"Four Journeys" is the collective name of four kinds of novels about gods and demons that appeared during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, including "Journey to the East", "Journey to the West", "Journey to the South" and "Journey to the North".
It has its place in the history of Chinese literature, ranking below the list of "Feng Shen Bang". Lu Xun's eight-character evaluation of the novels about gods and demons - "miscellaneous and superficial, with no appreciable efficiency."
The first is "Journey to the East", also known as "The Legend of the Eight Immortals in Shangdong", with fifty-eight chapters in two volumes, titled "Written by Wu Wentai of Lanjiang". The Eight Immortals, including Tieguai Li, Han Zhongli, Lu Dongbin, Zhang Guolao, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu, Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu, have always been thematic figures in folk New Year paintings and operas. The structure of the novel is extremely rough, with each chapter varying in length. The short one is less than 500 words, while the long one, such as the second chapter "The Origin of Laojun Taoism", has about 3,000 words.
The first thirty-one and forty-fifth chapters of the novel describe how the Eight Immortals attained enlightenment. I felt it was as boring as reading a cadre’s resume. The Eight Immortals and other people's experiences of attaining Taoism can be roughly divided into two categories: one category is represented by Tieguai Li, who "appreciate the beauty of the five elements, understand the mysteries of heaven and earth, and do not care about the family's physiology, that is, they admire the golden elixir of Taoism". In other words, they are born Only among the chosen people in the immortal world can one person attain enlightenment and ascend to heaven together. The other type is represented by Lan Caihe. In his previous life, he was a member of the immortal family. For example, Lan Caihe was a barefoot immortal in his previous life. It is quite like cadres who were sent to the countryside for training and will eventually return to their posts in the future.
In the novel, only Lu Dongbin, the successor of Donghua Zhenren, is unambiguous about right and wrong, but he is "a few people are sick, and a few people are lustful". Fortunately, the fairy world is similar to the human world, and it has never paid much attention to the details of cadres. Master Guanyin complained to Tathagata and Laojun in person that he had been sexually harassed by Lu Dongbin many times in Luoyang, but Tathagata and Laojun only laughed ambiguously and ignored it. Among them, the section where Lu Dongbin stayed with Bai Mudan, a famous prostitute in Luoyang (Chapter 27, "Dongbin molests Bai Mudan"), revealed that people at that time had a long-standing Taoist practice of harvesting yin and replenishing yang - which has always been despised by Confucianism and Buddhism. The magic of longevity in the room - I have no doubt about it. In an imperial autocratic society, not only were women's freedom rights restricted, they even had to sacrifice their "brilliance" for the sake of men's longevity. The scholars at that time, while shaking their heads and reciting "It is a joy to learn and practice from time to time", accepted the Taoist "immortality" knowledge without questioning through such public reading.
Paradoxically, five hundred years later, among the contemporary people who claim to be scientific and prosperous, there are still believers in the art of tonic. A few years ago, the author met a man who got rich first. He drove a Honda RV and was worth about two million. He spoke pure and pleasant Sichuan-Sha dialect (real Shanghainese dialect). What was especially cute was that he never hid his words about himself. Born in pig farming. This brother was hospitalized for medical treatment due to poor health. A senior doctor at a certain hospital was prescribing imported foreign medicines (rich people don't make money if they don't make it in vain), and at the same time privately advised him to "prescribe medicine" to replenish his vitality. "Kai Bao" was originally the "coming of age" ceremony for the young prostitutes (child prostitutes) in Changsantangzi in modern times (see "Biography of Haihua"). In ancient times, it was called "combing" (see "Peach Blossom Fan"), and the guests were not flowers. A lot of money will not do any good. It is said that in the past few years, the market price of "kaibao" in Shanghai was 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. I don’t know if the friend I met was reluctant to spend the money (it wasn’t stolen after all), or because he had a high school education and didn’t believe in the art of supplementation. In short, he didn’t follow the doctor’s advice.
