Chapter 10 Peking New Year Customs: Baiyun Guanshun Star

Yun Baoyi, director of the altar and temple management department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the Beiyang period, once said: "There is only a star temple in the Baiyun Temple outside the West Bianmen in Beiping, which is the only temple for people to worship the stars." Yun Baoyi once comprehensively analyzed The national temples have been registered for many years, and everything is done by hand, so what is said is natural and well-founded. According to astrologers, each person has a star on duty every year, and the fate of the year is entirely in the hands of that star on duty.Every year on the eighth day of the first lunar month, it is the time for all the stars to gather. If you pray and sacrifice according to the time, you will naturally be blessed by the stars.

The Star God Hall of Baiyun Temple is at the back and northwest corner of the temple. The hall is divided into upper and lower floors. There are seated statues of various star gods.These wood-carved clay sculptures, lifelike dharmakayas, are about the same height as a human being, and are said to be hand-carved by famous craftsmen.The late master of martial arts, Yang Xiaolou, a master of the generation, often said: "In my two plays "Tie Cage Mountain Jiangxiong Watching the Stars" and "Lin Chong Ye Runs to Desperately Walking in the Wilderness", there are several figures. But, it’s really neat and elegant to be on stage and come in handy, it’s all from the mercy of all the Star Lords!”

Anyone who goes to the Star God Temple to worship the stars, it is said that once they enter the gate, they will randomly identify a star and count down one by one to the right. Look at the dharma body of that Xingjun, his appearance is radiant, and it looks more and more similar to your own appearance.Every year on the eighth day of the first lunar month, the author visits the Baiyun Temple and before entering the Star God Temple, I really want to count it this year, but I completely forget about it as soon as I enter the temple gate. Jiang Chaozong, who was the commander of the infantry in the late Qing Dynasty, was most interested in the Star God Temple of Baiyun Temple. He went to Baiyun Temple Shunxing for three or four consecutive years. As soon as he entered the Star Temple, he recognized a god. Counting to the right to his own age, three Four years are actually the same god.So Mr. Jiang Yu always went to Baiyun Guanshunxing every year to pay respects devoutly and meticulously. In the 24th year of the Republic of China, in the name of Anonymous, he reinstalled the dharma bodies of the star kings in the Star God Temple with gold chalk, and the red lacquer painting took on a new look. Who knows It's Jiang Yu's masterpiece!

There is also a simple way to follow the stars, that is, under the seat of each star god, there is a yellow paper lottery, indicating how old the star king is and the star of the year.After you confirm it, you can burn incense, kowtow, make a wish, and add lamp oil with incense money under the seat of that god, which can be regarded as the completion of Shunxing merit and virtue. European and American young men and women seem to be very interested in Baiyun Guanshunxing.Every year on the eighth day of the first month of the first lunar month, there is also a scramble for the first, and the shadows of silk whips and hats come riding donkeys. It is better to say whether they are booing after the pilgrims, or whether they are believers in fatalism.Entering the Star God Hall to rejoice, pointing fingers one by one, seems to be quite respectful, and counting the number of stars who are on duty, they also mutter words in their mouths and burn incense to worship.Later, the Taoist priests in Guanli had an idea and added Arabic characters under each star god seat. This added a lot of convenience and interest to the European and American people who came to pilgrimage, and the purses of the Taoist priests were also richer. .

Those who live in Beiping and don’t want to go to the Baiyun Star Temple to burn incense and pray for blessings can also follow the stars in their own homes.On the night of worshiping the stars, we have to wait for all the stars in the sky to come out, and when all the family members are at home and there are no outside guests, the pre-prepared offerings are arranged on the heaven and earth table in the main courtyard.The lantern flower is made of square-hole copper coins, and the outside is cut into a diamond shape with yellow and white lantern paper to wrap it, soak it in sesame oil to absorb enough oil, and then put it in a clay lamp bowl (also called a lamp cup), and add a little to each lamp. Lamp oil to increase brightness.There are forty-one yellow lanterns, forty-one white lanterns, a total of eighty-one lanterns. According to the older generation, the number and color of the lanterns are very particular, and they should not be messed up. What are some allusions.