Introduction: The rural feng shui culture is strong, and the older generation believes that the courtyard trees are related to family fortune
Since ancient times, a strong feng shui culture has been formed in rural areas of China, and every household believes in the saying that "prosperous houses become prosperous homes". Especially in remote mountain villages, this belief is even more deeply rooted.
The older generation of farmers would always consult the feng shui masters in the village when choosing a site for building a house, or refer to the experience in ancient allusions, in order to find a treasure of feng shui in exchange for the good fortune of the family's long-term prosperity.
In their view, the layout of the environment directly determines the trajectory of a family's fate. The trees planted in the courtyard are especially important, just like a wise elder sitting in the house to protect the prosperity of children and grandchildren.
Therefore, the elders are not random when choosing the greening of the courtyard, but refer to the feng shui wisdom accumulated in history and look forward to good family luck.
Because of this, the villagers have passed down a proverb from generation to generation: "If there are three trees in the courtyard, it is difficult for a poor person to get rich". This means that families who plant willow, mulberry or locust trees are likely to incur poverty or misfortune.
The taboo of willow trees: rapid growth, breeding and flying, harmful to people's health
As a common fast-growing tree species, willow grows quickly and is highly adaptable. An adult willow tree grows several meters of new branches every year, and the lush catkins of the tree flutter in the breeze.
This has undoubtedly brought great trouble to the daily life of the villagers. Scattered catkins in large areas not only accumulate on the ground and roof, but also drift into every corner of the room, especially between the layers of window lattices and lintels.
It is difficult to clean it thoroughly, and it often takes several times the physical strength of the village women.
To make matters worse, the tiny branches of catkins carry calcium hydrochloride crystals, a natural irritant that can cause a severe inflammatory response when it enters the respiratory tract. The proportion of children and the elderly suffering from allergic diseases in villages is significantly higher than that in cities.
According to the case statistics of secondary hospitals, the number of patients suffering from asthma and rhinitis increases by more than 15% on average in the spring and autumn of each year. It can be seen that it is harmful to human health.
In addition, the branches of the willow tree are soft and fragile, and when a gust of wind blows, the trees "rustle". This sound is especially disturbing in the middle of the night, and the elderly and children who live alone are even more frightened and have nightmares.
There are many stories in the village that are frightened by listening to the sound of willows at night and causing madness, which also reflects the negative impact of willow trees.
The taboo of mulberry trees: the fruit attracts flies, and the meaning of the word is close to "mourning".
The mulberry tree grows rapidly, blooms and bears fruit every spring, and by the end of summer, the bunches of mulberry fruit are sprinkled with bright colors. It also usually means that a group of uninvited guests – swarms of fruit flies – is about to be welcomed to the villagers' doorstep.
Attracted by the sweet and juicy mulberries, tens of thousands of fruit flies swarm to occupy the canopy. They flutter their tiny wings and make an annoying "buzzing" chirp that is unbearable.
Especially in the middle of the day and evening, these horseflies are even more arrogant. They fly into the house in groups of three or five, land on food scraps to eat, lay eggs, and pollute the table floor for a second time.
Sometimes it accidentally flies into people's eyes, mouths and noses, causing stinging pain. Village women have to use pesticides frequently to barely drive away these annoying "visitors".
In addition to the impact on life, the name of the mulberry tree has also made the older generation of villagers taboo. In dialect accents, "mulberry" is homophonic with "mourning". They fear that this is a sign of bad luck, especially when something tribulation happens.
There are also some superstitious elders who believe that the more mulberry trees bear fruit, the more disasters may happen in the village during the year.
Therefore, in order to avoid these bad signs, villagers rarely take the initiative to plant mulberry trees in their yards. When there are mulberry trees that grow spontaneously, they are also removed when they are still young, so as not to cause trouble in the future.
槐树之忌:字形藏“鬼”，遮光伤气
The locust tree is a kind of tree, which often reaches more than ten meters high when it is an adult, and its dense branches and leaves cover the sky and the sun. Many of the village's self-built simple tiled houses are covered in the shade of the locust trees once they are planted.
No more sunlight was seen in the room, even at noon. This makes people's feelings depressed.
According to psychological research, people are more likely to have negative emotions such as depression and anxiety when they are in a low-light environment for a long time. Villagers living in the shade of locust trees do show poor psychological state, and it is more common for them to look haggard and depressed.
This long-term "shading" effect has made many villagers skeptical about planting locust trees.
In addition, there is also a faint word for "ghost" in the glyph of the Huai character, which also deepens the villagers' taboo against it. Although there is no scientific basis for this, the older generation still believes that it is a sign of bad luck or disaster.
They believed that planting locust trees in front of their homes was likely to attract the spirits of the dead or demons. Especially in the dead of night, the swaying branches of the trees are also reminiscent of wandering ghosts, which is terrifying.
For these reasons, villagers rarely take the initiative to plant locust trees in their yards. Even if the locust tree seedlings are occasionally scattered due to the wind, they will be uprooted in time once they are found to avoid bringing bad luck to the family.
Conclusion: Test superstition and highlight the wisdom of life
Through the above specific analysis of the three trees of "willow mulberry acacia", we can clearly see that these trees will indeed have a certain impact and interference with the daily life of the villagers.
The most fundamental reason lies in their respective growth characteristics, which objectively bring negative effects on cleaning, light, health, etc.
Of course, it is too superficial to understand the taboo of the three trees from this perspective alone. The intrinsic meaning of this traditional feng shui culture actually reflects the rich life observation and wisdom of the older generation of farmers.
Through their long-term work and life, they gradually realized the influence mechanism of different trees on the family environment through experience and summary. This unique way of accumulating time and understanding provides an important reference for us to protect the ecological environment.
Therefore, while inheriting and carrying forward the traditional culture, we also need to test it with a scientific attitude, highlight the life wisdom of the older generation, and remove superstitious elements. In this way, in the context of the new era, we can re-examine and understand these ways of harmonious coexistence between nature and man.