Chinese culture is broad and profound, has a long history, and is all-encompassing, and one of the branches is the colloquialism. Throughout the ages, the sayings circulating in the anecdotes are dazzling and vast, because these sayings are based on life and act on life, so the fields involved cover almost all aspects of people's daily production and life, and because of this, almost everyone will hear and remember one or two sayings in their daily lives.
Taking its essence and removing its dross is the most correct attitude towards the traditional culture left by the ancients, and the same should be true for the common saying. Because the ancients were shackled by the background of the times in which they lived, some sayings inevitably became useless, such as some sayings involving physiognomy and numerology, of course, the vast majority of sayings, enduring, after many years, still have reference significance, especially those that involve the philosophy of dealing with the world.
The saying that I want to talk about today is called "women with salty ponds, raising men outside the door; men with canopy, rich and noble", what does this saying mean? What do you mean by "salty pond" and "canopy" in the saying? Is it still useful today?
First, what is a "salty pond"
The word "salty pond" first appeared in the ancient mythological system, and it was recorded as early as the "Huainanzi": "The sunrise of Fusang, into the salty pond", "the salty pool, the sun bath place also." That is to say, the mythical salty pond is the place where the sun sets in the west every day and washes away the dirt. In addition, in mythology, the salty pond also extends to the bathing pool of the celestial fairies, for example, the "mahogany spring" used by the seven fairies recorded in the Journey to the West belongs to the salty pool, which is also a place to wash the dirt.
This statement tells a kind of dialectical thinking, the reason why the sun is bright and beautiful, the reason why the fairies are spotless, is because their dirt and dust fall on the salty pool, in other words, the role of the salty pool is to hide dirt and dirt.
In addition to this, there is another use of salty ponds. The ancients attached great importance to the eight-character life grid, and the "salty pool" is also a part of the life grid, if the woman takes the salty pool, it is considered bad. Because the salty pond belongs to the peach blossom star, is a kind of divine fire, in the ancient numerology texts, it has also been recorded: "salty pool, the main peach blossom, how lustful", in other words, the woman with the salty pool, the opposite sex, and the personality is wandering, does not meet the ancient requirements for the character of women, so the saying is: "Women with salty pond, outside the door to raise men"
Second, what is a "canopy"
So, what does "canopy" mean? "Canopy" originally referred to the umbrella cover on the vehicle of the ancient monarch and emperor, which is what modern people call "umbrella", so the canopy is also extended to escort and assist the ancient monarch and emperor, and to achieve this, it is naturally an important official position.
Of course, the canopy, like the salty pond, refers to the stars in the sky, for the numerology of the fate, if the man is destined to wear the canopy, it is considered to be "auspicious heavenly phase", in the personality is extremely intelligent, the temperament is extraordinary, can achieve fame, the career is smooth.
In addition, in numerology, there is also another saying about the canopy, that is, the fate of the canopy, bad luck, but this statement mostly appears in ancient novels, largely for the needs of the plot shaping of the novel, according to the plot development of this type of novel, the fate of the canopy is finally to break the red dust, for the monk for the Tao, for example, the book said: "Fate has a canopy, but there is no official star, had to become a monk"
This also reflects from the side that the "fate with the canopy" of the person, the understanding is extremely high, with this understanding, even if the fate is bumpy, after all, can achieve certain results.
Therefore, as the saying goes: "Men with canopy, rich and noble are not worried"
Third, the summary:
To this day, does this proverb still work? The answer is not used.
First of all, the ancients preferred numerology and phase art, largely because the concept of "Mandate of Heaven" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, in fact, the theory of Mandate of Heaven is not accurate, blaming the development of fate on the heavens, ignoring the subjective initiative of man himself and the potential to change fate. In fact, the word "fate" has revealed the answer, "fate" is birth, is innate, is predestined, "the prince will have a kind of peace", out of life does not mean that there is no chance to turn over, "luck" is an opportunity, is unpredictable, the opportunity is left to those who are prepared, their own efforts, seize the opportunity, they can change their lives against the sky.
Secondly, this saying also contains the feudal dross of ancient times, as well as discrimination and suppression of the status of women. Ancient women were required to honor the "three from four virtues" and could not exceed the rules and regulations of the etiquette law, which put an invisible shackle on the ancient women, and if the ancient women did not abide by the "three from the four virtues", they were considered not to abide by the women's way and did not obey the law of etiquette.
In addition, relatively speaking, the "salty pond" is considered to be hiding dirt and grime, with a pejorative meaning, and the "canopy" is beyond the red dust, with positive meaning, because in ancient times it was a society of "male superiority and female inferiority", so the "salty pool" with a pejorative meaning was imposed on women, and the "canopy" with positive meaning was left to men, which was also extremely undesirable.