The social impact of occupying dreams

The social impact of occupying dreams

Although the ancients were not scientific in dreaming, on the one hand, because the dreamers did not understand the nature of dreams, they thought that the gods or ghosts ruled themselves in the afterlife. On the other hand, dreamers do not know the way of dreaming, thinking that they can pass through God, so in the eyes of the dreamer, dreaming is very mysterious. In addition, the dreamers also use this to confuse, and the influence of the dream occupation in society is even greater.

From the perspective of ancient Chinese society, the influence of dream occupation is mainly manifested in the following three aspects:

1. Ancient rulers like to use the dream to prove their 'orders from heaven'. Ancient Chinese emperors considered themselves 'sons of Heaven'. They believe that the Son of Heaven is the son of the emperor. In order to prove their identity, they use heaven to say 'ordered by heaven.' The so-called auspicious sign is said to be a rare symbol of auspiciousness bestowed by heaven. Such as the legend of 'phoenix to the instrument, Jiahe into the offering, Qin like a pheasant, Lu get such as moose' and so on. However, whether it is phoenix, Jiahe, or Baoji, Moose, it is an objective and real image that must be witnessed. Although these ancient legends can be used for propaganda, in the contemporary fabrication of such good fortune, it is easy to reveal flaws. The method of occupying dreams is different. What I dreamed is, so far only the dreamer himself knows, others can not confirm or deny. Since dreams are believed to be guided by gods, it is the most excellent way to prove that you are the true dragon and son of Heaven who are 'ordered by heaven' by occupying dreams.

In the reign of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty, the feudal theology of the sense of heaven and man advocated by Dong Zhongshu became the official dominant social thought, and occupying dreams became a very important tool to demonstrate the influence of heaven, the mandate of the emperor and the conquest of the world by Han. Even the sober Sima Qian could not help but be influenced by this idea. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, Gaozu Benji, '... First, Liu old woman tasted Daze PI, dream and God meet. When the thunder and lightning dark, Tai Gong to look, then see the dragon to its on. What has been done has been done, and he has been born.' 'Dream meets God' means that the dream meets God. What god? The heavenly dragon that Tai Gong saw at that time. Due to the 'dream and God encounter' and pregnant, this shows that Liu Bang is the real 'son of heaven', 'dragon seed'.

In fact, there is no dream of Liu old woman in the end, only heaven knows. 'Thunder and lightning dim', Liu old woman can only be scared to run back, or find a place to hide, where can also sleep next to Daze dream. It is possible that Tai Gong 'looks', but seeing the dragon is deceiving, so having a baby is even more nonsense. It is clear that this dream was invented later, and its political significance is clear.

In order to ascend to the throne of emperor, Han Guangwu told his subordinates in no secret that he had ascended to heaven on a dragon in his dream. The Dongguan Han records: 'Emperor Guangwu summoned Feng Yi and said: 'I dreamed of riding the dragon to heaven, consciousness (wake up), and heart palpitations. Then he worshiped and said, 'This destiny comes from the spirit.' Heart palpitation, the king of caution also. ''

This kind of social atmosphere started in the Han Dynasty, went through the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and became more and more intense in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. 'Cong Tan' said that when Cao PI declared himself emperor, he had dreamed that the sun fell into three parts, and he took one in his arms. This is clearly a three-way deal. According to the Book of Song, Sun Jian's wife had a dream when she was pregnant with Sun Quan, and this was because Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor in Eastern Wu. Liu Bei in the West Shu, probably with the name of Liu orthodox and self-proclaimed, did not see the dream to prove 'fate'.

The northern and Southern dynasties divided the world, the Han regime and the minority regime stood side by side, but the dream day and the dream dragon were not divided into Yi Xia, overlapping each other, some fabrications are very explicit. The former Zhao emperor Liu Yuan is said to have 'dreamed of eating the essence of the sun' when his mother prayed for her son, and 'dreamed of the essence of the sun' when Liu Cong's mother was pregnant. Northern Wei Taizu Tuoba? It is said that when his mother was pregnant, she had 'a dream day out of the room, and the light is heaven.' It is said that when his mother was pregnant, he dreamed of 'turning into a dragon every day' and circled her several times. And so on. The two Han Dynasty to dream to demonstrate the 'fate' there is magic, the north and South dynasties are just following, there is no novelty, mostly a model. All the same, while the mystical idea of dreams was still dominating the minds of the masses, these arguments were still of great use as theological grounds for kingship.

