The northeast region was not under the rule of the Central Plains Dynasty for a long time before the Qing Dynasty, and most of the local people lived in the Nomadic peoples such as Orunchun, Evenk, Daur, Hezhe and Manchu, and their lifestyles were quite different from those of the Han people.
It was not until after the Qing Dynasty that exchanges between the Northeast region and the Kannai region gradually increased, and the living customs of the locals began to be influenced by the Central Plains Dynasty, and the Spring Festival became the most important festival for the local people.
In the late Qing Dynasty, as a large number of people in the Guanxi came to the northeast by crossing the Guandong, the local culture of the northeast was further integrated and developed, and many Spring Festival customs with local characteristics were produced.
As the "land of dragons" in the Qing Dynasty, Northeast China has always been highly valued by rulers in the Qing Dynasty, and for a long time the people of the Central Plains were strictly restricted from living in the Northeast region.
Therefore, until the Daoguang period, the combined population of the three northeastern provinces was only more than two million people, which was in sharp contrast to the dense population in Guanxi.
▲ People of Northeast China in the Qing Dynasty
In the late Qing Dynasty, there were many natural disasters in the northern part of the mainland, and the people in many places could not guarantee their survival needs, coupled with the frequent wars launched by Western invaders at that time, which made the people everywhere miserable.
In order to survive, they began to move to the northeast, and later this wave of immigration was tacitly approved by the Qing government, and the population of the northeast began to rise significantly.
By the first year of Xuantong, the number of permanent residents in the three northeastern provinces had reached more than 16 million, which was more than seven times that of the Daoguang period.
Although the natural growth rate of the northeast during this period also contributed to the population increase, it was the immigrants from Shandong, Shanxi, Henan and Hebei who really changed the population structure of the northeast.
▲ The people who broke into the Kanto
The arrival of these immigrants in the northeast has greatly increased the speed of reclamation of wasteland in the northeast, and the unique natural environment of the northeast and the superb farming technology of these immigrants have made amazing achievements in the economic development of the northeast.
Most of these refugees, who once had no hunger, lived a prosperous life.
Their arrival has also brought about great changes in the folk culture of the Northeast region, and the exchanges between the Han people and ethnic minority compatriots have increased, and the two sides have continuously absorbed the strengths of each other's cultures and given birth to a unique Northeast culture.
▲Northeast Black Earth
As a festival that people of all ethnic groups in China attach great importance to, the Spring Festival has naturally become the key to the evolution of customs and cultural exchanges, and after nearly a hundred years of evolution, the people of Northeast China also have their own exclusive festival customs.
The vast majority of immigrants who entered the northeast at the end of the Qing Dynasty were people from the Central Plains, so the Spring Festival customs in the northeast were generally quite close to those in Shandong and other places, but in the black land of the northeast, some Spring Festival customs have also undergone some changes.
First of all, in the matter of wearing new clothes during the Spring Festival, the northeast region has distinct regional characteristics.
Although the Han people in the Central Plains will wear new clothes during the Spring Festival, except for those in the year of their own life, everyone has no requirements for the color of new clothes.
▲Tohoku village during the Spring Festival
However, in the northeast, people usually change into new clothes made of red cloth when the Spring Festival arrives to increase the festive atmosphere.
Women in the northeast have to change into red clothes from top to bottom, which is very different from the customs in the Central Plains.
In addition, people will also buy a new dress with a special pattern for the elderly, which is mostly related to Fulu Shou.
▲Snow-covered village
People hope that the old people can be safe in the new year, and they also hope that they can bless the younger ones to develop in the new year.
After buying new clothes, the food of the festival is also indispensable, and the Northeast is very rich in products, so the food on people's tables during the Spring Festival is also varied, especially meat.
During the Republican period, the people of Northeast China would prepare dishes such as braised pork, rice noodle meat, stewed mutton, ingots meat, red braised elbow strips, fish jelly, chicken jelly, pork jelly, as well as fresh fruits, dried fruits and other snacks during the Spring Festival.
This also makes the Spring Festival a favorite holiday for children.
▲Northeast meat jelly
Since most of the immigrants who crossed the Kanto were former refugees, the people of Tohoku at that time generally lived frugally.
Although the product conditions in the northeast region are superior to those in the Central Plains, when preparing Chinese New Year's Eve rice, people also pursue the order until the point, and there is basically no excessive waste.
In addition to the hearty dishes, dumplings are also the highlight of the Spring Festival.
The dumplings eaten during the Spring Festival in the northeast are not significantly different from other parts of the north, the only feature is that people will wrap a dumpling with coins or other things as a marker, and the person who eats this dumpling will have good luck in the new year.
▲Coin dumplings
For Chinese, sacrifice is the top priority of every festival, and Spring Festival is no exception.
The rituals and procedures in the Northeast are much the same as in the Central Plains.
