Ancient Cultural Knowledge Lectures

Author: Yu Xuchu et al. / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: 【Spring Festival】The most solemn traditional custom in China. It marks the beginning of the year. The ancients also called it the New Year's Day, the first day of the first month, the New Year, the New Month, etc. Today, it is called the Spring Festival, which came into use after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. In ancient times, "Spring Festival" and "Spring Season" were synonyms. The customs of the Spring Festival are on one hand to celebrate the past year, and on the other to wish for a happy new year, abundant harvests, prosperity of people and livestock, and are closely related to agricultural activities. Dragon-awakening and dragon-dancing were performed to please the dragon god for favorable weather and harvests; lion-dancing originated from the legend of a mythical beast that destroyed crops and harmed people and livestock. With the development of society, activities like welcoming gods and paying homage to heaven have gradually been abandoned, while customs such as setting off firecrackers, pasting couplets, hanging New Year pictures, dragon-lantern performances, lion-dancing, and New Year greetings remain widely popular. 【Human Day】Refers to the seventh day of the first lunar month. According to old customs, the first day of the first lunar month was considered the day of the rooster, the second day the day of the dog, the third day the day of the pig, the fourth day the day of the sheep, the fifth day the day of the ox, the sixth day the day of the horse, and the seventh day the day of the human. On this day, the ancients would cut paper into human shapes, which both men and women would wear on their heads, called "human victories" (also known as spring victories). 【Lantern Festival】A traditional folk festival in China, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Day of Shangyuan, or the Lantern Festival. Customs include admiring lanterns, making dumplings, drumming during the New Year, welcoming the toilet god, and guessing lantern riddles. The custom of eating yuanxiao (sweet glutinous rice balls) originated in the Song Dynasty. Yuanxiao are solid or filled round glutinous rice balls, which can be eaten with soup, fried, or steamed. 【Society Day】An ancient festival for farmers to worship the earth god. It is called the Spring Society in the period around the spring equinox and the Autumn Society in the period around the autumn equinox. In "Encounter Joy," it is said: "How can one bear to look back, beneath the shrine of Fuli, a sea of divine crows and society moths." Society drums refer to the drumbeats used in the worship of the earth god on Society Day. 【Cold Food Festival】A traditional folk festival in China. On this day, it is forbidden to have fire or smoke, and only cold food can be eaten. It falls 105 or 106 days after the winter solstice, one or two days before the Qingming Festival. Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Prince Zhong'er of Jin fled into exile, and his minister Jie Zitui once cut off a piece of his own flesh to feed him. After Zhong'er became the king, he generously rewarded his ministers but forgot to reward Jie Zitui. Jie Zitui then retreated to the mountains. When Zhong'er learned of this, he felt ashamed and, to force him out of hiding to receive his reward, set fire to the mountains. Jie Zitui, embracing a tree, refused to come out and was burned to death. Zhong'er then decreed that no fire could be lit on this day to commemorate Jie Zitui, as a way of punishing himself for his mistake. Since the Cold Food Festival and the Qingming Festival are close in time, later generations came to regard the customs of the Cold Food Festival as part of the Qingming Festival customs. 【Qingming Festival】A traditional folk festival in China. According to the lunar calendar, it falls in the first half of the third month, while according to the solar calendar, it falls on the fifth or sixth day of April each year. At this time, the weather warms up, the wind is gentle, and the sun is bright, and "all things are clean and clear at this time," hence the name Qingming Festival. Customs include tomb-sweeping, outings, swinging, kite-flying, and planting willows and wearing flowers. Generations of literati have written poems on the theme of the Qingming Festival. [Dragon Boat Festival] A traditional folk festival in China, also known as the Dragon Festival, the Double Fifth, or the Midday Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival was originally a ritual on the fifth day of the first lunar month, but since "five" and "noon" sound the same, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month became the Dragon Boat Festival. It is generally believed that this festival is related to the commemoration of Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan, loyal but dismissed, drowned himself in a river, so people commemorate him by eating zongzi and racing dragon boats. Customs include drinking realgar wine, hanging perfumed pouches, eating zongzi, planting osmanthus and calamus, playing the game of "hundred grasses," and driving away the "five poisons." 【Qiqiao Festival】A traditional folk festival in China, also known as the Girls' Festival or the Qixi Festival. According to legend, the weaver girl on the east bank of the Milky Way married the cowherd on the west bank and became slightly slower at weaving. Enraged, the Jade Emperor banished her, allowing them to meet only once a year on the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on a bridge made of magpies. Alternatively, it is said that the weaver girl married the cowherd on earth and was taken back to heaven by the Queen Mother of the West, allowing them to meet only once a year on the magpie bridge. On the night of the seventh lunar month, women would set up fragrant altars and thread needles to pray to the weaver girl for skills in weaving and embroidery. Listening to the conversation between the cowherd and the weaver girl under the grapevine is also a delightful part of the Qixi Festival. 