Chapter 17 The first section of the lifelike statue sculpture

Sculptures in Taiwan draw nourishment from the splendid sculpture art of ancient China. In terms of shape and production techniques, they inherit and carry forward the traditional Chinese sculpture art style, creating many fine sculptures with strong local characteristics.Among them, the statue sculpture reflects the achievements of Taiwan's sculpture art. There are many gods believed in by the folks in Taiwan, and the statues of the gods are also varied.They are mostly carved with wood or clay, but also made of pottery.Most of them are full-body portraits, standing or sitting, usually with clothes, clothes and even seats, which are lifelike and vivid, reflecting the general recognition standards of Taiwanese folks for various gods. A precious object of art.

Mazu is one of the most revered gods in Taiwanese folk.According to folklore, she is a clever, unmarried girl who became a fairy at the age of 28.Logically, the statue of Mazu should be portrayed as a slender and graceful lady, but the statue of Mazu in the temples in Taiwan is a middle-aged woman with a plump body in a static sitting posture: a round face with a smile, slender and curved Eyebrows, small mouth, eyes and nose bridge at an angle of 15° slightly upward, eyes slightly opened and looking down.Since the statue is enshrined in a relatively high position, believers look up and face the statue exactly, giving people a strong impression of gentleness, kindness, dignity and elegance.The artisans created this image of Mazu, obviously intending to portray her virtues of saving suffering, benevolence and virtuousness.The portraits of figures in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty in the Dunhuang murals are mostly graceful, noble and dignified, revealing the spiritual temperament and connotation of Buddhism, Taoism, benevolence and generosity everywhere.Most of the Taiwanese artisans come from "Tangshan". From the shape of the statue of Mazu, we can get a glimpse of the profound influence of Dunhuang murals on them.

In the Mazu temples in Taiwan, there must be two standing statues on both sides of the Mazu statue: "Shunfeng Ear" on the left and "Clairvoyance" on the right. They are Mazu's effective "assistants".According to legend, one year, Mo Niang (the common name of Mazu) met a crying girl on her way, and she was being carried in a sedan chair to sacrifice to two evil monsters.Mo Niang bravely took the place of the girl and left in a sedan chair.The second monster was ecstatic to see Mo Niang's delicate appearance.Mo Niang took her time and asked the two demons to name them.The one with big eyes like a cow said: "I am the famous clairvoyant!" The one with long ears like a donkey said: "I am the world-famous ear of the wind!" Mo Niang urged them to abandon evil and do good.Where are the two demons willing to listen, they want to molest Mo Niang.Mo Niang tapped her finger and cast a magic spell, a huge stone weighing several thousand catties fell from the sky, and hovered over the heads of the two demons with a whirlwind. The two demons were so frightened that they lost their souls. be human.Mo Niang accepted the two of them as disciples, and they walked together for the heaven.It is said that the ears of the wind can hear the wind blowing thousands of miles away, and the eyes of clairvoyance can see the grass moving thousands of miles away, which is of great help to Mazu in rescuing people in distress!

Clairvoyance and Shunfeng Er are both sculpted to be very strong and burly, with protruding muscles, bulging veins, wide-open eyes, bared teeth, and a ferocious face.The clairvoyant right hand is raised to look into the distance.This shape, together with the flowing belts on their bodies, makes people also naturally think of the images of wrestlers in the Dunhuang murals.The female dignity shown by the statue of Mazu and the roughness of the male shown by the statues of clairvoyance and wind ears form a strong contrast and contrast in the same temple, which further highlights the benevolent and kind character of the main god of Mazu, and also perfectly embodies the "overcoming rigidity with softness" The essence of this traditional Chinese culture.Its exquisite carving, balanced shape, smooth shape and clothing lines are from the hands of artisans two or three hundred years ago, which cannot but applaud!