On the 23rd day of the lunar month, people worship Vesta in their homes, and at night Chinese New Year's Eve, people greet the gods in the courtyard in the hope that they can bless their families in the new year.
▲People who sacrifice during the Spring Festival
On the first day of the first lunar month, people will put out large cakes, honey offerings, fresh noodles, fruits, vegetarian dishes, rice cakes, New Year rice and other offerings in their homes, solemnly worshiping the gods.
During the festival, in addition to lighting incense, the people of the northeast will also set off firecrackers to sacrifice, which is also to add a festive celebration.
After the festival, it is time to pay New Year's greetings, where people will walk the streets with various gifts to send New Year's wishes to relatives and friends.
After celebrating the New Year, people gather for entertainment, with mahjong and card games being the most popular.
After the fifth day of the first lunar month, some cultural events will appear on the city streets of the Tohoku region.
The performances are attended by both special artists and some residents who love literature and art, which makes the festival entertainment activities in the northeast more party-friendly, and its content is closer to the preferences of the people.
▲The crowd of twisting songs
It can be seen that in the late Qing to the Republic of China, with a large number of immigrants entering the northeast, the Spring Festival customs in the northeast region were very similar to those in the Central Plains.
However, the local ethnic minority compatriots still retain some of the unique festival customs of the ethnic group, which also makes the Spring Festival in the northeast more lively.
At that time, the largest ethnic minority in the northeast was the Manchus, who also performed grand sacrifices during the Spring Festival, which were generally divided into two parts, namely ancestor worship and heavenly sacrifice.
The Manchus were more particular about offerings when worshipping their ancestors, and the offerings they prepared generally consisted of pig's heads, vegetables and pastries, of nine types, each of which was then divided into nine plates.
The first plate is dedicated to the ancestors, and the next eight plates are placed on the offering table in order from north to south.
▲Manchu sacrifice ceremony
Since the Manchus believed that the crows had saved their ancestors' lives, the Manchus also had a bowl of sorghum and a bowl of millet prepared for the crows on the offering table (in the center of Shenyang today, there are still flocks of crows living in harmony with people).
After these offerings are ready, parents lead the family to kneel before the ancestral tablet and begin the ritual.
During the festival, the Manchus would erect a wooden "Solo pole" on the east side of the house, and nine knots were tied with ropes, after which people would bow down to the pole and perform the heavenly sacrifice.
▲Solo pole
In addition to the festival, the Manchus also have a tradition of displaying the ethnic flag after the Spring Festival.
People will put different colors of flags on their doorstep according to the different flags they belong to, and the colorful ones are beautiful.
After the Spring Festival, the Manchu people also have their own unique forms of entertainment, among which twisting and swinging are the two most popular, and now Yangge has become the representative folk culture of Northeast China.
▲Swing in the Tohoku region
In addition to the Manchus, other ethnic minorities in the northeast also have unique ways of celebrating the New Year.
The Evenki people hold tug-of-war and riding competitions in the New Year;
The Orunchun group brings together young men and women for horseback riding and archery competitions, and those who win first place in the competition herald happiness, fulfillment and joy in the new year.
In addition to the competition, the Orunchun people also have two characteristic New Year's blessing ceremonies.
▲Orunchun people
One is to walk around the horse pen with a birch bark box, and then chant "Mahemahe" in his mouth to pray that the horses will grow fat in the new year.
In addition, on the morning of the 16th day of the first lunar month, the Orunchun tribe will "smear each other's faces" to pray for each other, but when young people wipe the faces of the elderly, they must first kowtow.
▲Orunchun people
In addition to the Orunchun people, the Daur people also have the custom of smearing their relatives and praying for blessings, which fully explains the exchange and integration of ethnic cultures in the northeast region.
From this, we can see that after the wave of immigration to the Kanto at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the cultural development of the northeast region entered a new stage.
The rising population has made the local festival atmosphere increasingly strong, and the continuous exchange between various ethnic cultures has also given birth to a unique folk culture in Tohoku.
Compared with the festival culture in the Central Plains, the Spring Festival in the northeast has fewer customs and rules, and the clan color is weaker, which makes the Spring Festival in the northeast have a purer joyful atmosphere.
▲The crowd who returned home during the Spring Festival in Northeast China today
Therefore, after the founding of New China, the northeast region also became the vanguard of the reform of festival customs, and many "new winds of the Spring Festival" were blown from the northeast region to the whole country.
Nowadays, with the further development of culture, regional characteristic culture has received more and more attention, and many former festival customs have reappeared in front of people's eyes, and these cultures with regional characteristics are also valuable assets that we need to cherish.
Resources:
Part of this article is referenced from "Chinese New Year", Popular Science Press, published in 1983. "Social Research on Population in Northeast China in the Qing Dynasty", Social Science Academic Press, published in 2011
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