How did “Nezha” come from when the box office broke 1 billion? Which sect does Nezha belong to? Interested partners come and have a look.
An animated film “Nezha: the birth of the devil child” was born in the sky. As of today, it has broken through the box office of 1.03 billion yuan and is expected to become the No. 1 “ticket king” at the box office of animated films in mainland China.
Nezha, a heroic mythical figure second only to Sun Wukong in ancient China, once again showed his charm!
So, how did Nezha come from? Is he the Dharma protector of Buddhism or the golden immortal of Taoism? What kind of previous life and present life did he have?
Below, Xiaobian will show you one by one!
Fig. 1 stills of the film Nezha: the birth of the devil child
I. source: Buddhism — Nezha and Nezha
In fact, the oldest image of Nezha comes from the Buddhist scripture “Buddha’s walking scripture” (translated as “praise of Buddha’s walking” in the northern cool period) – the image of Nezha!
According to research, the name of “nazha” comes from the simplified translation of nalakubala in Sanskrit. “Nalakubala” means “son of kubela”. That is to say, nalakubala is composed of Nala and kubala or kubela, that is, “nazha” is translated from “Nala”.
It is said that Na Zha is the son of the four great heavenly kings of Buddhism in the north. In addition, it is said that the Duowen heavenly king and his wife, the auspicious heavenly daughter, have five sons and one daughter in total. Besides Na Zha, there are four others. Na Zha is the third, his second brother is very independent, and his sister is a heavenly daughter!
Later, this Nezha worshipped the Buddha as a teacher, cut his flesh and bones to repay his parents (associate Nezha), removed his body, and eventually became a Buddhist protector of the heavens!
Fig. 2 good and fearless (637-735 AD) eminent monk of Tang Dynasty
The earliest Buddhist Scripture story about Na Zha comes from the legend of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty:
It is said that the great master Tianzhu of the Tang Dynasty came to Chang’an fearlessly and begged Emperor Xuanzong to send him to Ximing temple, where xuanlu presided, in order to enlighten the xuanlu monk who was the first to uphold the precepts in the Tang Dynasty. After arriving at Ximing temple, in order to enlighten xuanlu, shanwuwei deliberately presented an alternative Dharma, ate meat and drank wine, causing xuanlu’s dissatisfaction.
This time, I couldn’t help but walk away, not wanting to shoot down a mosquito! Seeing that the opportunity had come, Shan Wuwei deliberately scolded Xuan: “you kept the precepts all day, but unexpectedly you have broken the precepts of killing! You brushed the mosquito to the ground and broke its limbs!”
Xuanlu, who had abided by the commandments all his life, was shocked. He had no choice but to feed mosquitoes. In order to pay off his debts, he fell down from the steps every day! Finally one day, shanwuwei knew that xuanlu’s sin had been completed, so he recited a spell to find Na Zha. When xuanlu threw himself, he caught him and enlightened xuanlu!
Figure 3 Nezha (n é zh) ?)? Figures in ancient Chinese myths and legends
II. Taoism deifies it
After entering China for many years, Na Zha’s image was transformed by Taoism into the immortal Li Nezha with Chinese characteristics – the legendary commander of heaven’s army and generals, known as the “Zhongtan marshal” and also known as the “mighty and illustrious general”. The Jade Emperor ordered him to rule Tianmen forever.
This is based on the records of the Ming Dynasty’s unknown author, the source and flow of the three religions. Perhaps the emperors of the Ming Dynasty generally believed, so how could Na Zha, a great hero who was famous at that time, not be incorporated into Taoism?
Therefore, Na Zha became Na Zha.
Fig. 4 an embroidered image of Nezha in the source of the three religions
According to the Scripture, Nezha was originally a golden immortal who was driven by the Jade Emperor. He is six feet long, has a golden wheel on his head, has three heads, nine eyes and eight arms, steps on the golden wheel, and holds the law. Because there were many demon kings in the world, the Jade Emperor ordered him to descend to earth and be reincarnated in Li Jing, the king of tota, and Suzhi’s wife. These two have already given birth to the eldest son Jin Zha and the second son Mu Zha, so Nezha is also known as the third prince!