There is a "Linshui Lady Temple" in Tainan, in which dozens of gods are enshrined, almost all of them are "women": the main hall worships the aunt, the second mother, and the third mother, and the left and right guardians are Hua Gong Hua Po and Zhu Sheng Niangniang, there are 36 Wumu on the corridors on both sides.In the world of gods, it is a temple specializing in "obstetrics and gynecology", "pediatrics" and "nursery". The aunt is called "Mrs. Linshui", formerly known as Chen Jinggu, a native of Gutong County, Fujian Province, born in the second year of Tang Tianbao (743 A.D.); it is said that she was reincarnated from a drop of blood of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. A real person is a teacher, and he knows swordsmanship and Taoist methods of exorcising evil and demons, and has profound skills.Not long after she got married and became pregnant, a white snake spirit in the village turned into a beautiful woman to tease men. The villagers were panicked and begged for help.Jinggu then used magic to put the fetus in the womb at home, and went out to eliminate the harm.Unexpectedly, the white snake spirit colluded with another demon, and the white snake spirit lured Jinggu away, and the demon took the opportunity to sneak into Jinggu's room and eat the fetus.Jinggu hated her so much that she eradicated all the demons and vowed to protect all pregnant women in the world. He died at the age of 24 and became a god, and was worshiped by the villagers.Because she removed the white snake essence in Linshui, she was honored as "Mrs. Linshui".The second mother is Lin Shanniang, and the third mother is Li Sanniang. According to legend, they are the same teachers and sisters of Jinggu.

"Zhu Sheng Niang Niang" is the god who specializes in giving birth to boys and girls.Legend has it that a man is a tree and a woman is a flower.This flower is destined to bloom several flowers, red peanuts give birth to girls, and white peanuts give birth to boys.After a man and a woman get married, the Zhusheng Empress is responsible for arranging for them to have a boy or a daughter.Believers who want a man or a woman can ask the birth mother to "accommodate" and exchange a white flower or a red flower. This is called "changing flowers and changing buckets"; The method of "fighting" is given to your children.It can be seen that the "power" of Zhusheng Empress is no small matter!

Taking care of the fetus is the business of playboys and women.Pregnant women are like flower buds that are just about to bloom, while dandy and dandy women are responsible for watering, fertilizing, and deworming.They had too many things to do, so they invited 36 Wumu (also known as "bed mothers") to assist them, and they were responsible for taking care of the babies so that they would not get sick, frightened, drowned by playing with water, burnt by playing with fire, etc., just like babysitters. "nanny". This set of "health care institutions" that are in charge of everything about male and female births in the world is not imprecise!This is of course very important to the Chinese who have always paid attention to "passing on the family line" and valuing family affection in ancient times when the medical and health services were very backward.Therefore, not only families who desire to have children often go to the Zhusheng Empress Temple to worship devoutly, but even families with babies place offerings in front of their children's beds, burn incense and worship Wumu, and ask them to take good care of their babies. .

Based on these moving folk legends, the craftsmen carefully sculpted a group of goddess statues full of maternal love and lifelike: Mrs. Linshui is like a lady in Chinese paintings, thin and beautiful, youthful, and seems to contain boundless magic power to subdue monsters Hua Gong and Hua Po look like an old couple who endure hardships and stand hard work all their lives; Zhu Sheng's appearance is between Mazu and Mrs. Linshui, with a moderate body and approachable appearance, which seems to be easy to "accommodate"; What is more special is the shape of Wu Mu. They have changed from the light and delicate demeanor of the ladies in Chinese paintings. They are all plump, strong and strong, with round and thick faces. The lines of eyes, nose and mouth are all the charm of Bodhisattvas in Dunhuang murals.Some of them hold babies in their arms, some hold young children in their hands, and some even bare their breasts and are breastfeeding their babies. Although their expressions are different, whether they are worried or happy, they all show the deep and most precious loving mother in the world. Love!

