One day, Wan Nian went up the mountain to cut firewood and sat under a tree to rest. The movement of the tree shadows inspired him, so he made a sundial to measure the shadow of the sun and calculate the length of the day. However, the sky was cloudy, foggy and rainy, which affected the measurements. He just wanted to make another timekeeping device to make up for the shortcomings of the sundial. That day, he went up the mountain to dig medicine and came to the spring to drink water. The rhythmic ticking of the spring water on the cliff caught his attention. He looked at the spring water in a trance. After thinking for a while, I returned home, drew a picture, tried it out, and finally made a five-layer clepsydra. From then on, he measured the shadow of the sun and looked for water leaks, working diligently. Slowly, he discovered that every three hundred and sixty days, the length of the day would repeat itself from the beginning. The shortest day is on the winter solstice. At that time, the emperor's name was Zu Yi. The seasonal irregularities made him very anxious, so he summoned all officials to discuss the difficulties caused by the irregular seasonal regulations. The seasonal officer named A Heng didn't know the laws of the sun and moon, so he said that people were careless and offended the gods. Only by kneeling down and offering sacrifices sincerely can God forgive you. Ancestor Yi fasted and took a bath, led hundreds of officials to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices, and spread the word throughout the country to set up a platform to offer sacrifices to Heaven. However, sacrifices came and went without any results, and the seasons were still in chaos; people everywhere had to serve and donate in order to build altars, which was really bile mixed with coptis, adding to the suffering. Wannian couldn't bear it anymore, so he brought his sundial and clepsydra to see the emperor. Wannian met with the emperor and talked about the winter solstice and the cycles of the sun and the moon. After hearing this, Zu Yi was overjoyed and immediately ordered a large-scale construction project to build the Sun and Moon Pavilion, the sundial platform and the Leaky Pot Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven. Twelve more boys were assigned to serve for ten thousand years. For ten thousand years, six boys were asked to guard the sundial and six boys to guard the clepsydra, record carefully and report on time.
One day, Zu Yi asked A Heng to go to the Riyue Pavilion to inquire about the calendar making situation. Wan Nian pointed to the cursive calendar and said: "The sun rises and sets three hundred and six times, and the cycle starts from the beginning again. The withered grass and trees are divided into four o'clock. Years are twelve rounds long." When A Heng heard this, he felt it was right, but felt uneasy in his heart. He thought to himself: If Ten Thousand Years had set the seasons correctly, and the emperor would have been happy and used Wan Nian again, who would still listen to me, A Heng? Ah Heng thought and thought, and wanted to get rid of Wan Nian. One day, A Heng found out about a sharp customer who was good at shooting, so he sent someone to invite him to his home, held a banquet, explained the reason, and promised to treat him with great courtesy. The assassin promised to carry out the assassination that night. The assassin took advantage of the drunkenness to leave Ah Heng and ran towards the Sun and Moon Pavilion. Unexpectedly, there were guards guarding the Sun and Moon Pavilion around the Temple of Heaven. Assassins could not get close, so they drew their bows and arrows and shot at Wan Nian, who was watching the stars on the Sun and Moon Pavilion. Unexpectedly, the assassin drank too much and his eyes were dizzy. The arrow only hit Wan Nian's arm. Wannian fell to the ground with an ouch, and all the boys cried out to catch the thief. When the guards heard the cry, they mobilized to catch the assassin and bring him to the emperor. Zu Yi inquired about the truth, sent an order to put A Heng in prison, and immediately left the palace to visit Wannian in the Sun and Moon Pavilion. Wan Nian was very moved. He pointed at Shen Xing and said: "Shen Xing has caught up with Canbaixing, and the stars have recovered. At the end of the night, the old year is over and spring has begun again. I hope the emperor will set a festival." Zu Yi said : "Spring is the beginning of the year, so let's call it the Spring Festival. Aiqing entered the cabinet and could not come out for three years. She worked hard and worked hard to create the lunar calendar based on the full moon. It is really a great achievement. Now Aiqing has been plotted by a traitor. Please follow me. Go to the palace to take care of yourself." Wannian said: "Although the lunar calendar is crude, it is not very accurate. There is still a little time at the end of the year. If you don't use it at the end of the year, the sun and the moon will fly by. The calendar will be wrong. I live up to the expectations of all living beings and am deeply favored by the emperor. I am willing to make careful calculations in the Sun and Moon Pavilion and set the correct calendar."
