The Great Cold, the last of the twenty-four solar terms and the sixth of winter' solar terms, usually falls from January 20 to January 21 in the Gregorian calendar. The Qing Dynasty agricultural book "Zhishi Tongkao Tianshi" quotes the "Three Rites and Righteous Sects" Yun: "The reverse pole of the cold is called the great cold." As the saying goes, "the great cold is at the end of the year", at this time, the cold tide frequently goes south, which is an extremely cold and intolerable period of the year in Jiangnan. People pay special attention to cold protection and warmth, and the folk have the saying of "five colds", which should prevent nose cold, neck cold, lung cold, foot cold, and waist cold. Therapeutic supplements are perfect in the cold and windy winter months. Suzhou people have a proverb: "Great cold and cold, windproof and cold, drink ginseng astragalus wine early, and take chrysanthemum yellow pills in the evening." "The cream since the winter solstice has been eaten almost completely, and at this time it is just a little boiled and eaten until around the Spring Festival."
However, no matter how cold it is, it cannot suppress the breath of spring. The winter solstice is born in the yang, through the small cold, the big cold, and the yang gradually flourishes. After the great cold and spring, there will be a new year's solar cycle. Da Han stepped on the threshold of the end of the year, and every house was busy with various tasks to welcome the New Year, preparing various New Year goods and serving The Flowers. The red flames and festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year spread and became stronger little by little. It can be described as a real "big cold to welcome the New Year"!
01
Big Cold Flower Letter with Gangnam Snow
In recent years, the flower market is prosperous. The big cold three seasons of the trade winds arrived as promised, one waited for Ruixiang, the second waited for orchids, and the three waited for alum. The three flowers are clear and fragrant, and they are particularly long in the cold air.
A wait for Ruixiang, the tree posture is elegant, evergreen in all seasons, and it is deeply favored by people. The Song Dynasty "Qing Yilu" records that there was a monk who slept on a large rock during the day, and was awakened by the rich fragrance of flowers in his dream, and when he woke up from the dream, he saw several small flowers clustered together, hidden in the depths of green leaves, and the incense attacked people, and the monk thought that this was the auspicious rui in the flowers, so he named it "Ruixiang". In winter, take a pot of ruixiang and place it in the same room as orchid, daffodil or Milan, and the fragrance in that room makes people yearn for it.
(Qing Dynasty Dong Xuan,"Twenty-Four Flower Trade Winds", Da Han Yi Hou Rui Xiang)
Two orchids, one or two flowers, three or five leaves, its fragrance is far away and quiet, its posture is handsome and free, and the orchid rhymes naturally, placed on the table, is also a symbol of the owner's high purity.
As for the Sanhou Mountain Alum, it grows in the wilderness of Jiangnan, is an evergreen shrub in all seasons, and when it blooms, it blooms one tree after another, and the flowers are small in shape, white like snow, like broken jade. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Xu Qian praised it in the "Nankezi Mountain Alum" as "the golden tenderness of the fine buds, the fragrance of the flowers and the white snow", the fine buds protrude from the flower buds, "the incense fans double tender butterflies, smoke a forest warbler", so its floral fragrance is also known as "qili incense". Before the Song Dynasty, alum had another name, and the name of "mountain alum" was related to the Northern Song Dynasty poet Huang Tingjian. Huang Tingjian's "Two Songs of Mountain Alum Flowers" recorded a small story, saying that in the mountains of Jiangnan, there is a small white flower that blooms in late winter and early spring, which the people in the mountains call "Zheng Hua". The poet Wang Anshi loved this flower very much and wanted to transplant it, but when he wrote the poem, he felt disgusted with the name of "Zheng Hua", so Huang Tingjian proposed to change the name to Alum. This is because the people in the mountains dye the leaves of this flower yellow, so with this flower, there is no need to use alum to fix the color to dye the cloth.
