Bridal chamber
Basic explanation
A long time ago, people used to call the new house where newlyweds got married called "bridal chamber". There are countless excellent poems written by the ancients about the "bridal chamber". Lu Ji, a litterateur of the Western Jin Dynasty, wrote in "A Gentleman's Thoughts and Actions": "The first-class high-ranking people, the bridal chamber has a pavilion." Yu Xin of the Northern Zhou Dynasty wrote "Sanhe Ode and Dance Poems", which said: "The flowers and candles in the bridal chamber are bright, and the rest of the dance is "The two swallows are light." Song Qingyu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in the poem "Jinzhi Zhang Shuibu": "The red candles were lit in the bridal chamber last night, waiting to pay homage to my uncle in front of the dawn hall." Hong Mai of the Song Dynasty wrote in "The Essays of Rong Zhai" "The night of flowers and candles in the bridal chamber." , a good sentence when naming the gold medal." It can be seen that the reputation of "bridal chamber" has a long history. But when does it mean to call a new house a "bridal chamber"? There are two touching legends about the origin of the word bridal chamber.
Legend 1: In ancient times, not long after Yao of Tao Tang became king. Very concerned about the lives of herders. One day, he went to the pastoral area to inquire about his sufferings. Suddenly, there was a faint fragrance, and a beautiful woman floated over from a distance, holding a kindling in her hand. King Yao was shocked, and after asking the herdsmen, he found out that it was the deer fairy. From then on, King Yao was not satisfied with the food, and was obsessed with the fairy, so he decided to go down the mountain to find the fairy.
King Yao led four ministers to visit the immortals in "Xiandonggou" in southern Shanxi, but could not find them for a long time. Suddenly he saw a pretty sika deer walking leisurely from the Gushe Fairy Cave. King Yao knew it was a fairy, so he went to meet it. When he was about to meet him, a big python suddenly jumped out and approached King Yao. King Yao was caught off guard. I saw the Deer Fairy approaching, and with a finger, the python suddenly trembled and ran away in panic.
King Yao was tall and handsome, and the fairy was graceful and beautiful. The two fell in love at first sight, and a beautiful mythological marriage was formed.
They got married in Gushe Fairy Cave, where auspicious clouds shrouded and hundreds of birds sang in harmony. In the evening, at the time of knotting, a cluster of sacred fire suddenly appeared on the top of the cave, dazzling and radiant. Since then, there has been a custom in the world of calling the bride's house the bridal chamber and the wedding night as the wedding night.
Legend 2: During the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang carried out a large-scale construction project, built the Epang Palace, and sent ministers to the people to forcibly select the beauties from all over the world. At that time, there was a very beautiful and intelligent third girl who was forcibly sent to Afang Palace. But the brave and stubborn third girl was unwilling to live a dark life ravaged by slavery, so she escaped from the palace and went straight to Huashan. At that time, Qin Shihuang burned books to harass scholars and persecuted innocent scholars, who were forced to flee for their lives. A scholar named Shen Bo also fled to Huashan at that time.
One day, the girl and Shen Bo met. Both of them were in ragged clothes and looked haggard. The two of them each confided in their misfortunes, and gradually developed a love for each other. They planted branches for incense, swore an oath to heaven, and became a couple in need. With no tiles above them and being in a dense forest, they made a cave under a boulder their new home. The couple are in love, love each other, and live together. Although life is difficult, they feel that life is sweet.
Later, this incident was widely circulated among the people. Later generations respected and remembered the three girls who fought for freedom without fear of rape, so many temples were built along the Huashan Mountain Road, and the main hall of each temple worshiped the three girls. The goddess of the Three Holy Mothers, this Three Holy Mothers is the third girl.
Later, some literati made up beautiful and colorful myths such as elephants holding lotus lanterns, splitting mountains to save their mothers, and chanted poems such as "the night of flowers and candles in the bridal chamber, when the gold medal was named", making the legend of the "bridal chamber" more beautiful and moving.
The origin of entering the bridal chamber
The history of Chinese civilization has been more than 5,000 years ago. People still refer to marriage as "entering the bridal chamber" even though humans have transitioned from cave-style living. Today's high-rise buildings, but the term "bridal chamber" has not changed yet. I have never seen anyone change "enter the bridal chamber" to "enter the building".
Legend has it that this was stipulated by our ancestor Xuanyuan Huangdi.
The Yellow Emperor defeated Chi You, quelled the war, established a tribal alliance, stopped group marriages, and ended the barbaric era. The era of human civilization first began.