"Tu Di Gong" is the local guardian god "Land God" in Chinese folk beliefs, while in Fujian and Taiwan, it is often called "Tu Di Gong" or "Bo Gong", and "Fortune God" is its respectful title. According to ancient documents, there were rituals of offering sacrifices to the land in ancient my country. "Book of Rites" says: "The emperor's society is a big prison, and the princes' society is a small prison." The so-called "she" means "earth god", and "ji" means "grain god".The Son of Heaven offered sacrifices to the country (that is, to the gods of the earth) very grandly, and sacrificed them with "three animals" of cattle, sheep, and pigs (that is, the "big prison"); ") offering sacrifices, as for ordinary officials and ordinary people, they are not qualified to sacrifice to the gods of the earth.It was only later that it gradually evolved and became a common belief among the people. Anyone can offer sacrifices to the land god.

Since the god of land is the "god of protecting the place", it is believed that it can give birth to all things, so it is naturally an extremely important god in agricultural society.The belief in the land god among the mainland folk is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. As long as there are people living, there must be "earth temples".The ancestors who immigrated to Taiwan from the mainland in the early days worked tirelessly to develop Taiwan. Naturally, they prayed to the god of the land for a good harvest, a safe family, and prosperity for both humans and animals. The belief in the god of the land was naturally brought into Taiwan from the mainland. "Tiantoutianweididigong" said.Now there are so many land lords in Taiwan that it is impossible to count them. There are land lords not only in the fields, but also in the streets and alleys.

