Fire is the light and heat produced by the burning of matter, and it is a kind of energy. Combustible, ignition point and combustion-supporting gas (not necessarily oxygen) must coexist to catch fire. All three are indispensable.
According to legend, ten thousand years ago, there was a country that knew nothing about four o'clock in the day and night. If people don't die, they will ascend to heaven if they are tired of the world. State-owned wood, also known as fire tree, bends around and clouds come out. If there is a bird, peck at the wood with its beak and make a fire. Inspired by this, a saint broke a branch and drilled wood to make a fire. People call this saint a saint.
Sui Renshi is a legendary inventor, which has been recorded in ancient books before Qin Dynasty. According to "Five Mistakes of Everything is done", "In ancient times, there were fewer people and more beasts, and the people were invincible; ..... People eat fruits, clams, clams, and the foul smell hurts the stomach and causes many diseases. There are saints who drill fire to make it stink, and the people call it (味味) to be the king of the world, which makes people embarrassed every day. " "quotations from corpses" said: "one looks up at the stars and overlooks five trees as fire." "Notes" said: "It can be seen that state-owned trees are famous all over the world. Later, saints swam to their country, birds pecked at trees, and they lit a big fire. The sage felt awkward because he used twigs to drill fire. " "Ancient History Examination" said: "At the beginning of ancient times, people sucked dew, ate grass and fruits, lived in mountains, ate birds and animals, ate clothes and feathers, and ate fish, turtles and clams near water without cremation, which was harmful to the stomach. In order to make (yes) saints come out, fire is king, drill to make a fire, teach people to cook, and cast gold as a blade to make people happy. " "Three Graves" says: "Sui people teach us to eat with guns, drill wood for fire, have a platform for preaching, and have a strategy for tying ropes." "Hanshu" also has a record of "teaching people to prepare food, nourishing people's interest, avoiding odor and removing poison". Mr. Shang He Bing, a famous scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, said: "Fire comes from scratch and its invention is difficult." The emperor felt that the forest burned himself, and he knew that wood hides fire. I don't know. After many attacks and tests, it's tricky to drill wood. His merits and deeds have entered the nest again, and he is the emperor. It can be seen that the shackles at that time were sacred and the interests were profound. "He also said," In other words, it is said that cremation and diet started in Xixi, so it is considered as a number. Do you know that since man invented fire, his wisdom has not known how to eat? "The gunner wrapped the meat and burned it, burning its hair to make it familiar. In cooked food, Suiren not only invented artificial lighting, but also created cooked food.
China myth:
Vulcan is one of the gods in folk beliefs, and all ethnic groups in China have the custom of offering sacrifices to Vulcan. However, the image and origin of Vulcan recorded in the ancient history of Han nationality and legends of various nationalities are very different, and there are also many differences in related beliefs and folk customs. Even on the key question of why Vulcan worship originated, experts and scholars have different opinions, and they are still arguing endlessly, and there is no unified statement.
Vulcan is an ancient woman among the people who believe in Shamanism in northern China. She is called Vulcan mother, Vulcan woman, Vulcan girl and Vulcan spirit. For example, according to the legend of the Oroqen people, a woman got up in the morning to keep warm, and she violated Vulcan by playing with a fire. No matter where her family moved, there was no fire. Later, she confessed to Vulcan mother-in-law and was forgiven. When she went home to light a fire, it caught fire. According to Mr. Wu Bingan, the sacred and inviolable principle of Vulcan embodied in this legend not only runs through the production customs of hunting and grazing of some ethnic groups in the north, but also runs through all aspects of daily life. For example, under normal circumstances, it is absolutely forbidden to step on fire, ride on fire, cross fire, speak ill of fire and insult fire directly. While respecting the benefits of fire to human beings, people regard fires in forests and grasslands, patients with fever, children with nightmares and other diseases as the result of Vulcan's anger. The more they respect it, the more they are afraid of its punishment and revenge. Therefore, Vulcan is more often revered and sacrificed than other natural gods (The Mysterious Shaman World, published by Shanghai Branch of Sanlian Bookstore, 1989).
