Narrator: Wang Jie, Professor of the Philosophy Department of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Worshipping ancestors is a grand folk activity in mainland China. Our people have a tradition of cautiously pursuing the distant future, and they will never forget to worship their ancestors during the festival. According to historical records, during the Qin and Han dynasties, tomb sacrifices became an indispensable ritual activity, and the "Book of Han Yanyan" wrote that even if the Yan clan was thousands of miles away from Beijing, they had to "return to the East China Sea to sweep the tomb" in the Qingming Dynasty.
Chinese New Year's Eve ancestor worship is one of the traditional customs handed down by the Han people to this day. On the one hand, it stems from the traditional concepts of "filial piety comes first" and "cautious pursuit of the future", and expresses filial piety and nostalgia for the ancestors when the old is retired and the new; on the other hand, it is because people believe that the ancestral gods can bless future generations and make future generations prosperous. This traditional custom has been passed down from generation to generation, and whenever people Chinese New Year's Eve they always hold a sacrifice ceremony, thank you for the beginning, and pray for blessings. In the past, ancestor worship ceremonies were generally held in the afternoon of Chinese New Year's Eve, and the clans of the same surname dressed in costume participated in the ceremony, and the ceremony was more solemn.
The main sacrifice of the common people is carried out at home, and the time is mostly before and after the reunion dinner of the Chinese New Year's Eve, which is called "picking up the old ancestors to go home for the New Year". Because legend has it that the souls of the dead cannot move during the day, they wait until after dark. First of all, they went to their own cemetery to sacrifice, some just prostrated their heads, and some also used the Kang table to carry a table of wine and dishes, called "sending a table to the old ancestors". The order of sacrifices, of course, begins with the highest rank in the cemetery. Put the Kang table in front of the grave, prostrate yourself, pour a cup of wine on the ground, and after the sacrifice is completed in turn, bury the food in the soil, which is considered to be "sent" to the ancestors, and at the same time burn paper in front of the grave, which is considered to be the "pocket money" during the New Year of filial piety to the ancestors.
During ancestor worship at home, the offerings are usually pasta and fruits. Many families specially steamed white-noodle steamed buns for Chinese New Year's Eve ancestors, each with a red dot on it, and each of the two planes stacked together into a group, generally three to five grades, each held in a white porcelain plate. These offerings are placed until the fifth day of the first lunar month, and from the first to the fifth day of the first month, incense is given twice a day in front of the ancestral shrine in the morning and evening, until the evening of the fifth day of the first month, when the "old ancestor" is sent away after the ceremony.
According to folk belief, our own ancestors, like heaven, earth, and gods, should be earnestly worshipped. Because the "spirits in heaven" of the patriarchs are always concerned and watching the descendants of future generations, the earthly people must pray and repay their protection and blessings through sacrifice. Therefore, people must worship their ancestors during the Spring Festival, remember their ancestors, and inspire future generations.
Until now, the emphasis on ancestor sacrifice is still a prominent feature of Chinese etiquette. This is because the sacrifice of ancestors has a good social indoctrination function, which helps to cultivate the morality of members of society, strengthen the unity among members of society, and maintain the stability of patriarchal society. The Analects says: "Cautiously pursue the distant in the end, and the people's virtue returns to the thick", that is, let us cultivate a heart of kindness, filial piety, and gratitude, and the sacrifice of ancestors is a kind of gratitude and gratitude. The sacrifice of ancestors is to repay the original and remember Zude. We all know that the root of traditional Chinese culture is "filial piety" and "compassion", and filial piety and respect are the roots of traditional Chinese culture.
In fact, everyone knows that the sacrificial wine "a drop of He once went to the Nine Springs", but people believe that relatives and ancestors can receive people's affection and sacrifice, and this solemn ceremony is an emotional, poetic, and moral truth. "Man, poetically inhabiting the earth" In the face of the photos or tombstones of ancestors, expressing strong thoughts and sincere respects is the happiness and motivation for people to live in this ancient land. And the thoughts and expectations we put forward when we worship our ancestors, I believe that the ancestors will hear it and bring happiness and well-being to the family.
Producer: Li Fangzhou Zhang Yuexin
Source: Guangming Network