Having a healthy, smart, long-lived, successful baby is the best wish and hope of most parents throughout the ages. Under the domination of such a concept, people have gradually summed up and formed a series of birth customs according to the practical experience and lessons of daily production and life. As the last dynasty of the imperial Chinese era, the Qing Dynasty, due to its vast territory and many nationalities, the Qing Dynasty people have made innovations on the basis of inheriting the birth customs of previous generations, and due to the influence of ethnic, regional customs and culture. Among them, some fertility customs have gradually disappeared with the progress of civilization and science and technology; some fertility customs, even in today's society, are still passed down. Below, Wen Shijun will take you to understand, what were the birth rituals and customs during the Qing Dynasty? What kind of hopes and wishes do they contain for parents and families?
1. Rituals of praying for children before becoming pregnant
Since the Zhou Dynasty at the latest, aristocratic women, after marriage and before giving birth, often go to the suburban altar in the spring to worship the high-fiend god who is in charge of fertility. This is the "Mid-Spring Moon" recorded in the Book of Rites and Moon Orders,...... The aether imprisoned the shrine to Gao Yu, the Son of Heaven personally, the queen concubine Shuai Jiu Concubine Yu, the Emperor of the Heavenly Son, with a bow, and given a bow before Gao Yu. ”
Later, the number of gods in charge of procreation gradually increased, and the methods became more and more diverse. The gods in charge of fertility include the Taoist "Sending Daughter Lady", the Buddhist Sending Son Guanyin, the pregnant Chen Jinggu with the nails cut by Guanyin Bodhisattva, and The Lady Huarui of the Northern Song Dynasty.
The way of worship, by the time of the Qing Dynasty, was also diverse due to regional and ethnic differences. The more common way is to burn incense and ask for children at the temple of the sending mother. In other places, prayer methods such as praying to the unicorn to send children, stealing melons, touching autumn prayers, and sending "playing children" prayers are popular.
During the Qing Dynasty, in today's Zhejiang area, if a woman is still not pregnant after one or two years of marriage, some relatives and friends of the husband's family will use paper to paste a baby human form on the night of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, which is called "playing with children"; then, illuminated by glass lamps painted with the picture of "Qilin Sending Children", beating gongs and drums, and setting off firecrackers along the way to send "playing children" to the bed of the infertile woman. The host poured sugar tea for the relatives and friends who sent the "tricksters" to drink. After drinking the tea, the relatives and friends put the tea bowl upside down on the table. Locals believe that by doing so, infertile women will soon conceive boys. In some places, it is popular to steal a piece of ship stake and wrap it in red paper, symbolizing the baby and giving it to infertile women. There are also places where the custom of buying a clay doll in the temple of the mother-in-law is popular to bring to the infertile women.
The Miao, Buyi, shui, and Ethnic minorities living in present-day Guizhou, as well as the Maonan, Dong, Mulam and other ethnic minorities in Guangxi, have all inherited the ritual of seeking children with their own national characteristics. For example, the Buyi tribe let the male owner carry the rooster into the house, which is said to attract heirs; the Dong tribe worships Jiang Liang, Jiang Mei brother and sister gods, the water tribe worships the rock god, and the Maonan tribe worships the flower god. The Mulam worship their ancestor gods, especially the god Ofe.
2. Etiquette during conception and childbirth
During the Qing Dynasty, if the queen and concubines in the palace were determined to be pregnant, it was called "yuxi". They can enjoy better treatment than usual. Before giving birth, her female relatives were also allowed to be cared for in the palace. When Empress Dowager Cixi was a young concubine, she was pregnant. Three months before giving birth, her mother was allowed to enter the palace, live with Cixi, and take care of her. The palace people also routinely dug a "joy pit" next to the residence of the pregnant concubine. After digging, the palace people should put chopsticks (the sound of "fast birth") and red silk, gold and silver eight treasures and other things in the pit, and recite happy songs to pray for a smooth birth.
After the Qing Dynasty, when the concubines were about to give birth, the palace people should hang a sword outside the delivery room according to the custom, which is said to be able to get rid of evil spirits; they also place stones that are easy to produce, which is said to help smooth childbirth and the safety of mother and child. The delivery of a child is recommended by each yamen and passed the imperial medical examination before the full-time midwife "Stable Mother" (commonly known as the "Midwife") who can enter the palace on duty is responsible. After the baby is delivered, the mother and child are examined by the imperial doctor "please pulse". After everything is safe, the imperial doctor takes warm water, dissolves the "Fu shou dan" and fills the baby with it.
In the folk, in many places, it is popular for pregnant women to perform a "birth ceremony" before giving birth. This ritual, which has been in existence since the Song Dynasty, was still prevalent until the end of the Qing Dynasty. In the area of present-day Hangzhou, when the maternity period of the pregnant woman is approaching, the mother's family will send someone to send the eggs, guiyuan and swaddling to the man's home on the first day of the birth month. In addition to carrying the above items with you, the giver must also carry a body. After arriving at the man's house, while blowing the pipe, he entered the door, symbolizing the meaning of catalysis. There are also places where 10 pairs of red lacquered chopsticks/magenta-dyed bamboo chopsticks are sent to the man's home, taking the meaning of "fast child".
