Chapter 661 Is it the jade seal passed down from the country?
Shen Yu cleared his throat slightly, his expression became more solemn, and continued: "Many people don't know that the titles of many gods are given by the emperor.
"In fact, the canonization of gods has been common in all dynasties.
"As we all know, Emperor Zhenwu's original name was Emperor Xuanwu. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin named Emperor Xuanwu the 'Blessing Saint Xuanwu Lingying Zhenjun'.
"This is the origin of the title of Emperor Xuanwu.
"However, in the Song Dynasty, the situation changed. Song Zhenzong changed the name of 'Xuanwu' to 'Zhenwu' and gave him the title 'Zhenwu Lingying Zhenjun'. Since then, Emperor Xuanwu has evolved into Emperor Zhenwu.
“The main reason for this is taboo.
"The emperor of the Song Dynasty was named Zhao, and his ancestor was named Zhao Xuanlang. In order to avoid the word "Xuan", the name of Emperor Xuanwu was also changed accordingly.
"For another example, Guan Yu's canonization process can be said to have spanned multiple dynasties.
"As early as when Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was Zhao Ji, he favored Guan Yu and successively named him 'Zhonghui Gong' and 'Chongning Zhenjun'. This was the beginning of Guan Yu's continuous titles and rising status in later generations.
"Dynasties kept changing, but the emperor's respect and conferment on Guan Yu never stopped.
"By the mid-Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Guan Yu had been honored as the 'Great Emperor Xietian'. His status became more and more noble, and his influence among the people and the court was also expanding day by day.
“In the late Wanli period, he was even conferred the title of ‘Saint Lord Guandi’ and became the main god of the Martial Arts Temple. He gradually became as famous as Confucius, who was revered as the ‘Sage of Literature’, forming a pattern of respect in which one culture and one martial art complement each other.
"In the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Guan Yu continued to be honored as the "Loyal and Righteous Shenwu Guan Sheng Emperor".
"By the time of Kangxi, Guan Yu was completely aligned with Confucius. He occupied a pivotal position both in official sacrificial ceremonies and in folk beliefs and worship. Even in imperial edicts, Guan Yu's name was avoided and he could only be called Guan Yu. For Guan Sheng.
"However, the issue of granting titles did not end there. During the Yongzheng period, it became clear that there were no more titles to be granted, and even three generations of Guan Yu's ancestors were granted titles. This move to pursue titles was considered unique.
"Even Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty also respected Guan Yu very much and granted him various posthumous titles many times.
"So we came to the conclusion that whether the ancient emperors were offering sacrifices to gods or canonizing immortals, they must be stamped with the Three Seals of the Emperor.
"Because only the title of Emperor of Daitian Herdsmen is qualified to canonize gods.
"Seniors, this is the function of this jade seal."
Not to mention, whether it was Wang Lao, Gu Zhengyan, or Lin Qingzhi, they all listened to Shen Yu's explanation with great interest.
They either nodded slightly or thought thoughtfully, immersed in the profound historical and cultural knowledge of epigraphic seals.
"Xiao Shen, is there any reason why the ancients used the Chihu button as the imperial seal?" This time it was Lin Qingzhi who asked the question in his mind.
Shen Yu took his time and turned on the bright flashlight in his hand, then slowly placed it next to the seal.
For a moment, under the strong light, the chi tiger on the jade seal became more lifelike.
At the same time, Shen Yu's very friendly voice sounded again, "The Book of Song, one of the twenty-four histories, is recorded in the eighteenth volume, 'The seal is the old system of the Han Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty.'
"This short sentence contains profound historical information. In other words, the Han Dynasty followed the practices of the Qin Dynasty to a large extent in the regulation of seals.
"The book states with great certainty that when Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, entered the customs, he got a jade seal made of Lantian jade from Qin Shihuang by chance. The seal button was the Chihu button. The text on the seal said: By the order of heaven, the emperor will live long. Chang.
"Of course, there is also a saying that 'if you are ordered by heaven, you will live forever'.
"Although these two statements are slightly different, they both clarify the noble status and special significance of this jade seal.
"From then on, this jade seal became the traditional national seal of the Han Dynasty. Together with the White Snake Sword, they were both treasures of the emperor, symbolizing the supreme imperial power and carrying the national destiny of the Han Dynasty."
Lin Qingzhi said with emotion: "Xiao Shen, isn't this jade seal the national jade seal of the Han Dynasty?"
After speaking, he took out a magnifying glass from his pocket and began to carefully observe the material of the seal.
