Welcome to the Voice of Tumut
Cultural education and religious practices
(-) Cultural education
In Tumut, shibanshen is relatively well-known, in addition to the superior natural conditions and the long-term formation of banshen, the attention and remarkable results of culture and education are one of its characteristics. From the perspective of the long river of history, at least from the beginning of Alatan Khan's advocacy of cultural education, it has been successively valued and cultivated by the Panshen people.
"If Shibanshen is brought from Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty, someone will study in this Banshen Xingxue." In the 25th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, with the boom in the construction of temples in the Qing Dynasty, after the construction of gonghe temple in the village, there was a private school. The Mongolian people of the whole village agreed to allocate 278 mu of land from the public pasture and let the villagers cultivate it on their behalf as a dual-purpose resource for summoning and learning. Many squires, scholars, officials and a large number of donors in the village also participate in the school's special "school council" and regularly study all the affairs of the school, either supervise or personally participate in teaching. The far ones such as the Gale monk and the rich pearl, and the closer ones such as Haiming and Bright. According to the ding family history and the Kang family history, most of his great-grandfathers studied, none of his great-grandfathers were illiterate, and there were many people in his ancestors who knew Mongolian, Manchu, and Chinese. Such as Gang Ren Ah, Fu Zhu Li and the ancestors of the Li family on the corner of the front street are like gas, not only. He is knowledgeable and can write Mongolian and Chinese calligraphy with both hands, which is quite appreciated by the villagers. The Rong family's Duolun wu was very knowledgeable, and he wrote a good article, which was promoted from the eight-pin pen post style of the Tumut Department to the Zuo Ling, and covered with a pavilion and a courtyard. The ancestor of the Yun family, Zhang Long'a, was a Silver Treasury Seal Cover, a rather talented civilian official, who was honored for his meritorious service when he "fought the Southern Front.".
Among the ancestors of the Ding family, those who were honored also built pavilions (burned down by the Feng army in 1928), indicating that their knowledge and merit were higher. The ancestor of the Ding family Jishan Hall, Who supplemented the music and was proficient in Mongolian, Manchu, and Han languages, and in addition to intensively reading the Four Books and Five Classics, he also read all kinds of classical books such as history, literature, Buddhism, and medicine. In his youth and middle age, he was in the late stage of the Qing Dynasty's rule, and although he was knowledgeable, he had no intention of pursuing a career, and he devoted his life to educating students and cultivating future generations, and he was diligent in translating books. He was first a bishop in his own study, and then he was employed by the Guitut Higher School, and he also served as a Mongolian Manchu interpreter in the Office of the Governor of Tumut. He also compiled his own Mongolian and Chinese teaching materials, and translated the Manchu "Sacred Sayings and Broad Teachings" into Mongolian and Chinese manuscripts, and taught his descendants. Kesh Yitai, the ancestor of the Ding family JiyiTang, was also a bapin pen post style of the Tumut Office, writing a good article and exquisite Mongolian and Chinese calligraphy, often writing banners and couplets for the villagers, and was deeply loved by the villagers.
In the later period, there were those who were first enlightened by the village school, and then went to The Qiyun Academy or the Tumut Higher School and the Beijing Mongolian-Tibetan School to study. In the 1920s, the earliest college students emerged, such as Chang Sen of the Yun family, Chun Heng of the Ding family, and Ji Min of the Kang family.
The exact time of the Shibanshen education, because of its long history, can only be obtained from the monuments and legends of many elderly people who know about it. For example, the article "The Evolution of the Shoshi National School" compiled by Yun Wenhan and Rong Shide at least clarified the history of Xingxue education in the village for nearly two hundred years. It can also be said that this cultural wonder has risen and fallen, and the history of hard struggle is recorded.
