In fact, observing the age did not begin in the Tang Dynasty. According to historical records, it existed in the Jin Dynasty at the latest. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it had become a common custom. In the Chronicle of Jingchu, Liang Zongchan of the Southern Dynasties said: "At the end of the year, every family has a toilet, aiming to stay at the end of the year to welcome the New Year." Here, "staying old" means "keeping old". By the Tang Dynasty, this custom had prevailed.
Song Tang Cheng style, "Shousui" is especially prosperous. Zhou Mi's old Wulin story says, "Until New Year's Eve. Then compare the house with five colors of paper, money, wine and fruit to welcome the six gods to the door. At night, people get angry with candles and jars. Anh Hong advocates the sound of firecrackers, which is called a closed hall. Younger children can't sleep at night, which is called shou sui. "
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, the trend of observing the age continued unabated. The Textual Research on Ancient and Modern Events commissioned by the King of Qing Dynasty said: "The day after the end of the year is to arrange the sun, and the night is to keep the evening. In the Song Dynasty, the home of literati sat around the stove, and when they were awake, they were called Shousui. Night comes first, the young and the old get together, and they are separated, which is called the age. "
On New Year's Eve, there can be no fire. There is a fire in the house and a bonfire outside. The more prosperous the fire, the better, to show that the grain is abundant and the population is prosperous, so it is called "prosperous fire". In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang's Yuezhou Shounian Poem said: "In addition to the whole night, there are many cold court fires." Here, "cold court burning" refers to the flourishing fire outside the house. In the Song Dynasty, Meng Yuanshen recorded in Tokyo's "Chinese Dream" that on New Year's Eve, "firecrackers were forbidden in the mountains, and it was heard abroad that scholars gathered around the stove. If you don't sleep, it's called' Shounian One' ". The "stove" here refers to the flourishing fire around which people in the house keep warm.
Besides staying up late to drink Tu Su. Tu Su wine is medicinal liquor made of herbs, and drinking Tu Su wine is one of the main contents of ancient New Year's Eve activities. Tu Su is a kind of broad-leaved grass, which was used by the ancients to decorate houses and was called "Tu Su House". When the custom of drinking Tu Su wine was formed in the Tang Dynasty, this medicinal liquor was drunk on New Year's Day. Generation after generation, Tu Su wine was drunk on the New Year's Eve of the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng said in Ji Yuan: "It is a custom to keep watch on New Year's Eve and drink Tu Su wine." Today, some areas in southern China still have the custom of drinking Tu Su wine for the whole family during the Spring Festival.
On New Year's Eve in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to drinking Tu Su wine, we will also drink a pepper wine that can drive away the cold and humidity in winter, that is, there is pepper on the plate on the table. When drinking, pinch a little into a cup and stir well before drinking. Du Fu's poem "Du Weizhai Shousui" said: "Shousui is a Jia Rong, and the pepper plate has already sung flowers."
The custom of observing the old age has infinite nostalgia for the coming old year, and more importantly, it has the significance of ardent expectations for the coming new year. Su Shi, a great poet in the Song Dynasty, once used vivid metaphors to encourage himself to "make the best of the present" in his poem Shou Sui. He compared the flying time to a long snake drilling a hole. On the last day of the year, there is only one tail left, and he can't catch it if he wants to. As the saying goes, "gold is easy to get, but light is hard to stay." Lu Xun, a modern writer, likes to sort out the diaries written in the past year and plan his work in the new year on New Year's Eve. From ancient times to the present, "observing the age" contains the meaning of cherishing time and life.