According to Manchu myths and legends, the young hero Toa stole a fire gourd from the skyfire vault. He cut a hole in the stone, then put the fire into the stone one by one, and brought it back to the world, telling people that you can get fire from it by knocking on the stone. In this way, there will be fire on the earth. Since then, people worship Toah as Vulcan, and besides offering sacrifices in the Spring and Autumn Period, a grand ceremony to greet Vulcan is held every New Year's Eve (ibid.).
The worship of Vulcan by southwest minorities is different from the personification of Vulcan by northern minorities. Most of them regard the burning flame as the incarnation of Vulcan (or the symbol of Vulcan, such as Guozhuang Stone and Tang Huozao), and regard it as the patron saint who gives fire and wealth and makes the family flourish.
The worship of Vulcan in Han nationality also has the difference of "genre". In terms of image and origin, Zhu Rong is generally regarded as Vulcan. According to legend, he was originally a descendant of Zhuan Xu, whose real name was Li, also known as Li. When Di Ku (the legendary leader of ancient tribes) was in power, his official residence was in full swing and very active, and he could blend into the world. Di Ku was called "Zhu Rong" and became an official of Vulcan after his death. According to legend, Da Yu's father Gun stole the land of the Emperor, and the Emperor ordered Zhu Rong to kill Gun in the feather suburb (Shan Hai Jing Hai Nei Jing); When Tang Cheng attacked Xia Jie, the Emperor of Heaven ordered Zhu Rong to send fire to the city (Mozi, not attacking) to help Tang Cheng destroy the summer. In the folklore of later generations, Zhu Rong often appeared as a woman and was called "Mrs. Zhu Rong". In addition, there is a saying that or Sui is regarded as Vulcan. For example, the ancient Sui Stone Man drilled wood to make fire, which made mankind enter the stage of cooked food. Later generations respected him as Vulcan, also known as the true fire king, and sacrificed regularly. There are also some areas where Vulcan worship has no specific origin, or it is called the Southern Fire Emperor or the Mother of Fire, and so on. In different historical periods and regions, the date and behavior of offering sacrifices to Vulcan are different. As in the past, Vulcan sacrifices were held in summer, which was inherited from Han and Jin Dynasties. This tradition is continued by offering sacrifices to stoves in summer. For another example, Sichuan and other places take the eighth day of April in the summer calendar as the "birthday" of Vulcan, where literati, farmers, workers and businessmen burn incense to worship God or perform entertainment. In southern Shandong, the seventh day of the first month is the day of offering sacrifices to Vulcan, and there is a custom of organizing Vulcan meetings among the people. Besides paying homage to the Temple of Fire, all members will have dinner twice. In addition, Vulcan looks fierce, with three heads and six arms, and is equipped with hot wheels, fire gourd, fire seal, fire sword, fire bow and other firearms, resembling the abnormal condition of "Nezha" in myths and legends.
Similar to various folk beliefs, modern scholars have different views on the origin and development of traditional Vulcan worship.
Some people think that the burning flame or fire pit is regarded as the incarnation or symbol of Vulcan in some parts of southwest China. Together with related ceremonies, sacrifices and taboos, it is the original form of Vulcan worship, which contains the conceptual connotation of reflecting people's dual understanding of the role of fire, thus more maintaining the original style of human worship of natural forces in ancient times. As for Vulcan, such as Yan Di, Sui Man and Zhu Rong, they are personalized Vulcan created after the Warring States Period. Others, such as the king of true fire and the mother of fire, were all invented by later generations.
