"Talk about Life"——Bing Xin
Talk about Life
——Bing Xin——
I dare not say what life is, All I can say is what is life like?
Life is like a river of spring water flowing eastward. He gathers many small streams into a powerful torrent, pouring downward. He enjoys everything he encounters along the way; sometimes he encounters When he reached the cliff, he ran angrily. It wasn't until he overturned the cliff that he calmly rushed forward. Sometimes he passed by the thin flat sand and saw the red peach blossoms on the bank. He was happy and happy. He spent this romantic journey shyly and gently; at this time, he just wanted to rest and sleep, and the power of advancement still urged him to move forward... Finally one day, he saw him from a distance. The sea, ah! He had reached the end of his journey, the sea majestically stretched out its arms to receive him, and he flowed silently into her arms. He has melted and become naturalized. He cannot be said to be happy or sad! Maybe one day, he will rise from the raindrops on the sea again, fly to the west, form a river, and then wash down the stone walls on both sides, and then look for the peach blossoms on the bank.
However, I dare not talk about the next life, nor do I dare to believe in the next life!
Life is like a small tree. It gathers a lot of vitality from the ground, stretches out under the ice and snow, and breaks out of its shell bravely and happily in the moist soil in early spring. When he meets the arrogant spring, he may display the trees full of flowers, bees and butterflies are flying and making noise around him, and the birds are enjoying and singing on his branches; when he grows to the most lush middle age, he stretches out his body like a canopy. His thick shade comes to shade the flowers and grass under the tree; He bears numerous fruits to show the endless sweetness and pride of the earth. It is not the happiness of the results, but the tranquility and joy after success! Finally one day, he was dancing feebly and moaning under the roots. The earth solemnly stretched out its arms to pick him up, and he fell into her arms without saying a word. He has melted and become naturalized. He cannot be said to be happy or sad! Maybe one day, he will burst out from the kernel in the ground again. It grew into a small tree again, passed through the thick cover of the bush, and listened to the singing of the oriole again.
However, I dare not talk about the next life, nor do I dare to believe in the next life.
The universe is a big life, and we are one breath in the atmosphere of the universe. Rivers flow into the sea, and leaves fall back to their roots. We are one leaf and one drop in the great life. Not every river can flow into the sea, and if it does not flow, it will become a dead lake; not every seed can become a tree, and if it does not grow, it will become an empty shell! Life is neither always happy nor always painful. Happiness and pain are complementary to each other. We should be grateful for life when we are happy, and we should be grateful for life when we are in pain. Happiness is exciting, but pain is beautiful.
Song of Life
When a baby is born, rituals and customs begin. The mother does the "confinement", and the baby is not allowed to be taken outside to cool down. The following is a series of etiquette and customs. In ancient agricultural societies, men were more valued than women, but modern people are less rigid about etiquette and customs. Therefore, they are only introduced for reference. If you don’t like them, please forgive me. If there are any discrepancies, please feel free to report them and correct them.
On the twelfth day, make Dan Kueh for the full-month baby, the baby who turns one year old in April, and the eldest son
The 16th-year-old coming-of-age ceremony, the wedding, the 30th-year-old birthday, the old man’s birthday, and the death of the person
>On the twelfth day: On the twelfth day after the baby is born, the mother's family will first come to "send geng", which means sending live chickens, wine, sesame oil, supplements, etc. to the mother for "confinement", while the husband cooks chicken wine , cooking oil and rice, paying homage to the gods, worshiping ancestors, and worshiping bed mothers to pray for children to grow up safely. And treat the mother-in-law's family to a meal of chicken, wine, oil and rice. If the baby is the first boy, even relatives and friends may have a banquet to celebrate.
