Filial piety is an important part of the mainland culture, which has been passed down for thousands of years and is still enduring, and the ancestor worship ceremony, the Qingming ancestor worship, and the Spring Festival ancestor worship are all a realistic embodiment, showing the filial piety of the Chinese people to the fullest.
Therefore, there has always been a saying in the folk, that is, "In winter, the grave brings a treasure, and the children and grandchildren are blessed with wealth." So, what is this so-called "one treasure"? Why it can affect future generations.
Today, let's talk about it and see if this sentence is superstitious or real.
Ancient filial piety culture
As we all know, the burial culture has been passed down on the mainland for thousands of years, because the ancients were convinced that after they died, they would live in another world. In order to guarantee their wealth in another world, they will build a luxurious mausoleum with many funerary items buried in it.
For example, Qin Shi Huang once established the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, and the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses were built by him to use pottery figurines instead of living people to accompany funerals. In addition, the interior of the Shi Huang Mausoleum is said to have a large amount of wealth, but modern technology has not yet been able to excavate.
Through these burial cultures, we can see a kind of respect for the ancestors of the ancients, and from a certain point of view, it is also a kind of "filial piety culture". In film and television dramas, we will often see the long-term sale of the body to bury the father and the mother, and we will be able to let the ancestors settle down.
In addition to this scene, "keeping filial piety" is also known as "keeping filial piety for three years", which is a manifestation of the filial piety of the ancients to their ancestors. To put it simply, for example, after the death of the parents in the family, as a son, you need to keep filial piety for your parents for three years, during which time you stop entertaining and socializing.
In the eyes of many modern people, such filial piety has some superstitious overtones, but in fact, it is not so, "filial piety" is from Confucianism, "three years" is not an absolute practice, according to the Confucian classics, it is 27 months, why is this so?
Generally speaking, after conceiving in October (in fact, nine months), the mother still needs to breastfeed for about 27 months, plus a piece that is 37 months, that is, three years (12 months a year).
After the death of the honored relatives, as children, they must keep filial piety for their parents for three years, in fact, in order to repay their parenting grace and breastfeeding righteousness. If you are an emperor, because you have important state affairs to deal with, you only need to keep filial piety for one year.
If you are a talented person or a person, then you cannot take the imperial examination during the period of filial piety, otherwise, even if you are admitted, you will be disqualified from the examination results, and even be disqualified from the imperial examination for reasons of filial piety.
If you are an ordinary citizen, then during this period, you can not get married, husband and wife have sex, etc., do not give relatives, friends, colleagues to celebrate the New Year in the New Year, and paste a note on the door that reads "Do not return to worship", others will know what it means.
In general, the ancients for "filial piety" is very strict, the father, mother died, is keeping filial piety people must abide by the Confucian etiquette system, commonly known as "filial piety", "reading ceremony", etc., there is a very standard process, but now few people know.
What is the current situation of filial piety?
Looking back at some of the current phenomena, if there is an elder in the family who dies, it is generally necessary to be cremated, although this is regarded as a "great rebellion" in the eyes of the ancients, after all, the ancient people's thoughts are "the parents of the body's skin", and the damage means that this is not filial piety.
However, because the times are constantly developing and the social environment is constantly changing, the death of ancestors now basically needs to be cremated. After cremation, their ashes can be placed in a coffin and then buried in the ground, which is what we often call "burial".
It is worth mentioning that there is also a set of processes before the elders are buried in the ground, that is, the modern version of filial piety, which is also called "vigil" by the people. In the eyes of the ancients, before the ancestors were buried, the immediate family members had to guard a certain amount of time before the spiritual seat.
Why is this so, there is no more "defensible" statement, of course, there is also a saying that the deceased person does not give up the family, the living person and then send the deceased person the last part of the road, which is the final farewell.
In fact, there is no exaggeration to say that there is such a thing, after all, the development of ancient science is relatively backward, they believe in some gods and ghosts, that people will die after death, and keep filial piety is to let the ancestors see their relatives for the last time.
Perhaps in the earliest days, this was just a kind of calligraphy, but over time, it will slowly evolve into a custom, enter the lives of ordinary people, and over time it will become a culture.
Ancestor worship and grave worship
Is the process of embodying "filial piety" over here? Not really. Every year, there will be "ancestor worship" ceremonies in some parts of the mainland, such as the ancestor worship ceremony in Xinzheng, Henan, which is to worship the Yellow Emperor, which shows that respect for ancestors is one of the most important traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.
Even ordinary people will be worshipped by future generations, especially during the Qingming Festival and Spring Festival. At this time, many families will spontaneously go to the graves of their ancestors to worship, commonly known as "going to the grave".
It is worth mentioning that because of the worship of ancestors, there is also a saying, which is "bring a treasure to the grave in winter, and the descendants are blessed with wealth." So, what exactly does this sentence mean, and what is "one treasure"?
The Spring Festival ancestor worship is in winter, so it is also called winter grave, at this time future generations need to carry one thing, it is "white filial piety". In ancient times, the white belt had the meaning of purity and elegance, and wearing white to worship the immortals meant piety.
Why can an ordinary white filial piety dress be called "a treasure", and why can it make the children and grandchildren more blessed? There are roughly two reasons. The first reason needs to be placed in the context of ancient societies, when "filial piety" was highly valued and affected a person's life.
As mentioned above, the ancients wore white filial piety to worship their ancestors as a sign of piety and respect, and doing so would also be recognized by neighbors and neighbors, which in turn would make your reputation for filial piety widely spread and well known.
In ancient times, there was a saying of "filial piety and honesty", which means that your name of filial piety has reached a certain level, and you can directly enter the DPRK as an official. On the contrary, if you are an unfilial person, it will be difficult to turn over in your lifetime, let alone enter the army.
The second reason belongs to the family, we often say that the power of example is infinite, if you wear filial piety when worshipping your ancestors, it will leave a very deep impression on your children, and you will leave them with the concept of "filial piety to parents".
To take a simple example, the filial piety of the father affects the wife, the children, and thus forms a culture of filial piety in the family, and how can such a family not be blessed by filial piety? The same is true of the ancients' "fatherly kindness and filial piety" and "old age dependence"!
Therefore, "filial piety" may be a formalism, but the impact behind it is very positive, and the filial piety family will naturally make the children and grandchildren more blessed and wealthy. From this point of view, "bringing a treasure to the grave in winter, and the children and grandchildren will be blessed with wealth and wealth" is not a superstitious word, but a real reality situation.
What do you think about that?