In this way, I have been in the Sun and Moon Pavilion for ten thousand years. Observing the growth and decline of plants, wheat and bean sprouts, careful calculations were made, and the accumulated days and months at the end of the year were moistened. In May of that year, Zu Yi went to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices to the gods. Then he climbed up to the Sun and Moon Pavilion and gave the fresh peaches in May to Wan Nian. Wannian presented the lunar calendar. Zu Yi looked at Wannian who worked day and night, his eyebrows and beard became white. He was deeply moved, so he named the lunar calendar Wannian calendar, and named Wannian as the sun, moon and longevity star. Therefore, later people also called the Spring Festival the New Year. During the New Year, a picture of the longevity star was hung in the house to symbolize longevity in the new year and to commemorate the ten thousand years of great merit and virtue.
One of the folk customs - pasting Spring Festival couplets. Posting Spring Festival couplets is an indispensable part of a series of activities to welcome the Spring Festival. As early as a few days before the Spring Festival, the streets are crowded with vendors selling Spring Festival couplets loudly. The Spring Festival couplets placed on the stalls are even more dazzling and overwhelming. Each Spring Festival couplet has words of blessing written on it, but each one is different and thought-provoking. Some Spring Festival couplets say: "The gentle breeze blows the green willows in the south of the Yangtze River, and the spring rain urges the flowers in the north to bloom." Some Spring couplets say: "Water, water, mountain The mountains are painted everywhere, and every household has good harvests every year.” In just two sentences, the beautiful wishes in people's hearts during the Spring Festival are brought to life.
My grandpa said that Spring Festival couplets have a long history in China. Wang Anshi, a poet of the Song Dynasty, wrote in "Yuan Ri": "With the sound of firecrackers, a new year comes, and the spring breeze brings warmth into Tusu. Thousands of households are always replacing old talismans with new peaches." The new peach in this poem Hejiufu is the prototype of Spring Festival couplets. Spring couplets are also a type of couplet. As a unique literary form, it has been developed for more than a thousand years since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, but its heyday was still in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Legend has it that after Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, established his capital in Jinling, he sent an edict to Jinling and other places before New Year's Eve one year: "The public ministers, scholars and common people must add a Spring Festival couplet on their doors." On New Year's Eve, he personally went on a patrol incognito to show his true feelings. Once he found a house that had not posted Spring Festival couplets. After asking, he found out that it was a pig castrate and he didn't know how to write his business content into the couplets. After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he thought for a moment and wrote a couplet for the castrate: "Hands split the path of life and death; one knife cuts the roots of right and wrong.
"It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang, the horse-riding emperor, made outstanding contributions to the promotion and development of the Spring Festival couplets. In the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong, the art of Spring Festival couplets became increasingly perfect. Both in terms of content and form, it has a certain level. Kangxi was also a master at writing couplets. The couplet he wrote about the Qifeng Pavilion in Jinshan, Zhenjiang, is a very good couplet: "The clouds in the stream are just beginning to rise, the sun is sinking in the pavilion, and the rain is about to come, and the wind is filling the building." "The development of Spring Festival couplets today has entered a new era. The ancient evergreen tree Spring Festival couplets will surely show its attractive appearance in the new century.
Folk Custom No. 2 - Tiemenshen . The door god is also a Spring Festival must-have with the same status as the Spring Festival couplets, but with the development of culture, it has become rare. I personally think that its decline should be due to the reform of the door in modern architecture. The portrait of the door god is very important. It was difficult to find a place here, so it gradually dissipated. After many searches, I finally saw it. According to the painting seller, it was a portrait of Shen Cha and Yu Lei. One of them held a steel whip and the other had an iron mace in his belt. From the information, I learned that in ancient times, there were two brothers, Shen Na and Yu Lei, who lived on Dushuo Mountain picking wild fruits and planting peach trees. , the shade of the trees is like a canopy. One day, the ghost king wanted to steal some peaches here, so he asked the little ghost to pick them, but he was beaten up by the two brothers. In anger, the ghost king showed his true form and broke into the two brothers' residence at night. The two brothers calmly subdued the ghost king and threw him to the tiger. The ghosts obeyed them. Every morning, they inspected the ghosts under the peach tree and tied them up if there were any evil ghosts harming the world. Later, people used two pieces of peach wood board to draw pictures of Shen Cha and Yu Lei, and hung them on both sides of the door to ward off ghosts.