(Qing Dynasty Dong Yu "Twenty-four Flower Trade Winds" Big Cold Second Orchid, Three Waiting Mountain Alum)
In fact, the name of alum is different in all parts of Jiangnan: some places call it "wild osmanthus flower" because of its fragrance; some places call it "frozen blue flower" because it opens in winter; other places call it "rice particle flower" because its flowers are shaped like rice grains and small clusters; in addition, because of its sweet leaves, it is also called "sweet leaves" in Jiangxi. As the last flower letter of the great cold, the mountain alum is always in full bloom with the snow. After the alum blossoms, spring is coming.
(Illustration of Lu Xun's "Snow")
Although there is little snow in Jiangnan today, it is extremely beautiful when it rains. It was not as bold and unrestrained as the snow of the northern country, and the tiny snowflakes jumped softly and lightly in the wind, between heaven and earth, knocking on doors, windows, and roof ridges, and falling on the half-yellow, dark green leaves and the earth, leaving only a vivid white. In Lu Xun's article "Snow in Jiangnan", snow is "moisturized and beautiful to the point", with the breath of spring, "is a very strong virgin skin". Winter flowers bloom in the snow, "there are blood-red Baozhu camellia in the snowy fields, single-petaled plum blossoms in white and hidden green, wax plum blossoms with dark yellow mouths; and cold green weeds under the snow." At this time, "the children were frozen red, like purple bud ginger," and seven or eight of them came together to mold the snow arhat", and "made him eyeballs with the dragon's eye core, and stole rouge from whose mother's fat powder to apply to the lips", so the "big arhat" also "sat in the snow with his eyes burning red". As for the snow in the Hundred Grass Garden, when "the snow has covered the ground for a day or two, and the birds and finches have nowhere to feed for a long time", the children can catch the birds happily, "with a short stick to support a large bamboo sieve, sprinkle some grain underneath, tie a long rope on the stick, people hold it from a distance, watch the birds and finches come down to peck, and when they go to the bottom of the bamboo sieve, they pull the rope and cover it."
(Qing Dynasty Dong Bangda Broken Bridge Remnant Snow Imperial Inscription Axis (Partial))
The snow in Jiangnan is thin and the snow is easy to melt, if you stay in silver, you will be full of joyful figures enjoying the snow scenery everywhere. Broken bridge remnant snow is one of the ten scenic spots of the West Lake, whenever the snow is first, standing on the mountain overlooking this bridge, the stone bridge arch faces the sun, the snow melts, revealing the mottled bridge railing, and the two ends of the bridge are still covered with snow, the bridge hole reflects the snow light, from a distance, the bridge body seems to be broken, so it is called "broken bridge". There are three monsters in the West Lake, one of which is "broken bridges continuously". Standing at the head of the bridge, looking out, the mountains and waters are far away, a pale ink color.
02
Dusting off obscure busy New Year goods
The cold is approaching the end of the year, next to the New Year's Festival, regardless of urban and rural areas, every household will thoroughly clean the house inside and out, wash clothes and supplies, dredge the open channel and ditch, commonly known as "dust dust" and "dust dust", there are also called "new" and "dust". Qing Ren Cai Yun's "Wu Qi" poem Yun: "The hut is happy in the spring, and the house dust is cleaned up and the residue is removed." "After the Waxing Moon, the old people always have to go through the imperial calendar, pick a day marked "Yishao Sheyu", and summon a family to start sweeping; ordinary people mostly pick a day to start work on the twenty-third day of the Waxing Moon, the twenty-fourth day of the Waxing Moon or the twenty-seventh day of the Waxing Moon.
