Author: Wang Yanhua (Associate Professor, College of Literature, Northwest Normal University)
The winter solstice is one of the twenty-four solar terms in China, also known as solstice, long solstice, short solstice, southern solstice, winter festival, winter worship, sub-year and so on. On this day, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, with the northern hemisphere having the shortest days and the longest nights. Through the observation of the sun and the Big Dipper, the ancients formed an early concept of time, constructed the earliest time system, and in the last year of the Shang Dynasty, the four nodes of the spring equinox, autumn equinox, summer solstice and winter solstice were basically determined. In the Zhou Dynasty, the longest day of the year was chosen as the starting point of the new year, and the Taiping Imperial Chronicle chronicle recorded: "November Jianzi, Zhou Zhizheng Moon, Winter Solstice Day Antarctica, the shadow is extremely long." Yin and yang, the sun and the moon, the beginning of all things, the law should be the yellow bell, its pipe is the longest, so there is a celebration of the long. The Zhou Dynasty took winter November as the first month, and the winter solstice was the beginning of the new year, and now there is still a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as the year".
The winter solstice is extremely important in the concept of the ancients, on this day the cathode is solstice, the yang is born, all things are renewed, and there are more solemn sacrifices and celebrations in the official and folk. "On the winter solstice in November, the Beijing master attaches the greatest importance to this festival, although the poorest, in a year, accumulate false loans, so that on this day it is easier to get new clothes, prepare food, and enjoy the ancestors. Officials let go of the pass and celebrate the exchanges, just like the New Year's Day. (Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Dream Hualu Winter Solstice") It can be seen that the Song people attach great importance to the winter solstice and regard it as the New Year. As a representative style of Song Dynasty literature, there are many works describing the winter solstice in the Song Ci, Fan Chengda's "Manjiang Hong, Winter Solstice" words and sentences: "But the festival preface adds a poetry axis", the festival will always trigger the sentiments of the literati, and appeal to various moods into words and sentences, which not only present the unique natural seasonal style of the winter solstice, but also depict a wealth of festival customs and activities; It not only reflects the ancient people's concept of yin and yang dissipating and changing, but also reflects the important folk cultural significance.
A sun is born
Wu Cheng of the Yuan Dynasty's "Interpretation of the Seventy-two Waiting Collections of the Moon Order" reads: "Winter solstice, mid-November. The ultimate hidden qi has reached this point and is extremely high. "On the day of the winter solstice, the yin qi in the northern hemisphere reaches its extreme, and the yang qi begins to germinate. The Northern Song Dynasty Ziyang Zhenren Zhang Boduan's "Xijiang Yue" reveals the characteristics of this solar term change: "The winter solstice is one yang to serve, and the three decades increase one yang." ”
On the winter solstice day of the third year of Chongning (1104) of the Northern Song Dynasty, Li Zhiyi passed through the Anhui Quarry Rock and composed "Bingshan Creek Quarry Value Snow": "On the Moth Eyebrow Pavilion, today's winter solstice." It has been reported that a yangsheng has been reported, and the snow is better and the time is rui. Evenly flying dense dance, all are scattered ceilings, the mountains are not seen, the water is like a mountain, muddy in the curling. "It depicts the beauty of the winter solstice sun, the snow, and the mountains and rivers in curling. Chen Dewu's "Xijiang Moon And Winter Solstice": "The sequence of time goes like a flowing arrow, and life is like a flying canopy." Winter is also on the Shiwan River. And the joy of the sun is moving. The writer sighed that time was like an arrow, and life was like a flying canopy, however, the river coincided with the winter solstice, and he was also happy that the yang was born, and the winter solstice as a new beginning brought hope to the frustrated lyricist.
Corresponding to the yang qi germination, the Song Dynasty winter solstice words will also write about the corresponding natural wind objects, especially the plum blossoms opened in Lingdong, such as Mao Huan's "Youth Tour • Long solstice day seat on the table" wrote: "The early plum under the court has already contained the meaning of fang, and the spring is close to thin branches in the south." "The winter solstice is coming, the yang is germinating, the weather is warmer, and the plum blossoms are blooming vigorously, such as Zhonghe", "Nian Nu Jiao, Winter Solstice Night Work": "The lingmei is warm, and several branches are competing for the cold jade." Wang Zongchen's "Water Tune Song Head Winter Solstice": "One breath first passes the trick, all things spin the head horn, who is together and who opens." The official road is early in the spring, and several plums have fallen. "Yang qi is flourishing, all things are born, and plum blossoms that should be opened at the festival not only decorate the festive atmosphere, but also construct a realm of elegance in the words, and also highlight the noble meaning of the Literati of the Song Dynasty."
