Wen 丨 Wang Yanan (Intern Editor, Fangtang Media Editing and Communication Center)
"Except for the Night"
--Song Dai Vintage
Sweep away the huts and clean the dust, and worship the nine clouds with incense.
All things greet the spring and send the remnants of wax, and the end of the year is this evening.
The raw pot of fire roared bamboo, and the shou nian opened to listen to the pepper.
The wild visitors foresaw that the agricultural affairs were good, and the snow had not completely disappeared in the three winters.
"All things send remnants of wax in the spring, and the end of the year is this evening." Chinese New Year's Eve is coming, we will say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year. Chinese New Year's Eve what will you do on this day? Needless to say, there must be a spring festival and a Chinese New Year's Eve meal. Do you know how the ancients arranged this day? Now, we explore the Chinese New Year's Eve days of the ancients from the poetry of the Song Dynasty poet Dai Retro.
First of all, let's understand the poet wearing retro.
Dai Retro, sexually happy to roam, is a famous Jianghu poetry poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, born in Huangyan, Tiantai, now belongs to Taizhou, Zhejiang. In his early years, he studied poetry from Lu You, and later once admired the poetry of the late Tang Dynasty, but was deeply influenced by Lu Youxiong's poetic style. Although he was in the midst of the rivers and lakes, his poems inherited the traditions of Du Fu and Lu You, cared about the people's livelihood and suffering, denounced the government and politics, and rarely cared about it. The language of his poetry is simple and intriguing, and it is unique among the jianghu poetry school.
The poet Dai Retro was infected by the joyful atmosphere of Chinese New Year's Eve and wrote "Except for the Night" full of New Year's flavor, expressing people's hopes and wishes for the new year.
"The old age is not over, the beginning of the new year, clean the courtyard, wash away the dust of the old year." Light a pillar of incense, lay out offerings, and worship the gods and ancestors. All things bid farewell to the last waxing moon and greeted the arrival of the new spring. The end of the year is tonight.
The fire in the brazier was burning, and the sound of firecrackers outside the house resounded through the clouds. The family sat around the stove to guard the New Year, enjoyed the family feast, and wished their children and grandchildren good health and long life with pepper and cypress wine. Farmers are already anticipating a bumper harvest next year, as the snow in winter hasn't melted yet. ”
The poem is easy to understand, describing the busyness and joy of the people on this day Chinese New Year's Eve, and introducing some customs, such as: burning incense, making pots, setting off firecrackers, eating Chinese New Year's Eve rice, drinking pepper and cypress wine, etc. The ancients lived Chinese New Year's Eve so lively and full of rituals, so how did they arrange this day, and what activities will they have?
1. Sweep the dust
As the first link in the poem writes: "Sweep away the hut and clean the dust", from which it can be seen that the Chinese New Year's Eve is to be cleaned on the same day. In the "Record of Dream Liang", it is recorded: "The family of the scholar is not big or small, but sprinkles sweeping the door, removing the dust and filth, and purifying the court." This means that whether you are a rich or ordinary person, whether the house is large or small, this day is to clean the courtyard, in order to wash away the dust and dirt of previous years, and look forward to the smooth and healthy future year.
2. Sacrifice to gods and ancestors
"A pillar of incense to worship the Nine Heavens" to worship ancestors, worship the gods is indispensable, the "Dream Liang Record" recorded: "Sacrifice the ancestors, in the night, prepare to welcome the gods and flowers to offer to the Buddha, in order to pray for the safety of the new year." "The time of the sacrifice, morning or dusk, can be, the region is different, the habits are different. Worshipping ancestors expresses people's mourning for their deceased relatives and encouragement for future generations; worshipping gods expresses gratitude and gratitude to the gods, and prays for protection in the coming year.
3. Hang peach charms and door gods
Chinese New Year's Eve on the same day, the whole family went out to tie the Spring Festival, which is one of the indispensable and important activities, just as the Song Dynasty literary scholar Wang Anshi wrote: "Thousands of doors and thousands of households always exchange new peaches for old charms." So, does the "new peach" here refer to the Spring Festival We posted? We continue to search.
