-The fifth day of the first month is He's birthday.
Spring Festival, commonly known as "Chinese New Year", is the most grand, lively and typical ancient traditional folk festival in China. The festive atmosphere of the festival is strong and lasts for one month. The whole Spring Festival begins with the sending of Kitchen God on December 23rd of the lunar calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first month. There will be many orgasms back and forth. However, the most firecrackers in Suzhou are not on New Year's Eve, but on the fifth day of the first month. From the evening of the fourth day to the early morning of the fifth day, the firecrackers all night are louder than on New Year's Eve every year, and the firecrackers are louder and louder.
Mistake the road god for the god of wealth.
In the early morning of the first day of the first month, people first open the gate, beat gongs and drums and set off firecrackers. People who believe in Zhao Gongming, please bless Zhao Gongming; Those who believe in Guandi, ask Guandi to bless them. But no one knows exactly when the birthday is. Fireworks and firecrackers "bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang. How many people can really know which road god answered on the fifth day of the first month! ?
Some people say that they met the god of wealth … but there are many gods of wealth, including the just god of wealth and the evil god of wealth; Wu Caishen and the God of Wealth. Wu Caishen also has Zhao Gongming and Guan Gong; The God of Wealth also includes Fan Li and Bi Gan. There won't be so many gods of wealth born on the same day! So what exactly is Lu Shen's birthday? Most people don't know. Most people don't know when this folk farce related to "wealth" and "wealth" began. Anyway, everyone is confused and full of excitement.
Regarding the god of wealth, the author consulted relevant historical materials. Among the gods of wealth, Zhao Gongming's birthday is July 22nd. Guan Gong's birthday is May 13th of the lunar calendar. Lucky boy's birthday is the 20th day of the first lunar month; The rich woman's birthday is May 23rd of the lunar calendar. Is it Fan Li? Or Lishi Xian Guan, lucky boy, Liu Haichan? Or the sixth (seventh) manager of Jinyuan? Or the evil god of wealth, the four-faced Buddha and Venus? Neither.
So, is the fifth day of the first month the birthday of the God of Wealth? The answer is-Shen Lu's birthday. This is beauty! Because the name of the road god is He, it is called He Lu God. There are many versions of folk sayings about Shen Lu. There is a legend among Wudi people: In the thirty-third year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1554), the Japanese invaded Wudi, and the people organized a rebel army to resist the enemy. Among them, Wu He Road is the bravest and the hero of the Anti-Japanese War. He led the rebel army bravely against the enemy, and finally died bravely to defend his homeland. In order to commemorate this hero, people erected statues for worship, but because Wu He Road is an ordinary people, it is not famous. According to the regulations of feudal society, people can't put it in the main hall, so they can't put it in the main hall. Besides, the God of Wealth has a literary God of Wealth, and Wu Caishen and Wu He Road are both right people without official titles. They can't enter the God of Wealth Temple, so they can only live in a corner and set up a roadside hall next to the gate to offer sacrifices, so they are called partial God of Wealth. Of course, the partial god of wealth is not the true god of wealth, just like the police and the police. However, people, including businessmen, don't think so. They believe that literati believe in the God of Wealth and soldiers believe in Wu Caishen. We are neither literary nor military. It is the right way to worship this partial god of wealth. Later, some civil and military officials saw that most people believed in the road god and followed suit.