It is not easy for humans who have been accustomed to group marriage to suddenly change to monogamy! This was probably a great revolution five thousand years ago. For the newly unified tribal alliance, the group marriage system has factors that are extremely unfavorable to unity. Marriage snatching incidents often occur, not only men snatching women, but also women snatching men. Fights often broke out between the tribes in the new alliance over theft of marriage. As time goes by, conflicts will inevitably intensify, and there is the possibility of another split between tribes. Huang Di often frowned on this matter. He found his ministers Chang Xian, Dahong, Fenghou, Limu, Cangjie and others. We have discussed many times how to stop group marriages and establish monogamy, but no one has come up with a feasible solution. One day, Huangdi accompanied a group of giants to inspect whether the caves where the people lived were safe. Suddenly, it was discovered that a family lived in three caves. In order to prevent wild beasts from invading, high stone walls were built around them, leaving only one doorway that one person could enter and exit. This discovery immediately aroused Huang Di's interest. That night he summoned all the ministers around him. Huangdi said: "I have an idea to stop group marriages. Let everyone discuss it and see if it works." All the ministers asked Huangdi to speak quickly. Huangdi said: "Today we saw the caves where the tribesmen live. I think the only way to stop group marriages is that from now on, when a couple is married to a man and a woman, he must first gather the tribesmen to congratulate him and hold a ceremony. They bow to heaven and earth, and bow to their parents. Then they celebrate with wine, singing and dancing, announcing that they are officially married.
Then, the couple is sent into a cave (room) prepared in advance, with high walls built around it, and only one door for entry and exit. Food and water are provided by relatives of both men and women. The length of time can range from three months to forty. God, let them establish a relationship as husband and wife in the cave, learn to make fire and cook, and learn how to live a life. From now on, any man and woman who the tribesmen marry and enter the bridal chamber will be called a formal marriage, and they will no longer be allowed to rob other people's men and women. In order to distinguish between married and unmarried women, all married women must tie their unkempt hair into a knot. At first glance, people knew that the woman was married, and other men could not have other plans, otherwise they would violate tribal laws. ”
After Huang Di made this idea, he immediately got the support of Chang Xian, Dahong, Limu and others. The crowd suggested that Cangjie be asked to write a law and make it public. This idea soon received support from various officials. With the support of the tribesmen, people rushed to dig caves (houses) and build high walls for their children. Once the children got married, they were sent to the bridal chamber after the ceremony. This bad habit of group marriage gradually disappeared. .
However, the force of habit that has existed for thousands of years is the most terrifying force. It cannot be completely changed overnight. < /p>
The origin of the honeymoon
It is said that there was a pair of hunting experts, the man was Shi Zhen and the woman was Miao. After the parents of both parties agreed to get married, they got married. After living in the bridal chamber for less than ten days, Shi Zhen began to feel that there was no point in just being with one woman all day long. It would be better to have a group marriage, where he could accompany whomever he liked, and Mu Miao could find two or three in a day. Being uncomfortable in the wedding room and spending the whole day with a man is really not fun. It is better to be free in a group marriage and fall in love with a man you like for a few days. After a few days, you don't like it and then find another man. It is more free, because the two of them are free. Both of them had the idea of ????not wanting to live a monogamous life. One night, in the dead of night, they both jumped over the wall and ran away.
Shi Zhen and Mu Miao both fled into the forest. For a while, they couldn't find any human habitation, and they became more anxious and confused. They didn't have hunting tools with them, for fear of being attacked by wild animals. After dawn, they were thirsty and hungry, so they came together again in order to save their lives. , the two had to rely on each other. They spent the whole day picking wild fruits and mushrooms to satisfy their hunger. They were lost and couldn't get out of the forest. Now, they realized that one day they couldn't live without each other. They were really thirsty, hungry and tired, so they lay down under a big tree to rest. A swarm of bees were buzzing around them. They broke off a branch and beat them around, but the bees became angry. The two were stung until their noses were bruised and their faces were swollen. Shi Zhen discovered that the bees had emerged from the cracks in the trees. He took out the flint he had brought with him. He asked Miao Miao to gather dry firewood and quickly lit a fire. The two of them took out fire sticks from the fire. , burning towards the cracks in the tree. In an instant, the bees burned their wings and could no longer fly. The flames penetrated through the cracks in the tree and burned the hive. The honey began to flow out from the cracks in the tree. What it was, it just smelled fragrant. Shi Zhen dipped a little of it with his hand, put it in his mouth and licked it with his tongue. It was very sweet. He asked Mu Miao to taste it again. The two concluded that it was not poisonous and hurriedly picked up some trees. They had to pick mushrooms in the forest and dip them in honey to satisfy their hunger. Fortunately, they were discovered by Yu Ze, a hunting expert under the Yellow Emperor. Rescue Shi Zhen and Miao Miao.
After more than a month of tossing in the forest, the young couple were frightened and worried all day long, fearing that no one would be separated and no one would be able to leave. Regardless of anyone, the relationship between husband and wife becomes deeper and deeper, and they truly understand the taste of love. After returning to the tribe, Shi Zhen and Mu Miao were never separated again, and the young couple established a happy family. This is the origin of "bridal chamber and honeymoon", which has been passed down to this day.