Dust off
Dust dust has the meaning of removing obscurity, "dust" and "Chen" are harmonious, and it also contains the meaning of removing the old cloth new, removing the old and welcoming the new, so it is not only necessary to clean up cleanly, but even the tools are quite exquisite. Neighbor Zhong Yulong "Speaking of Hangzhou" Yun: "Hangzhou customs ... Bamboo branches are broomsticks, which are carried on poles, and the cornices in the corners of the houses are all swept away; the tables and chairs are all washed and prepared for the New Year. "This dusty broom will be used as a stove to ignite the fire in the future, crackling like a firecracker when it bursts." In the rooftop area, dust dust uses bamboo branches tied in Hsinchu and dust brushes made of early straw, which contain the meaning of welcoming the new, and the early straw is the auspicious meaning of welcoming the spring.
After entering the november of the lunar calendar, the municipal vendors sell more goods from the north and south for the needs of urban and rural residents for the New Year, and after the Chinese New Year's Eve, they disperse on their own, called "Sixty Day Head Shop", and there is a climax in the purchase of New Year goods in the city before and after the great cold. The market is full of goods and inexpensive. In the delicatessen shop, the dolphin hooves, chicken, duck, fish, and meat are more abundant than usual; in the paper horse incense candle shop, the door god, the stove god, the road head wealth horse, the paper paste yuanbao, the size of the candle, the famous incense of the tribute sandalwood are complete; the north and south grocery stores have white sugar bags, lotus seeds, black date bags, and noodle bags; all kinds of cake balls in the cake shop, as well as red and green paper small crisps and dates for customers to choose. At this time, the streets and alleys were selling bonfire lamps, lamp grass, stove signs, stove curtains, bamboo baskets and bamboo chopsticks, cups and bowls, fresh fish fruits and vegetables, handkerchief towels, and red velvet head ropes; there were also craftsmen such as sharpening knives and killing chickens shuttling back and forth; there were more "liquor stores, medicine shops, each with lees, Cangshu, and the genus of the plague Dan to be left to the patron's home", and it was a clever promotion to thank customers at the end of the year.
(Qing Dynasty Yao Wenhan's "Celebrating the Year of the Dynasty")
In the new year market, the family should buy more decorations, which should also mean auspicious and hope for health. For example, cornucopia, people either buy from the flower shop, place it in the main hall of the guest house, or "cut red paste in the boudoir", and paste the cornucopia-shaped paper cut under the window lintel, which is also joyful. Cornucopia, legend has it that Shen Wansan, a giant merchant who lived in Zhouzhuang in Jiangnan in the Ming Dynasty, recorded this story in the Qing people's notebook "Picking The Lamp and Collecting Differences", saying that Shen Wansan once saved more than a hundred frogs, and the frog gave him a tile basin in return for his kindness. Wansan's wife accidentally dropped a silver noodle into it, and suddenly the silver noodle was full of pots, uncountable. Shen Wansan tried it with silver money, and the same was true, and from then on, he became rich in the world. During the Ming Hongwu period, when Zhu Yuanzhang built the city gate, the foundation repeatedly sank, so he forcibly requisitioned the cornucopia and buried it under the city gate, and finally it was built, so the gate was named "Jubao Gate". Because of the legend that the cornucopia has the meaning of gathering wealth, it has become one of the most important decorations in the home. Another example is cypress branches, or the whole branch of cypress is decorated with red flowers, or the cypress branch is tied into a phoenix shape, hung with oranges, lychees and other fruits, and placed in the hall of the home, thinking that the meaning of great luck is great.
The moon welcomes the new year, the little daughter of the boudoir is naturally indispensable to flowers and makeup, and the Qing Dynasty Wugu people's "New Year Miscellaneous Songs" small preface records that the Qing Dynasty Hangzhou New Year City has cypress flowers, periwinkles, yuanbao flowers and so on. The flower shops in Suzhou are decorated with cypress leaves to decorate the patina, along with the colored velvet cut into the shape of a tiger, which is tied into small flowers, commonly known as "tiger flowers". Or cut the auspicious pattern of "shou xing", "hehe two immortals", "zhao cai jin bao", "qilin sending son" and so on, called "cypress flowers", girls compete to buy, give each other gifts, inserted between the sideburns, so pretty!
