Of all the Guandi Temple buildings in China, five or six are best preserved so far: Changping Guandi Temple, the hometown of Guan Yu in Shanxi, Guanlin in Luoyang, Henan, Guanling in Dangyang, Hubei, Guandi Temple in Jingzhou and Baling Bridge Guandi Temple in Xuchang, Henan, etc. One of the largest and most magnificent is Guandi Temple, located in Guan Yu's hometown, west of Jiezhou, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. The largest Guandi Temple in China is still preserved. There are more than 300 pavilions in the temple, which is one of the tourist attractions. It can be called the first temple in the world.
In the historical process of China's drama development, there has been an upsurge of "Three Kingdoms Drama", and there are quite a number of "Three Kingdoms Drama" and "Guan Gong Drama" in many famous dramas. Take Beijing Opera as an example. There are 148 "Three Kingdoms Plays", and there are only 20 about Guan Gong. Take Zhou Pu Bangzi, the hometown of Guan Yu, as an example. There are 88 recorded "Three Kingdoms Plays", of which "Guan Gong Plays" are 18. On the stage, Guan Gong's image is a perfect hero, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, long beard and hale and hearty spirit. Even in Walking in Maicheng, his heroic qualities are still increasing.
For thousands of years, Guan Yu, a perfect image representing the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, has appeared in front of the world after being sealed by rulers of past dynasties and described in operas and literature. "Serve the country faithfully, be kind to others, act with wisdom, make friends with righteousness, and fight with courage." He rose from a "strange man through the ages" to a "god among gods" and became a god of war, a god of wealth, a god of literature and a god of agriculture. He is an all-powerful god, worshipped by rulers and people of past dynasties. China and Japan are overseas, at home and abroad.
Needless to say, the feudal rulers of past dynasties revered Guan Yu, and even Li Zicheng, Zhang, Hong Xiuquan and other peasant uprising leaders worshipped Guan Yu as a hero.
Moreover, in China, Japan, Southeast Asia and overseas Chinese, the worship of Guan Yu is still vivid.
In Taiwan Province Province, with a population of more than 20 million, there are as many as 8 million followers of Guan Gong, and almost every household has set up incense tables, set up memorial tablets and hung icons for Guan Gong. The annual sales volume of Guan Gong's portraits in Taiwan Province Province far exceeds their most revered god Mazu.
The American "Longgang General Association" is a non-governmental organization, whose ancestor is Guan Yu, and there are more than 140 branches all over the world where Chinese live.
Southeast Asian countries compete to build temples to worship Guan Yu, and Thailand is the most prosperous.
In Japan, there was Guandi Temple as early as the Qing Dynasty. A new Guandi Temple was built a few years ago, which is said to be the largest Guandi Temple overseas.
Mr. David Jordan, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego and a doctor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, once said a very interesting sentence. "I respect you the great god, he deserves the respect of everyone. His benevolence, righteousness, wisdom and courage are still meaningful until now. Benevolence is love, righteousness is credibility, wisdom is culture, and courage is not afraid of difficulties. If all God's people are like you Guan Gong, our world will be a better place. " The American scholar's words are quite insightful.
The loyalty, faithfulness, wisdom, benevolence and courage condensed on Guan Yu and suppressed by the eternal * * * * contains the ethics and ideals of China traditional culture, permeates the essence of Confucianism in the Spring and Autumn Period, and merges with Buddhism and Taoism. Essentially, it is the soul of China people, which shines like the sun and the moon and has a noble atmosphere.