On the day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the ancients wrote the names of the two gods "Shendi" and "Yulei" on a peach wood board and hung them on the door, which is the peach symbol. After the invention of paper, it began to use paper to draw images of the two gods, hanging, inlaying or posting on the head of the door, equivalent to the statue of the door god, with the intention of warding off evil spirits and praying for Najib.
The Song Dynasty Chen Yuanliang's "Chronicle of the Ages" introduces the relevant situation of the Song Dynasty peach symbol, "The system of peach symbols, with a thin wooden board two or three feet long, four or five inches in size, painted on the top of the gods like foxes and bai ze, the next book left Yu Lei, the right god Di, or write spring words, or book blessing prayers, and the year Dan is even more so." ”
The "fox" here is one of the nine sons of the dragon, and the "Bai Ze" is a beast of high status and fierce auspiciousness in Chinese mythology. Both of these divine beasts represent auspiciousness. "Shendi" and "Yu Lei" are two gods and men who can subdue evil spirits in legend, their faces are ugly and fierce, they are good at catching ghosts, and ghosts are afraid of them. As door gods, they have the effect of driving away ghosts and avoiding evil spirits.
The "Writing Spring Words" or "Prayer Words" here are similar to the Spring Festival League we are posting now, and can be seen as the predecessor of the Spring League.
The Door Deity of the Song People is not only the above two gods, but also the well-known Taoist gods, Zhong Kui, who specializes in fighting ghosts and exorcising evil spirits, and there are many stories about him in the folk, such as "Zhong Kui catching ghosts". Song Dynasty scientist Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Pen Talk" records: "The first painting of the bell is at the door. It can be seen that in the Song Dynasty, Zhong Kui was already a door god that people favored and loved.
Now our Spring League, no matter how the content and form change, like the peach runes and door gods in ancient times, they all express our hatred and disgust for sneaky and evil charms, and pin our hopes and wishes for the new year.
4, play "pounding pills"
After the busyness, the men began to meet to play "pounding pills". "Punch" means hitting, and "pill" means small ball. Pounding pills is a sport that hits the ball into the hole with a club in ancient mainland China. The predecessor may be the step play ball in Tang Dynasty polo, similar to modern hockey, with strong confrontation.
In the Song Dynasty, the step playing gradually evolved from the original confrontational competition in the same field to a non-confrontational game of hitting the ball in turn, and the goal was changed to the hole, and the name was also changed to "pounding pills".
How to beat the pills?
When competing, you can either group or not. According to the number of participants, it is divided into general meetings, middle meetings, small meetings, one-to-one, and so on. Before the game, each went to the "checkpoint" to receive the fundraising. Chips are also called cards, 5 chips per person. When punching the ball, each person has three sticks, and all three sticks will hit the ball into the hole to win a chip, and the winning chip will be given by the loser. According to the amount of chips, it can be divided into large chips (20), medium chips (15), and small chips (10). The contest is won by first-come number.
The Song Dynasty's "punching pills" have some similarities with golf: one is that both have holes; the other is that both use clubs to hit the ball, and the sticks used are basically the same; and the third is that the choice of venues is very similar. These same characteristics can deepen our understanding of pounding pills.
5. Tea fighting
After the luncheon, some literati and elegant people, rich officials and eunuchs will drink tea with their families or friends, and on a whim, they will start "fighting tea". Doucha is a kind of tea culture, which has a strong winning and winning color, which is interesting and challenging. Fighting tea is the advantages and disadvantages of competition tea. The participants in the tea fight take the good tea they have hidden, take turns cooking it, and the taste score is high. The tea fighting method can be multi-person fighting together or two people catching the "fight", three fights and two wins.