The name of the Shibanshen School has been changed many times, and now the full name is: Tumut Left Banner ShiShi Ethnic School. Examinees: From the seventeenth year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty to the three years of Xuanun, a total of 40 years from the Republic of China to the founding of New China, and another 50 years since the founding of New China. Although the Jiaqing Dynasty is a historical blank, it is not an unproductive move. According to legend, there was once a Mr. Gale monk in Shibanshen who was highly knowledgeable and famous far and wide. In one year, the Chahar Ministry included in one line the idiom "Tai'a upside down", which is a paraphrase? Or transliteration? Unknown, he sent someone to apply Shiban to teach Gaba Geshi, who was teaching at the time. He immediately translated the meaning of "Tai'a upside down" into Mongolian with the meaning of "although the sword is advantageous, give people a handle." The chief of the Chahar tribe was very admired, and the following year he again sent Mr. Tun Pingga to serve in the Chahar department. It was difficult for the gentleman to resign, so he went to it, but when he left, he designated a special person to be responsible for organizing the students of Benbanshen and Zhoucun to continue their studies.
According to the five elderly people of Duolun of this board, we have said that on the back wall of the study room of Gonghe Temple, there is a large cabinet, which stores many Mongolian and Manchu books and accounts of rice noodles and firewood and coal collected by students over the years.
According to these precious fragments of legend, it can be considered that shiban shenxingxue began to be read by families, and lasted for a long time. Then, with the change of the times, the development of society, and then from the family to the establishment of the study, and then from the study to the private office to help the school, and then gradually formed a public school. Most of the school sites are mainly Gonghe Temple and Laoye Temple. Its teaching content was initially mainly mongolian, and later taught Manchu, and then due to the sudden increase in the population of the Han people, the reclamation of animal husbandry and the rejuvenation of agriculture, the chinese language is commonly spoken in society, and the official government language is also mostly written in Chinese, and the school naturally added Chinese courses.
There is no history of early teachers and students. From 1853 to 1869 (three years from Qing Chengfeng to the eighth year of Tongzhi), the teachers had no examination, and the students were Supplementary Yin Tai, Fu Zhuli, Duolun Wu, Su Ji Wei Tai, Tang Gong, Kesh Fang Tai, Hai Liang, A Daohai, Sanhong, Wang Wang, etc. From 1870 to 1901 (from the ninth year of Tongzhi to the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu), the school was divided into two places during this period. One is the back scene of Mr. Yao hired by the public to teach with his family, and the study is in the back of Dobji. Mr. Yao is highly knowledgeable, serious in teaching, and students benefit from it, and has been teaching for three years and was hired by Hohhot (Naturalization City) to be employed by Kowloon Bay School. After that, the study was moved to the east of The Irret, and in addition to the teaching of The Complement Tai himself, He hired Mr. Bai of the Shanxi people to teach. Students include Ilegeng, Gillegen, Chunheng, Saisena, Chongquan, Chonglian, Haikuan and so on. Later, he was included in Cligen, Yun Wenhan, Yun Wenda, and the ding family's first female student, Ertao.
Another study is located in Gonghe Monastery. There are more than 30 students, including Fuyuan, Yinkuan, Zhuhai, Changsen, Chengyan, Laiquan, and Jinquan. From 1902 to 1917 (Guangxu 28 to 6 years of the Republic of China), the teachers were Li Hengtai and Zhang Yuan. There are more than 30 students, including Chunheng, Nasheng, Kang Jimin, Kang Gencheng, Yunze, kuibi and so on.
laborious. Later (1918-1936), especially in 1926, the Shibanshen School was transformed into the Eighth National Primary School of Tumut, and the number of students increased to more than sixty. At that time, Yan Zhao left the principal, and in view of the large number of students and the inability to sit in the classroom, he set up a school in the newly built house next door to gonghe temple, allocated more than 20 students, and hired Shang Zhilian to supervise the branch. During this period, the two students included 47 Mongolians, 12 Han Chinese and 1 female student, including Enlin, Fulin, Jufu and Jucai.