3. Parenting etiquette after the birth of a baby
After the birth of a baby, the custom of holding prayers for newborns and exorcising evil spirits for pregnant women is popular in many places. In the area of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, the man's family should send someone to bring happy eggs, wine and vegetables to the child's grandmother's house to announce the good news. If a boy is born, the eggs sent are singular; if it is a girl, the double eggs are sent. Grandma's family wants to send double eggs and children's dresses. After the male family receives the eggs, they still give them to relatives and friends according to the number of men's singles and women's doubles. Relatives and friends want to return ham, walnuts, cinnamon balls, brown sugar, etc., called "soup pot".
In the Qing Dynasty, whether it was the court or the people, they all inherited the ritual of "washing three" on the third day after the birth of newborns founded by the Tang and Song dynasties: "Three days of washing, called washing three." "In the palace, after the birth of the prince/daughter, the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs must immediately play tribute to the emperor and other members of the royal family, and hand over the "order post" of the prince/girl to the Qin Tianjian. Qin Tianjian chose an auspicious time and performed a bathing ceremony 3 days later. Before bathing, the palace people must first pour the water boiled with locust leaves and wormwood into the bathtub, and then throw the gifts of gold and silver money, peanuts, eggs, dates, chestnuts, etc. given by the emperor and the princes and nobles into the water, which is called "adding basins". The baby is then washed by the newborn's grandmother, or by an elderly woman. When washing, Grandma would stir the water with her hands while reciting the words of blessing, called "stirring the basin." In the Manchus around Beijing in the Qing Dynasty, after the "washing of the three", some grandmothers should gently hit the baby with green onion white three times, and chant "one dozen smart, two dozen clever, three dozen evil demons" and other blessings while beating.
In some folk places, when "washing three", it is necessary to put eggs, gold and silver ornaments, etc. in the bathtub. After giving the baby a gentle bath, it is said that a few times the egg is gently rubbed on the baby's forehead, which is said to avoid future sores; and a few more wipes with gold and silver jewelry are said to protect the baby from being frightened by demons. After washing, the baby is weighed by a scale, commonly known as the "upper scale". When weighing, one of the baby's father's shoes, a broken jar piece, and a piece of flesh and bone should be placed on the scale together, and the baby should be called together. It means that babies have rigid (cylinder) bones when they grow up, and they can inherit their father's aspirations. In some places, the baby's hands are tied with a red belt, symbolizing that the child will be calm and quiet in the future, and will not act recklessly. In other places, taijun paper is burned to thank the grace of the taijun lady for sending her son.
After the baby is born, in order to bless its healthy growth and avoid the entanglement of the disease, the family should ask the neighbors for pieces of cloth. After taking it home, it is cut and sewn to make clothes, called "hundred family clothes", and wear them for babies.
In many places, it is popular to wear a "hundred locks" for newborns, which is said to lock the soul of the baby so that it will not be trampled away by ghosts. Bless the newborn with auspicious and healthy growth. In today's Jiangxi area, after the baby is born, the family should wrap 7 grains of white rice and 7 leaves of black tea in red paper and distribute it to relatives and friends. Relatives and friends can return ten or hundred copper coins. The newborn's family should use these copper coins to buy a silver lock with auspicious words such as "Hundred Treasure Locks" engraved on the front and "Long Life and Wealth" on the reverse side, which is hung on the baby's neck, which is said to prevent diseases and avoid disasters.
Modern scientific research shows that the best way to eat after a baby is to breastfeed the mother. This was also true in the general family of the Qing Dynasty. However, in the court, after the queen and concubines gave birth, they could not breastfeed their children personally, but were selected by the Ministry of The Interior as nursing mothers (also known as waitresses and nursing mothers), nannies and eunuchs, and palace women who were selected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The nursing mother's biological children are fed by the palace and raised by another woman. The qing dynasty princes/daughters and their birth mothers were more indifferent because they "did not see their birth mothers since they fell." There is a time to meet every year, and we can't say much about seeing each other. ...... From swaddling to marriage, mother and son meet each other, but more than a hundred ears are lost."
The parenting custom of "sending names" to newborns that appeared during the Ming Dynasty was almost popular throughout the country by the time of the Qing Dynasty. The so-called "sending name" means that the parents and family of the newborn are worried that the child will die and become ill, so they "send their names to the gods and ghosts, such as Guanyin Dashi, Wenchang Emperor Jun, and chenghuang land, and to impermanence, or to the monks and nuns, and are also called gan family". Give the child a "name" to the gods, Buddhas, monks, and become disciples (without shaving their homes) in order to live a long life and peace. During the "name-calling" ceremony, parents carry the baby to the temple to burn incense. First, a bag is made of red cloth, and the child's birth date (that is, the "birthday eight characters") is written on paper, packed in a bag, and then hung on the god cabinet, commonly known as "over-the-mail bag". Then, on behalf of the gods and Buddhas, monks or Taoist monks named the children, and gave them the children the buns, taoist robes, symbols, silver collars and longevity locks engraved with auspicious words such as "Golden Jade Man Tang" and "Long Life Hundred Years". From then on, Xiao'er would call this monk or Taoist priest "Ji Ye". Within three years after the name is sent, at the end of each year, the temple temple will prepare meals to give to the children's family, and the children's parents and families will also give some money to the monks. After the child grows up and gets married, he can take the "over-the-bag" back from the temple temple, which is called "pulling the bag". The "nominee" relationship between the two sides was brought to an end.
