Preface
In ancient society, the seemingly simple job of beating guards had a far-reaching social impact. Why did this profession, which only strikes gongs in the middle of the night, attract so much attention and gratitude? Let's explore the deep meaning behind the work of the ancient watchmen.
First of all, the working hours of the watchman are usually from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day. During this time, it is common for people to go to bed with their lights out, and the city enters a quiet night. So disturbing the people, why not only do people not complain, but also are grateful to the beating people, what other functions did the ancient beating have?
In the primitive period, the predecessor of the Beater, the sorcerer's exorcism vigil
Da Gen has existed in China for a long time, far back in the primitive society, people have set up such a role, but at that time, Ta Gen was at best a sorcerer in the tribe, he needed to exorcise demons at night to avoid disasters and protect the reckless village.
Aunt Li is a witch in the village who is over half a hundred years old, and she wears a long colorful dress with an ivory amulet around her waist. When night falls, she comes to the entrance of the village, burns the herbs for exorcism, and dances strangely...... The children in the village were afraid of her dress, and they only dared to look at her from a distance and then fled.
In fact, Aunt Li knew in her heart that she was just guarding the peace of these children and other people in the village. She knew that evil ghosts and monsters lurked in the night, and she could not sleep, so she could only keep watch and wield voodoo in the night vigilantly to let the villagers sleep peacefully.
Once, Aunt Li was at the entrance of the village as usual to exorcise evil spirits and pray for blessings. Suddenly, she was keenly aware of a gloomy red light flashing in the woods not far away—it was a sign of the demon's appearance! Just as she was about to attack with her magic weapon, the red light flickered on and off, and finally disappeared into the night.
The next morning, the villagers found a dead beast at the edge of the woods, with terrible scratches on its body, as if it had fought with something. Only then did the villagers know that Aunt Li used witchcraft to repel a demon last night, so that everyone could avoid suffering. Since then, the people in the village have more respect for Aunt Li as the guardian, and they can sleep peacefully at night.
During the feudal dynasty, the work of beating people became more and more systematic
With the changes of the times, after entering the feudal dynasty, the profession of beating more is truly systematic and professional. People's lives have gradually become regular, and their perception of time has become more and more accurate, which requires someone to report the time and warn the people on time - so the work of fighting people is not as simple as witchcraft to exorcise evil spirits.
Old man Zhang has been working in the city for 50 or 60 years, and he insists on striking every day from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next morning, according to the five-watch system to alert the people to all kinds of dangers. After so many years, the old man Zhang is also old, but he has never stopped missing a day of work...... Because he knew that the sound of his gong was related to the safety of the lives and property of tens of thousands of residents in the city.
On the fifth watch, the different time content of the husband
In feudal society, the night was divided into five watches, and the husband needed to strike the gong at each hour to tell the time. The content of the time corresponding to these five watches is different, but they are all closely related to the safety of people's lives and property.
On the first shift, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the husband banged the gong and shouted, "The weather is dry, be careful of the candles." This is to remind people to pay attention to the use of torch stoves and prevent fires. Every household has to make a fire to cook at night, and the slightest mistake can cause a fire. Old man Zhang patrolled the entire street while beating the gong to see if there was any smoke.
In the second shift, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., the content of the shift time was changed to "close the doors and windows, fire and burglar prevention". In ancient times, there was little entertainment at night, and people went to bed early. At this time, it was the time of the thieves, and when the husband found a suspicious person, he urgently sounded the gong to warn the residents.
Once, Old Man Zhang spotted two suspicious people dressed in black walking around in an alley. They walked lightly, constantly looking left and right, as if they were snooping on something. Old man Zhang immediately rang the gong to call the police, and shouted loudly as he knocked it: "Anti-theft! Beware of thieves!" When the two suspicious figures heard the noise, they immediately ran away and disappeared. Only then did Old Man Zhang relax and continue his patrol work.
