China is one of the four ancient civilizations in the world, and it is also the only remaining ancient civilization in the world today, we have 5,000 years of cultural accumulation, especially Confucian culture has a long history, and Confucius has always advocated the system of etiquette and music, and the Chinese also attach great importance to many traditional rules, especially in red and white ceremonies.
Chinese pay attention to entering the soil for safety, this is the traditional consciousness engraved in the DNA of many Chinese, and many people also notice that the words engraved on the tombstone introduce the information of the tomb owner, in addition to many words are very particular, many young people do not understand what the tombstone "therefore, first, xian, examine, and 妣" mean, and therefore make a lot of jokes.
The application and meaning of "test" and "妣".
Chinese have attached great importance to "filial piety" since ancient times, and the so-called "parents are here, not far away." "After the death of their parents, no matter whether they are serving in the DPRK or doing anything, they have to go home to keep filial piety for their parents, sometimes for three years, which is enough to see the importance that Chinese attach to this.
In addition, from funerals to filial piety, there are extremely many rules, and there is also a lot of knowledge in the tombstone alone. For example, we often have words such as "so first" or "so first" in tombstones.
We often use the phrase "such as mourning" to describe a person who is extremely sad. "Xian Kao" is "dead father", and "Xian Yan" is "dead mother", so the most common "so Xian Kao" and "so Xian Yan" also prove the relationship between the tomb owner and the identity and the person who erected the tomb, and then add the name of the tomb owner, if the word "Kaoyu" appears on the tombstone at the same time, it is the two parents buried here.
The ancients were quite taboo about the word "death", and would always use some euphemistic words to replace it, or use hierarchical status to distinguish it, for example, it is recorded in the "Book of Rites: Qu Lixia", "The death of the Son of Heaven is said to collapse, the princes are said to be dead, the doctors are said to be pawns, the scholars are said to be unruly, and the people are said to be dead." ”
There are also children who pass away called "premature death" and "lonely dew", etc., the death of the elderly is called "seeing the back", Buddhism also has the saying of "feathering" and "round death", in short, the word "death" is rarely said directly.
Even in modern times, people use words such as "scene", "death" and "farewell" more often to express their respect for the dead, so on the tombstone, the person who erected the monument is not a child, or it has little to do with it, you will see the word "deceased" on the tombstone, and the word "deceased" is added to the name of the tomb owner, rather than "dead man" plus the name of the tomb owner.
The application and meaning of "therefore", "first" and "obvious".
Of course, in addition to the "deceased", "ancestors" is also very commonly used, and the meaning is similar to "deceased", that is, the meaning of "ancestors", which is not difficult to understand, and also expresses the respect of future generations for their deceased elders.
However, "obvious" may not be understood by many people, many people think that it is the same meaning as "first", in fact, there is still a difference, and not everyone has the qualifications to use this word, and "obvious" is not the meaning of "obvious", but closer to the meaning of "dignitary" and "prominent".
In ancient times, it was often those who had a more noble status or a prominent family background who were qualified to use this word, and the deceased had many heirs, children and grandchildren, and a prosperous family After death, the descendants used the word "Xian" to express their grief.
Or or the deceased has made a lot of good deeds and significant contributions during his lifetime, has a certain social status, after the death of the person, people will also use the word "Xian" to praise him, write "Xianren" or "Xian Kao" and "Xian Yan" in the tombstone, ordinary people often rarely use this word, rash use of this word will also be criticized.
In modern times, without the strict hierarchical order of ancient times, there is no meaning of "dignitaries", influenced by Buddhism and other religious cultures, the traditional perception of Chinese believes that people will go to another world after death, and the word "xian" has become a blessing for the descendants to the deceased elders in another world. There are also many people who pursue the word "obvious" very much.
In fact, whether it is "xian", "first" or "therefore", it conveys the same meaning, and the study of these words is the Chinese's respect for the deceased, all out of blessings to the deceased, and also hopes that the deceased elders can bless the prosperity of the whole family, which is the unique cultural belief and romance of the Chinese.
The cultural genes of the Chinese
The spiritual culture of Chinese is fundamentally different from that of foreigners, as early as the prehistoric period of China, "ancestor worship" appeared, and it has a long history, and the "ancestral hall culture" in ancient times is also a major manifestation.
To this day, the Chinese attach great importance to the funeral culture, in the Qingming period and the ancestors' festival days to sweep the grave, express their sorrow, many families have their own genealogy, and even many southern regions have their own family ancestral halls, which is the belief of the Chinese.
Chinese's reverence for ancestors and the dead is incomprehensible to foreigners with short history and cultural faults, so the content recorded in the tombstones in ancient China can almost show the appearance of the person's family, and the tombstone reads "Xiankaoyu", that is, the couple has many children and a large and prosperous family, while the foreigner's tombstone is mostly a personal experience introduction and the motto of the deceased.
Chinese take blood ties as a bond, value family, country, and the world, which is also the unique feeling of Chinese. The words on the tombstone are the mourning of the descendants for the deceased elders, and at the same time, to a certain extent, it also proves to the world that this person has been here, and has a gorgeous or ordinary life, at least he came to this world and left his own traces for the world.
And as we are born, what we should do is to respect the dead, always maintain our own awe, and learn as much as possible about Chinese traditional culture, which is not the dregs of feudal culture, but the cultural accumulation of our ancestors for thousands of years, and the cultural genes of the Chinese.
Brief summary:
To this day, many young people not only can't understand the words "therefore, first, obvious, examine, and concubine" on the tombstone and make jokes, but even many people can't even distinguish between the "Gregorian calendar" and the "lunar calendar".
China's 24 solar terms are so significant, wait until other countries to steal when they begin to pay attention, young people in the blind pursuit of Christmas, Thanksgiving and other "foreign festivals", our traditional Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival has also been stolen, in fact, China's traditional festivals have a deep cultural heritage behind them, for those "foreign festivals" are even more than that.
In short, China is the only remaining ancient civilization in the world today, and what a glory this is, and we have built our country on culture, so what is left if we lose our own culture? Today, when people's living standards are constantly improving, we should pay more attention to our own spiritual world and cultivate national and cultural self-confidence.