【Mid-Autumn Festival】A traditional folk festival in China, also known as the Reunion Festival. The eighth month of the lunar calendar falls in the autumn, and the fifteenth day of the eighth month is also in the middle of the eighth month, hence the name Mid-Autumn Festival. With the clear autumn sky and the bright moon in the sky, there are customs of admiring the moon and offering sacrifices to the moon. The symbolism of the full moon brings to mind reunion, making the Mid-Autumn Festival even more deeply rooted in people's hearts. After the Tang Dynasty linked the legend of Chang'e flying to the moon with the Mid-Autumn Festival, it became even more romantic. Many poets have written poems on the theme of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The main customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival include admiring the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, watching tides, and eating mooncakes. 【Double Ninth Festival】A traditional folk festival in China. The Book of Changes designates "nine" as the yang number, and when two nines coincide, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is called the Double Ninth. On this day, the autumn is high and clear, the wind is clear and the moon is pure, so there are customs of climbing high to overlook the scenery, admiring chrysanthemums and composing poems, drinking chrysanthemum wine, and wearing osmanthus. The Tang Dynasty had the line "every osmanthus is worn except one," which reflects the festival. 【Laba Festival】A traditional folk festival in China. This is an ancient festival to worship ancestors and deities, celebrate the harvest, and mark the end of the year. The Laba Festival is usually held in the last month of the lunar calendar (the twelfth month), and by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was fixed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Customs include eating red bean porridge and worshipping ancestors. The Buddhist Laba porridge has also been incorporated into the customs of the Laba Festival. 【New Year's Eve】A traditional folk festival in China. On the evening of the last day of the twelfth lunar month, families clean their houses thoroughly and set out abundant dishes for a family reunion dinner called "New Year's Eve." Everyone stays up all night, either drinking, chatting, guessing riddles, playing chess, or playing and having fun, which is called "keeping the year." At midnight, people rush out, gather firewood in front of their houses, and set fire to it (known as "courtyard torches" in ancient times, symbolizing prosperity). At this "beginning of the year, beginning of the month, beginning of the hour," they compete to set off three "sky-rocketing" firecrackers to wish for the first success and good fortune. At this moment, the sound of firecrackers and fill the air, creating a scene of "firecrackers ringing out the old year" 【The Nineteenth Day】The nineteenth day of each lunar month. The ancients considered the twenty-ninth day of each lunar month the "upper nine," the ninth day the "middle nine," and the nineteenth day the "lower nine." On the lower nine, women would gather to play and have fun. In "The Peacock Flying to the East," it is said: "On the seventh day and the lower nine, do not forget to play." The seventh day refers to the Qixi Festival. 【Elder Brother, Middle Brother, Younger Brother, and Youngest】The order of seniority among brothers. Elder brother (/) is the eldest, middle brother () is the second, younger brother () is the third, and youngest () is the fourth. In ancient times, the names of noble male officials often began with elder brother (/), middle brother (), younger brother (), or youngest () to indicate their order, and ended with "father" or "nan" to indicate their gender, forming the full name of a male official, such as Boqin father, Zhongni father, Shuxing father, etc. 【The Twelve Zodiac Animals】Also known as the zodiac signs. Ancient astrologers matched twelve animals with the twelve Earthly Branches: the rat corresponds to zi, the ox to chou, the tiger to yin, the rabbit to mao, the dragon to Chen, the snake to si, the horse to wu, the sheep to wei, the monkey to shen, the rooster to you, the dog to xu, and the pig to hai. Later, it was believed that a person born in a certain year would be compatible with a certain animal, such as those born in the year of the rat or the pig. This is known as the twelve zodiac animals. In ancient times, the twelve zodiac animals were often associated with superstition, and whenever there was good or bad fortune, they were often linked. This was especially true in marriage, where the zodiac signs of the couple were considered very important, with sayings like "the wedding of the rooster and dog is doomed" or "the dragon and tiger are incompatible" being common. 【Eight Characters of Birth】The year, month, day, and time of a person's birth are each matched with a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch, with two characters for each, making a total of eight characters. Based on these eight characters, one's destiny can be calculated. For major events, the eight characters must be calculated. In old customs, when arranging a marriage, the couple's birth dates were exchanged in a "geng tie," which listed the eight characters. Each party would consult the other's eight characters to determine if the marriage could be arranged and what the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness would be. 【Filial Piety and Fraternal Respect】Filial piety refers to being filial and obedient to one's parents, while fraternal respect refers to respecting and following one's elder brothers. Confucius placed great importance on filial piety and fraternal respect, considering them the foundation of practicing "benevolence" and proposing principles such as "three years without changing one's father's way" and "parents are alive, do not travel far." Mencius also regarded filial piety and fraternal respect as basic moral norms. The "Book of Filial Piety" from the Qin and Han dynasties further stated: "Filial piety is the root of all virtues." The Confucianists advocated filial piety and fraternal respect to maintain the patriarchal hierarchical order. 【Sacrificial Animals】Livestock used in ancient sacrifices, with pure color being called "sacrifice" and complete body being called "sacrifice." In the "Zuo Zhuan·Cao Wei Lun Zhan," it is said: "Sacrificial animals, jade, and silk, I dare not exaggerate, I must act with sincerity."