The 32nd to 44th chapters of the novel are about Lu Dongbin, who has a somewhat "rebellious" temperament. theory), helped Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom to set up the Tianmen Formation to defeat the Song Dynasty troops. Among all the formations, the Enchanting Formation was the most vicious. Lu Dongbin ordered "secretly capture seven pregnant women and bury them upside down under the banner, so as to capture the spirit of the enemy in the event of a battle." After the two armies started fighting, "[Song General Yang] Wulang rushed into the formation. In the middle, [Liao general] Yelu Xiuge waved the red flag, and a group of ghosts came wailing. The soldiers of the Song Dynasty were in a state of confusion. They held wickers in their hands and marched in the wind. The soldiers rushed to the banner and dug out the pregnant woman. Yelu panicked and retreated. Wulang caught him and killed him with a knife... "No matter in ancient or modern times, women and children (including fetuses) have always been forced to sacrifice their lives for national wars. Yes, it is not necessarily more tragic for a pregnant woman to die in battle than for a young Palestinian girl to be kidnapped and used as a explosive. However, forming an array to kill the enemy by burying the dead souls of pregnant women is always a military knowledge unique to local religions. Moreover, in the era of cold weapons, there are few opportunities for falsification. Not only the villagers and women believe it, but also the elites who are familiar with "The Art of War" believe. During the Sino-British Opium War, which was designated as the starting point of modern Chinese history, there were still cases where the Qing army used filth contaminated with women’s menstrual blood to defend against the enemy. Although it was defeated by the intensive firepower of the British army, this does not necessarily prove that it is false - muskets are a modern weapon. Of course, the "one yang finger" can break the yin. A few years ago, when football coach Xu Genbao led his team on an expedition, female reporters were not allowed to ride in the same car. Football is a masculine sport and cannot be contaminated by yin. (A few days ago, there were reports in newspapers about the poverty of the Chinese Women’s Super League. Compared with the men’s football team’s luxury cars, BMWs, and luxurious food and clothing, one can’t help but feel sad.)
Written about the Eight Immortals starting from Chapter 46 At the Queen Mother's birthday party - the Peach Party, they got drunk and traveled together in the East China Sea. It was Lu Dongbin who suggested: "I rode the clouds today and saw no immortal skills. How about throwing an object into the water and letting everyone show their magical powers and pass by?" Everyone said: "Yes." Tieguai threw his staff into the water and stood on his own. Go up and ride the wind and waves.
Zhongli used a drum to cross the water, Guolao used a paper donkey to cross the water, Dongbin used a flute to cross the water, Xiangzi used a flower basket to cross the water, Xiangu used a bamboo cover to cross the water, Caihe used a clapper board. He threw himself into the water to cross the river. Uncle Guo used a jade tablet to cross the river. Unexpectedly, the Prince Demon of the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea saw the dazzling blue color and jade plate and how cute they were, so he kidnapped the people and the treasures and imprisoned them in a secluded room, while the treasures were returned to the Dragon Palace.
From the perspective of a modern society ruled by law, the Dragon King of the East China Sea is the highest administrator of the East China Sea waters conferred by the Jade Emperor, and the Eight Immortals are tourists passing through. The Dragon King only has the obligation to protect the safety of tourists' lives and property, and will never plunder private treasures and For the right to illegally detain tourists, the Eight Immortals should file a lawsuit in heaven and it is entirely possible to win the lawsuit. In anger, the Eight Immortals Party members forgot or did not believe in the practical effectiveness of the social system in the immortal world to promote good and punish evil. They relied on their own magical powers to rescue Lan Caihe and recapture the jade plate, which triggered a sea and air battle. Defeat the Dragon King first, then the Heavenly Soldiers. Later, Guanyin intervened to mediate, and the two sides stopped fighting and negotiated peace. In this battle, the Dragon King of the East China Sea lost his two sons in vain, and the countless ferocious seafood in the sea had nowhere to die.