Some people disagree with this statement. They believe that among the ancestors of the Chinese nation, there is a clan that worships Vulcan and the stars named after fire in the sky. This is Yan Di's family, whose ancestor is Zhu Rong. The name of Yan Di clan is Gao Xin, and the word "Xin" means "salary", which is like analyzing wood with an axe. If you get paid, you can get fire, so the original meaning should be the nickname of Vulcan. Also Xin Tong's voice, "Shuo Wen": "Jiao, Sheng." From the beginning, Yao Sheng. "Thus, the ancient pronunciation of Xin word is reading Yao. The so-called Yandi family is actually the famous "Emperor Yao" among ancient emperors. Then he took part in Shen Yan, Ye (Wang Yi's Songs of Chu: A Journey), Yan Di Ji became a fire master because of his fire (the seventeenth year of Zuo Gong), Yan Di drilled a fire (a related article), Yan Di died as a stove, and the first name of Emperor Yan was Vulcan. From the perspective of taking Mount Tai as the world, Yan Di's activity area is relatively located in the southwest, which leads to the statement that Yan Di "lives in the south and dominates the summer" in Volume 9 of Elementary School (He Xin's Origin of the Gods, Sanlian Bookstore, 1986). Accordingly, there are traces of historical development in ancient legends with Yan Di and Zhu Rong as Vulcan, and in folk beliefs with Vulcan as the "Southern Fire Emperor" and offering sacrifices in summer.
Others believe that the folk Vulcan belief originated from the early people's worship of Mars (that is, the heart). In Zuo Zhuan, Emperor Yan said "watching the fire" actually refers to determining the season by observing the movement and changes of Mars. Zhu Rong's "Huozheng" is an official position dedicated to observing the change of Mars operation to determine the seasons. In addition, "Taiping Magnolia" volume 869 quoted "quotations from corpses": "Sui people went to see Chen.
Buluotuo, the ancestor of Zhuang nationality, made a fire in the countryside of Tian Yang, Fiona Fang and its neighboring counties, hundreds of miles away, and there is such a fairy story.
Legend has it that in ancient times, because there was no fire, animals hunted by people ate raw meat such as crows and raw fish such as otters. Every winter, people are shivering in hemp fiber or leaf turf, and many people freeze to death.
It's terrible that there is no shop in the middle of the village. Suddenly, one day, dark clouds were gathering, the wind was blowing hard, the sky was dark, and lightning and thunder shook the earth. On a hill not far from Ganzhuang Mountain, a big tree was cut down by lightning in the deafening thunder. After the harsh white light, the fallen tree suddenly burned. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor sent Lei Gong to send fireworks to the world. However, people at that time did not know what the fire was about. They were scared out of their wits by the sudden fire, and they all ran back to the cave to hide like evil spirits, avoiding the fire and didn't even dare to look. However, only one person remained calm. He neither fears nor runs away. He bravely walked to the burning tree and carefully observed this strange thing. This man is the Almighty Creator Buluotuo. The fire was burning, and Buluotuo stood by it curiously. He thinks this strange thing is hotter than the sun. Brotuo had a brainwave. If people have this thing, they will no longer be afraid of the cold when winter comes, and people will never freeze to death again. So, he broke a branch, took the fire back to the hole, picked up a pile of dry wood, lit it in piles, and then casually sat by the fire to dry his hands, feeling very warm. People follow Buluotuo's example and warm themselves around the fire, and gradually they are not afraid of the fire. The news spread quickly. Later, the descendants of Fiona Fang Baili Zhuang people gathered on Dari Mountain to ask Buluotuo for kindling and lighting. Since there was a fire, people have been sitting around the fire to keep warm in winter. People tried to roast wild animals on the mountain, sweet potatoes dug out, wild fruits picked and fish, shrimp and crabs caught in the river on the fire, even though there was no oil and salt sauce at that time. I didn't expect it to be much more delicious than raw food. It was sweet and delicious. So, they changed the habit of eating raw meat from now on. Because people hunt during the day, burn a fire at night, roast and eat, and sleep around the fire when they are full, those beasts such as tigers and leopards are afraid of fire and dare not attack again. People began to realize the importance of fire to their living environment, and even began to think that human beings could not live without fire.