Ash flies
The ancients paid special attention to the changes in the rhythm of the seasons, and the climate was dominated by leaf ash. The Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Chronicle of the Laws says: "The law of weather is the triple room, the closure of the household, the tu provocation must be weekly, and the dense cloth is timan." In the room, the wood is a case, each law is one, the inner and outer high, from its position, the law is above it, and the ash of the leaf is suppressed on its inner end, and the case is waiting for it, and the qi is gray. "It can be seen from this that in ancient times, in order to predict the solar terms, in the triple chamber, an orange-red curtain was hung, and the film inside the reed stem was burned to ash and placed in the twelve music jade pipes, and when a certain section arrived, the ash in the corresponding rhythm pipe would fly out. During the winter solstice, when the law is yellow, the yang qi stretches, and the ash movement in the sixth tube is moving, "Kindergarten Qionglin Vol. 1 And the Year" Cloud: "The winter solstice arrives and the ash flies."
When writing about the winter solstice in song poems, it is generally mentioned that the "law pipe", "leaf ash", "gray fly" and other solar terms change signs, such as Zhao Yanduan's "Dotted Lips , Winter Solstice": "A little Qingyang, early plum first acquaintance with the spring wind." Warm up the tube. The bucket turns from the East. Zhonghe "Nian Nu Jiao Winter Solstice Night": "Gray flying bamboo." The yin of the Qingqun disappeared, and the new yang came and went. Ge Lifang's "Butterfly Love Flower Winter Solstice Seat": "The yin of the Ti Room is clear and scattered." Gray and moving, gradually feel the slight yang fan. "Wang Zhidao"Huan Xi Sha and Zhang Wenbo Long To": "Gray Fei Ti room to check back to Yang." Sit back and watch the red sun on the corridor. Wang Zongchen's "Water Tune Song Head: Winter Solstice": "Waiting for the yellow bell to move, blowing out the white leaf ash." Five clouds weighed heavily on the head, and the thunder was submerged in the ground. Mo Daoxi's voice is wonderfully silent, the bamboo male sings and the phoenix, and the nine-inch law is first cut. Li Congzhou's "Wind into the Pine Winter Solstice": "Fragrant leaves warm through the yellow bell tube, zhengyutai, color pen book cloud." The Anonymous Queqiao Immortal (Zhu Men Lieji): "Winter Yin Zhonglu." Six flying suns. A little starlight on the South Pole. These words and works all explain the winter solstice season, the change of ash in the law, heralding the arrival of a new atmosphere, and the poet also places the expectation of the glory of all things in it. The winter solstice is the beginning of a yang, and the change of the law on this day corresponds to the yellow bell law, which is one of the yang laws of the twelve music laws, and the yellow bell law is the starting and standard tone of the ancient music law. It can be seen that the winter solstice as the beginning has an extraordinary significance in the concept of the ancients.
Day long to add line
On the winter solstice day, the sun directly hits the Tropic of Cancer, the shadow cast by the sunlight on the object is the longest in the year, the ancients will measure the length of the shadow on this day, the "Jingchu Chronicle" contains: "The Winter Solstice Day Measures the Shadow of the Sun", and the "Chronicle of the Years" Volume 38 quotes the "Chronicle of the Years": "Between the Jin and Wei Dynasties, the palace measures the sun shadow with a red line, and the day after the winter solstice adds a long line." He also quoted the Tang Miscellaneous Records yun: "In the palace, the length of the day is used for female merit, and after the winter solstice, the sundial gradually lengthens, which is a line of merit increases than the usual day." It shows that the length of time in the palace is woven by female workers, and "adding thread" means that the day is getting longer after the winter solstice, and the embroidery of the palace women should add more work.