During this period, the school name was changed several times, successively as the Third National Primary School of Chasuqi, the Shih lianhe Primary School of Chasuqi, the Shipanshen Primary School, the Shibanshen Junior National Primary School, and the Shibanshen Central Primary School. However, no matter how the name of the school is changed, the villagers always lose their attention and development to cultural education. During this period, there were successively Wang Guozhen, Zhang Wenxiu, feng Wenhua, and so on. The number of students is always between 50-60 A, and the main teaching is Chinese.
- (ii) Religious art
In addition to the call temples of the small villages belonging to the early 15-mile square circle, there are 15 large and small summoning temples in the narrowed village alone, which is called "summoning temple village".
There are four large temples in Shibanshen: Gonghe Temple, Laoye Temple, Dragon King Temple, and Sanguan Temple. There are 4 small summoning temples, 2 Great Immortal Temples, and 1 Wudao Temple. There are two lama caves and one water temple on the north mountain. From a historical point of view, this is a portrayal of the prosperity of the village and a achievement of culture and art. But it is also a reflection of traditional superstition, the blessing of the gods and Buddhas, and the dependence on the sky to eat. It not only contains the moral norms of the Mongolian and Han people's unity and cooperation and respect for all religions, but also reveals the contradiction between cultural advancement and ignorance and backwardness.
1. Gonghe Temple
Gonghe Monastery is a monastery that was exclusively respected and built by the early Mongols of Shipanshen, and is the product of the introduction of Lama Huang sect to the Tumut region.
The temple was built with funds raised by 63 Mongol families in Panshen. According to the book "The Mongols and the Mongols", about fifty versts (one hundred miles) northwest of Hohhot, Khubil of Kamjubal Morgennomen Khan built two temples for himself in the valley of the Arubanshen Mountains. One is unid – Buyantu Sumo (Manchu) and the other is Shashini – Badara Gurukzisu (Manchu). These were once separate temples, but they were administered by a Dalai Lama. Although this is no longer verified, in the early years there were indeed two lama caves, which were in the Lion Rock and the Stove Fire Ditch after the Shipanshen. Legend has it that there were two lamas in the cave, both of whom were invited down the mountain by the villagers to preside over the Gonghe Temple and receive disciples to pass on the scriptures. ，
According to the above legend, although the provenance is different and the age is uncertain, the situation of the temple is very similar. At present, the date of the construction of Gonghe Temple is the twenty-fifth year of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, that is, in 1686, it is still considered. The temple was built by the craftsmen of Wutai Mountain in Shanxi.
After the completion of Gonghe Temple, it has been repaired and expanded many times, and its final architectural form is: the front door is flanked by statues of the four great gods; the front courtyard is flanked by the door with mongolian inscriptions of "auspicious" and "ruyi"; the front hall (Dukun) is a white Tibetan-style prayer hall, and there are two floors of Buddhist halls behind the hall for statues of Shakyamuni, Maitreya Buddha, and Tsongkhapa; its architectural structure is green brick, red brick, and stone strips; and there are two large columns with a diameter of more than one foot in diameter, and the signs, burdens, rafters, stacks, and doors and windows are all good purple and red pines and junipers on the top of Shibanshen Mountain. The overall hall is carved with beams and paintings, colorful and exquisite. Under the stone steps of the prayer hall, there are Mongolian antique decorative flagpoles and colorful flags. Later, when it was expanded, two elm trees were planted symmetrically on the left and right of the stone steps, which survived for nearly two hundred years, with lush foliage and beautiful natural shape. The whole temple is solemn and solemn, with red, white and green dots reflecting each other, red in the shade and green in the white walls, which is a quaint art hall. The temple top is equipped with a carved anchor gold and copper roof, but unfortunately it was stolen in the 30s.
In addition to the five main buildings in the temple, there are three main rooms in the northwest corner, which are inhabited by the great lamas
place. There are six east and six west meditation rooms on each side of the vestibule of the prayer hall. The upper three of the six western rooms are the residences of ordinary lamas, and the lower three are warehouses and kitchens. The upper three of the eastern six rooms are the study rooms for Mongolian children to study, and the lower three rooms are the kitchens for chanting the Great Sutra (Kulaar), in which two large cauldrons are placed. It is said that each pot can cook a cow or several fat sheep and a stone of rice. Farther away from the temple, there are four white prayer temples (Bi le Ference), dedicated to the recitation of the Great Sutra, the sending of the Eight Orders, and the burning of incense, the worship of the table, and the giving of alms to the devotees.
During the reign of Gonghe Monastery, there were as many as a dozen lamas. The chanting of the sutra is often accompanied by lamas from the Ming'an Temple of Bensumu, and sometimes the living Buddha of the Lama Cave is invited to sit on the bed and teach the sutras. Every year, from the fifth to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when reciting the Great Sutra, the "priests" of the original "shaman" sect are invited to go out of the house to hold a ceremony, commonly known as "jumping and touching"; the armor worn by the "divine officials" needs two powerful offspring to be lifted before they can be buckled and draped, and the "divine officials" can also jump freely with the flag in their hands.
Another tradition of Gonghe Monastery is that when reciting the Great Sutra, officials, gentlemen, and great benefactors from the village or in other places should be invited to participate in the discussion with the great lama on major issues in the village. After chanting the sutra and sending the "Eight Orders," all the people in the temple must bring their own bowls and chopsticks to eat the "Ku Tuan Tu" in order to enjoy the blessings and blessings of the gods and Buddhas, eliminate disasters and solve difficulties, and ensure peace for people and animals. In addition to chanting the Great Sutra, believers from near and far often come to burn incense, pay homage to their watches, prostrate their heads, and pray to pray for the blessings of the gods and Buddhas and a peaceful life.
2, LaoYe Temple
That is, the temple dedicated to Guan Yu during the Shu Han Dynasty. The address is located along the north side of the south canal of the village, which was built during the Chengfeng year of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, a large number of Han immigrants had settled in shibanshen in the village, so it was built with donations from the Mongolian and Han people of the village. In addition to the four characters of "Zhongyi Koukou" cast on the large bell tower in front of the temple, the names of more than 100 donors from Mongolia and Han are also cast.
The old temple building is a brick and pine structure. The three rooms of the main hall are dedicated to Guan Yu's statues, with a beard in his left hand and a book in his right hand, with a dignified look; on both sides are the majestic statues of Guan Ping Duanyin and Zhou Cang carrying a sword. After the statue of Guan Yu, there is also a small clay statue of Guanyin sitting upside down.
The murals in the main hall of the Laoye Temple are the story of Guan Yu passing through five levels and cutting six generals. It is said that the mural was painted by the ancestors of the Han people in the village, surnamed Fan, known as the "Paint Stick" and "Gong Case King". There is a main room on each side of the main hall, which was presided over by the temple in the early days, and later the office of the villagers' community (Righteousness Society). There are two Western Zen rooms in front of the main hall, and there were once private school rooms. There are still seven Zen rooms behind the temple. On both sides of the mountain gate are bell towers and drum towers, and the murals on both sides are the portraits of Wei Chigong and Qin Qiongzhi's "door gods" respectively. There is a strange phenomenon in the temple, that is, on the ceiling of the mountain gate, there is a picture of the story of "The Pet of the King of Zhou You" that is extremely inconsistent with the teachings of this temple.
There is a stage in the south of the Laoye Temple, which sings the "sharpening the knife" for Guan Yu on the thirteenth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, so as to bless the wind and rain and enjoy with the people. Later, due to its disrepair, it became a place for "foreign tobacco city", and it also became a place for pedestrians to stop their feet or beggars to lie down and board. The stage was demolished in the 1930s.
