Statue of gods in Lijiang, Yunnan

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There are natural gods, and there are also three gods!

Compatriots of all ethnic groups in Lijiang, Yunnan and its surrounding areas will all be familiar with Sanduo. Sanduo, the god of war and protection of the Naxi people and the incarnation of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. As the patron saints of this borderland pure land, the Three Flower Gods have been deeply respected by the Naxi and other ethnic minorities for thousands of years. The lonely white stone of the snow mountain, as a white stone representing the soul of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, has been silent in a corner of the snow mountain for tens of thousands of years. In the embrace of the snow-capped mountains, one can absorb the essence of the world, the sun and the moon, and turn it into a magical stone full of aura, but it is still in an unknown place. Maybe it would feel lonely at that time, but it was proud of things and contented with its joys and sorrows. I don’t know what dynasty, the nomadic Naxi migratory branch and the hunting Naxi branch merged and thrived in the land of Lijiang. At that time, the accumulated water in Lijiang Dam will slowly recede. Only a pond of water is left at the foot of Wenbi Mountain, which is now Wenbi Sea.

Slowly, people settled in farming in the vast Lijiang Dam. Of course, many people at that time were still half farmers and half herders. At that time, there was an old Naxi herdsman named Abu Gaodui, who was an ancient Benshidui (Baishayulong people). It was a herdsman who herded sheep specifically for the Naxi Tuwang (the predecessor of Lijiang Tuwang and the Mu family). Every year in the late spring and early summer, he would carry Panmao on his back and lead the sheepdog to drive the sheep to Yulong Mountain for grazing. One day, Abu Gaodui found a white stone as white as snow in the place where he had lunch. He was very surprised to find such a white stone among the rugged black stones of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. During lunch, he worshiped the white stone using the traditional method of worshiping the mountain god of the Naxi people. Because the Naxi people believe that all things are animistic, worshiping wood and stones is also very common. The herdsmen also respect the mountain gods. They firmly believe that the mountain gods will protect the herdsmen's livestock. Abu Gaodui sacrificed this stone like this every day, day after day. This white stone was worshiped by Abu Gaodui. Unexpectedly, Fanfan's heart moved and he followed Abu Gaodui's prayer to protect his flock from wild beasts and become more and more prosperous. But one day Abu Gaodui forgot to sacrifice Baishi. When the sheep were counted in the afternoon, half of the sheep were missing. He was shocked and started looking around. But I couldn't find it. When the sun was about to set, he returned to the place where he had lunch dejectedly. He was about to drive the remaining sheep back, but when he took the lunch bag from the tree, he discovered that the tea prepared for Shiraishi in the morning was still in his bag. Only then did he remember to offer sacrifices to Baishi Mountain God, so he hurriedly ordered wine and tea for Baishi, burned pine and cypress leaves, and kowtowed to Baishi to apologize. By the time he returned from herding at night, all the lost sheep were back. After repeating this process several times, Abu Gaodui became more convinced that Baishi was the Jade Dragon Mountain God. The white stone heading towards the human world At the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, the cattle and sheep grazing on the mountain began to come down the mountain. Abu Gaodui decided to take this magical white stone home to worship, so he carried the white stone down with the flock of sheep going down the mountain. When I rested halfway and carried the white stone again, the white stone seemed to have increased several times and could not move. Abu Gaodui ordered some wine and tea for Bai Shi and recited a mantra. He was able to carry it again, but it seemed that Bai Shi was a little heavier than before. After repeating this process several times, he finally reached a cypress tree among the pine trees at the head of the village. He placed the white stone on the cypress stump and rested for a while. But this time when he carried the white stone again, Abu Gaodui could not move no matter how much he tried. No matter how much he offered wine, tea, chanted sutras and mantras, it was of no avail, as if the white stone had taken root on the cypress stump. Later, Abu Gaodui reported the details of the matter to Prince Tu. Prince Tu built a temple on the spot to worship the white stone. Baishi is said to be the mountain god of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the incarnation of Sanduo, a famous Naxi general. This is a decisive step in the development of the Naxi people's primitive wood and stone worship into man-made worship. It contains the political intentions of the Naxi native king. This unique three temples has its main hall facing north and south, backed by the majestic Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and facing the vast Lijiang Dam.