"Tian Line" became an important custom representation of the winter solstice in the Song Dynasty, such as Ouyang Xiu's "Fisherman's Pride": "November Xinyang Pai Birthday Feast." The yellow bell should be in charge of the Tim Palace Line. Ruan read "Minus Magnolia Winter Solstice": "The window is cold and shallow. Add a line to the road. Mao Huan's "Spreading Sound Huan Xi Sha": "The sun turns to the yin line of the yin." Make Jun and Qi as Chun Yan. Only the north mountain lightly brings snow, see the good year. Han Chun's "Huanxi Sha To Ri Belt Lake": "The line of love for the rejuvenation of the sun is long." Cheng Yuan's "A Cut of Plum Winter Solstice": "Bucket turned to a night of frost." In the sound of the jade law, he reported the new yang. Rise up and give the line to hide. Only the world is happy, and the line is longer. "Tian line, as a custom of the winter solstice, has been solidified into a specific cultural symbol after a long period of accumulation, and when the Song people compose lyrics, they often use it as knowledge and experience about the winter solstice, which reveals the real interest of life, and more contains the time memory and imagination of the Song people."
Shoes and socks and new clothes
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zhi's "Winter Solstice Socks Performance Table" Yun: "Fushimi Old Ceremony, National Winter Solstice, Offering Tribute Socks, So Welcome Blessings and Long." It shows that the winter solstice offering socks is to "welcome the blessing and practice the long", the winter solstice wears new shoes and socks, tramples on the shadow of the sun, accepts the yang qi, can welcome the blessing and remove the impurity, revealing the ancient people's concept of eliminating disasters and avoiding misfortune, and praying for health.
The Winter Solstice Festival of the Song Dynasty also had the custom of changing new clothes and offering shoes and socks, and Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Dream Record" records that even the poorest people had to change their new clothes on this day to meet the festival. There is also a corresponding expression in the Song Ci, Zhonghe "Nian Nu Jiao, Winter Solstice Night Work": "Some people are full of joy, and this dynasty is specially used to make up for me." "Write about the winter solstice specially change new clothes to open a new season. Ruan read the "Minus Magnolia Winter Solstice": "Xiaoyun Shurui." Cold Shadow first returned to the long day. Luo socks are newly formed. And who followed suit. "Mention the winter solstice to replace new socks, practice auspicious clouds, and ask for new blessings." The custom of wearing new clothes and shoes gradually migrated to the first day of the first lunar month in later generations, but it can be seen that the ancients' concept of time regarded the winter solstice as a new beginning and the beginning of the first year.
In addition, the custom of the winter solstice worship and greeting party is also expressed in the Song Dynasty, such as Mao Huan's "Youth Tour • Changzhi Day Seat", which gives the winter solstice feast to drink: "The green fragrance is tender and warm, and the winter is full of severe winter." Ge Lifang's "Butterfly Love Flower Winter Solstice Seat" writes that "the plum calyx is fragrant and the feast is small, and the xia pulp is not put in the glass shallow". Zhu Dunru's "Remembrance of Qin'e Zhijie to the County Council, Pardon to the County" shows the scene of the Song Dynasty officials gathering and feasting on the winter solstice: "Song Zhong Lie. A grand public court celebration. Festive season. Huang En announced that early Plum was fighting. The dance floor drums back the snow. The golden pot of wine is crispy and hot. Joan crispy hot. Don't drink it now, rejoice at some point. "Time passes mercilessly, the vicissitudes of the world change, in the face of the unknown and uncertainty, the arrival of the winter solstice brings the poet the hope of new life and the eternal wish of longevity, just like Zhu Dunru's "Dotted Lips" word cloud: "To the spring clouds of the day, all kinds of auspicious rui come to play." Peacetime. Happy home has. Jade fingers are cold, crisp plum blossoms thin. Golden glass of wine. With Jun for shou. May man last. ”
The winter solstice is revived, and everything in Vientiane is renewed. As the end of the yang qi or the head of the years in the concept of the ancients, the winter solstice has a more detailed and vivid presentation of its customs characteristics in the Song Dynasty. The winter solstice festival customs expand the theme and content of the Song ci, and the lyrics themselves have become one of the festive customs activities, adding elegance to the winter solstice festival. Over time, the customs gradually faded, but the ancients' concepts and memories of the winter solstice were carried in the Song Ci. In addition to eating dumplings on the winter solstice day, perhaps we can also relive the poetic winter solstice in the classic words.
Guangming Daily (2022-08-13, 11th edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily