In Yuncheng, Shanxi, the so-called "red events", such as the son's marriage, the grandson's full moon, the old man's birthday and so on, and the so-called "white events", such as the death of an old man at home, the misfortune of a loved one and the death of a child, are all called "events".
Now that you have done something, you have to ask someone for help at home, and writing couplets is the first priority. Red things are red couplets, and white things are white couplets, also called elegiac couplets, and they are written in the oldest traditional customs, namely calligraphy and ink.
In our village, there are fewer and fewer people who can really write Chinese calligraphy. What I can write now is the old private school teacher, who is almost seventy years old. He wrote these words when my parents died. Three years later, he is still writing. This tradition is really lacking.
In this colleague's village, it is different. In their village, there are not only many people who can write, but also all of them are masters of "calligraphy". Every door and wall of her house is full of calligraphy works. When I saw it, there were at least four or five people's handwriting.
There are so many people who can write China's calligraphy and calligraphy, so this is a custom and a tradition.
My colleague's village is Tonghua, and there have been famous people in history, including Wang Tong, Wang Ji and Wang Bo.
Tonghua village is called Tonghua, because it means Wang Tong's education.
Tonghua Town, Wanrong County, located in the northwest of Wanrong County, south of Fenhe River, originally belonged to Hejin County, now known as Hejin City, and belonged to Longmen in Jiangzhou in ancient times. It is an ancient town and the hometown of Wang Bo, a famous poet in the early Tang Dynasty. The famous poem "Preface to Wang Teng Pavilion" wrote: "However, China keeps our friendship, and heaven is still our neighbor. Sunset and lonely Qi Fei, autumn waters * * * day color ".
With the rise of Sui and Tang Dynasties and Wanrong, Wanrong Wangsi and Sanwang refer to Wang Tong, his younger brother Wang Ji and his grandson Wang Bo in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties. For Tonghua people, there is Wang Tong Temple in the village, which is often called "Three Kings Temple" locally.
It is precisely because of this ancient tradition that colleagues say that in Wang Tong Village, almost all men like to practice calligraphy since childhood and are willing to fight with each other when they grow up. Every year during the Spring Festival slack season, the village will organize a painting and calligraphy competition, and every household can take out paintings and calligraphy works to participate in the competition.
On that day, we saw at my colleague's house that the contents of couplets were not only rhymed and symmetrical, but also conformed to the life of the owner before his death, and the handwriting was more elegant and smart. There is a couplet at the entrance of the wing, which reads: "Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting are all proficient, and plows and rakes are all excellent", indicating that calligraphy was also very famous in the village before the owner died. Colleagues said that her father's calligraphy is one of the best in the village, and the calligraphy works of her two brothers in their early sixties are now well-known in the village.
Generally, when something happens at home, someone will come to help, someone will be in the ceremony room, someone will cook, someone will say hello and condolences before the coffin, someone will carry plates and bowls, and so on.
That day, I saw that the staff in the ritual room mourned the deceased in calligraphy. Their calligraphy works are four big characters: "The mountain rises to the top", signed by all the staff in the ceremony room.
There is also a couplet written by the kitchen staff, which reads: "The chef cooks to mourn, and relatives and friends gather for a funeral."
There are also mourning elegies of the resident groups. The first resident group wrote: "Do good all your life, and make a name for yourself through the ages"; The second resident group wrote: "be frugal all your life, set an example, work hard all your life and carry on the family line"; The elegiac couplet of the clan is: "Virtue endures forever, with high spirits".
When I left my colleague's house, I took a special look at the elegiac couplet at the gate, which read: "Wonderful workmanship, I am famous in Wu Jiaxiang and respected, and I am famous in Tonghua Village."
This elegy reveals that the owner is a native of Tonghua village and the ancestor of Wu.