One night, it suddenly rained heavily, and the rain completely put out the fire. One night, when they woke up, they had no fire. Only then do people know that fire and water are incompatible, and they can't sit still after spending a period of time without fire. People went down the mountain in the rain, looking for fire everywhere. They searched all the social points around Ganzhuang Mountain, but they couldn't find any sparks wherever they went. At this time, someone thought of Buluotuo, the creator of the universe, and told the powerful god about finding fire. Buluotuo decided to go out and look for fire by himself. He stood like a pine tree and walked like the wind, with a big axe hanging around his waist. He searched all the wild mountains and caves in ninety-nine mountains, walked ninety-nine river bends and searched all the villages, but he was still disappointed.
On the way back to Dari Mountain, Buluotuo came to take a nap under a big tree. He suddenly remembered the last time Lei Gong chopped a tree for fire. He thought, since Lei Gong can split the tree into fire, can't I Buluotuo? Besides, I have an axe in my hand! With this in mind, he chose a cracked old tree, exhausted all his strength, raised his axe, and cut it hard on the tree tray that both of them couldn't close. Sure enough, there are many sparks like fireflies flashing constantly. Buluotuo cut another axe, and this time the spark was as big as a spark snake, dancing up and down and scurrying around. Buluotuo immediately blew hay and leaves into a pile, which was quickly ignited by sparks. Buluotuo added a lot of hay and dead wood to the fire, and the fire grew stronger and stronger, which soon attracted people looking for kindling from all directions. Since then, people have had fire again. With the last lesson, people will never dare to burn a fire in the wild again this time. They took the fire to the cave to rise. From then on, no matter how heavy the wind and rain, the fire will not go out. It was not until later that wooden scaffolding and clay tiles were used to build houses, and people took the fire to the house to boil water and cook for warmth.
Since then, the fire has been preserved, but there are also many problems. Because people didn't control the fire well, butterflies and moths flying into the house fanned the fire with their wings, and even chickens, ducks and geese followed suit, resulting in sparks flying all over the sky, and those groups of fireflies also set themselves on fire. Some even let children make a fire and play under the eaves. As a result, when the fire broke out, the whole village was burned down, and even some old people and children who had no time to escape were burned to death. People didn't expect that the fire would bring such a great disaster to people. The survivors had to ask Buluotuo how to use fire safely. Without saying anything, Buluotuo cut down the wood and set up a square kitchen hall in the middle of the room, which was covered with sand. It is stipulated that the fire of every household must be burned in the kitchen, and it is not allowed to play with fire casually. As a result, the number of fires is gradually decreasing. It turned out that those naughty fireflies were also driven into the wild and sneaked on the fire on their buttocks when they escaped, so until now we can still see the sparks on their buttocks on summer nights.
Although the story of Buluotuo's fire is only a myth or legend, some details of the story also convince us. If you can walk among the few farmers who live in wooden houses in this area, it is not difficult to find out whether their kitchens are identical or coincidental. The author does not agree. Fortunately, with the continuous advancement of rural reform, most rural wooden buildings have long since disappeared, replaced by beautiful buildings with reinforced concrete structures, and the so-called kitchen halls have been replaced by biogas stoves and gas stoves. Perhaps, taking fire is a strange word that is fading out for modern life. However, as the descendants of the Zhuang nationality, we have no reason to ignore and forget our national roots anyway.
Greek mythology:
Prometheus stole fire for mankind because of heaven.
Punished by Zeus, the king of the gods, he was locked in the holy mountain and eaten by eagles all day long.
But because he, like Zeus, is a descendant of the second generation of gods ruled by Cronus, the father of Zeus.
(Later, Cronus was overthrown by his sons, and Zeus, who led the revolution, became.
Three generations of ancient Greek gods), so they will never die. If they are pecked, they will immediately regenerate a new heart.
In addition:
Prometheus, the god of heaven, stole fire from heaven and gave it to mankind. Humans learned to use fire, and Zeus, the god of gods, was very angry. Zeus decided to let disaster befall mankind.
He ordered his son hephaestus, the Vulcan, to make a woman out of clay, and named her Pandora, which means "a person endowed with all advantages". Every god gave her something to make her perfect. Aphrodite gave her beauty, Hermes gave her glib words, and Apollo gave her musical talent. Zeus gave Pandora a sealed box full of evil, disaster and plague, and asked her to give it to the person she married. Zeus sent this beautiful woman to earth, and gods and mortals are wandering happily on the earth. Everyone was very surprised and admired when they saw this incomparable beauty, because there had never been such a woman.