I can see that the jade of this seal is extremely fine in texture, warm in color, and the gold is of extremely high purity. It has been refined countless times, and coupled with the majestic chi tiger, it has a unique charm of ancient vigor and the treasure of the emperor who swallows mountains and rivers.
The only difference is the seal.
Shen Yu smiled and shook his head, "President Lin, although I don't know which emperor this object belongs to, it is definitely not the imperial seal!
"The jade seal you mentioned was carved by Qin Shihuang by Li Si using He's jade, with the characters "Ordered by Heaven, you will live forever" engraved on it.
“It is surrounded by a pattern of ‘two dragons playing with pearls’, and three sharp wavy lines below represent the sea. The whole pattern means ‘two dragons appear in the sea when the sun shines’.
"After the fall of Qin, Prince Ying of Qin presented it to Liu Bang and it became the national jade seal passed down in the Han Dynasty.
"At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty and asked Wang Zhengjun, the empress of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, for a jade seal. Wang Zhengjun threw the jade seal angrily, causing one corner to be damaged. Wang Mang repaired it with gold.
"After that, the jade seal passed through the hands of Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan and Red Eyebrow Army Liu Penzi, and was finally acquired by Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu, which meant that it returned to the hands of the Han Dynasty again.
"At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eunuchs had exclusive power. In the sixth year of Emperor Zhongping's reign, He entered the palace to kill the eunuchs. Duan Gui, one of the ten permanent servants, fled with the deposed emperor of Han Dynasty, and the jade seal disappeared.
"After that, Sun Jian led his army to invade Luoyang. His soldiers saw colorful auspicious air coming out of a well in the palace. Sun Jian asked his men to go into the well. There was a small box next to the palace maid who committed suicide in the well. The box contained exactly The jade seal passed down to the country.
"Sun Jian got it and did not dare to tell anyone about it, so he hid it secretly with his wife Wu.
"However, there is no impermeable wall in the world. Later, when Yuan Shu heard about this, he became greedy and took away the jade seal with his own power. Yuan Shu tried to use this jade seal to become emperor, but he ended up in ruins. .
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "After Yuan Shu died, Jingzhou Governor Xu Wei took the jade seal to Xuchang. At this point, the jade seal passed down to the country returned to the Han Dynasty.
"After that, Emperor Xian of Han gave up the throne to Cao Pi, and the jade seal returned to Wei.
"Somewhat interestingly, in order to demonstrate the legitimacy and legitimacy of his throne, Cao Pi carved a line on the jade seal, 'The great Wei Dynasty granted the Han Dynasty the national seal'.
"Later, the Sima family stole the world, and the imperial seal passed down to the Jin Dynasty.
"After the Eight Kings of the Western Jin Dynasty lost the world, the Chuan Guo Seal changed owners many times. In those troubled times, various forces fought for it. When the Chuan Guo Seal finally got into the hands of Shi Le, Shi Le ordered people to add inscriptions on the jade seal.
Engraved with 'Destiny Stone', this was the second time the national jade seal was engraved.
"Ran Min destroyed Hou Zhao, and the imperial seal passed to Ran Min.
"After that, three imperial seals appeared, namely the former Yan, the Eastern Jin, and the former Qin. They all claimed that theirs was the imperial seal of the First Emperor to prove that they were the orthodox ones.
"In the end, it was proved that the jade seal passed down to the Eastern Jin Dynasty was the real one. After that, it went through the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties, until Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian unified it again, and the jade seal was passed to the Sui Dynasty.
"At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was killed by Yu Wenhuaji in Yangzhou, and Empress Xiao took the jade seal to Mobei. In those troubled times, the imperial seal followed Empress Xiao away from the Central Plains and entered the northern grasslands.
"Li Shimin established the empire, ordered Li Jing to conquer the Turks, brought Empress Xiao back to the Central Plains, and passed on the imperial seal to the Tang Dynasty.
"At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial seal passed down to the Later Tang Dynasty.
"Shi Jingtang conspired to rebel and united with the Khitan to attack the Later Tang Dynasty. In 937, the Khitan attacked Luoyang. Li Congke knew that he could not save himself, so he climbed to the Xuanwu Tower and committed suicide with the imperial seal in his arms.
“After the fire was extinguished, the whereabouts of the jade seal were unknown, and it disappeared from the long river of history.
"Although many people later claimed to have found the jade seal, they were all proven to be forgeries."
After Shen Yu finished speaking in one breath, he felt that his throat was dry and he was unbearably thirsty, so he thought about pouring a cup of tea to moisten his throat.
But at this moment, Lin Qingzhi, who was playing with the jade seal, seemed to have discovered some big secret on the jade seal, and his eyes widened.