When it comes to the old proverb "Only tired cattle, no ploughed fields", many people will smile. But, do you think this is just a simple description of the relationship between the sexes? In fact, if you consider the fertility cult of ancient mythology and history, what is hidden behind it may be the yin and yang philosophy of the Eight Classics.
01 uncles are cultivated with cattle
We know that the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" records that the descendants of Hou ji, that is, Shu Jun, are worshipped as "Tian Zu", and Shu Jun, in addition to helping Hou Ji sow hundreds of grains, has the most important contribution, which is "starting to cultivate cattle".
Hai Nei Jing: "Hou Ji is sowing hundreds of grains." Ji's grandson Shujun (曰叔君) was the first to cultivate cattle. ”
See? Shu Jun can be regarded as the first "cultivator" in myths and legends! Setting Shujun as the grandson of Ceres Goji and letting him invent cattle farming actually has great significance. Because in ancient times, it was the society that was always associated with Ji.
The so-called sheji, one for the god of the earth, one for the god of ceres, the society for the land, the valley is the seed, only by burying the seed in the field can it take root and germinate, and because of this, the matter of turning the soil and sowing seeds is related to the use of cattle to cultivate the field. So, how does farming hook up with the cult of fertility?
As mentioned before, in mythological thinking, she is the earth mother god in charge of the production of all things, which corresponds to the masculine god and the sun god. Why are the buildings of the shrine always open-air? This is naturally to facilitate the combination of the negative reproductive element below (mother earth) and the positive reproductive element above (emperor), thus giving birth to the natural world to maintain a strong productive and reproductive ability.
"Etiquette and Moon Order": "The weather is falling, the earth is rising, the heavens and the earth are harmonious, and the grass and trees are sprouting"
In fact, this principle is very clear when looking at the Tai Gua in the "I Ching", Tai Gua, Kun is located on the top, dry is under the heavens, so that the two qi traffic, can "wealth into the way of heaven and earth, supplementing the heavens and the earth, to influence the people." Spring is also the best time for heaven and earth to meet and breed natural things.
"Li Ji Yue Ling" chapter: "The moon of MengChun, the east wind thaws, the sting begins to vibrate, the fish on the ice, the otter sacrifices the fish, and the hong geese come."
02 Ploughing the fields with yin and yang
Because, in this season when heaven and earth meet, people will deliberately choose a certain auspicious day, and then let the Son of Heaven act as the representative of the masculine father in the human world to carry out the activity of "cultivating the emperor's book". In fact, the Son of Heaven represents the Father to unite with the feminine Mother Earth, thus promoting the fertility of nature.
"Li Ji · Moon Order" chapter: Nai Xuan Yuan Chen, Tianzi Gong Cultivating The Emperor's Book.
If it is said that the society (land) is the mother, and the millet (grain) is the son of the mother of the earth, then is not the role of the father who sows seeds to the mother of the earth?
Therefore, the "Book of Poetry" also used to use the "balance and indulgence of acres" when planting hemp to compare the marriage between men and women. In contrast, ancient Egypt also had a colloquialism that expressed a similar meaning, which is more straightforward. For example, the wise man Putahchep once taught his famous lesson to the male husbands:
Be faithful to your wife, she is a fertile piece of land, waiting for the master to cultivate.
Looking back, looking at Hou Ji's identity from this perspective, it is not difficult to understand why he had two differently recorded lineages.
One is the son of Emperor Jun, the god of heaven in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and the other is the son of Jiang Concubine, the mother of the earth in the Zhou Benji. In fact, to some extent, this has already implied that Houji is the product of the combination of the god of heaven that symbolizes masculinity and the earth mother who symbolizes yin, and the nature of Ceres and The God of Agriculture possessed by Houji itself is also derived from this.
"Classic of Mountains and Seas, Great Wilderness and Western Classic": Emperor Junsheng Houji, Ji Descended to Hundred Valleys.
"History of Zhou Benji": Zhou Houji, name abandoned. His mother was the daughter of the Tai clan, Known as Jiang Yuan.
Therefore, the survival basis of "the people take food as the sky" and the economic lifeline of Chinese farming culture- grain production, in the final analysis, is the fruitful fruit given to us by the divine union of heavenly father and earth mother, and it is also the most simple yin and yang metaplasia philosophy believed by the ancient ancestors.
In this way, the saying "only tired cattle, no ploughed fields" seems to be less simple.