As for the change from “Na Zha” to “Na Zha”, it also has Chinese characteristics – this “Na” is a compound noun in ancient Chinese, which means “Nuo”; “Nuo”, that is, the original intention of Nuo God is to exorcise evil spirits, and the idol of ghosts and gods – Mr. Shen Congwen’s “border city” has the character of “Nuo sending”, which means “children sent by Nuo God”; The word “Zha” refers to justice. The word “Zha” is different from the word “Chih”, which means that it frightens evil and is the enemy of all evils! Generally speaking, “Nezha” represents the supreme divine power with the meaning of “exorcising ghosts and gods, that is, its unstoppable power and invincibility”.
Figure 5 magic weapons and weapons of Nezha in the romance of God
III. final shaping of folk beliefs
As for Nezha, we can’t help but mention the Ming Dynasty’s “Romance of gods” — Nezha was finally shaped in folk beliefs!
Nezha is one of the best heroes in the romance of gods!
His surname was Li and his first name was Nezha. During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, Li Jing, the garrison of chentangguan in Tianjin, was the third son of Mrs. Yin. He had two brothers, Li jinzha, the eldest brother, and Li Muzha, the second brother. It is said that his mother gave birth to a meat ball after three years and six months. Father Li Jing thought it was a monster and cut it with a sword. Who imagined there was a baby in it? He wore gold bracelets and his belly was wrapped with red silk. Later, immortal Taiyi came to congratulate him and worshipped him as a disciple. Immortal Taiyi named him “Nezha”. Because of Xingsan, he was also known as “the Third Prince of Nezha”!.
Under the guidance of the master, he quickly used magic tools flexibly. He has a lot of magic tools. He wears heaven and earth rings on his head, wears mixed sky damask on his body, pedals wind and fire wheels, and holds a pointed fire gun!
Seven years later, Nezha accidentally killed Ao Bing, the third son of the Dragon King of the East China Sea, on the East China Sea, causing a great disaster. The Dragon King of the East China Sea came to apologize. In order to save his parents, he gouged out his intestines and bones and returned them to his parents.
Figure 6 “tota King Li Jing and Nezha Prince”
But later, Li Jing still could not understand what Nezha had done and continued to force his soul. After that, Nezha was blocked by his father Li Jing and could not be revived. His soul found the master Taiyi immortal. The immortal made a new body for Nezha with lotus leaves and helped him to be born again! After his rebirth, Nezha helped the Xiqi army attack the Yin Shang Dynasty, fight against injustice, and punish evil gods! Finally, he made great achievements and was named in the Fengshen manual!
Of course, another great ancient Chinese novel about Nezha, journey to the west, also recorded that after his rebirth, Nezha resented and envied his father Li Jing. He thought that he had paid off his father’s and son’s life debt by scraping his flesh and bones, and his father would not forgive him! So they came to Li Jing’s door, but Li Jing could not resist. At the time of the stalemate, the Buddha from the West came up and stopped both sides. One gave Li Jing a pagoda, and two Nezha recognized the Buddha as their father. They not only understood the human relations tragedy, but also eliminated the life and death disaster between father and son!
7. The statue of Nezha
IV. Nezha’s belief
Nezha has long been integrated into folk beliefs and has become an indispensable part of the Chinese nation! Today, there are places like Tianjin and Taiwan that worship Nezha! It goes without saying that Tianjin is said to be the hometown of Nezha. Taiwan, on the other hand, is an island with many sea gods, so it has the belief of Nezha worship!
The popularity of Nezha, from Buddhism to Taoism, and finally into folk beliefs, explains what? It illustrates the broadness and inclusiveness of Chinese traditional culture – inclusiveness! It is good at absorbing all the world’s excellent cultures and brewing its own glory! At the same time, the Nezha phenomenon also shows that anything must be integrated into the people before it can become a religion!
Today, Nezha is not only popular in China, but also has become a classic in world literature and art! Nezha, that just and brave child image, will surely protect the growth of all children. One day, they will find that they used to be a Nezha: lively and lovely, but I hope that every child will always be a Nezha – resolute, brave and just! Disclaimer: the above content originates from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author. If your original copyright is infringed, please inform us, and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.