Sanduo is a middle-aged warrior. On both sides are his two wives, Bai and Tibetan. It is said that it is the product of marriage between the three ethnic groups of Tibet, Na and Bai. On both sides of the main hall are the wing rooms. The gate is the middle room of a gatehouse. On both sides are seven war horses of the three gods. The inner gate is also a gatehouse, but the middle door has been closed for many years. Only the Mu family members can enter and exit through the main gate. The Mu family members worship in front of the three gods without kneeling. Because Sanduo is just a general of the Naxi tribe, and Mu is the prince. Later, Abu Gaodui passed away. In order to commemorate him, the Naxi people enshrined his statue on the west side of the Sanduo Hall. He is barefoot, with a slightly stooped waist, wearing a felt, and holding a staff. His face is covered with wrinkles, but his eyes are bright and focused, looking forward... He is an authentic image of a Naxi herdsman. The God of War, respected by all, later King Nanzhao named Yulong Mountain as Beiyue. From then on, Sanduo Temple was also called Beiyue Temple. Of course, that was the era when the Naxi King surrendered to the powerful Dali Bai Kingdom in the south, and before that, he also surrendered to the powerful Tubo Kingdom in the northwest. Become a minister. In other words, before the Song Dynasty, the Naxi area was controlled by Nanzhao, Tubo and other major forces in turn. In 1253 AD, Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, personally led the Central Route Army to conquer the Dali Kingdom in the south, conquering the Central Plains and passing through Lijiang. It was deeply welcomed and supported by the Naxi Tuwang Mu clan and the people. Kublai Khan was overjoyed and named Yulong Snow Mountain the "Great Sage Beiyue Dingguo Anbang Jingdi". Ten years later, the Mu family was made the hereditary chieftain of Lijiang in the Yuan Dynasty. This was a reward for the Tuwang Mu family to understand current affairs. From then on, the Naxi area was officially brought under the rule of the Central Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, the chieftains of Lijiang were favored by the dynasty and were given the surname "Mu". From then on, the chieftain in Lijiang really had the surname Mu. Mu's chieftain began to absorb the ideas of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and frequently sent troops to the northwest to expand territory. When the unstoppable Naxi army took the oath of oath, they first offered sacrifices to the three gods. This way they can win every battle. Legend has it that whenever a war breaks out, the Naxi army will be assisted by a warrior wearing white armor, riding a white horse, and holding a silver spear. After the battle, he disappears without a trace. The Naxi soldiers were even more convinced that the three gods appeared. After returning home in triumph, he also came to worship at Sanduo Temple. At that time, the story of the Three Gods was widely spread in the Naxi area, and even in the Han, Tibetan and Bai areas, and all ethnic groups would come to the Sanduo Temple. As the patron saint of the Naxi people, it is the spiritual support of the Naxi army in the past generations.

The Naxi army will shout "Apu Sanduo Lu" before the battle! It means "Sanduoye bless you"! In the famous modern battle of Taierzhuang, the Naxi soldiers in the Yunnan Army still chanted this sentence, killing the enemy bravely, which was very heroic. The Naxi people worship heroes within the nation. Naxi men are famous for their bravery and bravery, and of course they are often talented in strategy. Therefore, at that time, many armies of surrounding ethnic groups were very troubled when they heard that they were going to fight the Naxi army. As early as the Han Dynasty, the Naxi people were called barbarians. They said in the book that men are so barbaric that they like to wear swords, are loyal, violent and irritable, and "will often use their swords at each other". So today some people say that the men of the Naxi ethnic group play chess, music, calligraphy and painting, smoke, drink, sugar and tea, and are arty. This statement is incorrect. It actually shows one’s lack of understanding of the ethnic group and misleads outsiders’ understanding of the Naxi ethnic group. I know that the former Naxi men were on the battlefield. Fight bravely to protect the border, of course these are redundant words, but you can find a vague shadow of Sanduo in Naxi men in ancient and modern times. Decline of Baishi and Return to the Wilderness With the decline of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the Naxi people slowly declined, and the territory of the Great Eagle's Flying Seven Days and Seven Nights gradually shrank. Various feudal ethics and ethics such as the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Rules also began to be introduced into Lijiang. The culture of the local indigenous peoples is called the barbaric culture of bull heads and horse faces, and national worship and sacrificial rituals are prohibited. During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty (AD 723), the chieftain system in Lijiang was also abolished. Liugong officials from Beijing began to serve as the magistrate of Lijiang and presided over all government affairs. This is the famous reform of native land and return to Liujiang. The Mu family ended hundreds of years of rule over Lijiang. Since then, the incense in Sanduo Temple has been slowly swaying. So it was time for the land reform, the Four Clean-ups, and the Cultural Revolution in the early days of liberation. The well-protected Sanduo Temple was looted. Except for the main hall and a 500-year-old Tang cypress, everything else was destroyed. Even the Sanduo statues in the temple were not spared. The three gods worshiped by our Naxi people and compatriots of other ethnic groups quietly left this world full of chaos in such an environment. Saying goodbye to the journey of the soul in the mountains, like a tired bird, it returned to a certain unknown corner of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The prosperous times, where are the heroes? The spring breeze of reform and opening up has swept across the land of China, and Lijiang, a remote and remote village in the country, has also enjoyed the rain of the prosperous times. Every year on the eighth day of the second lunar month, brothers and sisters from all ethnic groups dressed in festive costumes gather together to worship the three gods in the Beiyue Temple, which has reshaped the three gods. Even if it is too late for the Naxi people to go to the Sanduo Temple, they will go to the mountain in groups to worship the Sanduo God. As a Naxi, I go there every year to offer sacrifices. How I hope that the patron saint of this pure land will hear the sound of our dharma trumpets and return to our midst to enjoy a peaceful and prosperous age. I even believe that the smoke rising from every wooden house is the spirit of all living beings calling to you. Maybe you have never traveled far, and every auspicious cloud on the top of the Yulong Mountain and every wave in the Jinsha River are your majestic back. I hope that all living beings in Apu Sanduo Yongzhen can enjoy peace.

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Here is Xiaomi, who loves Lijiang travel! Happy to answer your questions!