Time flows through a cycle of endless changes. Folklore is brewing in the years of succession and innovation. In traditional culture, what is the beautiful meaning of Yinhu? Historically, how did Jiangnan people celebrate the New Year? In the digital age, why do we still need traditional customs?
"We should pay attention not only to the "historical text" of the Annual Festival customs, but also to its "realistic answer sheet".
Shangguan News: As far as you know, what are the unique New Year customs in the Gangnam area?
Zhong Fulan: More than 2,000 years ago, Sima Qian used the four words "rice soup fish" in the "Records of History" to highly summarize the dietary characteristics of the Jiangnan region. At that time, the Chuyue region was sparsely populated, using rice as rice, fish as a dish, slash-and-burn cultivation, water weeding, melon, fruit and snail clams, no need to buy from other places, it was self-sufficient. This is very unique, reflected in the New Year customs is usually called "the north to make dumplings, the south to eat tangyuan, rice cakes."
Northerners eat dumplings at night Chinese New Year's Eve, one is to take its harmonic pronunciation "more years of intercourse", metaphorically resigning the old and welcoming the new; the second is to take its auspicious shape, because it resembles a yuanbao, Yu Guotai and the people are rich, and the wealth is treasured. Most areas in the south have the custom of eating rice cakes for the New Year, and there is a folk legend behind it.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Suzhou was the capital of the State of Wu. According to legend, King Wu ordered Wu Zixu to build a city, and after its completion, he feasted on his subjects. Wu Zixu foresaw that King Wu was arrogant and extravagant, and the country would die sooner or later, so he left a secret instruction: After I die, if the country suffers and the people are hungry and hungry, I can dig three feet under Xiangmen City to get food. As he expected, the state of Wu was later swept away by the Vietnamese army, and the capital city was cut off from food and starvation. Someone suddenly remembered Wu Zixu's instructions, so he led the people to Xiangmen to demolish the city and dig up the land, only to find that the original city bricks of Xiangmen were not made of mud, but made of glutinous rice milled into powder. Since then, in order to commemorate and remember the merits and loyalty of Wu Zixu, the people of Suzhou have eaten rice cakes at home during the New Year, which has been passed down to this day.
Shangguan News: In our impression, although the customs of various places are slightly different, the Spring Festival, which is gathered by various annual customs, is always warm and red, warm and beautiful.
FFLAN: Yes. The Spring Festival is a festival of family reunion, and the wanderers who leave home have to return to their parents' homes thousands of miles away, and the family members have to sit around and eat a reunion dinner. The festive atmosphere lasts for nearly a month, starting from the 23rd day of the Waxing Moon until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, before the first day of the first lunar month there are ceremonies such as offering stoves and ancestor worship; there are festivals such as pressing money for children, relatives and friends to worship the New Year; the second half of the festival is the Lantern Festival, when the lanterns are full of lights, tourists are full of streets, the grand situation is unprecedented, and the Spring Festival is over after the Lantern Festival.
This custom of the Spring Festival reunion reflects the beauty of human nature and has the brilliance of human nature. Even in another thousand years, the descendants of the Chinese nation should pass it on from generation to generation.
Shangguan News: But in recent years, many people have a sense of "New Year's taste" fading.
Zhong Fulan: With the improvement of living standards, there is no special desire as a child to wear new clothes, light firecrackers, and press the old money, nor does it have the etiquette of walking relatives and sitting at the ceremonial table, and perhaps there is no worship of ancestors who worship God and heaven... As a result, many people have the feeling that the "taste of the year" has become lighter.
In fact, I think that what has not changed is the festival, and what has changed is our ever-changing society. Some people always try to depict the old New Year's text, like Xiang Lin's sister-in-law in "Blessings", repeating the taste of the year in the depths of people's memories year after year. This frame of reference is incorrect. Compared with the "new year's taste" of agricultural society, of course, it is now faded, and it may become more and more faint.