The Evolution of Wudi Customs
On the fifth day of the first month, from the fifth watch, people beat gongs and set off firecrackers to pick up the road in order to gain first. The so-called "profit market" contains three meanings: first, it refers to the profits obtained when doing business; Second, it means good luck, good luck; Third, it refers to festive or festive money such as lucky money. Therefore, the sooner you mention it, the sooner you worry that the "Road God" will be picked up by others. Later, people simply picked up the road head on the fourth night of the first month. Someone wrote a poem to describe this scene: "Five days is a source of money, and one year is a reward; Beware of meeting God early elsewhere and grabbing the road overnight. "
In modern times, every New Year's Day, ordinary people, especially businessmen, will put a portrait of Lishi Xian Guan on the door, accompanied by an auspicious boy, which reads "Lucky boy will come" and "Lishi Xian Guan will come", which means that wealth is abundant and prosperity is great. When Lu Se received it, Lu Tong, Lu Tong and, of course, Lucky Boy and Lishi Xian Guan all came. No wonder many people mistake the fifth day of the first month for the birthday of the god of wealth. Among the folk gods of wealth, no matter Marshal Zhao Gong or officials in heaven, Lishi Xian Guan is always by their side, so some people speculate that Lishi Xian Guan is a five-way god. Therefore, on the fifth day of the first month, Lishi Xian Guan's photo was posted in the store or on the door. As for the origin of Lishi Xian Guan, it is recorded in The Romance of Gods: Lishi Xian Guan, whose real name is Yao Shaosi, was a disciple of Zhao Gongming, the great god of wealth, and was later named as the god of welcoming good fortune by Jiang Ziya. People believe Shen Lu on his birthday, because he knows money, and of course money will go to Lishi Xian Guan. At the same time, people hope that the God of Wealth in Deli City will bless a happy life and all the best. Therefore, we can't mistake Lishi Xian Guan for the Five-Road God, which is the same as putting pictures of lucky boys on the walls and doors in the fifth day of junior high school. In addition, there is the "god of wealth", which happens to be the five gods, so many people mistake the "god of wealth" for the five gods. Caixingjun is full of white hair and holds a cornucopia, from which the word "lucky money becomes treasure" comes. Most people will hang this painting in the main hall on the fifth day of the fifth month, where the God of the Road will pass by. Of course, they will pray for "increasing the wealth of God".
There is also a "five gods of wealth" among the partial gods of wealth. The belief in the five immortals of God of Wealth is popular in Yuanyuan, Dexing, Jiangxi. Because the initials of the titles of the five brothers are all "immortals", they are called "Five Immortals of the God of Wealth". They robbed the rich and helped the poor before their death, but they still punished the evil and promoted the good and blessed the poor. Today, there are still five temples of the God of Wealth outside the Andingmen Gate in Beijing, but it is also a mistake for people to mistake them for five gods. Even many people mistakenly think that the five gods on the fifth day of the first month are the five gods of wealth, such as Zhao Gongming and Guan Gong, which is even more unfounded.
In fact, in Wudi, especially in rural areas, most people over 70 know that the fifth day of the first month is the birthday of Bodhisattva Reuters. Every family wants to take Bodhisattva Reuters home, celebrate his birthday and treat him well. If you can curry favor with the road god, the road will pass and everything will pass, then this year will definitely be rich. Outsiders came to Suzhou to ask: What is the way? Suzhou people all replied: "What is the way of God of Wealth!" Word for word, it's just a matter of tone. Because of the soft language of Wu Nong and Suzhou dialect, it sounds difficult for foreigners to understand. However, strangers all know that Suzhou people can't tell lies, and Suzhou people's answer is certainly reasonable. Therefore, according to the literal analysis, it is considered as the birthday of the god of wealth. No wonder most people are proud of themselves, eating wine from the road, but receiving the god of wealth. Shen Lu's deeds and achievements were ignored, but people thanked the God of Wealth.
In fact, the bread here contains the mentality that Suzhou people are afraid of revealing their wealth and being robbed by strangers. This is not a lie, but also a decent answer. This feature is also manifested in the fact that Suzhou people never stick to the road god when they meet the road god. Isn't posting it just to tell everyone? Therefore, when people in Suzhou worship Reuters Bodhisattva, they hang various gods of wealth, which shows that Reuters Bodhisattva is also within reach, and secondly, it is to confuse people and fear that Reuters Bodhisattva will be taken away by others. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called "grabbing the road".
