Cover news reporter Li Yuxin intern Wang Zhuo
Spring rain is endless, rain is born of a hundred grains. On April 20, with the gradually rising temperatures, the sixth of the twenty-four festivals, and the last of spring, the valley rain, came silently. Valley rain to, late spring to come, and valley rain is taken from the meaning of "rain born of a hundred valleys", the "valley" and "rain" are linked, it can be seen that the main feature of this festival is rainy.
According to the "Seventy-two Waiting Solutions to the Moon Order", "In the middle of March, after the rain, the earth was pulsating, and now it is raining in the valley of the water. Rain reads as going to sound, like rain in my public fields. Gaigu sows seeds at this time, from top to bottom also. "It shows that the weather is mild at this time, and the rain has increased significantly, which has a great relationship with the growth and development of cereal crops."
"In the past, Chengdu people loved to say: 'Qingming cut off snow, valley rain breaks frost.'" This all makes perfect sense. Folklore expert Liu Xiaochang said that at this time, the land is immersed in a spring mood, and the grass and trees are green. At the same time, the temperature rises and the rainfall increases, which is particularly suitable for the growth of cereal crops.
Gu Yu Festival Cangjie (Picture from the official website of Weinan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism)
Matsuura Jie is a folk tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years
"The Guyu Festival is one of the most magical and rich in traditional Chinese culture among the twenty-four solar terms." Liu Xiaochang said that the source of this statement is because in the legends and ancient records, this day is still closely related to the legend of Cangjie's character creation during the Yellow Emperor's period. "Qingming sacrifices the Yellow Emperor, Gu Yu sacrifices Cangjie", which is a folk tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years since the Han Dynasty.
In the "Commentaries on the Interpretation of Characters" and the "Shiben", it is recorded that Cangjie was a zuoshi official who created characters during the Yellow Emperor's period, and his footprints of birds and beasts were inspired, divided into different categories, collected, sorted and used, and played an important role in the creation of Chinese characters, and was revered as a "sage of character creation". In addition, according to the Huainan zi Ben Jingxun, "In the past, Cangjie wrote books, but the sky rained and millet, and the ghosts cried at night." "The Yellow Emperor issued an edict in late spring and early summer, announcing the success of Cangjie's character creation, and a rain of millet fell on the same day." First there was Cangjie to create characters, and moved to the heavens to enjoy rain and millet, and only then did the rain give birth to a hundred valleys, the name of the festival of valley rain. ”
Therefore, in the Valley Rain Festival, there have been folk activities to sacrifice Cangjie since ancient times. When the Valley Rain Sacrifice Cangjie began is no one has examined, the sacrifice has gone through thousands of years, and the convention has become a custom. In Shiguan Township, Baishui County, Shaanxi Province, it is said that this is the hometown of Cangjie, and every year Guyu holds a Cangjie Temple Festival, and on guyu day, public sacrifices or folk sacrifices Cangjie. "It can be said that Cangjie played an important role in the process of creating Chinese characters and made immortal contributions to the inheritance and development of Chinese national civilization." Liu Xiaochang sighed.
It is worth mentioning that in 2010, the United Nations Department of Public Information announced the launch of a joint Chinese. Among them, the time is set for the "Valley Rain" of the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar to commemorate the contribution of cangjie, the "ancestor of Chinese characters".
Cangjie statue (image from the Internet)
Walking in the valley rain is a good time to travel
In addition to the sacrifice of Cangjie, in ancient times, there is also a custom activity that has been passed down for many years, called walking valley rain. "There is an unwritten rule in this custom that those who participate in the 'valley rain' must be adult women. It is necessary to invite each other in advance and participate in a free group. The so-called "valley rain" is actually the day of the valley rain, young women go to the village to string relatives, and some go to the wild to walk around and come back. The meaning is integrated with nature to strengthen the body.
Recalling the scene when the young women in Chengdu "walked the valley rain" in the old days, Liu Xiaochang still felt that he had a vivid memory. "On that day, young women got up early, carefully groomed and dressed, put on new clothes, and women from well-off families did not forget to put some incense powder or rouge on their faces." However, during the rainy season in the valley, there are often continuous spring rains, and the sky will rain lightly. Therefore, before setting off, women always do not forget to install an oil-paper flower umbrella in the cloth bag they carry with them, for fear of wetting their clothes.
"In the past, Chengdu, two or three miles out of the city, was Tianba. These young women, who rarely have such leisure time on weekdays, laugh and laugh all the way, step on the country lanes full of spring colors, and put up some topics about the Li family's short terms. Near noon, they returned to the city and walked to the snack stall next to the shing Mun Cave, where each of them ate a bowl of sour and spicy noodles or sugar mash, and happily returned to their homes. Liu Xiaochang described that when they returned home, the women did not forget to quickly change their new clothes and put on old shirts.
"On a rainy day in the Mountain Valley in February, the banpo fang tea is fresh." In the last festival of the Spring Festival, nature cherishes the few spring rays and enjoys the last spring scenery. After the valley rain, the spring is coming to an end, and the hot early summer is gradually approaching.