Spring and Jingming, flowers are in full bloom, April is full of beauty and romance in the world, suitable for couples, you and me, put the hormones of love, and it is no wonder that the oldest Valentine's Day in China - Shangsi Festival was born.
The Shangsi Festival, also known as the "third day of March", is an important festival held in ancient times. Purification generally refers to going to the waterfront to wash, remove dirt, and take away the bad luck on the body, which has the meaning of praying for blessings. To put it simply, purification is to go to the water to take a bath to get rid of bad luck on the body, so as to welcome the new year. The "Analects" records that "those who are in the twilight of spring, the spring clothes are ready, the crown is five or six, the boy is six or seven, bathing in Yi, the wind is dancing, and the song returns", it is said that the description is the scene of purification.
The Shangsi Festival, when every family goes out to bathe and play, also gives young men and women the opportunity to connect, making the atmosphere of this festival more romantic and ambiguous. As a result, the Shangsi Festival slowly developed into Valentine's Day and was officially recognized during the Zhou Dynasty. Counting up, Shangsi Festival became Valentine's Day, more than a thousand years earlier than Valentine's Day in ancient Rome in 270 AD, which can be said to be the "ancestor" of Valentine's Day.
On Valentine's Day, love blooms like a spring flower
According to the description of "The Book of Songs, Zheng Feng, Qin Wei", the day of the Shangsi Festival can be called a large-scale blind date scene for young men and women. "Qin and Wei, Fang is sloppy. Taxi and woman, Fang Bingxi. The woman said, "The scholar said, and the man said. And look at it, Xun is happy. Weishi and the woman, Yi Qi scorned each other and gave them a spoonful of medicine. ”
The gist of it was: the sound of the water in Qinshui and Weishui was loud, and the girl asked, "Do you want to go and see it?" The girl said, "Then let's go and see it together!" and the boy agreed. Then the two played happily by the river and gave each other peony flowers. Peony is an ancient love flower, the "medicine" of peony through "covenant", giving peony is equivalent to saying - "about it?" The boy and the girl send peony to each other, the meaning of which is self-evident.
In ancient times, when population was the productive force, the official was very encouraging for marriage and childbirth, so it specially gave the green light to the men and women in love on the Shangsi Festival. "Zhou Li: Matchmaker" recorded: "In the month of mid-spring, men and women will be ordered, so the time is also, and those who run can't help it." That is to say, during the festival, it is legal for a man and a woman to kiss and hug outside, and parents are not allowed to obstruct it.
There is also a custom in the Shangsi Festival - to sacrifice to Gao Xu, which refers to the ancient god of marriage, also known as "Gao Media" or "Gao Yu God". On the day of the festival, people pray for a happy marriage and a happy family by offering sacrifices to the high priesthood.
For those who want to get rid of the single, it is very convenient to meet the opposite sex on the day of the Shangsi Festival, and it is also encouraged by the official and blessed by the gods, as if the whole universe is going to promote romantic good deeds. If you don't go out on the festival, it will be even more hopeless to get off the list. However, it is unlikely that they will not go out, except for those who are married and have a funeral at home, the official requires all unmarried men and women to come to participate in this blind date meeting of the Shangsi Festival.
Of course, not all girls are pregnant. For girls in ancient times, they were raised in the boudoir on weekdays and basically couldn't go out. Shangsi Festival is a rare festival that allows them to go out to play, they can dress up beautifully and exquisitely, play Cailan, and walk with songs, so Shangsi Festival is also known as the ancient Girls' Day.
Thousands of girls in the Shangsi Festival, in addition to hoping to find a good match, may be more looking forward to letting go of themselves, having a good time, and enjoying a rare gap day!
The history of the demise of the Shangsi Festival has been forgotten after being popular for thousands of years
The Shangsi Festival in the pre-Qin period was romantic and amorous, and was celebrated as a romantic Valentine's Day. With the development of history, the Shangsi Festival has also undergone different evolutions, and the focus has shifted to entertainment and travel, until it flourishes and declines, and slowly disappears from people's field of vision.