2. Politicians of all factions often use dream occupation as a spiritual weapon in political struggle. The Kings mentioned above used dream occupation to demonstrate that they were 'ordered by heaven', which was essentially a political spiritual weapon. Since the emperor can use the dream, the officials can also use the dream. Both those in power and those in opposition can dream. In this way, the occupation of dreams has become a spiritual weapon in the struggle of various political forces.

However, he was very ambitious, and every time he met his subordinate generals, he would talk about his dreams. It is said that 'when (he) was not a noble, he dreamed of living in the village, and the community tree (the tree in the earth temple).' Ten feet high. And in Yongzhou, and dream club tree straight up to the sky ', with this dream to lure subordinates, 'since the cloud is not at all expensive.' His wife, Mr. Shang, sang along. She said, 'Once upon a time, my hand was as hot as fire, and you were in Nanyang County; Yuan Hui, dream a leg hot as fire, you have this state; Jianyuan dream half body heat, you have to open house; My body is hot again now.' Zhang Jinger turned over and told the close person that his wife's first dream was like a dream, and now she dreamed of 'lifting body heat.' To dream of 'lifting body heat' means that he will ascend, high to 'straight up to heaven'. Heaven, the image of the emperor. In other words, he will also be emperor.

'Han Feizi · Difficult four' records: Weiling Gong pamper the son concealer, ministers have a great opinion on this. A dwarf told Linggong, 'I saw my Lord dreaming of a stove.' Linggong was angry and said, 'I dream of the sun when I hear the Lord, but I dream of the stove to see the Lord.' The dwarf said, 'The sun shines all over the world, and the king should shine all over the country.' The stove, on the other hand, can only be lit by one person in front, and no one behind can see it.' Here, the dwarf said that the dream is only a way of remonstering-his dream may not be true. Some politicians in later generations, however, simply concocted 'dream signs' in order to demagogue people.

Tang Dynasty politicians also liked to occupy dreams in order to achieve their own private purpose of occupying an important position in politics. See how Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, used dreams to achieve her goals. Beside Wu Zetian was a female official named Shangguan Wan 'er (Zhaorong), who was very powerful for a time because of Wu Zetian's favor. So there is a legend that when her mother was pregnant with her, she dreamed at night that God brought a large scale and said, 'Take this scale and measure the world.' This is obviously for Shangguan Wan son to create public opinion. In the later period of Empress Wu Zetian, the Tang royal family was excluded and persecuted for a long time, which aroused public anger. Wu Zetian tried to save the political crisis by making Li Jing king of Luling crown prince, so she used the dream to inquire about Di Renjie's meaning. She said she dreamed of a parrot with 'very big feathers and broken wings.' Di Renjie said: 'The parrot, your Majesty's name also; Two wings broken, Your Majesty's second son Luling, the king. Your Majesty raised these two sons, both wings are also.' Both sides understood this, and Wu Zetian turned a corner in politics relatively smoothly because of this.

Before his rebellion, the famous rebel of the Middle Tang Dynasty, An Lushan, told Xuanzong that he had dreamed Li Xu and Xu Maogong were 'begging for food' from him. His rebellious heart has been exposed. During the rebellion, he preached everywhere that he dreamed that 'sleeves were long to the bottom of the ladder', and that he would 'rule the world by heavy clothes', but the result was a disgrace.

The use of dreams in political struggle is not limited to this, and there are people who kill people with dreams and whip bodies with dreams, which is really cruel. 'The Southern History of Song Benji' records that the Song Ming Emperor dreamed of Liu Yin rebellion, because of this he was put to death. Whether he had that dream or not, only he knew. Emperor Li Yu of the Tang Dynasty wanted to kill the eunuch Li Fuguo, 'do not want to show slaughter, send messengers, assassinate him at night.' In order to cover this up, he made up a story that he dreamed that Emperor Xuanzong had ordered Gao Li to send someone to assassinate Li Fuguo.