The content of tea fighting includes tea fighting order, fighting tea products, and tea hundred plays. The criteria for winning or losing mainly include two aspects: one is the color of the soup, that is, the color of the tea, and the general standard is pure white, green and white, gray white, yellow and white, and so on. The second is the soup flower, that is, the foam of the soup noodles, the advantages and disadvantages of the soup flower depend on two criteria: the first is the color of the soup flower. The color standard of the soup flower is the same as the standard of the soup color; The second is that after the soup flowers bloom, the water marks appear sooner or later, the early one is negative, and the late one wins.
The Song Dynasty paid great attention to the tea ceremony, from the emperor to the scholars, who were keen on it, and it became a popular cultural entertainment activity for the literati and doctors. This activity of tea fighting continues to this day, such as the Chinese Yellow Tea Fighting Competition, which is very popular with people. As long as the tea ceremony is there and the tea culture is there, Doucha will not withdraw from the stage of history.
6. Chinese New Year's Eve and drink alcohol
Night falls, about six or seven o'clock in the evening, and begin to enjoy a sumptuous Chinese New Year's Eve meal. In addition to food, alcohol is essential. Everyone knows that the ancients had to drink Tusu wine during the Spring Festival, but there is another wine that is not well known to everyone and is also loved by the ancients, that is, the pepper liquor written in the retro poem.
Pepper liquor, also known as pepper flower wine, is made by soaking pepper flowers and cypress leaves. It is said that "pepper" is the essence of Yuheng Xingjing, which makes people healthy and radiant after eating; "Bai" is the essence of Baimu, which is a fairy medicine that can get rid of all diseases. According to Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica", "Drinking pepper wine on New Year's Day will ward off all epidemics and unhealthy tendencies." Chinese New Year's Eve with three or seven peppers, Dongzhu leaf wine to cure wind and fever, pure heart. Light bamboo leaves decoction juice, as usual brewing drink. Liang Zongyi also recorded in the "Chronicle of the Jingchu Years": "It is common to use pepper wine at the beginning of the year, and the pepper flowers are fragrant, so the flowers are picked to pay tribute." Drinking in the first month, the first small, the younger one to get old, the first wine to celebrate. The old man lost his age, so after with wine. ”
It can be seen that pepper liquor is a kind of health wine and medicinal wine. It is fragrant and fragrant, drinking it can get rid of some diseases, symbolizing well-being and longevity, so it is favored by the ancients. And there are also certain rules when drinking pepper cypress wine, that is, drinking wine in the order of age from small to large, which is consistent with drinking TuSu wine. This is because the ancients believed that a child or a young person who grew up one year old meant growth and progress, and it was more worth celebrating in the New Year, so there was such a custom. This habit of toasting or drinking is the opposite of what we are now.
7. Exorcism
Exorcism is a religious ritual, an activity to exorcise ghosts and greet gods, and is related to witchcraft. The ancients called all difficulties, disasters, and dangers "difficulties" shrouded by evil qi. In order to control the "difficulty", the ancients invented the sorcery of "傩", hoping to drive away the "difficulty" through the "傩", so a series of rituals were produced.
Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Dream Record" records that Chinese New Year's Eve on this day, "the forbidden presents the Great Ceremony, and uses the Imperial City Personal Officer." The classes wear a mask, embroidered color clothes, and carry a golden gun and dragon flag. The sect made Meng Jingchu wear Jing Kuiwei, fully equipped with gold-plated bronze armor, and dressed as a general; the two generals of the Zhendian Temple, also jie jie, were equipped with door gods; the church was equipped with ugly and ugly Kui Fei of Nanhe Charcoal, and the judges; and zhong kui, little sister, land, vesta gods, and the like, a total of more than a thousand people. Driving away the mysteries in the forbidden, turning the dragon corner outside the south kaoru gate, it is said that it is buried. ”
From the above words, we can see that the scene of the exorcism is very grand and lively, and the performers are dressed in strange costumes and wear majestic and fierce masks, and the purpose of all these costumes and styles is to expel evil spirits and pray for the blessing of The Lord. In Chinese New Year's Eve the ceremony of exorcism was held, which gradually became an important form of entertainment for the citizens of the Song Dynasty.
