What superstitions and taboos do people in China have?

In China's long-standing traditional culture, a considerable part is directly created and appreciated by the general public. This part of culture is customarily called folk culture. It spreads among the people in the form of customs and folk art, which directly affects people's production, life, psychology and ideas. With the development of modern humanities, many emerging disciplines, such as cultural anthropology, ethnology, especially folklore, pay great attention to this part of national culture, collect, sort out and study it, and put forward various theories and viewpoints about it. China's exploration of folk culture formally originated from the May 4th New Culture Movement. Before liberation, it developed to a certain extent. After liberation, it stopped for a while. After 1976, some related disciplines in this field resumed, and they cooperated with each other and developed quite rapidly. In the research of folklore, there are not only specialized academic groups and a few professionals, but also a large number of part-time collectors and researchers. In addition to folk literature, it also covers marriage, funeral, age, living customs, material production, diet, clothing, folk beliefs, national customs and so on. Folk taboo is a topic that has been highlighted recently. Taboo is usually called "taboo" in cultural anthropology. This is a ban on sacred or unclean things. Taboo has been produced and played an important role in primitive times. Fraser's The Devil's Lawyer (subtitled "Defending Superstition") is a famous book devoted to studying the function of primitive national superstitions, including taboos. With the development of society and people's ideology, the form and connotation of taboo have also developed and changed, and it was not widely popular among the people until modern times. Taboo is not a single folk phenomenon, it exists in all kinds of folk activities, mainly through passive avoidance to self-discipline, so it is an organic part of the whole folk custom. In China, contemporary folklore scholars have paid full attention to the classification of taboos. For example, Mr. Tao devoted a chapter to the classification of taboos in Introduction to Folklore. He divided taboos into (1) religious taboos; ② Production taboo; (3) language taboo; (4) general life taboos. Although the division method is general and not rigorous, it is one of the earliest scholars to discuss this issue. Mr. Wu Bingan's classification of China folk taboos is based on the sources of folk beliefs of taboos. He generally divides taboos into five aspects, that is, first, he regards natural forces or natural objects in nature as sacred and inviolable things and worships them, thus forming taboo ideas and behaviors for the sun, the moon, stars, wind, rain, thunder, rainbows, water, fire, mountains, stones and other things. Secondly, regarding an animal or plant as a sacred thing closely related to the ancestors of this clan has formed taboos such as prohibiting killing or committing crimes. Thirdly, the worship of ancestral spirit stems from the taboo of ancestral symbols or relics. Fourth, the taboo about ghosts, monsters and their places of activity stems from the worship of ghosts and elves. The fifth is the taboo formed by the concept of seeking good fortune and avoiding bad fortune derived from superstition. These five aspects can be roughly summarized as follows: (1) nature worship; ② Totem worship; (3) ancestor worship; (4) Worship of ghosts and gods; ⑤ Worship of fate. The taboo classification here is divided according to these five reasons of taboo worship. The theoretical system is rigorous and profound. However, the actual classification results based on this classification system have not been seen. Perhaps it is because these five forms of worship blend with each other in real life and are difficult to distinguish, so there are some difficulties. Taboos: First of all, human taboos. The human body is different from the human body, and some people have greater spiritual strength-China people call it "fatal" and "nemesis". These people will hinder others. "Obstruction" is a common word, which is harmful to those who hinder it, that is, it can hurt others and even lead to death. For example, monarchs, powerful ministers and other people in high positions; Witch witch, Shen Han, Duangong and other folk theocracy figures; There are also "opponents" who can't communicate with each other or can resist each other in physiognomy. , all these people can hinder and hinder the dead (see the "taboo" section of this book). For such people, ordinary people should be wary of contact with them, and it is best to stay away from them and avoid them, otherwise it will lead to disaster. In the old society, a seven-product sesame official, that is, the county grandfather, was not allowed to stare at the people when he was in court. Therefore, when singing opera, there is often such a dialogue: "XX, look up." "Wang dare not." "Forgive your innocence." "Yes" shows that ordinary people dare to look up to officials or officials only if they are pardoned in advance. Otherwise, you will hurt yourself because of the "lethality" of officials. "Book of Rites Quli" says: "The son of heaven is lighter than the collar, not inferior to the belt. You look at it, the doctor looks at it, and the scholar looks at it in five steps. Anyone who looks at it is arrogant on his face and worried on his belt. " It can be seen that some taboos have been institutionalized and ethicized since ancient times. It also emphasizes the ban on the human body. The taboo way of sacred, inviolable or unclean and dangerous human body is usually to isolate it from ordinary people in various ways. Kings and ministers live in tall and thick palace walls and official residences; Lamas, monks and Taoist priests live in monasteries, temples and Taoist temples that are separated from the mortal world; Live in another place to give birth; Criminals should be put in prison; Patients should be alone and cautious; The dead should be buried underground ... China people are forbidden to show their bodies. Adults are not allowed to expose their bodies to others except children who can run around naked. There is a folk saying that "men don't show their umbilicus and women don't show their skin". It may be because of the concern that men are too hot when doing heavy physical work, or because of the consideration of sensitive areas of male upper body asexual stimulation, so the restrictions on male upper body exposure are not too strict. For women, the strictness of the requirements is amazing. In the old society, women, as ordinary people and good families, hid in boudoir since childhood. As the saying goes, "You can't leave the front door, but you can't leave the second door" and stay at home all day. This is nothing more than hiding the hard-to-wrap face and hands from outsiders. Because the nudity of any part of women will produce "sexual attraction", which will cause male lust and lead to great disaster. Second, the taboo of physiognomy. Believing that gaze can absorb and control the soul, there were many physiognomy methods in ancient China. Bone is one of them. Wang Fu's Notes on Qian Fu. Xiang Lie says, "People have their own bones, but there are still all kinds of things." Wang Chong's Lun Heng. "Ancient Images" says: "The way to deal with joints is to examine the principle of skin to judge people's lives. No one should not." Wang Chong also cited examples of Fan Li's southern expedition and Liao Wei's death in the State of Qin. He said, "The King of Yue is a man with a long neck and a long beak. He can share joys and sorrows with others, but he can't share joys and sorrows. " "The king of Qin is a man with long eyes, sly voice, a little kindness and a wolf-like heart." ... you can't make friends with him. "Are through the physiognomy and occupation to master each other's soul, so as to avoid. It can be seen that there are skeletal taboos such as "long neck and beak" and "long eyes and long eyes". Once the principle of common belief with ominous bones is established among the people, it applies not only to others, but also to themselves. Therefore, if you have a bad omen, you will also be afraid of yourself. Of course, this phase theory is idealistic, but there are still many believers among the people. This situation was pointed out long ago by Xunzi, a thinker in the Warring States Period, in Xun Zi Wu Xiang Pian. He said: "People are known for their good and bad luck, which is called by the world; The ancients had nothing, and scholars had no choice. " He also cited many examples to prove that the method of physiognomy is not credible, pointing out that "it is better to talk." It can be seen that the taboo of physiognomy belongs to folk belief, and the fallacy of superstition has long been seen through by discerning people. However, the existence and development of folk beliefs have not stopped and changed because of the awareness of a few wise men, and the belief in physiognomy is still developing and continuing in an increasingly complicated way. The folks have "the upper body is long and assists the king; The upper body is short, the blessing is shallow ","the upper body is long, sitting in the main hall; The saying that the lower body is long and busy. This is flattery. There is another saying: "The upper body is long and the lower body is short. If you don't eat, you are lazy. "This is a common saying that workers cherish themselves.