heard a strange bird cry in the air. He looked up and saw Master Lu Ban riding a wooden kite and smiling at him. Lv Dongbin hurried to meet him and said his thoughts again. Master Lu Ban stepped down from the wooden kite, looked at the height of the mountain and then at the terrain. He picked up some branches from the hillside and took them off the ground. He thought for a moment and said, "Let's discuss it tomorrow morning."

The next morning, when the rooster crowed for the first time, Lv Dongbin climbed the Snake Mountain in a hurry and saw a tall building with cornices carved on it. He shouted Lu Ban's name and climbed to the top floor, but he didn't even see Lu Ban's shadow, only saw a wooden crane left by Lu Ban. The wooden crane is covered with yellow feathers and is looking at him with a pair of big black eyes. Lv Dongbin was very happy. He touched the railing on the mold floor for a while, looked at the river downstairs for a while, took out a flute and played a song against the rolling river. While playing the flute, he looked at the wooden cranes dancing to the music! He rode on the wooden crane. When the wooden crane stood upright, he jumped up, rushed out of the building, flew three times around the tall building and roared into the white clouds. Later, people gave the building a name, called Yellow Crane Tower.