Pandora immediately went to Epimetheus, a "sleeper", who was Prometheus' younger brother and was honest and kind. Prometheus was convinced that Zeus was hostile to mankind and warned his brother Epitos not to accept Zeus' gift. But he didn't listen to advice and married the beautiful Pandora. Pandora holds her gift in both hands. It is a big sealed gift box. When she just walked near Epimetheus, she suddenly opened the lid. Epimetheus hasn't had time to see what's in the box. A black smoke that harms the world flies out of the box like a dark cloud. Black smoke is full of disease, madness, disaster, sin, jealousy, adultery, theft, greed and other evils. These evils soon spread on the ground. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, quietly put the beautiful thing "hope" at the bottom of the box to save human destiny. Before it could fly out of the box, the cunning Pandora closed the box. Later, the metaphor of "Pandora's box" brought unfortunate gifts; The cave of disaster.
Indian mythology:
The devil of fire
Aryans are all red, shining like the sun, headless and without feet [10], or have three heads and seven tongues, and their long tongues extend eastward, representing the trend of Aryans pushing eastward. Undoubtedly, the power of fire is enormous and has played a decisive role in the history of human development. He is closely related to human life in grilling food, driving away darkness, preventing cold, intimidating wild animals, protecting herds, burning land, etc., and is inseparable from the pots and pans of every household. He is the owner of the stove and a real family god. For Aryans who advocate sacrifice, fire has another important meaning: to sacrifice to fire, all kinds of sacrifices to God are thrown into the fire. In other words, when offering sacrifices, people sacrifice to various gods through fire, and the supernatural powers go too far to get sacrifices! Fire has become a bridge between God and mankind! Therefore, fire is called "priest" and "executor of sacrifice". Moreover, in the Vedic civilization with frequent wars, fire also has a main purpose that is not noticed, that is, disinfection. Where there is war, there must be disability. In the process of treating the wounded, it should be more time-saving, labor-saving and material-saving to bake and disinfect medical instruments such as scalpels. This method may not be unknown to Aryans. Therefore, Jainism is praised by all immortals:
"I praise Father Ginny,
"Holy sacrifice executor,
"Sing, wealth giver.
"He was praised by ancient immortals,
"He was praised by the immortals today,
"I hope he brought the gods!
"I hope I can rely on him to get wealth,
"Prosperity, prosperity,
"Heroes come forth in large numbers, and their fame spreads far and wide." [ 1 1]
"You dominate all kinds of sacrifices,
"Is a glorious defender of order,
"Growing up in your own house.
"May you treat us like a father and son,
"O Jaime (fire)! Easy to access,
"May you be with us and benefit us." [ 12]
Here, auntie is a priest and the master of all kinds of sacrifices. With his help, the gods came down to earth to accept people's sacrifices and worship and bless the world. Thanks to the power of Vulcan, people are thriving and thriving. Not only that, aunt is also the defender of order, he is always close to mortals; Ordinary people also want their aunts to stay around, treat themselves like parents treat their children, live with them, have fun together and benefit themselves.
In this way, Ayani became the patron saint of the family, echoing Indra as the patron saint of the whole tribe, and safeguarding the well-being of mankind.
Northern Europe:
Loki, the Vulcan in Norse mythology, has the blood of a giant. Clever and cunning, they became brothers with Odin, the Lord God, and became a member of AS protoss. Using his clever mind has brought many benefits to the gods. As Loki's mentality gradually became cynical and gloomy, his behavior also developed from mischief to public evil. And eventually led to the "Twilight of the Gods". In this battle, Loki and Heimdahl mutually assured destruction. Loki gave birth to many inhuman children, among which Eight-legged Tianma became Odin's mount, and Fenrir, World Snake, Ulm Gunter and Haier, Queen of Hades all brought disasters to the protoss.