In the previous article, the author talked to you about a series of stories about South Korea, such as the population of South Korea, the wage level of South Korea, and so on. Today, the author talks to you about the Spring Festival in South Korea. Like the mainland, South Korea has its own Spring Festival, which is very similar to the mainland in many ways. But in terms of Spring League, the differences between the two sides are very huge. China's Spring League is mainly red, and other colors are very good, which means red and red. Why are the Spring Leagues in South Korea all white?
First of all, we need to talk about the influence of the Chinese cultural circle. Chinese culture is broad and profound, and its influence on neighboring countries is very large. In the long course of history, a series of regimes such as Japan, Goryeo, Vietnam, and Ryukyu have learned from all aspects of the mainland. For example, during the Sui and Tang dynasties, Japan launched the famous Dahua Revolution. In Vietnam and Lee's Joseon, almost from the aspects of education, culture, architectural style, writing, clothing, and the imperial examination system, the Central Plains Dynasty was studied.
The ancient costumes of Vietnam and the Hanbok of Korea are very close to the Hanfu of the Central Plains culture, like a jacket skirt and a full chest. In ancient history, many historical documents of Vietnam and Lee's Korea were recorded in Chinese characters. For vietnamese and Lee Korean readers, "Zizhi Tongjian", "Four Books and Five Classics" and so on are required books. In a Korean drama, when male number one appeared, he was wearing a full set of hanbok and reciting Zhuge Liang's "Table of Teachers" in his mouth.
Of course, due to the different aesthetics of various countries, after the introduction of Chinese culture to neighboring countries, there will be certain changes. In the traditional culture of the mainland, red means festivities and red. Therefore, whenever they get married, celebrate their birthday or celebrate the New Year, people will put red couplets on their lights. People will also wear red clothes, wear red flowers, etc., for these, I believe everyone is very clear. As for white, it is synonymous with funerals and funerals, commonly known as red and white celebrations.
In fact, white has undergone several stages of change before it becomes a special color for funerals. In the TV series "List of Fengshen Gods", Wang Shubigan was killed for a while, and in the process of the funeral, the funeral was completely red. At first, the author could not understand. It was later learned that during the reign of the Shang Dynasty, red was indeed used for funerals, which is the opposite of the current aesthetic. As the saying goes, "A gentleman does not decorate himself with cyan, and a red and purple do not think that he is blasphemous." "Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, white has gradually become the exclusive color of funerals.
Wearing white clothes, wearing white hats, wearing white belts, playing white flags, sprinkling white money, setting up white spiritual halls, etc., have become customs that have been passed down to this day. However, there are significant differences in traditional practices between countries. For example, the white wedding dress in Western weddings, placed during the reign of the Qing Dynasty, was certainly unacceptable to young people on the mainland. Until the 1920s and 1930s, white wedding dresses gradually became popular, but only in developed coastal cities. In the vast inland areas, it was not until the 1980s and 1990s that it became fully popular.
In Europe, white has always represented the purity and immaculateness of friendship and love, symbolizing neatness, invigoration, simplicity, elegance and chastity. Westerners hold weddings, and the bride's wedding dress must be white. In Russia and a considerable part of Eastern Europe, red is used for funerals due to aesthetic differences. For example, at funerals in Russia, the knots, coffins, flowers, etc., are all red.
In the early days of the Qing Dynasty's rule, there was a tradition of "shangbai and red". For example, the white flag in the eight banners of the Qing Dynasty belongs to one of the three banners. In contrast, the status of positive red flags and red flags is obviously lower. Because the Qing Dynasty advocated white, in the middle and early periods of Qing Rule, according to the records of historical documents, every New Year's Day, the couplets of the gates of the Forbidden City were in black and white. As for the rest of the country, red couplets are still used, and two couplets of different colors have emerged, used together.
The situation is very special in South Korea, which was once a division of the Lee Joseon Dynasty. In the aesthetics of the Lee Joseon Dynasty, white symbolized purity and nobility. Lee's Joseon uses Chinese culture customs such as the Spring Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, but the color of the couplet is all white. It means that the whole family is clean and clean, and the next year is full of grain. In addition to pasting white Spring Festival, Koreans also wear traditional costumes and sacrifices. At noon on the first day of the Chinese New Year, the whole family eats kimchi and drinks porridge.
As for Countries such as Japan and Vietnam, there are great differences with the mainland in terms of the Spring Festival. At first, the Spring Festival in Japan was also the first day of the first lunar month. In the 19th century, after the Meiji Restoration was introduced in Japan, the original calendar was abolished and the Gregorian calendar was introduced. From this time on, the Spring Festival in Japan was established on January 1. The Spring Festival in Vietnam is in many ways very close to the mainland. But because Vietnam no longer uses Chinese characters. Therefore, on the Red Spring League of Vietnam, the Vietnamese script is written.
There are many more stories about the differences between Chinese culture and its surroundings. In future articles, the author will talk to you slowly.