The author of the novel obviously holds a position of disgust and condemnation for the Dragon King's destruction of the fairy world system, and a position of sympathy and praise for the Eight Immortals' punishment of the Dragon King and his son. conveyed his position in a veiled manner. The question is: Under the high-pressure autocratic system of the Ming Dynasty imperial power, even "Mencius" was abridged. How was it possible for the legal publication and circulation of books such as "Water Margin" and "Four Journeys"? In other words, how is it possible to legally spread the idea of ??"returning violence to violence" in order to punish evil and destroy the existing social order? Switching to the socio-political philosophical discourse of Rawls, Habermas and others, when the principle of justice as the "first meaning" of the basic social structure (systems and norms) is destroyed, according to the principle of justice, it has what Kant calls "absolute" The nature of "command" means that any individual, including parties who have been harmed by unjust acts, ignores social justice procedures, systems and norms and resorts to violence by individuals or groups to which they belong to punish those who violate the principles of justice. This act itself is illegal. Just. (When someone, such as MacIntyre, raises the question of "who is just?", he is not challenging the principle of justice, but challenging the legitimacy of the existing social order. If enough people follow him, it means revolution With the coming of war, any procedural principles, including the principle of justice, are ineffective in the face of the revolutionary razor.) Therefore, the justice of the Eight Immortals Party members in resisting the Dragon King and the Heavenly Soldiers can only be an illusion of justice. The question then becomes, how is the legal dissemination of this illusion of justice possible? Is it possible to transform it into social practice?
One possible answer is: Although the ancient Chinese imperial autocratic society was "under the whole world, could it be the king's land, and on the shore of the land, could it be the king's ministers", in fact, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Practical defense of the principles of justice extended only to the county and regiment level. The establishment of the principle of justice in the vast countryside can only rely on the squires who have a sense of justice and are rich, and can only rely on the villagers who have a sense of justice and are powerful. For example, if the squires and villagers beat the thieves to death on the spot instead of crossing the border and buried them, the government would obviously be unlikely to pursue them. It is this kind of case that violates the universal principle of justice, which greatly expands the people's illusion of justice. It is reflected in artistic creations such as storybooks, operas, and novels, which is the proliferation of martial arts culture. The story of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea is nothing more than the crudest one. . (The story of an upright official is a deformation of the fantasy of justice. An upright official holding a Shangfang sword can "transcend" social justice procedures and norms, kill first and then punish the unjust.) The legacy of fantasy justice is reflected in contemporary Chinese society. They use personal violence to deal with civil disputes (such as medical accidents), use personal violence to punish suspects of misdemeanors such as theft, etc. From the perspective of social function, because the official - the legal defender of the principle of justice - neglects to observe unjust acts and delays punishment (that is, justice is late), the "just resentment" accumulated by the people is reduced by the spirit of illusion of justice. Press the valve to release. Perhaps this is why the culture with the theme of "fantasy justice" - which seems to be against "injustice" but not against the emperor, but in fact has the potential to oppose the emperor (do justice for heaven) due to the destruction of the principle of justice - was able to develop in ancient China. Secrets that society has long legally propagated.
"Journey to the South" is also known as "The Biography of the Great Emperor Huaguang Tianwang of the Five Appearance Spiritual Officials". It has four volumes and eighteen chapters, titled "The people of Santai Mountain look up to stop the remaining elephants fighting". Yu was a local bookseller in southern Fujian in the late Ming Dynasty. He published books such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin". I first came across the name Huaguang when I was reading "Water Margin". Chapter 36: "The rain did not stop us from catching up, and the boat Huo'er made a noise on the Xunyang River at night." Zhang Heng, the boat Huo'er, picked up Song Jiang and the two men on the boat, and while rocking the oar, he sang: "I grew up by the river, no matter what He only loves money. Hua Guang came to take advantage of me last night and win a gold brick before leaving." Song Jiang and the two gentlemen were stunned after hearing this song. The gold brick is Huaguang's unique magic weapon. It is made of pure gold. Its function is like Sun Wukong's wishful golden cudgel - it is both a weapon and a signboard. Hua Guang relied on this gold brick and other magical powers to act as a life-saving mother and cause trouble in the three realms.