The other day, I was talking to a few students about this topic. I said that in the era of informatization, digitization and intelligence, folklore research should not only pay attention to the "historical text" of New Year's customs, but also pay attention to the "realistic answer sheet" of contemporary people's New Year's Day. The Spring Festival of Chinese stems from the changing chronology and is closely linked to secular life, and it is not possible to understand the outdated "old things" that are incompatible with the current life as folklore. The development and change of reality is also an inseparable part of the "taste of the year".
"Festivals have gradually transcended simple material needs and changed from "food and clothing" to "finding happiness""
Shangguan News: In the "realistic answer sheet" of contemporary people's New Year, what do you value most?
Zhong Fulan: With the development of economic and social development, people's festivals and celebrations have gradually surpassed simple material needs, and the focus has changed from "seeking food and clothing" to "seeking happiness", that is, paying more attention to spiritual needs. As far as the contemporary New Year is concerned, there are three things that deserve special attention: one is the sense of art, the other is fireworks, and the third is the youthfulness.
Don't think that only ceremonies such as keeping the New Year, prostrating, offering stoves, worshipping ancestors, and reunion dinners, pressing New Year money, and visiting relatives and friends are New Year's customs. Nowadays, it is also a New Year custom to visit museums, art galleries, art galleries, and concert halls. Shanghai has the largest number of cultural and creative parks, cafes, tea houses, book bars and other cultural spaces in the country, as well as a variety of cultural activities, especially cultural activities based on Shanghai's urban cultural genes and citizens' spontaneous cultural activities. The impact and sense of immersion in it is a new year's experience.
In addition, there must be both "tall" and "fireworks". What is "pyrotechnic gas"? In the past, it was the "four big Kongs" served by mobile food carriers on the road, fish fresh gas in small vegetable farms, and large cake stalls; now, after large-scale urban renewal, fireworks are not only the daily routine of ordinary families in Shanghai, but also hidden in the streets of small streets. Fireworks is a kind of human touch, and can also be seen as the breath of life in the people's city. People's sense of belonging to the city often stems from the city's living atmosphere, and fireworks, city atmosphere, and human touch will bring endless charm to Shanghai.
Speaking of "youthfulness", Shanghai is the first Chinese city to enter the deep aging population. The vitality of the city comes from the concentration and activity of young people in the city, and the ancient customs also urgently need the creation and innovation of young people. A city with more young people is the most attractive and creative. Absorb a large number of young talents, let young people cross over to the community to "manage things", give advice, and provide "holiday plans" for community governance innovation, and the ancient New Year customs will produce many New Year customs.
If Shanghai exerts its strength in these aspects, it will certainly show new "Shanghai characteristics" and "Chinese experience" in terms of new folklore.
Shangguan News: A few years ago, the "foreign festival" came menacingly, and there was a tendency to replace traditional festivals, which made many people worried. Now, has this changed?
Zhong Fulan: In the past few decades of reform and opening up, western foreign festivals have continuously affected the Chinese people's concept of festivals and consumption under the blessing of commercial forces. But not to a very serious extent? Was there ever a "trend to replace traditional festivals"? I don't see it that way.
I once led students to do an in-house questionnaire. Shanghai is a city heavily influenced by Western culture, but the results of the survey are that the acceptance and love of traditional Chinese festivals by Shanghai citizens is still much higher than that of Western festivals. Among the various traditional festivals in China, the status of the Spring Festival as the "first festival" cannot be shaken. Although many young people like to spend the "Foreign Festival", they pay more attention to the Spring Festival. Western Christmas, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, Father's Day, Mother's Day, etc., have some markets driven by merchants, but they have no roots and no soil in China. From this point of view alone, the idea that "foreign festivals" will replace traditional festivals is somewhat unfounded.
Of course, we need to have a sense of omnipotency. Emphasizing that traditional culture and living a "foreign festival" is not an either-or relationship.
As far as international exchanges and cultural dissemination are concerned, we must of course respect our own traditions and cultures, but we must also respect the customs of others. The character of "noble monks, good understanding and tolerance, thick virtue and material, harmony and difference" is the most vital cultural core and factor in traditional Chinese thought and culture.
Big red lanterns hang high on the eastern extension of Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street. Photo by Haysal
"No matter what new content the times inject into traditional festivals, their core has never deviated from the traditional Chinese spirit."
