Introduction of sacrificial furnace

Sacrificing a stove is a custom that has great influence and spread widely among Han people in China. In the past, almost every kitchen had a kitchen god. People call this god "Commander Bodhisattva" or "Commander of the Chef King", while people in the spring are generally called "Chef Maharaja". Legend has it that he is responsible for managing all kinds of stoves and fires and is regarded as the patron saint of the family. Kitchen shrines are mostly located in the north or east of the kitchen, with the idol of Kitchen God in the middle.

The 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month is also called off-year. The folk proverb says: "Twenty-three, sacrifice the stove official." According to the old custom, the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is the day of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god. Most of the statues of Kitchen God are also printed with the calendar of this year, which reads the words "Oriental chef is in charge", "guardian of the world" and "head of the family" to show the status of Kitchen God. On both sides, there are couplets of "Heaven says yes, the lower bound is safe", wishing the whole family peace. On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen god speaks to the sky.

The distiller's grains painted on the stove were drunk, so the man offered his daughter to avoid it.

The kitchen god worshipped in ancient China was Zhu Rong, the god of fire. The Book of Rites: "The son of Zhuan Xu, whose real name is Zhu Rong, is worshipped as the Kitchen God. It is believed that the kitchen god complained to the jade emperor in the Jin Dynasty. Jin Bao Pu Zi Wei Zhi: "On a moonlit night, the Kitchen God also confessed to the people in heaven. "Tokyo Dream of China Record": "People are sleepless, prepare wine fruit as a god, and paint the oven door with distiller's grains, which means they are drunk. Later, the sacrificial stove was moved to the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, also called "off-year". Fan Chengda's words of offering sacrifices to the stove: "In ancient times, there was the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the owner of the stove spoke to heaven. Clouds, chariots and horses linger, and cups and plates at home are full of sacrifices. The pig's head is cooked, and the fish is fresh. When a man asks his daughter to avoid it, he drinks and burns money. Providing candy, water, beans and grass in front of the statue of the kitchen god, and then burning the old statue, this is called sending it into the kitchen; On new year's eve, I bought a portrait of the new chef, called ying Chu. There is also a folk custom that "men don't Yue Bai, women don't offer sacrifices to stoves", so offering sacrifices to stoves is limited to men. Kitchen God, in the Xia Dynasty, has become a great god respected by the Han people. In the Analects of Confucius, which describes Kong Qiu's words and deeds in the Spring and Autumn Period, there is a saying that "it is better to be charming than beautiful."

In the pre-Qin period, the sacrificial furnace was one of the "five sacrifices" (the five sacrifices were the five gods of sacrificial furnace, gate, line, household and thunder). Ray is the land god. The other is door, well, household, stove and incense.

The custom of offering sacrifices to stoves has a long history, and it has become a custom in the Zhou Dynasty. "Sacrificial furnace" was originally named "Sacrificial furnace" to commemorate the "first furnace" for teaching people to eat cooked food. Because of the discovery of fire, people began to transition from eating raw food and drinking blood to eating cooked food and drinking boiled water. Therefore, from the emperor to the common people, the sacrifice to the kitchen god is very pious.

Sacrificial furnace originated very early in China. There is a record of offering sacrifices to stoves in the Book of Rites. However, the date of offering sacrifices to stoves varies from temple to temple and from place to place. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Yinzifang in Nanyang (in Henan Province) offered an antelope to the stove in the twelfth month, which was blessed by the kitchen god and made a fortune. Three generations flourished, and at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty (240- about 299) said, "Today is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month in Wu Lu. It is said that God will be one year old the next day, so he prayed in advance. " . Fearing that the Kitchen God would speak ill of his family, Wu people would "drink to save lives" when offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God. Zongba (about 498-565) recorded that the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves in Jingchu area was on the twelfth day of the first month (December 8), "offering sacrifices to stoves with dolphin wine". Judging from the offerings of the stove, people's awe of this kitchen god who can make a snitch has been decreasing. Earlier, he carefully worshipped with sacrifices such as antelope and dolphin wine, and later he was simply drunk with wine. Since the Song Dynasty, Kitchen God has become the object of jokes. Song people used a kind of candy called "gum jelly" to worship the stove. I didn't mean to let the kitchen god say something sweet. Some people say that it is to make the kitchen god's teeth stick with sugar, and there is nothing to say. There is a so-called "sugar melon" in the common kitchen candy in the north, which is to dip wheat tooth candy in sesame seeds and make it into the shape of a gourd or melon. Another kind of "Guandong sugar" is made of glutinous rice flour and caramel, which is hard and crisp and can be kept for a long time.

Traditionally, by the end of the year, businesses have to settle accounts for the whole year. Therefore, sending stoves is also a time when debt collectors and debt collectors are in an endless stream. However, the most debt collection is New Year's Eve. After dinner, even if the debt is not collected, when the host and guest meet, they should bow their hands and congratulate each other. Therefore, there is a saying in the north: "Desperate kwantung sugar helps to pack jiaozi" (eat jiaozi on New Year's Eve), which describes this situation.

After the sacrifice, before the end of the year, we must choose a good day to do a general cleaning, commonly known as "sweeping the year". The custom of sweeping graves to celebrate the New Year has a long history. Cui ao (died in 1700) mentioned "fasting, eating and cleaning" in December in the "four-person monthly order". Before the annual cleaning, old-fashioned families should turn over the yellow calendar in advance and choose an auspicious day for the zodiac. Dust removal is not only to welcome the New Year, but also beneficial to environmental sanitation and health maintenance.

It is said that after a year of good and evil from Kitchen God to Qin people, 25th is the day when the Jade Emperor fell. He should check whether it is right or wrong, so as to bring misfortune and good luck. Therefore, on this day, everyone should be particularly cautious. In particular, children should be warned not to use foul language, so as not to cause ominous.

During the five days from 25th to New Year's Eve, because the family and God went to heaven, everything was forgiven, and many Han people also held weddings in these days.