In the first chapter of the novel, it is said that Hua Guang was originally a disciple of Buddhism. His Dharma name was "Miao Jixiang". His predecessor was an oil lamp in front of the Tathagata Buddha. It shone brightly day and night. He listened to the scriptures and asked the Dharma, received the Tathagata's mantra, and became a human body. . This leads to a question: Buddhism calls "six paths of reincarnation", which means that the human soul is reincarnated through one of the hell realms, the hungry ghost realm, the animal realm, the asura realm, the human realm, and the heavenly realm.
And an oil lamp, even if it is an oil lamp in front of the Buddha (like the several red lanterns on the Tiananmen Gate Tower), is probably difficult to belong to any of the six paths. It can be seen that Huaguang's name as a Buddhist disciple has broken the Buddhist rules. In fact, this book exaggerates the view that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism have the same origin, and that Taoism is respected, which is very representative of the private thoughts of ordinary people in the government and the public at that time. The Taoists have "Laozi's Transformation of Hu Jing", and the one who talks about transformation is Sakyamuni. In the novel, the thirty-three-day Jade Emperor holds the "Saibao Transparent Meeting", which is a bit like a modern world exposition. Even the participating Guanyin masters must bow their heads.
But it is said that there is a cave behind Lingjiu Mountain, and the owner of the cave is the Duhuogui King, who once owned the land ownership of Lingshan. It is said that "fairies and bodhisattvas always have one thought", so the novel does not explain whether King Duhuo is a god or a demon, a fairy or a demon. Because the Tathagata came to see the ecological environment of Zhongling Mountain, he asked Duhuogui to rent it. The two parties signed a document and agreed on a one-year lease. After the expiration of the term, the Duhuogui requested to take back the land. Tathagata refused and said that the loan period was originally ten years. After checking the documents, it turned out to be ten years. Ten years later, Tathagata came back again and said that the loan period was originally a thousand years. After checking the document, it turned out that it was indeed a thousand years. Some commentators believe: "What adjusts China's traditional social order and drives the operation of the entire society is not civil law or other laws, but active contract activities." (Yu Jiang, "Dushu" Issue 5, 2002) One piece of paper is not equal. Even the fraudulent contract has restricted the hands and feet of the one-fire ghost. If it is more violent than Tathagata, it is not as powerful as Tathagata, so he can only endure this. One day, it was not pleasant to be alone with the fire ghost, so he made up his mind to go to the Lingshan ashram to listen to the Tathagata's sermons, and after class, he disturbed him for a fasting feast. He didn't know that the Tathagata's teachings were just like the contemporary MBA courses. He was not listening in vain, so naturally he had no part in the fasting feast. The anger of the single fire ghost arose in the heart, and evil arose in the guts, so he set fire to Lingshan and made a big fuss. The Tathagata is compassionate on the one hand, and heartbroken on the other. He only uses his supernatural powers to protect the spiritual mountain, and does not care about the one-fire ghost. The Miaojixiang boy nearby couldn't see it and tried to persuade him. The evil spirit of the One-Fire Ghost just came out of him, and he was about to set him on fire. Miao Jixiang smiled and said: I am originally an oil lamp in front of the Buddha, with the form of fire and the spirit of fire. How can your demonic fire be able to compete with the true fire of my samadhi? The Tathagata shouted no, the one-fire ghost was burned to the ground. Buyi thought that the murder in front of the Buddha could be stopped with the Tathagata's magical power. Now Tathagata is just venting his anger on Miao Jixiang, and it is inevitable that he is suspected of killing someone with a knife, so that he can dominate the Lingshan real estate forever.