Shangguan News: Recently, the situation of "external prevention of import and internal prevention and rebound" of epidemic prevention and control is still severe and complicated. What are your feelings or suggestions for "New Year in Place"?
Zhong Fulan: Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the people have responded to the government's call for the Local New Year, reduced the flow of people, and celebrated the New Year on the spot, gradually forming a different Kind of Spring Festival landscape.
I can especially feel the mood of "being a stranger in a foreign land alone, thinking of my relatives every festive season". I joined the army in 1968 and followed the troops to the Qilihe Tumen Dun outside Lanzhou. One year, during the Spring Festival, when I had Chinese New Year's Eve meal, the snow outside was very heavy, but it was my turn to stand guard. Suddenly, a wandering man's departure from home and loneliness and no relatives surged into his heart.
Of course, although they are also alone, the conditions are obviously better in all aspects than in the past. For the new Shanghainese who "celebrate the New Year in place" this year, I have two suggestions: one is to accept reality and relax their emotions; the other is to live in the moment and encourage yourself. At the same time, relevant government departments and enterprises and institutions can give necessary material and spiritual care. Shanghai's community has a strong mobilization ability, in line with the epidemic prevention and control standards, can organize "local New Year" residents to eat Chinese New Year's Eve meals, watch the Spring Festival Gala, guess the riddles, promote "online New Year's greetings, video reunions", so that the strong New Year flavor warms each community and heart.
Shangguan News: What advice do you have for Shanghainese who can't leave "Shanghai" and celebrate the New Year at home?
Zhong Fulan: Shanghai is "the birthplace of Shanghai culture, the source of advanced culture, and the gathering place of cultural celebrities", and has a very rich urban cultural memory. Shanghai's historical and cultural memory is closely related to the "urban New Year customs". The collective cultural memory and cultural genes in the city are essentially the "nostalgia" of contemporary people.
Shanghainese people can experience the "nostalgia display" with the geospatial field. We can return to the local culture of the city, relive the regional humanistic process, and feel the important meaning of "year" such as "my land and my people" and "taste of Shanghai". During the Spring Festival, even if you patronize the dough kneaders, cut window flowers, make sugar people, write blessing characters, and listen to Kunqu opera in the Yu Garden of the Old City God Temple... I believe that it can make the citizens feel a strong Taste of the New Year.
Shangguan News: On the one hand, we want to fight the epidemic, and on the other hand, we want more people to get close to tradition and taste culture in the festival experience, what else can we do?
Zhong Fulan: On the eve of this year's Spring Festival, the annual "Culture into Ten Thousand Homes" activity was held in the form of online live broadcast of intangible cultural heritage, and relevant institutions organized representative projects of intangible cultural heritage at all levels related to "new cultural heritage" in various places to disseminate them in the form of short videos and live broadcasts. This form is very good. It can not only show the wonderful annual customs activities in various places in the "cloud", promote the dissemination of intangible cultural heritage in the new media format, but also create a strong New Year flavor and create a happy, peaceful and festive atmosphere of the Tiger Year festival.
The New Year, for Chinese, is not only to say goodbye to the past year, but also to send good expectations and blessings to themselves, their families and friends on the occasion of the arrival of the New Year. There are rich intangible cultural heritage resources all over the mainland, including traditional music, traditional dance, traditional drama, traditional sports, traditional skills... These resources can be converted into wonderful programs through digital forms, and through WeChat public accounts, video numbers, vibrato and other platforms, as well as a number of authoritative media around the world, etc., dedicated to thousands of households, showing a colorful, full of flavor, festive and warm, moderate interaction, full of characteristics of the strong atmosphere.
In the final analysis, the traditional festival culture is a culture of filial piety, affection, kindness and love, and the related ritual activities all convey and experience the cherishing of family, friendship, family affection and nostalgia. No matter what new content the times inject into traditional festivals, its core has never deviated from the traditional Chinese spirit of reunion, harmony, auspiciousness and wishes. Even in another thousand years, that won't change.
Professor of School of Social Development, East China Normal University, Zhongfulan, President of Shanghai Folk Culture Society