Folk Custom No. 3 - Window Decoration. Paper-cut art is an ancient handicraft art and a beautiful folk art in my country. It has a long history. It is rooted in the masses of the people and has always been loved by people. It has been passed down for nearly two thousand years. As a part of folk custom, the art of paper-cutting is existing and developing with its tenacious vitality among the people. Its strong vitality has been greatly demonstrated today, whether it is ancient or modern, a pair of scissors and a small piece of paper. We can cut out paper-cut works with a strong sense of life, such as puppies, lambs and other animals in the Chinese zodiac. They are all lifelike, just like the miraculous work of nature. On this festive day of the Spring Festival, we can. You can see unique paper-cut works - window grilles on the windows of every house.
The fourth folk custom - New Year pictures. New Year pictures are also a major event during the Spring Festival. These New Year pictures add a sense of harmony and tranquility to every household. In the old days, every household was covered with colorful New Year pictures from the front door to the living room, symbolizing good luck and wealth. New Year pictures play a certain role in the joyful and lively atmosphere of the New Year. Most wealthy families like to hang pictures of flowers and birds such as old longevity stars, purple stars, fortune, fortune, longevity, etc., naturally. Among the most popular ones in the market now are "Ziyu Wo Lian" (a fat doll holding a big goldfish, lying on the lotus and playing), "Phoenix Lai Yi" (there is a rock on the left side of the picture, On the top are colorful paintings, with two young boys on the right talking to each other (pictured attached), "Every year has more than enough", or New Year paintings depicting storylines in "The Legend of the White Snake", "Journey to the West" and "Water Margin".
The fifth folk custom - New Year's money. Having said that, we still have to go back to the thing that children look forward to most during the Spring Festival, and that is giving out lucky money. There is a widely circulated story about New Year's money. In ancient times, there was a little demon called "Sui" who would go out on New Year's Eve and touch the heads of sleeping children. The children would often be frightened and cry, then get headaches and fever, and turn into fools. Therefore, every family would sit up and stay awake with the lights on on this day, which is called "keeping evil spirits at bay".
A couple had a son in old age, whom they regarded as their darling. On New Year's Eve, they were afraid that "evil spirits" would harm their children, so they took out eight copper coins to play with their children. When the child was tired from playing and fell asleep, they wrapped eight copper coins in red paper and placed them under the child's pillow. The couple did not dare to close their eyes. In the middle of the night, a gust of dark wind blew open the door and blew out the lights. As soon as "Sui" reached out to touch the child's head, flashes of light burst out from the side of the pillow, which scared "Sui" and ran away. The next day, the couple told everyone how to wrap eight copper coins in red paper to scare away evil spirits. In the future, if everyone learns to do this, their children will be fine.
It turns out that the eight copper coins were transformed by the Eight Immortals and came to protect the child secretly. Because "祟" and "Sui" are homophonic, it gradually evolved into "New Year's money". In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, "money woven into the shape of a dragon was woven through colorful ropes, which was called lucky money. Those who were given to children by their elders were also called lucky money." Therefore, in some places, the New Year's money given to children is called "string money." In modern times, it evolved into a red paper package with one hundred copper coins given to the younger generation, which means "long life." For the grown-up juniors, a silver dollar is placed in the red paper bag, which means "everything will make a lot of money". After the currency was changed to banknotes, elders like to go to the bank to exchange new banknotes with linked face numbers for their children, wishing their children "continuous promotion". Although it is good to give lucky money, it follows the tradition and shows the elders' deep expectations for the next generation. However, today's parents are often very generous, giving out only one hundred, two hundred, or even thousands. This will not only make If children spend their money in inappropriate ways, they will develop the habit of spending money lavishly and wasting money.