After the intercession of Guanyin, Miao Jixiang was saved from the suffering of Yinshan Mountain. With his magical power, he was sent to the womb of the widow of the King of Malshan to be reincarnated and named "Three-Eyed Spiritual Light". Because of the incident of stealing Emperor Ziwei's golden spear, he was reincarnated into the family of Emperor Chixuan Yanxuan and was named "Three-Eyed Lingyao". At the Qionghua Festival, Lingyao beat the prince and called himself the "Huaguang Heavenly King" from then on. He escaped from the heavenly palace and fled into the middle world. He was reborn for the third time in the womb of the Holy Mother of Jizituo in Xiaojiazhuang, with the common name "Xiao Xiande", in the novel It is still called Huaguang when narrating. It is worth noting that the reincarnation process of Huaguang omits the Buddhist and Taoist judgment procedures on good and evil during life, which is a bit like modern in vitro fertilization technology; more precisely, it is like changing an ID card, with name, date of birth and birth date. The ground has changed, but the photo is still the same photo, and the supernatural powers are still the same. The Buddhist theory of karma and reincarnation has no effect at all on King Huaguang. Starting from the eighth chapter of the novel, it is written that the Virgin of Jizituo eats people every day and is captured by King Longrui and thrown into Fengdu. She travels all over the three realms with her brilliance, and finally saves her birth mother. This shows Confucian filial piety.
The four volumes and forty-one chapters of "Journey to the West" are titled "Qi Yun Yang Zhi (or Zu Zhi) and compiled". The plot of the whole book is similar to Wu Chengen's "Journey to the West". It is like Wu's abridged version, which not only loses the literary grace, but even the chapters and sentences do not make sense. In a word, lackluster.
"Journey to the North" is also known as "The Biography of the Northern Zhenwu Xuantian God", with four volumes and twenty-four chapters, also compiled by Yu Xiangdou. The novel says that the Jade Emperor saw a "Tree of Heaven" in Liu Tianjun's house, which was shining brightly and could gather all kinds of treasures, but he ordered people to ask for it, but to no avail. The Jade Emperor was furious and said: "I am the master of the sky, but I am not as good as Liu Tianjun's family. This tree can produce seven treasures and shine on people. It is indescribable." The ministers reported 7: "Only the descendants of Liu Tianjun's family can manage this tree." Enjoy it." When the emperor heard the memorial, he suddenly sighed and said, "How can I get to his house and become a descendant and enjoy this thing?" At first, Buyi thought that this Jade Emperor was a man of a certain temperament, but he didn't know him. In my heart, I only want to see the tree that connects the sky, and I don’t want to suffer the pain of birth. Unexpectedly, the ministers did not agree, saying that it was the Holy Spirit's golden words, and it was difficult to catch up with him, so he had to change his position and be reincarnated. (For those who wholeheartedly admire ancient Chinese democracy, this is a convincing case.) The Jade Emperor said, according to your words, who will be the three representatives of heaven after Gu passes away? The ministers also reported: "Your Majesty's three souls are incarnations, and one soul should be reincarnated." The Jade Emperor burst into tears when he heard the memorial. The ministers comforted and said that the work was completed and it was still restored. Although the Jade Emperor was helpless, he had no choice but to incarnate as a soul and ran to Liu Tianjun's house. Later, he changed his family and reincarnated many times, received generals, subdued evil spirits, subdued gods and demons, went through many storms, practiced for many lives, and finally achieved righteousness.
The theory of soul has a long history. "Nine Songs of the Songs of Chu" says: "The body is dead, and the spirit is the spirit, and the soul is the ghost." "Book of Rites and Justice" says: "The soul, the name of the spirit, originates from the shape and energy, and the shape and energy are unique. , the soul is also different, the spirit attached to the form is the soul, and the spirit attached to the spirit is the soul. "The ancients said that there are three souls and seven souls. There are few people who read it, so I don't know where it comes from. The plot of soul and body separation is common in novels and operas. The most famous one is the story of a beautiful girl leaving her soul in "The Peony Pavilion". In "Journey to the North", one of the Jade Emperor's three souls disappeared and descended to earth to be reincarnated. This can be regarded as original, and it looks a little like a modern clone.
The novel writes about the scene when the Jade Emperor ascended to the palace and met his incarnation of one soul, King Xixia. "When I saw the king's beauty, I felt so happy that I made King Jinque the incarnation of the Demon God... and sat together on the embroidered pier. "Let's go together." It's a bit like Jia Baoyu meeting Qin Jingqing. As for the story of Emperor Zhenwu's slaying of demons, it is as Lu Xun said, "like a village witch and a temple wishing to see people", and there is nothing appreciable about it.