Regarding the construction of the Laoye Temple, it is also a rare thing in the Mongolian villages that believe in Lamaism. In addition to the reasons for the gradual increase in the number of Han people from Shanxi, there are also materials stored in the "Flag File" for reference. That is, during the Daoguang and Xianfeng years of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Army and the Shandong Twist army successively rebelled against the Qing, and when the Twist Army attacked Yongcheng, it was temporarily truncated and transferred due to internal orders, but the first inspector of the area went to the imperial court and said: When the Twist army attacked the city, Guan Shengjun and other prominent saints "retreated from the enemy." Originally, the Qing Dynasty had already paralyzed the people with the worship of Confucius and Meng's rites and Guan Yu's righteousness, so it had more opportunities to take advantage of it, so it borrowed the story of Yongcheng to spread false rumors, and issued an edict to build Guandi Temples in various places to ensure social stability.
The construction of the Guandi Temple in the Tumut area has its own unique reasons, that is, the Qing government used this to fool and paralyze the Mongolian people's resistance to the service of the Tibetan people and the "acceptance" of the land, and the Shibanshen Guandi Temple was built at this time.
3. Dragon King Temple
The Dragon King is said to be the embodiment of the "god" who manages the rainwater. The construction of the Dragon King Temple and the worship of shaping the Body of the Dragon King are the people's sincere desire to pray for the wind and rain to be smooth. The Shibanshen Dragon King Temple was built around the time of the 26th year of the Guangxu Drought in the Qing Dynasty, when the Mongolian and Han people jointly raised funds to build it on the northwest slope of the village. The temple is also magnificent, with its architectural style being pure Han style. Inside there are three main halls, for the three-foot-tall Dragon King to sit on, with a face that is black and red, eyes as big as bells, blush beard, dressed in a red cloak, and sitting majestically in the shrine, making people look in awe.
There is a small palanquin next to the main hall of the Dragon King Temple, and inside sits a statue of the Dragon King who "leaves the house", and there is a pair of luan frames accompanying the trip, which is specially designed for the people of the outer villages to apply for the Dragon King to "go out of the house" for him to pray for rain, which is also the "deep thinking" of the believers at that time. There are four east and west rooms in the temple, which are the old Taoist rooms, warehouses, kitchens or places where the Dragon King people are invited to rest or "lead the animals" to eat. There are also bell and drum towers on both sides of the mountain gate, more than 100 meters south of the temple, and there is also a stage opposite the temple, which is where the village and the outer village pray for rain in April or June of the agricultural calendar to "reward the gods" and sing.
When the Dragon King left the palace, the people who carried the palanquin, beat the gong, and beat the drum wore willow circles, and the leading lords and squires also did it with great care. Wherever the Dragon King went, the people would lay out sacrifices, serve water bowls, and hold "street worship." In this move, adult women were not allowed to wait and see, saying that they were afraid of "yin and qi rushing", but when praying for rain was ineffective, they asked twelve widows to sweep the millstone to pray for rain.
4. Temple of Three Officials
In the middle of the village, behind the Laoye Temple. It is a family temple built by the great-grandfather of the ancestor of the royal family, Sai Gil. The temple enshrines statues of the Taoist Heavenly Officials, DiGuan and Shuiguan "Three Ancestors". There is also an extremely vicious clay statue of a "direct son" on the side. It is rumored to be a demon that specializes in ingesting the souls of children. The Wang family feared and respected them because they were not prosperous. Villagers often scare children with "direct children", so that they are afraid and dare not cry. Seeing that the Wu family had moved into the village, there were many people and fewer rooms, so he gave up the Zen room of this temple to the Wu family and looked at the temple while living. Why did the Saijir family build a Taoist temple? This also has its tradition. When the Yuan Dynasty was proclaimed emperor, kuotai advocated the simultaneous worship of various sects, and the famous Taoist Changchun Zhenren Qiu Chuji was once enshrined as a state teacher. Among the Meidaizhao built by Altan Khan, there is also a small Taoist temple. The Mongols in Hohhot and Bikqi also built the City God Temple, the Zhenwu Temple, and some even became Taoist monks.