03
The festival stove guards the new year
In various parts of Jiangnan, there is a custom of sacrificing the stove and sending the king of the stove on the 23rd or 24th day of the waxing moon. The protagonist of this day is naturally the stove prince who "says good things in heaven and keeps peace in the netherworld". Suzhou people like to call him "the old master of the stove world". In the old days, every household had a small shrine on the stove head, and people placed the statue of the lord of the stove king inside, and placed a small incense burner in front of the shrine, which was the resting place of the old man of the stove king. The old master of the stove king and his family get along day and night, which can not be said to be close. Legend has it that this stove king, La Yue, reported to the Jade Emperor in heaven and returned to the mortal world with heavenly gifts or punishments Chinese New Year's Eve. Therefore, each family will hold a lively "farewell ceremony" on the twenty-fourth day of the waxing moon to perform for their feast, and this ceremony is the sacrificial stove, also known as the sending stove.
Stove King
The sacrificial stove is indispensable to a set of rituals such as incense candle paper horses, cake and fruit offerings, and incense burning and prostration. In the old days, there must be a yellow sheep in the offering. Lu Xun said in the "Chronicle of Gengzi Sending Stoves": "Only chicken gum tooth candy, canonical clothes for petal incense." There are no long things in the house, and there are few yellow sheep. "The custom of killing yellow sheep to sacrifice the stove was roughly in the Han Dynasty, and it is recorded in the Book of Later Han and the Biography of Yin Zhi that in the Han Dynasty there was a filial son named Yin Zi Fang, who got up early in the morning to cook on the fire, and the god of vesta suddenly appeared, and Yin Zi Fang, after prostrating his head like pounding garlic, hurriedly killed the yellow dog in the family to fill the yellow sheep to sacrifice the god of vesta. Since then, the family has been prosperous, and three generations later, it is even more rich and noble. As a result, Yin's move attracted the emulation of later generations. But legend is a legend after all, and now the custom of sacrificing stoves with livestock has long since disappeared.
However, gummy has been preserved and has become an indispensable offering. Gum tooth candy is a kind of maltose, very sticky, the purpose is to let the stove king eat the sticky teeth, can not adjust the mouth and tongue to the Jade Emperor to say bad things about the head of the household. The shape of the gum candy is not the same everywhere, but the intention of sticking to the teeth of the stove jun and not letting him talk badly is the same. Suzhou's gum tooth candy is made into a yuanbao shape, commonly known as "sugar yuanbao", the Shaoxing area is round and flat, like a thick small flaky cake, and the Hangzhou area is rubbed into long strips.
Sacrifice to the King of Stoves
On the twenty-fifth day of the Waxing Moon, people used to cook red beans mixed with rice into porridge, and the whole family and children had to taste a few bites, and the infants in the swaddling, the cats and dogs in the family, let them taste a few bites. If there are people who have gone out and have not returned, leave a bowl for them. In short, if there are several people in the family, there must be several people to eat porridge, commonly known as "mouth counting porridge". According to legend, after eating a few mouthfuls of porridge, you can ward off evil spirits and drive away evil spirits. Fan Cheng of the Southern Song Dynasty has a poem "Mouth Counting Porridge Lines", which begins with Yun: "On the twenty-fifth day of the month of The family, the rice is boiled like beads and beans." The big bell is divided into mouths, and the plague ghost smells the incense and goes nowhere. At the end of the poem, he prays for good health and abundant grains, yun: "The new yuan leaf qi tone jade candle, the heavenly line has come to be blessed; the grain is ripe for the year without defects, and the bean porridge is long towards the wax residue." "From the day vesta ascended to heaven, there were no taboos in everything. On the night of the thirtieth Chinese New Year's Eve of the waxing moon, when the god of Vesta returns to the human world, there will be another ceremony to solemnly bring him back.