Therefore, when parents give their children lucky money, they should first not give too much, and second, guide them to use the money in the right place.
Folk Custom No. 6 - Chinese Knot. Chinese knots can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys. Legend has it that a monk used a rope to make a neat knot in his spare time, then strung it with precious Buddhist ornaments and woven the word "王" on the button. Sui, passed down to this day. The monk at that time woven it out of a single thread to reflect his "single-hearted devotion" to the Buddha. Suokami made up the word "king" to reflect his "supreme" belief. Later, as it gradually entered society, the meaning of the Chinese knot also changed from belief to a symbol of the Chinese people's "wholeheartedness" for family, friendship, and love, and the owner's "supreme" status. From large to small, from thick to thin, the bright red Chinese knot reveals the depth of Chinese culture.
Collect information:
1. Spring Festival poems:
Open the Internet lightly, and a series of websites about Spring Festival poems immediately come into view.
"Qilu Fashion in Chinese New Year"
The 30th Reunion Year banquet in a hotel, with hot pot frying from south to north.
Children enjoy New Year’s Eve with games, while adults stay online all day long.
The sound of mahjong lingers on the table, and fireworks and butterflies dance on the curtains.
Is it fashionable to relax for seven days? A different kind of farewell to the old and welcome to the new.
This poem vividly depicts the Spring Festival in the hearts of modern people.
"Five Rhythms New Year's Greetings"
The golden monkeys are in the mood of spring, and the red bows are reunited.
The morning sun rises on the second day of the lunar month, in front of the moon mirror in a pretty dress.
Wish you both hands, and my mother will smile brightly.
The children shouted frequently and cheered for the New Year.
"Warm New Year's Eve with Seven Rhythms"
Throwing colorful threads, flowers are spitting out pistils frequently, and the cousins ??are filled with juice and wine.
Pouring glasses, celebrating reunion with laughter, and wishing the new year a new year with the sound of lamps.
Sisters support each other with loving motherly warmth, and brothers-in-law are well-off and family-friendly.
It is precious to live in harmony in ordinary days, and we will be together through thick and thin.
These two poems bring to life the beautiful mood of family reunion during the Spring Festival.
2. Spring Festival Couplets:
Spring is planted, everyone uses technology, spring is warm, China is blooming, hundreds of flowers are blooming, reform is released, Yangchun song
Winter comes to every household to celebrate the good harvest, the land of the Qing Dynasty Wan Min An, Two Systems, Three Links, White Snow Song
Thousands of good things to prosper the country, green cypresses, green pines, good luck and longevity, national prosperity, characteristics of Sanjiang Warm
Selfless government, thousands of miles of spring, golden bottles and sandalwood boards to celebrate the New Year The sun shines brightly in China and thousands of miles of spring
The morning glow shines brightly in the three spring scenes, dragons fly and phoenixes dance, good governance in the world and the wind refers to the strait
The rising sun shines brightly in the nine realms, the willows are green, the peach blossoms are red, the spring is red and the peach plums report the spring glow
Featured Fuzhou is rich in the world, wine, red lanterns, songs, and the wind blows the green willows in the south of the Yangtze River
In the well-off years, thousands of families, silver zithers and bronze drums announce the new year, and the spring rain urges the flowers in the north to bloom
The spring breeze brings thousands of flowers. The trees are beautiful, the spring breeze of Sanxiang is blowing, and the willows are thousands of green.
The children are filial, the grandchildren are virtuous, and the dragons are everywhere. The four waters are prosperous and the rains are pouring thousands of acres of new seedlings
Conclusion: It has a long history in ancient China In the long history and culture of China, various forms of national customs and folk customs have been nurtured, such as Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures, paper-cutting, door gods, etc., which fully reflect the unique characteristics of Chinese traditional culture. As the heirs of these precious cultures, we must carry them forward.
After this investigation, I took a look at China’s folk customs from ancient times to the present, and gained a deeper understanding of my country’s history and culture. Proud of history and culture!