(3) New Year's Festival, Wedding and Funeral Ceremonies and The Art of Dress
1. New Year's Day
Like other villages in Tumut, the annual etiquette has changed with social changes and historical progress. From the reign of the Qing Dynasty to the 1920s, while basically imitating Manchu customs and gradually sinicizing, it still maintained the good traditions and habits of the Mongolian nation itself.
From the eighth day of the first lunar month is the preparation for the New Year's Festival. The day before yesterday, a large ice cube was dug from the river beach, called "Laba Ice", which stood on a manure pile; another Xiaoice piece was taken and placed on the windowsill of each house of the house, and then the "Laba Porridge" made of red beans and yellow rice was poured on each ice cube, praying that the wind and rain would be smooth in the coming year, the grain would be abundant, and the food and clothing would be sufficient.
For more than 20 days, pigs were slaughtered, rice was milled and flour stalls were stalled, seeds were pulled, cakes were fried, and new clothes were sewn.
On the twenty-third day of the lunar month, "over the small year", it is necessary to lead the live sheep to "lead the animals" to sacrifice the stove and send the gods to heaven. The next five or six days are spent cleaning the house and painting the walls and windows. The day before the Chinese New Year's Eve, couplets are pasted, lanterns are hung, and tables are placed on a fire. Some large households have special offering tables, fire racks, and big red lanterns with the names of Jishan Hall and Fushou Hall. By the Chinese New Year's Eve, everything is ready, and in the morning each family will carry sacrifices and incense paper to their ancestral graves to worship the ancestors, and distribute the sacrificial offerings to the descendants to share, so as to show the blessings given by the ancestors.
In the early morning of the first day of the first lunar month of the following year, the whole family freshened up and cleaned up, put on new clothes, hung lanterns, lit a fire, and after the cannons and bamboo were fired to set off flowers, the ancestors led the whole family to kneel at the offering table set up in the courtyard to burn incense and pay homage to the paper, prostrate their heads and receive the gods, and then the whole family, young and old, baked their whole body around the fire to pray for the prosperity of the family and the well-being of everyone.
After that, according to the number of generations, the hada toast and the blessing are given in turn. First, the fathers toasted to the grandparents and asked Ann to say hello in Mongolian, followed by the male grandchildren who prostrated to the grandparents and fathers, and the female grandchildren only asked Ann not to kowtow. At the same time, the ancestors must hand over the prepared "old money" to their children and grandchildren one by one. Finally, please say hello among your peers in order of old age and younger.
The New Year is the happiest moment that children look forward to the most, so they have produced such a children's song: "The New Year cannons are fired, new clothes are worn, dumplings are made, and money is earned and lively." Mongolian families eat vegetarian stuffed dumplings after receiving the gods in the morning of the first year, and the dumpling fillings are mostly scrambled eggs, mung bean sprouts, and vermicelli, and they also pack a few dumplings with "money making". After eating the dumplings of the gods, the father leads the grandchildren to the family with the same surname to pay respects to the New Year in the order of generations. Because of the same etiquette, they often meet on the way, and the fathers greet each other, and the grandchildren hug each other.