The 30th Chinese New Year's Eve of the Waxing Moon is the last day of the year, commonly known as "Chinese New Year's Eve", also known as "Great Chinese New Year's Eve". This is a very special day, the so-called "one night even two years, five more divided into two years", it means that this day is both the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. Therefore, on this day, people are busy with many things, and their hearts are full of hopes and expectations for the new year.
Chinese New Year's Eve night is most anticipated than Chinese New Year's Eve meal. Eating Chinese New Year's Eve rice pays attention to the pleasing color: meat round, meaning reunion and roundness; egg dumplings, shaped like yuanbao, have the meaning of attracting wealth into treasure; green vegetable stems are long, "stems" and "Geng" are harmonious, called "Chang Geng cai", which has a beautiful meaning of longevity; soybean sprouts look like Ruyi, and they have the name of "Ruyi Dish"; fans are called "Golden Chain". Gusu people often bury a water chestnut in the meal, take chopsticks to pick out, like to call this move "digging yuanbao"; there is a charcoal fire on the table is a hot pot, steaming, symbolizing prosperity and prosperity. During the banquet, the elders want to give the children money, with the intention of wishing them to grow up safely. Children are not easy to get money on weekdays, and they are naturally very happy at this time. Wu Manyun of the Qing Dynasty", "Poetry of Pressing The Year of Money", yun: "One hundred and ten dollars wear colored threads long, and the corners are pillowed for self-collection; discuss the price of firecracker dumplings, and Add Jiao'er to be busy all night." In the poem, the child holds a copper coin in his hand and plays a small abacus in a small way, as if in front of his eyes.
Feng Zikai
It is night, the family sits around the stove, sleepless all night, called "keeping the year". When the age is kept, a pair of red candles will be burned in the room, which is called "the candle of the year". Where children can stand such a late night, it will not be long before they will yawn for days, and their parents will deceive them that rats will marry their relatives Chinese New Year's Eve night, let the children light candles, and light the way forward for the "bridegroom" who marries them, a custom known as "wasteful illumination". However, the children still can't resist the intrusion of drowsiness, leisurely fall asleep, and naturally do not think that the mouse daughter married a cat.
When you wake up, it is the first day of the Chinese New Year, and the activities such as sacrifice, temple visiting, New Year celebration, and play reward are carried out one by one, with rich and colorful content, and many meanings of auspiciousness. The lively New Year will last until the fifteenth day of the first month when the lights fall, and the cold is wrapped in the breath of the new spring, which makes people feel extra warm in their hearts.
From the beginning of spring to the great cold, the twenty-four solar terms have passed through the spring, summer, autumn and winter, and we solemnly hold a greeting ceremony in the festival, growing and collecting according to the season; we go down to the field and go up the mountain and enter the lake and go to the sea in the festival; we eat rice soup fish and laugh and enjoy in the festival. The solar terms are the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese, and the solar terms are the guide to the life of jiangnan people. The festival of Jiangnan should be in harmony with the rhythm of life of Jiangnan people, composing a beautiful music for the land of China.
Excerpts from the article are adapted from "Twenty-Four Solar Terms in Gangnam"
Author: Yuan Jin, Xiao Fang
Publication date: November 2020
Synopsis
"Twenty-Four Solar Terms in Jiangnan" is a traditional humanistic reading jointly explained by folklore experts Yuan Jin and Xiao Fang on Chinese solar term culture.
Based on the historical culture and natural production of Jiangnan, the work explains the regional culture and folk customs of Jiangnan during the 24 solar terms on the influence of the 24 solar terms on economic production and life and regional cultural characteristics in the Jiangnan region.
From agricultural activities to festivals and celebrations, from food to clothing, it comprehensively shows and summarizes the characteristics of Jiangnan regional culture and folk culture that have been bred with the change of seasons. The book is the first traditional cultural national reading book to interpret the solar terms culture and the humanistic characteristics of Jiangnan after the successful application for the 24 solar terms in the mainland.
(Some of the pictures are from the Internet)