In the third watch, when the child is in the morning, the husband will shout "The fourth watch is cold and freezing when it is ugly" to report safety. By this time, most people have fallen asleep, and there are few surprises. It's just that on cold winter nights, the husband himself often has to choke on the cold.
Hard work, big responsibility
The work is extremely difficult, and there are many difficulties and dangers faced by the husband. However, as the last line of defense to signal the time and remind the public, the husband shoulders an extremely important responsibility. What happens if this alert profession disappears?
Old man Zhang recalled the fire more than ten years ago, and it was because the watchman fell asleep and missed the time that the fire spread out of control. Fortunately, there were no casualties that time, otherwise he would have been guilty for the rest of his life. So no matter how sleepy he was, he still insisted on patrolling every night, for fear of missing any fire.
In the middle of the night in the cold winter, the wind and snow were combined, and the old man Zhang was wrapped in a thick cotton jacket, his face was pale from the cold, and half of his body was frozen. He knew that as long as he survived this third shift, he would soon be able to finish tonight's work. But he still didn't dare to relax for a moment, in the face of life safety, this little suffering was nothing.
Occasionally, residents passing by will also hand over hot drinks to comfort the elderly for their hard work. It was a pity that things were already cold and had much of a warm effect, but the old man was still grateful—he understood how much responsibility he had.
Civil unrest, social unrest
If one day, the sound of beating in the city ceases to sound, what will happen to the unimaginable consequences? Some people joke that as long as Old Man Zhang is too old to fight anymore, the city will wait for the end -- this is not alarmist. No one is on duty anymore, and once the fire is not discovered in time, the consequences are unimaginable; Thieves who steal without supervision will inevitably commit crimes on a large scale.
What's even more terrifying is that in the early hours of the morning, people can't get the dawn signal and have no one to rely on, and the court is likely to run in chaos.
It may even lead to the gathering of nomads in the rivers and lakes, endangering the government and the opposition. Therefore, the importance of this seemingly ordinary work determines social order and stability.
I heard that the watchman in the neighboring county recently took long-term sick leave, and the newcomer who took over lacked work experience and repeatedly missed the report. In just a few days, there were a number of thefts and robberies, and the residents were extremely angry. The county commander had to send heavy troops to strengthen patrols, and the situation was barely stabilized. This incident became the talk of Old Man Zhang after dinner and strengthened his determination to work.
The contrast between ancient and modern, the time has changed
So after the vicissitudes of life, how can an ancient job disappear now? Times have changed, science and technology have advanced, and many things no longer need to be performed manually.
Today's cities are full of alarm systems and monitoring equipment, and there are automatic monitoring alarms for thefts and fires. People's watches and mobile phones also have their own time telling function, and there is no need for others to remind the time. So it's hard to see this work.
However, when we look up at the quiet moonlight, we may remember that in the long history of the city's existence, there was a group of obscure night watchmen, day after day, year after year, just to protect everyone's safety. Although their profession is a thing of the past, that responsibility is still worthy of admiration and remembrance.
I remember when I was a child, Old Man Zhang would often tell the children stories of the ancient watch, and those thrilling details are still fresh in my memory. For example, there was a watchman who caught a fugitive alone in the middle of the night, only to be seriously injured by the man's sneak attack from behind; There is also a righteous and courageous watchman who rescued a family from fire in time, but he paid the price of his life...... These stories have become the embodiment of heroes in the hearts of children, inspiring them to do good countless times.
Epilogue:
It may be difficult for the ancient tradition to fully keep up with the progress of the times, but the ripples it creates can warm the long river of history. The sound of the gong beating the watchman may be difficult to echo in the night. We can't hear that voice, but its power and meaning are still worth remembering. Just like the wrinkled hands of the old man Zhang, he can no longer hold a heavy hammer, but he has become a model for too many people to help each other in their hearts.
Every tradition, every Xi, its existence has its meaning. The times are advancing, but looking back at the past, we can still learn from the wisdom left by our predecessors. This is the power of civilization inheritance, and it is also the oar for us to move forward.