There are many festivals throughout the first month, and the first five days are called "breaking the fifth" and "sending plague gods" days. On this day, the garbage that was cleaned up five days after the Chinese New Year's Eve should be removed in a concentrated manner, and incense and paper should be burned to pray for disaster relief and avoidance. The eighth day of the first year is called the "Eight Immortals Festival", and the villagers, especially young men and women, begin to go out to play or visit relatives and friends, also known as "Eight Immortals". In the first ten months, it is customary to eat the noodles, knead the reconciled shinobi into one to twelve lace bowl-shaped bowls, represent twelve months a year, and after steaming in the cage drawer, observe which bowl has water, indicating which month there will be rain. The more bowls with water, the more it indicates that this year will be smooth sailing and rain. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth day of the first month, the village community and the large households in the village will pay for the fire, step on stilts, hang lanterns, and set off fireworks. On this day, the family used firewood ash to paint circles similar to granaries and cellars in the courtyard, and sprinkled some grain in the circle to symbolize this year's agricultural harvest and the full grain warehouse. By the beginning of February, the second day of the "Dragon's Head", men and women must shave their heads and cut their hair, and women must also wash and comb their hair, indicating that the year is smooth, indicating the end of the New Year's Festival, and starting the hard work of the next year.
2. Wedding
The marriage ceremony of the Shibanshen Mongol family is basically the same as that of the villages of the Tumut tribe. Prominent among them is the "name-seeking" ceremony of the girl's marriage. On the first day of the bride's marriage, the groom and the groom (groomsmen) go to the girl's house to ask for the bride's name. Because when a Mongolian elder or husband is called a daughter-in-law, he is affectionately called by her first name, and is not called XX clan or XX niang. The ceremony is for the bride to lie on the kang and sit around a circle of sisters of the same generation, the groom and the eldest relative kneeling on the ground, holding the silver gray hada and the silver bowl filled with wine in both hands, and repeatedly asking for the bride's name, while the sisters sitting around deliberately play a joke to make the groom difficult, and never answer positively; If you are not allowed to punish alcohol, singing or prostrating, this can be punished by the big relatives. At this time, the sisters played their best, and the groom and the eldest relative were anxious, causing the people present to laugh. In fact, when the girl was hired, the mother's family had already informed the man of the girl's name and birthday eight characters, and this ceremony was completely to set off the happy atmosphere. When the laughter was exhausted, the bride's eldest bride and aunt intervened to mediate, asking the groom to seriously inquire, and the sisters told each other exactly, and the ceremony ended.
On the second day, another lively scene appeared. That is, when the bride leaves, the bride's brothers will tie the red silk belt sent by the bridegroom to the groom's waist and wrap it around the groom's waist. To avoid discomfort, the groom puffs up vigorously or inserts his hands into his waist until he is given a red envelope called a loose tie. Onlookers also took the opportunity to play with laughter, and the atmosphere was very lively.
As for weddings there are also unique ceremonies. Both the bride and groomsmen wore full embroidered cheongsam, wearing "cushions" studded with pearl agate, coral jade, and gold and silver ornaments, and wearing full embroidered high-soled shoes on their feet, and riding in several horse-drawn sedans; the groom wore a robe and a horse's coat, a golden flower top hat, a colorful silk on his shoulders, and a bow and arrow on his back, and a dozen of the same-dressed relatives greeted and sent relatives, and rode on jujube horses draped in red and green, and walked forward in colorful cars. When they arrived at the door of the groom's house, the greeters and senders were lined up on both sides of the door, and when the groom dismounted and the bride got off the bus, the drums sounded in unison, and the sound of firecrackers and laughter resounded through the clouds. At this time, the bride is surrounded by the bride and the bride is accompanied by the groom into the flower hall for regular ceremonies. After the ceremony, when the groom enters the cave, the arrow shoots at the four corners of the house in the hope of happiness and ease after marriage.
3. Funeral
The funeral rites of the Shibanshen Mongols have gradually been assimilated by the Manchus and Han Chinese, such as changing cremation to earth burial. However, certain characteristics are still retained, such as married men and women who are required to wear shawls given by their mothers' families, and girls and daughters-in-law must twist a strand of hair with hemp paper and call it "distributed" to show mourning and that it is not appropriate to dress up. The biggest difference with the Han people is that filial piety does not wear white cloth filial piety, but wraps a wisp of white linen or black and blue cloth belts according to different generations.