According to the Book of Jin · Murong Engrave Record, Murong Engrave dreamed that Shi Jilong 'gnawed his arm' at night, and when he woke up, he ordered the grave to be dug up, the body to be exhumed, and wound, saying: 'Dead Juan dared to dream and gave birth to heaven!' Then let the imperial history count its 'sin', 'the scourge of the abandoned matter muddy water'.

As can be seen from the above examples, the occupation of dreams is intertwined with politics, and politicians of various factions often use the occupation of dreams to promote their aims. This is also a social effect of the superstition of dreaming.

3. A special anesthetic to deceive and fool the broad masses of workers. Whether emperors have always used dreams to justify their 'orders from heaven', or politicians of various factions have used dreams as a spiritual weapon of struggle, it is mainly the general masses who are deceived and fooled in the end. There is a phenomenon of theocracy in the West, although there is no such phenomenon in China, but religious belief and politics have always been closely related, religious belief has been entangled in the minds of the masses, and the occupation of dreams is a very special anesthetic. This is mainly reflected in the following three aspects:

First, compared with various forms of religious belief, dream occupation has a special sense of mystery. The gods worshipped by various religions are instilled into the minds of the masses from outside, and it will be easy for people to see through whether the clergy make up fiction in the process of propaganda, and whether the diviners play tricks in the process of divination. Dream occupation is different, because dreams are a psychological experience, not instilled from the outside by clergy or soothsayers. In the process of occupying a dream, what is taken is not an external thing but the dreamer's own dream image, so there is no intermediate link between man and God, and his dream becomes the intermediary between himself and the gods.

When people do not understand the nature of dreams and the causes of dreams, this feature of the dream itself as an intermediary will make people feel that there is an indefinable power that dominates them. It is also for this reason that people's superstition about the occupation of dreams is usually spontaneous, spontaneous, and unconscious. In this way, the influence of mysticism on people is far deeper than that of various religious beliefs.

Second, the masses are always psychologically suspicious in the face of mysterious dream-reading techniques. The dream occupiers use 'direct interpretation' for a while, 'reinterpretation' for a while, and 'reverse interpretation' for a while, which confuses the general masses and confuses them as to what is a good dream and what is a bad dream. Even so, they still want to dream for themselves, in order to get a psychological comfort. However, perhaps the gods also love the rich and hate the poor, and do not patronize the poor. Even if the poor get a good dream, they will worry that it is not 'bad omen'!

Because of this, they are always timid, believing that their economic oppression and political exploitation are the work of ghosts and gods. The poor cannot correctly understand their own fate, still less master their own fate, so that the dream has the effect of numbing the masses.

Third, occupying dreams is an important ideological basis in various religious beliefs. This is because any religious belief is based on the existence of ghosts and gods, and the existence of dreams is considered to be the most powerful 'proof' of the existence of ghosts and gods. According to the activity of dreams, it is said that it is possible to 'prove' the existence of the soul. When the body dies, the soul becomes a ghost, and when the soul rises to heaven, it becomes a god again. It is according to the dream image to reveal the spirits and ghosts.

Although dream occupation is a kind of religious belief, people's attitude towards various religions is different. People only have to pay a little attention to find that many people do not believe in this religion or that religion, nor do they believe in feng shui or physiography, but they always have a sense of mystery about dreams. Because of their dreams, they always feel that an inscrutable power is dealing with them, and they always want to know what the meaning of the things they dream is. It can be seen that if a person is superstitious about dreams, it is impossible to draw a line with the concept of ghosts and gods.

As a superstition, dream occupation is undoubtedly negative and harmful, but it is precisely because dream occupation has been dealing with all kinds of dreams for thousands of years, which has accumulated a lot of experience for people to scientifically understand this special spiritual phenomenon. In the dream occupation, the psychological analysis carried out by the dream occupier sometimes comes into contact with some secrets of the dream unconsciously, and therefore has some reasonable content. However, for dreams, we must use scientific methods, adopt a scientific attitude, and apply scientific methods to dreams.