According to Wu's custom, on the morning of the fifth day, people in Suzhou eat bread cakes and bread noodles. Reuters cake is a fried rice cake with shepherd's purse, which means happiness every year; Of course, the face is the face of the road head. Eating longevity noodles on birthdays is a custom in China, which means wishing the Road God a long life. Suzhou people pay special attention to Reuters wine, especially businessmen believe in Reuters, hoping that business will be prosperous and wealth will prosper in a year. On this day, the boss will invite all the guys to the roadside to drink. When you pour wine at the banquet, you should also fill it up, which shows that you are rich. If the store wants to fire a guy, the boss will give a hint when eating "Lutou" wine. The method of suggestion is unique. When the boss takes food from that guy, if he gives a chicken head to someone, that guy knows that the boss will fire him. After drinking, he will resign voluntarily, and the boss will acquiesce in his resignation. This custom is called "eating the head of a chicken" in Suzhou. "Daotou", as the name implies, is the "head" of Tao, that is, daydreaming. The word "harmony" is spelled as "human can", as the name implies, "human can have five roads", and the so-called "five roads" refers to five roads in the east, south, west, north and middle. Business people have been away from home for many years. If the journey is not smooth and you don't know people in different places, even if you are good at doing business, business activities can't be carried out normally. One minute this government is looking for you, and the next it is looking for you. This is called road impassability. Is to open a small shop, there is no way, bureaucratic yamen, industrial and commercial taxation, black and white are all troublesome, if you don't find a way, access, then there is no way out. If you respect the god of wealth and don't respect the god of the road, that is, although you have money, you still can't get it. This is called money road impassability. Some people can't even enjoy the wealth around them, or they will lose the wealth they have. That is, although they have money, they have no money. This is called money. If you want to be an official, the official can't. This is called the official road is blocked. Poor health, even short life, this is called life blocked. It seems that this road god is really important in folk auspicious culture and belief.
There is a two-part allegorical saying in Suzhou: "Bodhisattva Lutou-I can't afford to offend!" Suzhou people always think that "Reuters" is a very important god. Suzhou people also have a two-part allegorical saying: "Whoever has offended Bodhisattva Reuters will fight to the death." This is no joke.
Once upon a time, Suzhou people received Reuters Bodhisattva and offered dried fruits such as dates and longan on the stage. In front of them, there are five small wine glasses and five pairs of chopsticks to commemorate the southeast, northwest and middle schools. There are "five dry" (northern and southern goods) and "five wet" (bean products), with three animals (pig head, carp and rooster) in the middle, plus four bowls and four dishes, and another pot for carp, which must be the most lively. "Carp" is homophonic with "Li Yu" and is called "Yuanbao Fish". Carp fins are tied with red lines. During the sacrifice, someone came to the door from the street, which was called "sending gold ingots" and released them after the sacrifice. Sacrifice uses sheep's head instead of pig's head, and the word "sheep" is homophonic with "Yin and Yang Hall" in Wu dialect. All the scales, barrels, altars, urns and other utensils in the store are affixed with red buckets with conjoined words such as "Golden Day" and "Golden Twelve Thousand". Signs are decorated with red paper and golden flowers, and some are used to put abacus books on tables, hang gold and silver paper ingots, put a copper coin or silver dollar, light a pair of red candles, light sandalwood, and hang two red lanterns at the door to set off firecrackers. Some people put a knife on the altar and sprinkle some salt on it. Wu homophonic means "now in hand", which means that the money is now in hand.
It is said that the Jade Emperor takes Wu He Road as the Road God according to its name, and is in charge of five roads in the world: East, South, West, North and China. At that time, all the gods smiled and said, "Is it still necessary to manage the way of the world?" People on earth, there is no way not to create, not to open, not to go, who will listen to you? " At this time, the Guanyin Bodhisattva came and said, "Where there is a heart, there are roads (five roads) in the heart. If there is no road (five roads) in the heart, there is no way out." How many people always want to hang themselves and throw themselves into the river because they can't help it ... Fu Road, Lu Road, Shou Road, Lu Road, Cai Road, and the roads connected with Fu Yuan, Lu Yuan, Yuan Yuan and Cai Yuan are not allowed to pass? Since then, Wu He Road has been in charge of five roads in the world: east, south, west, north and middle. The so-called five channels are the middle ears in the east, west, north and south. "The five sacrifices are to worship the household gods, kitchen gods, land gods, door gods and mind-wandering. The so-called head of the road, that is, walking in the five sacrifices.
