In Shandong, especially the Lunan region, and especially the vast rural areas, no matter whether you are farming at home or working outside, and no matter whether you are poor or rich, it is still strange if a man does not have a brother-in-law. Something new. I became a brother-in-law when I was in middle school. To this day, we have a sincere relationship, close friendship, and close contact with each other like real brothers.
Brothers are childhood friends, playmates, and friends, or later classmates, colleagues, and friends who share the same views, like each other, have similar interests, pursue the same goals, and have the same passion. They have the same ideals and ambitions, and want to establish a long-term relationship, and then learn from Liu, Guan, and Zhang in the Three Kingdoms. Through a certain form, they will determine who is older and who is younger, and kowtow to form a brotherly relationship. Brothers are a special relationship that is more real than childhood, stronger than playmates, closer than classmates, longer than colleagues, and closer than friends. It is a blend and concentration of family and friendship. It is not a brother, but it is better than a brother. , usually eight people per hand, but there are also less than eight people, depending on the situation.
I have not carefully verified whether Brother Ren exists in other provinces. But in my hometown, it is a relatively popular local culture. At first, I always thought that our place was close to Liangshan, and we were deeply influenced by the heroes who lived in Liangshan. Later, I checked the information and found out that Bayern Brothers is actually a popular folk custom in southern Shandong. Its origin can be traced back to the Anti-Japanese War period before liberation, and someone has done special research. Because the Zaozhuang area was a famous mining area in the country at that time, before the establishment of the railway guerrillas, a group of heroes led by Liu Hong and Wang Qiang spontaneously fought against the Japanese in the mining areas around Lincheng (today's Xuecheng) and Zaozhuang. Before liberation, especially during the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese only knew how to steal money and did not care about the lives of miners. Coal mining conditions were extremely poor, lacked advanced and safe mining equipment, and various safety accidents often occurred. At that time, the lives of the miners were not guaranteed. There was no tomorrow if they lived today, but they had to work because of their livelihood. So the miners spontaneously united and sworn sworn brothers of the opposite sex. They were prepared to have a sworn brotherhood in case they were injured or killed one day. Brothers take care of their wives, children, and children. In this way, the cultural phenomenon of benevolent brothers is passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, the coal mines in Zaozhuang area have already implemented modern coal mining equipment, and safety accidents are almost zero. However, this local culture has been passed down and radiated to surrounding areas, becoming a kind of folk culture.
Although Bayern Brothers is an old custom, it is not a backward culture, nor is it a bad habit that should be abandoned. A handful of benevolent brothers are neither an abnormal gang nor low-level fair-weather friends. It embodies the righteousness, benevolence and loyalty of the Lunan people. It has different titles such as god brothers, general brothers, and alliance brothers, etc., but they are all inseparable from the word "brother". It is a typical ritual kinship and a kind of kinship in times of crisis. Simulated relatives who help each other. "When one person is in trouble, all directions support him." In our hometown in the countryside, it often refers to brothers helping each other. In fact, real support is also a kind of communication. "It is rude to come and not return." You should sincerely help other brothers when they are in trouble. Only when you are in trouble will other brothers lend a helping hand. But the Ren brothers only solidified this form of mutual help and added real feelings.
By kowtowing one's head, the brothers who are not related by blood will have a heavy responsibility and a solid friendship. They usually have to "warm up" each other, that is, they take turns inviting everyone to get together, in order to maintain the long-lasting brotherly relationship. If any family has a wedding or wedding, or if any family has an emergency, brothers are often just like brothers, and they are bound to help each other. Especially when it comes to white matters, Brother Ren is the main force who does his part. He kneels at the tent, offers sacrifices on the road, and pays homage. His role is almost the same as that of a biological son. He allows the old man to rest in peace and glory. This is an authentic local culture in our southern Shandong area.
