Sugar melon, Ai wo wo, pea yellow, praline cheese, big sugar gourd... Have you eaten them all?
Why is it that in some places the twenty-third day of the Waxing Moon is a "small year", and in some places, the twenty-fourth day of the Waxing Moon is a "small year"?
What's going on with the sacrificial stove? How did the people in the past send The Stove King to heaven, and how did they take him home?
The old Beijing custom paintings written by He Daqi, a special teacher in Beijing, restore the details and feelings of life that have been ignored and abandoned by the rhythm of modern life one after another, with a strong taste of the year, but also a heavy ancient meaning and nostalgia.
Recently, his new book "Spring Festival in Beijing" (revised version) was published and listed, and the revised version adds 10 articles and 11 illustrations to the original edition, adding 10 more detailed Spring Festival customs such as window flowers, dumplings, and burning fires. On the day of the New Year, movable type Jun shared the wonderful chapters in the new book with book friends.
Kanto sugar
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Wax moon twenty-three sugar melon sticky, stove king shrine sent to the heavens.
The sugar melon sticks to the mouth of the stove king, and it is difficult to open the mouth to protect the kang.
"Spring Festival in Beijing" (revised edition) illustrated by He Daqi
Kanto sugar (also known as stove sugar) is an ancient traditional sweet and a sacrifice to the god of stoves, and only around the 23rd day of the waxing moon is there vendors who pick up and sell along the streets. Kanto is now the three northeastern provinces, because this large area of land is located east of Shanhaiguan, hence the name. This special sugar produced there is called Kanto sugar.
This sugar is made from malt, yellow rice and corn as raw materials, and is milky white. Two-inch long, one finger thick, strip-like generally called Kanto sugar, made into a melon-shaped melon called sugar melon, in fact, it is just different in appearance. The vendors sell it with round sugar melons and strips of Kanto sugar on the other. The vendor shouted in the alley: "Big pieces of sugar! Crispy and fragrant chunks of Kanto candy!" When the housewives hear it, they will open the courtyard door to buy some to go home, because this is one of the must-see items of shopping years ago. On the twenty-third day of the 23rd month, I will send the King of the Stove to ascend to heaven, and this grandfather is the head of the family! Standing on the throne of God and watching the performance of the whole family for one year, at the end of the year, I will report to heaven, which is not a small matter! Not only did he beg him to say good things to heaven and keep peace in the netherworld, but he was also afraid that he would say bad things in heaven, so he sealed his mouth with sticky Kanto candy. This act of sealing the mouth of the stove king with Kanto sugar was created by the people according to their own imagination, but it became a lovely custom passed down from generation to generation, so before sending the stove king to heaven, every family would buy Kanto sugar and put it on the sacrifice case for use. After the solemn worship ceremony on the twenty-third day of the waxing moon, the sugar is hot baked at the mouth of the stove mouth, and when it melts, it is smeared a few times on the mouth of the portrait of the king of the stove, even if the mouth is sealed, it is really a pious and laughable act.
After the festival stove, these Kanto candies became the children's favorite New Year's food. It is lower in sweetness than the average fruit sugar, crisp and sticky, and has a special fragrance. Children scramble to eat, which is a great enjoyment before the New Year.
Twenty-three, sugar melon sticky, the king of the stove will ascend to heaven.
The Heavens say good deeds, and the Netherworld keeps peace.
The 23rd day of the waxing moon is the prelude to the Spring Festival. The so-called "twenty-three, sugar melon sticky" refers to the custom of folk sacrifice stoves. In the old days, almost every kitchen had the throne of the King of the Stove, and it was said that he was the "Nine Heavens East Chef Si Ming Zhao Wangfu Jun" sealed by the Jade Emperor. The stove king shrine is generally located on the north or east side of the kitchen, with the statue of the king of the stove in the middle, and some of them sit side by side next to the "grandma of the stove king", and the couplets of "the heavens say good things, and the netherworld ensures peace" are pasted on both sides, and the "head of the family" is cross-criticized. This shows the status of the king of the stove and the duty to bless the peace of the family.
The ancient festival stove was on the twenty-fourth day of the Waxing Moon, starting from the Qing Dynasty, the imperial family began to hold a heavenly sacrifice ceremony on the twenty-third day of the Waxing Moon, in order to save money, by the way, the stove prince was also sacrificed. Everything is upward and downward, and the people in the northern region will celebrate the New Year on the twenty-third day of the Waxing Moon one day in advance, and the sacrifice stove is an important activity for the small Year.
Folk have the custom of "men do not worship the moon, women do not sacrifice the stove", so the sacrifice of the stove prince is limited to men, and women should avoid it. The sacrifice of the king of the stove originated from the ancient custom of worshiping fire, and the duty of the god of stove was to control the fire and manage the diet, which later developed into the investigation of good and evil in the world to reduce blessings and misfortunes. Since ancient times, the kitchen of a large family has been the place of right and wrong, and the mother-in-law and concubines have been the place where human nature is most easily exposed. So the Jade Emperor sent The Emperor of the Stove in the kitchen to watch the family's performance.
When I was young, there were distant relatives living in the backyard of my home, a family I called the "Seventh Master". The Seventh Master said: "The Emperor of the Stove looks at the life of the family for a year, and at the end of the year, he will go to heaven and report the good and evil words and deeds of the family to the Jade Emperor, and the Jade Emperor will reward and punish the family." He stayed in heaven for a few days, and when Chinese New Year's Eve night, we would welcome him home. "At that time, I was also five or six years old, and I was very curious about how the Stove King went to heaven. The Seventh Master said, "Twenty-three nights to see the ritual of the stove, you will understand." ”
Looking forward to the day of the festival stove, The Seventh Master bought back kanto sugar and sugar melon in the morning. In the evening, the Seventh Master solemnly removed the portrait of the King of the Stove from the Shrine and offered it to the altar. The offerings at the festival are mainly Kanto sugar and sugar melons, and a plate of hay and a bowl of water are prepared for the mount of the King of The Stove. After the incense was offered, the Seventh Master recited a word in his mouth: "Heaven says good things, say more good things, and talk less about bad things." Then pick up the Kanto sugar, turn around a few times at the stove mouth, and when the sugar meets the heat and melt, immediately smear a few times on the mouth of the portrait of the king of the stove, and the white and sticky caramel is glued to the portrait, which means that the mouth of the king of the stove is glued with sugar, so that he cannot say bad things in heaven. I thought to myself, "I can't say bad things if I'm stuck, so how can I say good things?" But looking at the solemn and pious face of the Seventh Master and the Stove King on the sacrifice case, he did not dare to ask, for fear that the Seventh Master and the Stove King would not be happy. After burning the incense, the portrait of the stove king was burned together with a plate of grass, the soot flew up in the air, and then the cold water was poured on the ground, and the stove king ascended to heaven.
On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, the Seventh Master bought a new portrait of the Stove King and pasted it on the Buddha shrine, which meant that the Stove King was invited back again, and he would continue to bless and supervise the family's life for a year.
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