When the baby is one month old, the parents should arrange a sumptuous banquet and feast on relatives, friends and neighbors, which is called "full moon wine". Relatives and friends who came to congratulate were given baby hats and powder cake dumplings embellished with silver jewelry, birthday stars, animal heads, auspicious blessings such as gold and jade full hall, long life and wealth, etc.
On this day, there was a custom in the court to give babies a "lifting car (also called a "yo-car"). This custom probably originated from the Manchus during the hunting period, when parents went out hunting and hung their children from trees for safety. The rocking car is made of wood, mostly boat-shaped, painted with red paint on the outside, decorated with gold and silver drawings, and written with auspicious words such as "long life and 100 years old". The rocking car is generally made by the female family and given to the male family as a gift for the child's full moon.
On this day, most of the folk custom of "shaving the head" of newborns is popular. In some places, Han Chinese people are popular to leave a square fetus of about 1-2 inches in size at the front door of the baby's brain, which is called "fetal fashion", which has the meaning of parents looking forward to jackie chan. The baby's shaved fetal hair cannot be discarded at will, but is rolled into a ball, tied with red-green flower thread, and hung on the high side of the hall. It is said that by doing so, babies will have courage when they grow up. In many parts of the north, a handful of hair on the back of the baby's head is kept unshake, which is called "100-year-old hair". It is said that such children are easy to feed and are not prone to illness and premature death.
In the Qing Dynasty, some Han Chinese living in the northern region of present-day Jiangsu were popular in the custom of piercing ears and lips for full moon baby girls. This custom, as people think today, is not to dress up the baby girl beautifully, but to admonish the girl. The former is to warn girls not to eavesdrop on other people's conversations; the latter is to calm the multi-mouthed souls, so that when the baby girls grow up, they will not talk much and not eat.
Of course, not all ethnic groups have the custom of shaving the hair of full moon babies. For example, the custom of the Buyi people living in the territory of today's Ziyun Miao and Buyi Autonomous County in Guizhou is: After the birth of a baby boy, ask a shaman to tell his fortune. If the baby's "life is expensive", he needs to keep his fetal hair and wear women's clothes since he was a child, so that he can grow up without illness and disaster. It was not until he was 12 years old that the ritual of "shaving his head" was held. Before the ceremony, the family must consult the boy's opinion, is it agreed to shave the hair? Also ask the boy, what gifts do you need an adult to buy him? The boy agrees to shave his hair and buys back the gift he wants before he can choose an auspicious day to shave his hair. Relatives and friends came to celebrate the day to congratulate the child on escaping the "root of life" and will be safe in the future.
After shaving, the baby should be dressed in red and green clothes, held by a relative or friend besides the parents, and another person should hold an umbrella to shade the baby from the light and wind; they should go around the street a few times, called "hood circle" and "walking around the circle". When "going in circles", you must carry your baby across a small bridge. It is said that in this way, children can grow up healthily and grow up to be bold.
At the latest, the "year old plate" (also known as "grasping the week") ritual that appeared during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and has been prevalent ever since, is still prevalent in the Qing court and folk. The so-called "grasp week" is that when the baby is one year old, the parents and family put various items on the plate and let him/her grab it at will; with what he or she grabs, predict his future interests and achievements. When the Prince of the Qing Palace was one year old, "two things were arranged with jade, two jade fan pendants, one gold spoon, one silver box, one stick of rhino clocks, one pair of rhino sticks, one arc, one ya yi pull, one copy of the study room, one plate, and one fruit feast." ...... However, the princess and the granddaughter of the emperor do not have arc arrows. Slightly different from the court, the folk "grasping the week" mostly used gold and silver, the four treasures of the study room, books, scales, knives and scissors, needles and threads for female workers, toys, etc.
Wen Shijun said
While inheriting the fertility customs established in the past, the Qing Dynasty also changed and innovated according to reality. Due to the vast territory of the Qing Dynasty and the large number of nationalities, different regions and nationalities not only have common birth customs, such as washing three, grasping the week, etc., but also have their own birth rituals and customs with unique national and regional characteristics. Although there are many unscientific superstitions and dregs of these fertility customs, there are also many practices that conform to modern science and health theory. Although many fertility rituals have superstitious elements, it is undeniable that most of them contain the wishes and blessings of parents and families for the health, peace and success of their children, which are worthy of recognition and inheritance.
bibliography
1. Xu Ke: "Qing Barnyard Banknotes", Zhonghua Bookstore, 1984.
2. Lin Yongkuang et al., General History of Chinese Customs (Qing Dynasty Volume), Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 2001.
3. Zhong Jingwen, editor-in-chief: History of Chinese Folklore (Ming and Qing Dynasties), People's Publishing House, 2008.
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