Time goes back to when I was about to graduate from the third year of junior high school. After three years of living on campus in junior high school, the friendship between classmates became much stronger, but also began to form primitive layers. Those who study well become a competitive relationship, those who study poorly become a relationship of mutual encouragement, those who love playing ball become golfers, those who love writing poetry become poetry friends, and those who love joking become friends. When I was in junior high school, I had an average IQ and low EQ. With my honest and honest image, I served as monitor and league secretary, and I also had some close friends. One day, Cheng Bin, Zeng Sui, Ying Hua, and Chang Yong, who usually slept together on the Datong bunk bed, came to me and asked me to join Bayern Brothers. At that time, we were young and still students. I was fascinated by Brother Ren, but also worried about it. I was afraid of criticism from teachers, opposition from parents, and fear of affecting my studies. However, although some of these classmates are good at studies, some are good at literature, and some love to be lively, they have similar personalities, deep friendships, and are worthy of long-term friendship. So one night before graduation, we made an appointment to meet up.
The location was chosen at Sun Ming’s house in Nanjiehe Village, which is close to the school. Sun Ming's father is a teacher. Not only did he not object to our visit to his home, but he also gave us full support. The old man cooked a table of delicious dishes, killed a rooster, and dropped the chicken blood into the wine. He placed an incense burner in the main room, lit incense, and offered tributes. We all knelt in front of the incense table and took a sip of the blood wine. kowtow. The ages have been arranged. I am the oldest and kneel at the front, and the others kneel down one by one. They kowtow three times to the incense table, then to Sun Ming’s parents, and then to each other. As soon as we started knocking each other, we became brothers with different surnames. The innocent relationship between classmates became a thick family relationship, and we also had more responsibilities and obligations between us.
Our brothers pooled their money to buy a hat for the eldest brother and put it on my head, which means that I will have to use my brain more to be a good brother in the future; the shoes we bought for the eldest brother and the youngest were put on Cheng Bin’s feet because he is the youngest and will have to run more errands in the future; other brothers One person and one belt means that they are tied together and become a whole.
The process of the Bayern brothers is very complicated, the ritual is ancient and sacred, and even has a hint of gangsters in movies. But it is not actually a feudal thought. What it wants is a solemn sense of ceremony. Facing the offerings on the incense table, the brothers bowed and knelt down in worship. From then on, brotherly love was endowed with a sense of sanctity that could be trusted in life and death. "Brothers of one mind can break metal." A kind of heavy ceremony lets us know that becoming brothers is not casual, and the extension of friendship between brothers is not simple either. Just like Liu, Guan, and Zhang became sworn brothers, once they became sworn brothers, We should be of the same mind, help each other, and go on forever. To this day, our brothers are all successful in their careers and still keep in touch with each other. Due to work, we are scattered all over the country. Some of us have made small achievements in the Xinjiang oil fields, some are traveling in Shanghai to fight for the business world, some have taken root in the northwest of Lanzhou, and some have made great achievements in our hometown. However, we often miss each other and miss each other. Occasionally, we have the opportunity We get together and sincerely help each other when something happens, comfort each other emotionally and promote each other in career. More than thirty years later, we still have deep affection, deep brotherhood, and brotherly connection.
But now there are indeed some young people who have made the relationship between brothers no longer simple. Some are eating and drinking, some are forming gangs, some are quarreling for interests, and some are breaking up due to financial disputes. The local culture has changed. But the unique nostalgia of our brothers should be passed down and this unique culture should be continued. What we pursue should be strong brotherhood, pure brotherhood, and pure brotherhood, rather than improper interactions full of copper odor. When cadres, we should not form cliques with benevolent brothers, and we should not use benevolent brothers to cause harm in the countryside. Neighbors in the countryside and in the business world should not use their benevolent brothers to cheat and deceive, and in society, they should not use their benevolent brothers to show off their strength.
You must be like this kind brother of mine, with sincere love and deep affection; only friendship and friendship, no charlatanism, only mutual concern and no conflicts of interest. Like brothers, like friends, like relatives, they connect the hearts of people from all over the world, and connect the souls of cities and villages.
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