It is also necessary to make all kinds of "paper accounts," set up a spiritual hall for filial piety to guard the spirit, relatives and friends to worship, and drummers to "blow the spirit" to mourn. After the deceased was buried, the filial son shoveled soil around the tomb to fill the grave, so-called entering the soil for safety, and at the same time burning the "paper tent" . After that, the filial pieties took off their filial piety clothes, combed their hair and "closed their heads," and rushed home on foot with "big offerings." When they arrived at the gate, they threw filial piety together with the "great offering" through the door, indicating that they would no longer serve filial piety and that their families would be safe. The "great offerings" and filial piety are taken back to the house and regarded as blessings from the ancestors. At the end of the funeral, the guests are invited to express their gratitude.
4. Culture
Culture and art complement each other and are the embodiment of the enhancement of productive forces, economic development, and social civilization. Shibanshen has not only the unique geographical conditions that are suitable for farming and grazing, but also the good tradition of attaching importance to cultural education, so it also has its own unique artistic charm in terms of etiquette, customs, and dress.
As soon as women entered their teenage years, they began to learn sewing and embroidery, and the craftsmanship was amazing/ they could embroider all kinds of lace, various flowers, and even words and Buddha statues on the small and exquisite "purse" surface. The "uneven" has another style, with circles, squares, triangles, quadrangles, peach-shaped and many other shapes and different patterns. It also sews dolls, frogs, monkeys and other small toys. "Darien" and handkerchiefs are both ornamental works of art and small objects. Most of these small artistic objects are souvenirs given to relatives and friends, especially as gifts to relatives and friends of in-laws, to show the virtues of hard work, ingenuity and friendship of the girl.
Embroidered shoes are one of the characteristics of Mongolian women's clothing. During the girlhood period, the family affairs were idle, and the young girls loved beauty especially, so they embroidered a large number of flower shoes. And because Mongolian women are "heavenly feet", the toe and upper of the shoes can be embroidered. There are many types of styles, including flowers, fish and birds, and even very complex patterns such as rhinoceros looking at the moon and jade rabbit worshiping the moon. In particular, the flowers are good and full moons, both flowers and bright moons, and embroidered with words, which are dazzling and admirable. In addition to being worn by themselves after marriage, most of these shoes are given to relatives and friends, called "putting shoes." In addition to wearing various and colorful embroidered robes and cheongsam, Mongolian women must wear embroidered shoes, otherwise they will be mistaken for a funeral for their family.
The Shibanshen Han immigrants were earlier and more numerous, infected by Mongolian women, and also embroidered various flowers on small shoes, or embellished with electric light pieces, 'various green spikes,' and even small copper bells. And because women always wear flower shoes, even if they go out on rainy days, they are no exception. Of course, Shibanshen is located on a higher plain, and the sand and gravel road is not easy to wet shoes and socks, so the villagers jokingly call this rainy day "bright shoe day".
As for the furniture decoration in the house, it is also very elaborate and has national characteristics. Most of the main rooms of large families are equipped with shrines or prayer halls, and on both sides are painted flat cabinets (standing cabinets) with gold and bronze mirror round locks in the upper top boxes. In front of the shrine are intricately carved offering tables and armchairs. The bedroom and the shrine are separated by a whirlwind with an embroidered curtain and a wooden partition carved with danfeng chaoyang, and the curtain must be lowered at night. Other furniture is often painted into the usual "cloud" or dragon-shaped pattern decoration, both artistic appreciation and elegant style.
In addition, the snuff bottles and mouthpieces used by men are often carved with jade, amber, agate, etc. The "Darien" and "Purse" hanging from the waist are also embroidered with various floral patterns. The saddle head of the horse is inlaid with bronze and silver carvings, which is quite beautiful.
In short, the Shibanshen people have always paid attention to cultural education, are diligent and studious, and love art and life. Although often subjected to turmoil, the villagers still lose their style in art and decorate their lives in a colorful way.
Reprinted from "History of Shomura: Volume I"
Editor: Ren Ruixin
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