The country is stable and the people live in peace(國泰民安)
The Song Dynasty in China is divided into
two periods by historians.
The first stage was the Northern Song
Dynasty (960-1127 AD).
The second stage was the Southern Song
Dynasty (AD-1127 to AD 1279).
In 1129 AD, the Southern Song Dynasty moved
the capital to the city (Lin'an), which is the current Hangzhou City of
Zhejiang Province.
After the fall of the Southern Song
Dynasty, a scholar named (Wu Zimu) wrote a book.
This book records many customs in Lin'an
City before the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, and also depicts the urban
landscape at that time and the daily life of people of various identities
living in the city.
A passage in this book describes it as
follows.
Inside and outside the city of Hangzhou,
there are many temples, each of which worships different gods.
Some temples enshrine the gods of nature,
such as the god of the earth, the god of the mountain, the god of the sea, and
the god of the river.
Some temples enshrine ancient kings with
great achievements, ancient warriors who sacrificed their lives to defend the
country, ancient famous people of high moral character, and ancient famous wise
men.
In the city of Hangzhou, there is a
mountain next to the West Lake, this mountain is called Wushan. There is a
temple on this mountain. This temple enshrines the god who is in charge of
managing and defending the city of Hangzhou.
Many high-ranking officials of the central
government will come to the temple to offer sacrifices, praying that farmers will
have a good harvest and that there will be no floods or droughts.
Many civilians will come here to offer
sacrifices and pray for good health and freedom from disasters.
There is another temple on Mount Wu. This
temple worships a famous general named (Wu Zixu) of the Wu Kingdom in the
Spring and Autumn Period. This temple was built during the Tang Dynasty.
This temple uses the Taoist way of offering
sacrifices. Every year, a grand peace offering is held. The king will order
important officials to write a prayer, praying for the stability of the country
and the peace of the people.
This idiom means that the country is stable
and the people live in peace.
Dear friends, what are your feelings or
thoughts after listening to this story?
Have you visited any temples that impress
you? Are you religious?
I hope this story will give you something
new to gain.
國泰民安(The country is stable and the people
live in peace)
中國的宋王朝被歷史學家分為兩個時期。
第一個階段是北宋王朝(西元960-西元1127年)。
第二個階段是南宋王朝(西元-1127年到西元1279年)。
西元1129年，南宋王朝把首都遷到(臨安)這座城市，這座城市就是目前的浙江省的杭州市。
南宋王朝滅亡之後，有一個名字叫做(吳自牧)的學者寫了一本書。
這本書中紀錄了南宋王朝滅亡前，臨安城中的許多風俗、也描繪了當時的城市景觀與居住在這座城市中的各種身分地位的人們的日常生活。
這本書中有一段描述如下。
在杭州城內外，有著很多寺廟，這些寺廟中，各自供奉不同的神。
有些寺廟供奉自然界的神，例如大地之神、山神、海神和河神。
有些寺廟供奉古代有偉大功績的君王，古代犧牲生命捍衛國家的勇士，古代著名品德很高尚的人，古代著名的智者。
杭州城內，西湖旁邊有一座山，這座山叫做吳山。這座山上有一間廟。這間廟中供奉著負責管理保衛杭州城的神。
很多中央政府的高級官員會到這座寺廟祭祀，祈禱農民可以豐收並且不要發生水災或者旱災。
許多平民會到這邊祭祀，祈禱身體健康而且遠離災禍。
吳山上還有另一間寺廟，這間寺廟祭拜的是春秋時代吳王國的一個名字叫做(伍子胥)的著名的將軍。這間寺廟是唐朝時期興建的。
這座寺廟是採用道教的方式祭祀，每年都會舉行盛大的平安祭，國王會命令重要的官員寫上一篇祈禱文，祈求國家安定而人民安樂。
這句成語的意思是國家安定而人民生活安樂。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你有參觀過那些令你印象深刻的寺廟呢?你有宗教信仰嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處宋-吳自牧-夢梁錄-卷14-祠祭-山川神