Shangsi Festival in the Wei and Jin dynasties: don't fall in love, love mountains and rivers more
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the nobles of the scholar clan advocated metaphysics, were bent on seeking immortals and asked, and loved to visit famous mountains and rivers. So the Shangsi Festival has become a day of spring outing, dignitaries and literati will meet together to indulge in the landscape, gather and drink, play and play out the elegant custom of "Qushui Liuzhen", which has been passed down through the ages.
According to Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Collection Preface", it is recorded that on March 3 of the ninth year of Emperor Yonghe of Jin Mu (353 AD), he and his friends gathered in the Lanting in Huiji Shanyin, sat on the ground next to the clear stream, and let the wine glass float freely in the twisting and turning water. This is the well-known "Qushui Liuzhen" activity.
The "Lanting Collection Preface" is known as "the first book in the world", which has been passed down to future generations, and the flowing Qushui has also left a name in history and has been well-known to the public.
Shangsi Festival during the Tang Dynasty: The emperor took the lead in playing, and the whole people were happy
The Shangsi Festival ushered in its own "peak moment" in the Tang Dynasty, which was highly valued by the royal family and became the biggest festival in spring. The emperor would organize outings and banquets on this day, and the address was usually chosen in the area of the Qujiangchi Royal Garden near Chang'an, so it became the source of the famous "Qujiang Banquet" in history.
The emperor took the lead in playing, and the people were naturally more open, so the entertainment activities of the Shangsi Festival increased a lot: walking, swinging, juju, tug-of-war, kite flying, archery, colorful boat racing, etc., were all included in the list of activities of the Shangsi Festival, making the Shangsi Festival a national carnival festival.
The Shangsi Festival during the Song Dynasty: the heat fell off a cliff and cooled directly
It may be that things are prosperous and declining, and things must be reversed. The Shangsi Festival, which reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, fell directly from the clouds to the bottom in the Song Dynasty.
During the Song Dynasty, the style of science of "preserving heavenly principles and destroying human desires" prevailed. The official does not encourage everyone to go out on holidays, and the attitude towards the interaction between men and women has become very conservative. As a result, the carnival atmosphere of the Shangsi Festival dropped to the freezing point, and slowly no one passed.
Even if since the Song Dynasty, the Shangsi Festival has been mentioned again, and the popularity has not risen. There is a saying that it is because there is already a Qingming Festival, a festival that can also go out, so everyone is too lazy to go to a similar Shangsi Festival.
I really didn't expect that the competition between festivals is so fierce, and if you are not careful, you will be replaced and forgotten~
The festival may be forgotten, and the classic customs will last forever
Chinese culture has a long history, and in thousands of years of history, many traditional festivals have appeared and disappeared like the Shangsi Festival, such as the Cold Food Festival, the Heavenly Doctor Festival, the Lotus Festival and other festivals, which can be preserved through the big waves and sand.
However, the classic customs of traditional festivals have been passed down and become a part of Chinese life, such as eating Qingtuan, which was originally a custom of the Cold Food Festival, and now continues in the Qingming Festival. The Shangsi Festival also left us with the important custom of "Qushui Liuzhen", which is still talked about by people, such as the Luzhou Laojiao special qu wine that has gone through 700 years, after 24 generations of master and apprentice inheritance, oral narration, inherited to this day, it has been fragrant for a long time, and people will never forget.
Taking advantage of the spring season, it is better to bring Luzhou Laojiao Tequ Liquor, reproduce the ancient elegance with Chinese liquor with a history of 700 years, form a game with friends, feast and drink in the water, and sing a song in the special qu liquor, in the unique style of "mellow and rich, especially fragrant after drinking, clear and sweet, and long aftertaste", Huifeng and Changzhong taste the rich aroma of liquor, explore the fun of "Qushui Liuzhen" together, and feel the charm of Chinese traditional culture!
Follow the elegance of the ancients and live a poetic spring. From now on, all consumers who purchase 38/42/45/52 degrees Luzhou Laojiao Tequ Liquor (2018) QR code containing 500ml products will have the opportunity to get cash red envelopes, points rewards and other surprise gifts by scanning the QR code in the bottle cap!
The most beautiful April day in the world, the beautiful spring color can't be hidden. I wish you all peach blossoms, warmth and hope, a smooth future, and all the best~