In fact, Lu God is also a walking god, a walking god among the five sacrifices worshipped by Wu Di. Qing Li in "Man and beast dig through the garden": [Ugly Search] Where is the Bodhisattva? "Also known as" road head ". The third time of He Dian: "Tomorrow, we will burn small fried meat." Earlier, the earliest "Walking God" Temple (also known as Reuters Bodhisattva Temple) was built to stop pedestrians and businessmen. Pedestrians made vows there and prayed for peace. It seems that the origin of the road god is much earlier than the god of wealth.
Yao Fujun, a Qing man, said: "The Five-way God, commonly known as the God of Wealth, is actually a god who worships five doors. You can make money by going out five ways. " It means that when you are away from home, you can get good luck and get rich with the blessing of five gods. Therefore, the ancient book says, "The Five-Road God, commonly known as the God of Wealth, is actually ... distracted, and you will get rich when you go out for five roads." ("The Legacy of Casting a Ding", Volume 4), this seems to make sense. As we all know, "If you want to get rich, you should build roads first". If there is no smooth traffic, or if the roads are good and obstacles are set up everywhere, or if the geese are plucked, or the public security is poor, the roads are dangerous and business travel is difficult, then the circulation of goods will become a problem, the economy will not be invigorated, and prosperity will only be a dream. Suzhou has developed commerce since ancient times, and commodity circulation is very frequent. Perhaps this is the reason why Suzhou people feel so much about this road. "Road head bodhisattva-can't afford to offend!" He is not only in charge of people's "fortune", but also in charge of people's "official transport, good or bad luck, fate" and other important responsibilities of life and death. Therefore, Suzhou people simply regard the Road God as a "lucky god", "auspicious god" and "protective god".
Whether it is the road god or the god of wealth, it is indispensable.
The most influential folk god of wealth should be Zhao Gongming, who is said to have cultivated immortals as early as Shang Dynasty. Jiang Ziya assisted King Wu of Zhou to attack Zhou. He ran down to Zhong Nanshan to meddle and stood on Shang Zhou's side against the righteous teacher. Unfortunately, he was killed. A wandering soul was appointed as the true god, responsible for welcoming Fu. Under his command, there are four little gods: Zhao Baotianzun, Natian Zhenzun, Lucky Messenger and Lishi Xian Guan. When he came into contact with this rich team, Marshal Zhao Gong became the object of worship for those who hoped to make a fortune. Because he is lazy and the fifth day of the first month is not his birthday, he may not go anywhere that day. Although some people have heard that this deity's birthday is July 22nd of the lunar calendar, they still don't forget to quietly prepare a feast while making a big noise on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, expecting him to sneak in through the back door and enjoy it. Once upon a time, it was often seen that there were large or small "God of Wealth" in the shops of some merchants and restaurants. On weekdays, incense sticks are intermittent. Suddenly, on this day, four dishes and one soup came quietly, and the road was connected with money. When Lucien arrived at the God of Wealth, he also came. Take care of the road god, and don't forget to pick up the god of wealth again.