The reason why there are so many land temples in Taiwan is because people believe that the Lord of the Land can suppress ghosts and gods in addition to making the grain plentiful, and bless people to make money. People in the world, fishing industry, business circles and financial circles also imitated the peasants, and they all worshiped the Lord of the Land one after another.Especially the engineering personnel in the construction industry, who are engaged in large-scale construction every day, of course they are particularly in awe of the god who is in charge of the land.In order to hope that the project can be carried out smoothly without accidents, it is necessary to pay homage to the land god when the ground is broken.Because of this, in addition to the Earth Temple, other temples in Taiwan must also enshrine the God of Earth as a deputy god. Worshiping to the Lord of Earth is usually on the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar. It is said that this day is the birthday of the Lord of the Earth, which is called "Spring Festival".In addition, there will be another worship on August 15th, which is the "Autumn Festival".The Spring Festival is to pray to the Lord of the Land for a good harvest and prosperity, while the Autumn Festival is to thank the Lord of the Land for his protection. The Earth God was originally a god of nature, but was later personified.Since the land god is generally worshiped all over the country, there are various folk legends about when the land god was personified; some say it was Xiao He, the prime minister of Han Gaozu; some say it was Cao Can; Han Yu of North Korea; another said that an official named Zhang Fude in the Zhou Dynasty said that he was a fair and honest official, sympathetic to the suffering of the people, and did many good things until he died of old age.After his death, he was replaced by a corrupt official who extorted money and extorted money. The people suffered unspeakably, which made the people miss Zhang Fude even more, so they built a temple for him and worshiped him. Righteous God".It is also said that the earth man was an old man in ancient times who picked up a duck egg on the road and gave the egg to a hen to hatch, and a little snake hatched out.The old man raised the little snake carefully at home.One day the old man was out, but the snake broke out of the house and preyed on the neighbor's chicken ducks.The old man was very angry and exiled the snake to the mountain.Later, the snake continued to harm humans and animals, and the emperor issued an edict to eliminate the snake's harm, but no one dared to venture into the mountain.The old man volunteered and went into the mountain to kill the poisonous snake.So the emperor gave the old man the title of "Gong", who specialized in managing the land, and called him "Land Lord".There is also a legend: Once upon a time, there was an old man who was proficient in farming, kind, kind, and eager to help others. He often taught people to irrigate and cultivate, so that everyone could have a good harvest.After the old man died, people built temples to worship him in gratitude for his kindness, and honored him as "the Lord of the Land". In a word, no matter who the Earth Lord is, he generally cannot escape the image of a loyal elder who benefits mankind.Therefore, no matter in mainland China or Taiwan, the appearance of Tudi Gong can be said to be similar: wearing a flat-topped round cap, short and fat, sitting posture, round and plump face, slightly narrowed eyes, big and long ears, large short nostrils, With a drooping white beard, he looks like a kind and gentle old man. In Taiwan, the place where the belief in land is most prevalent is the area where the Hakka people live together.The Hakka people respectfully call the Lord of Earth "Bogong" and the Temple of Earth as "Bogong Temple".In addition to the Bogong Temple dedicated to each village and township, many Hakka families also built their own small temples for worship. Therefore, walking in the countryside and fields where Hakka people live together, you can see "Bogong Temple" everywhere, which can also be said to be a Kind of a spectacle. Among the temples in Taiwan, Tiger Lord has the largest number of statues.According to folklore, the tiger is the king of the mountains and often harms living beings. The victim prayed to the Lord of the Land to punish the ferocious tiger. The tiger was subdued by the Lord of the Land and became his "assistant".It is also said that Emperor Baosheng was Wu Zhenren, a famous doctor in Song Dynasty.One day, a tiger ate a woman, and his throat was stuck by the woman's bones. He was in great pain, so he turned into a human and asked Master Wu for treatment.Wu Zhenren cured his illness with his hands.Therefore, there is a folk legend that "the Emperor Baosheng ordered longan to heal the tiger's throat".Later generations respected his medical ethics, regarded him as a god, and set up temples to offer sacrifices.The tiger was grateful for the life-saving grace of the great emperor, so he changed his ways and returned to the righteous. After death, his soul came to the temple to protect him, and he was called "Lord Tiger".Therefore, in Taiwan, all temples offering sacrifices to Tudi Gong and Baosheng Emperor must also enshrine Lord Tiger at the same time.This is why there are the largest number of statues of Lord Tiger in Taiwanese temples. Most of the tiger statues are cute: big round eyes, tall and wide nostrils, a tiger mouth with wavy lines, sharp teeth at both ends of the mouth, two legs stretched forward, and a stocky, round body. It looks like a tiger staring at it", but what it gives people is a sense of pure and kind divine power. The ferocity and terror are only directed towards ghosts and evil spirits.This kind of sculpture deviated from realism and "personified" is unique and thought-provoking.It is said that Lord Tiger specially protects children, and they are usually placed under the divine table. When adults bring children into the temple, they must not forget to pay respects to Lord Tiger under the divine table. Of course, not all the idols in Taiwanese temples are kind and lovely, and some of them are quite terrifying. There is a "Dongyue Temple" in Tainan, which enshrines the main god "Dongyue Emperor" (the mountain god of Dongyue Taishan) who is in charge of the "judicial power" of the underworld, and a group of his assistants.Among them, Qiye and Baye, who are in charge of the "guards", and the "criminal police" with a bull's head and a horse face, all of them have green faces and fangs, and hideous faces, which make people creepy.Seven Lords and Eight Lords are erected on the left and right sides of the main god, called "East Guard" and "West Guard".They are not only the "bodyguards" of the Lord God, but also carry out the orders of the Lord God at any time and are responsible for catching evil spirits.Among them, Ba Ye is short and dainty, with a standing posture, holding a sign in his right hand with the words "good and evil are distinguished", holding an anklet in his left hand, wearing a square long hat, creases on his face, deep-set eye sockets, round eyes, and eyeballs. Prominent, menacing, with obvious upward grooves between the eyes, large short nostrils, grinning mouth, the corners of the mouth stretched straight back, as if roaring loudly, protruding facial muscles and veins, full of anger, looking for arresting evil Ghostly.With the weak and flickering candlelight in the temple, the terrifying and gloomy atmosphere is further enhanced. Religious beliefs in Taiwan not only create all kinds of disaster relief and pain relief for living people, but rely on the mysterious power of the spirit, and at the same time distinguish good from evil for people after death, and draw different conclusions: those who are successful become gods and become gods. Immortals are worshiped and worshiped by people; evildoers are arranged to be punished in the terrifying world of "Hell" after death.In fact, the ultimate purpose is to advise living people to do more good deeds and not to do evil deeds, lest their souls not be "saved" after death and be thrown into the "eighteen levels of hell" for torture and suffering.This religious view of persuading people to be good is in the same line as traditional Chinese culture.