Full Moon Ceremony: One month after the child is born, the mother's family will perform the "Full Moon Ceremony" with at least one set of baby clothes (including a hat, clothes, pants, and socks), and use red silk thread to make the character "Swastika" or add gold. Decorate [hat badge, gold lock plate, bracelet, ring, etc.], or pack a red envelope. The most important thing is a red packet of "laundry money" for my mother-in-law, thanking January for coming to help my daughter-in-law during the confinement period. The husband's family cooks a big pot of oily rice and distributes it to the neighbors on plates, while the neighbors put the rice on the original plate and press two pebbles on it as a return gift. Boil the eggs and put them in the basin, ask the barber to remove the fetal hair (some people will ask someone to make fetal hair pens as a souvenir), and then dye the eggs red and distribute them to the neighbors. (If some people give birth to a daughter, the full moon ceremony will be held one day in advance. Oil and rice will not be given away, and the eggs will be taken away by the chef.) Nowadays, it is more popular to give full moon cakes.
Babies in April: My mother-in-law sent me pants with open leg openings so that the baby can walk faster. In addition, you should "collect your saliva", wipe the corners of your mouth with biscuits, collect your saliva, and grow up quickly.
When the baby turns one year old: the mother-in-law sends at least one set of clothes [including hats, clothes, pants, and socks], and uses red silk thread to make the character "swastika", or add gold ornaments, or wrap red envelopes. Some people worship the sky with twelve red turtle cakes, and make two big turtles. They use their feet to make gestures and step on them, which is called "foot-stepping turtles" to pray for longevity. They then make two steamed buns, one to wipe the mouth and the other to wipe the buttocks. It means "you will grow up only if you know how to eat and put it away".
The eldest son’s Dan Kueh: As the saying goes, “Only Dan Kueh makes a guy.” When the boy is capable, grandma will make some red turtle cakes, two chickens (called leading chickens), and a packet of red envelopes to hang the boy on. On the neck [called Han'an], some gifts are carried home by the boy, and the cakes are distributed to neighbors, relatives and friends.
Sixteen-year-old coming-of-age ceremony: People believe that the wise and skillful Seventh Mother is the goddess who protects children, and there are thirty-six bird mothers to take care of the children on their behalf.
When the child reaches one year old, you can take it to a temple (you can visit many temples such as Zhenxing Temple, Shifo Temple, Shandetang, etc.) to pray for the blessing of the Seventh Mother, and hang it on the baby with ancient copper coins or locking pieces (called (Guan Guan) until the age of sixteen, when the parents held a ceremony to leave the "Bird Mother Palace" on Chinese Valentine's Day and then removed it. From now on, there is no need to worship the bed mother in the room.
Marriage: Marriage is a grand event. The man must prepare a betrothal gift, and the woman must prepare a dowry. The man must pray to God to fulfill his vows the night before, and the next day prepare cooked sacrifices, gold, cannons, candles and six rites to go to the woman to marry him. The woman prepares whole sugar cane plants, potted longan plants, lead chickens, rice cakes, dowry including heads and tails, etc., and loads them into the limo. The most important thing is that "the sedan chair should be rounded" which means "the sedan chair must be pressed firmly" and she will not be picked on by others.
Thirty-year-old birthday: As the saying goes: "Thirty-year-old birthday". The mother-in-law of a person who gets married at the age of 30 will do birthday celebrations for him to seek "a successful career" and good luck. The mother of an unmarried person will do birthday celebrations for him in order to "get married and start a career."
Birthday celebrations for the elderly: Sixty years old is considered a big birthday, and they solemnly worship God and entertain guests. I will do it again when I turn ten years old. Generally, couples who are still alive celebrate their sixty or seventy-year-old birthday; if they are widowers and elderly people, they celebrate their sixty-first or seventy-first birthday.
When a person passes away: use hair cakes and rice cakes as sacrifices, hoping that even if the person passes away, they will still be able to "make hair" and bring some good luck. The rice cakes will be "sticky". I hope everyone can survive this change. Come together, don't leave. In the first ten days of the month, people worship white cakes, which are called “face-to-face cakes”. Nowadays, they are all painted with red ink, and I hope everyone can eat them. From now on, every year on the day of the deceased's death, the descendants of the deceased will mark the anniversary of their death to express their filial piety and care for the deceased.
Guanghua Magazine Published in January 1985
Calendar Written by the National Temple Reorganization Committee and compiled and printed by Taoist Publishing House