Exorcism activities have not disappeared, have been inherited and developed, and now there are various folk exorcism performances, such as fuzhou Nanfeng dance performance, which has become a "living fossil" of cultural inheritance.
8. Burn the pine pot
The roasted pine pot, also known as the roast pot, was a kind of activity of exorcism and blessing in the Song Dynasty. The fuel in the basin is hemp (sesame residue after oil pressing). I remember when I was a child, my grandfather burned pine pots, and he would put dry and thick wood in the pots, covered with pine branches, and light them in the early morning, accompanied by the sound of firecrackers. The sound of this firecracker seemed to add some strength to the fire in the basin, illuminating the surrounding area bright red. Grandpa said that he wanted to make it burn as strong as possible, and the fire was good, and the next year's life must not be bad. Now in the middle of the city, I haven't burned a pine pot for a long time.
9. Keep the age
Keeping the age, that is, keeping the year. In the "Tokyo Dream Record", it is recorded: "The house of the scholars, sitting in the hearth group, The Da Dan does not sleep, it is called keeping the age". "Although the matter of keeping the age is close to children's drama, but the father and son reunite and drink wine, laugh and sing together, they do not sleep at night, and the people are happy to do it."
In order to pass the leisure time at night, the ancients would prepare some night food, that is, night fruit. The "Record of Dreams" records the night-consuming fruits in the court: "On the day, the Inner Division's meaning bureau was exquisitely dissolved into a combination of night-consuming fruits, and the inner clusters of fine fruits, shiguo, honey frying, sugar frying, and market food, such as ten sugars, Chengsha dumplings, yunguo, honey ginger soy sauce, soap cake, honey crisp, small abalone crisp, city cake, five-colored beans, fried mallet chestnuts, ginkgo biloba and other products, and rows of small toy heads, brands, and tiers. "These are for the enjoyment of the nobles, and in ordinary people's homes, although they are not as rich as in the palace, they will try their best to prepare."
On this day, the family is reunited, gathered together, and the family members collectively stay up late to send the old year away and welcome the new year. In ancient times, keeping the age had two meanings: the elderly kept the age as "retiring the old age", which meant cherishing time; and the young people kept the age to extend the life of their parents. Now we keep the old age, more to accompany the family, I hope that the family will be harmonious and happy in the coming year.
10, children sell dementia
Chinese New Year's Eve night, children flocked to the street carrying lanterns, and could not wait to run to the street to sing children's songs: "Sell dementia, sell a thousand guan to sell ru idiots, sell ru duds, see sell as many as you want, you want to come with me on credit." This is "pediatric dementia." After reading this children's song, we can naturally think of the scene where children and adults take to the street and pretend to be stupid and joke with each other. Adults meet children and ask, "Do you want to sell this little child?" The child replied: "Weng buys without money, and has been demented for thousands of years!" ”
Everything is so vivid and interesting, and full of warmth. From this funny, cute dialogue, we can feel the hope of the Song people for their children, hoping that they will be smart and clever, and stay away from stupidity, which is a good wish.
11. Hit the ash pile
Hitting the ash pile, also known as hitting the wish, is an ancient Chinese folk custom. In the Song Dynasty, when the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve was coming to an end, when the sky was dark, the ancients would take a bamboo pole full of copper coins, beat the ash pile hard, and pray to the gods and express their wishes. It is said that after "hitting the ash pile", it will be killed and fulfilled. Later, when the chickens chirped at the beginning of the first month, they would pound among the ash piles, saying that they could get rich.
In the Song Dynasty, many Spring Festival customs have been handed down, but there are also many interesting customs that have been gradually forgotten. From time to time, we feel that the taste of the year is fading, but have we ever wondered whether we really want to understand these customs and protect them? This is worth reflecting on.
Editor: Yuan Yuan 丨 Editor: Xu Fengchao 丨Design: Sun Yueyuan
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