However, it is said that the god of wealth is enshrined by the rich, and those who have no money will not appear. There is a folk story about "the Buddha of Wealth divorces his wife": Once upon a time, Zhao Gongming, the God of Wealth in the Temple of Wealth, was always accompanied by a dignified and beautiful God of Wealth. Later, the kind female bodhisattva suddenly disappeared. It turned out that she was divorced by the god of wealth. Why did the God of Wealth divorce his wife? This starts with a beggar. A beggar was very poor. He passed an ancient temple. After entering the temple, he never worshipped any bodhisattva. He just touched the statue of God of Wealth, then bowed and begged God of Wealth to give him money. When Marshal Zhao Gong saw that he was a beggar, he thought he couldn't bear to light incense sticks, but he still came for money. There are so many poor beggars in the world, can I get help? But beggars think the opposite. He believes that the God of Wealth will always help the poor. Rich people don't worry about food and clothing. What's the use of seeking money? I've been worshipping. At this time, the god of wealth moved with compassion, trying to wake up the dozing rich man's husband, persuading him to have a heart and give some alms to beggars. But the god of wealth ignored him, yawned twice and closed his eyes again. Although she is the god of wealth, the financial power is in the hands of her husband, who doesn't nod. How can she give money to beggars? The queen had no choice but to take off her earrings and throw them to the beggar. Suddenly, the beggar felt something thrown out of the shrine. When he saw that it was a pair of gold earrings, he knew that they were sent by the God of Wealth, so he quickly kowtowed and even shouted "kowtow to the God of Wealth". When the god of wealth opened his eyes, he found that the queen had given the poor beggar what she had given her all those years. He was furious and drove the god of wealth out of the shrine. Since then, for hundreds of years, no poor man has made a fortune by worshipping the god of wealth.
There are so many people who want to get rich, but people don't know which god of wealth's birthday it is. As a result, some people took the initiative to balance the contradiction between supply and demand, which gave birth to a new genre painting-"sending God of Wealth". On the fifth day, poor beggars in groups of three or five put on masks and dressed up as various teams of the God of Wealth, which is called "sending the God of Wealth" or "jumping the God of Wealth". According to the rules, the host must give money on the spot as a reward, otherwise it will make a scene in front of your house or shop, which will only make the onlookers laugh. It is better to spend some money and get rid of these "living gods of wealth" quickly. The poor pretend to be the living God of Wealth and rob the God of Wealth and send it away. This ironic street farce has also added a lot of extra interest to the modern custom of welcoming the god of wealth. In addition to "sending the god of wealth", it was replaced by a solo "jumping the god of wealth"-quietly walking to the door, sticking a red paper statue of the god of wealth behind the door, and then reaching for money, just to see that times are changing, customs are easy, and innovation is introduced.
For hundreds of years, the custom of asking God for directions has never stopped. Lu Shen blessed the people of Wu with smooth sailing, prosperity and safety. The custom of "connecting with the God of the Road" handed down from generation to generation by Emperor Wu has been constantly evolving and spreading in China, but it has all evolved into the custom of mistakenly connecting with the God of Wealth. Interestingly, Wudi, the original ecological birthplace of the road god, in turn followed the custom of connecting the god of wealth without connecting the road gods from other places. In this way, I am afraid that if the Road God really comes, I will not say that the God of Wealth has not received it for the time being, but that the Road God has also run away. It is interesting to hear that some people in South Korea have always followed the custom of "robbing the road".
It is said that today in Wuxi, except for the fifth day of the first month, you will be invited to the roadside as long as you have something at home. Apologize for quarreling, recover from a serious illness, get rich unexpectedly, get together in chaos, and even ask fools to do smart things and get good grades in exams.
Although most people are proud of eating Reuters wine and collecting the God of Wealth, and they disdain Shen Lu's actions and achievements, and people thank and worship the God of Wealth, Bodhisattva Reuters won't care that people can't get proper treatment because they don't have the title of God of Wealth. Although people blindly greet the God of Wealth on his birthday in order to seek wealth, he bears the responsibility of helping people lead to happiness, wealth, longevity, wealth and happiness, and will never give up his blessing to people. This auspicious culture, which pursues the belief of Taoist God and God of Wealth, can never be defined by superstition. If we lose these, we will lose the true flavor of China folk customs. The purpose of the author's investigation and textual research today is to let everyone know the original ecological "Wu He Road" and add an anecdote to the spread of auspicious culture.
(The author is the director of Suzhou Ancient Architecture Park (Application of Traditional Culture) Research Center)