Etiquette of building beams

China is called the land of etiquette because the ancients should pay attention to etiquette no matter what they do. Building a house, as a major event in production and life, is accompanied by various etiquette from beginning to end. I'll arrange an article on capping etiquette for you, and more articles can be used for reference.

According to Chinese historical records, the ceremony of building beams began in Wei and Jin Dynasties and spread all over the country in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Architectural etiquette is actually a kind of auspicious etiquette. The purpose of holding these ceremonies is to pray for permanent housing, long-term wealth and complete children. According to the procedure of civil architecture, architectural etiquette can be roughly divided into site selection, column erection, beam erection, door erection and completion, among which the beam erection ceremony is considered to be the most important etiquette in the construction process.

Beams are cross members installed on the columns of buildings. It bears all the weight of the superstructure and roof, and is the most important part of the superstructure. The beams in traditional buildings in China can be divided into dozens, including three beams, five beams, seven beams, nine beams, one-step beam, two-step beam, riding door beam, moon beam, holding head beam and Taiping beam, among which the most common ones are five beams, seven beams and nine beams. It is believed that the smoothness of the upper beam is not only related to the firmness of the building structure, but also to the prosperity of the occupants in the future. There used to be a saying in the countryside: "There are beams on the roof, food at home, no beams on the roof, and six animals are not prosperous." It can be seen that the beam is important in the eyes of ordinary people, so a grand ceremony should be held every time the beam is released.

Although the customs vary from place to place, the ceremony of releasing the beam is very grand, and the whole process can be divided into several procedures, such as offering the beam, releasing the beam, collecting the bag, throwing the beam and waiting for the craftsman.

It can be said that the whole beam installation ceremony is carried out around the "main beam". Before loading the beam, the beam should be carefully selected and manufactured. According to the custom of Taishun area, it is not easy to choose a good beam. First, the master should go to Nanshan to find Liang himself. The conditions for beam selection are very strict. First, the beam must be Chinese fir; Second, it is necessary to towering trees and flourish; Third, the age of the tree is not long or short, and the size of the tree is as consistent as possible from bottom to top; Fourth, there should be many small Chinese fir trees around the tree, and the more the better, representing the children and grandchildren. If it is a single tree, you can't choose.

When cutting the beam, don't destroy the small Chinese fir around you. When cutting beams, the direction should be south, not other directions. On the day of beam-making, to choose an auspicious day, the carpenter should first light three sticks of incense, then set off two firecrackers, and then start making.

After the beam and wood are made, the master will choose an auspicious day to come to the beam. According to the traditional custom, Shangliang can't collide with anyone in the master's family on this day, otherwise it will have a negative impact. In addition, other people's zodiac signs should be avoided if they conflict with Liang's time.

It is an essential procedure to shout "Good luck" when climbing the balance beam. People carried the main beam wrapped in red paper or red silk into the front of the new house, and placed sacrifices such as pigs, fish, chickens, geese, eggs, tofu and incense candles on the altar. Bricklayers and carpenters toasted and said good things. After the sacrifice, craftsmen will hang the main girder to the roof or pull it up with ropes. When lifting or pulling the beam, firecrackers will explode, and Master Liang will sing Song Liang and shout "Come on, good luck!" In the process of beam erection, some places require the hanging beam to be stable, and it is forbidden to tilt back and forth. But in other places, the eastern end of the beam is often higher than the western end, because the eastern end represents "dragon" and the western end represents "white tiger". According to the requirements of geomantic omen, "white tiger" is lower than "dragon".

After placing the main girder smoothly, the owner should move the "five-grain colored bag" sent by relatives and friends to the roof and put it in the middle of the beam, indicating that the five grains are abundant and red cloth is placed on the beam. Some places sew a pair of cloth insoles on the bottom of the red cloth, which means paving the way for the owner of the new house. In some places, red cloth bags filled with red dates, peanuts, rice, wheat and evergreen are hung in the middle of the main beam, which means "happiness, wealth, longevity and happiness forever". After that, the craftsman wrapped the fruit and food in red cloth, said good things, and threw the cloth into the laundry basket held by the owner in both hands. This program is called "receiving the package", which means grasping the treasure.

The most lively procedure in the ceremony is "beam throwing". When the master "took the bag", the craftsman threw candy, peanuts, steamed buns, copper coins and "gold ingots" from the surrounding beams, so that men, women and children who came to watch the excitement could compete for it. The more people, the happier the host. This move is called "throwing the beam", which means "financial resources are rolling in". When "throwing a beam", craftsmen should speak auspicious words. They often say: "When you cast a beam to the east, the sunrise in the east is full; Cast a beam to the west, and Kirin will send a son to hang a double happiness; Throw the beam to the south, and future generations will be champions; North throwing beams, white rice is full every year. "

After throwing the beam, people left the new house and let the sun shine on the beam. This is called "sunbathing". Finally, the host gave a banquet to entertain craftsmen, helpers, relatives and friends, and distributed red envelopes, and the whole ceremony ended.

With the development of science and technology, few people have built wooden houses. However, this symbolic ceremony is still handed down in many areas. When the house is capped on the last floor, people should also choose an auspicious day to celebrate. Abroad, people still build wooden houses. When Germans build houses, they also hold ceremonies to celebrate the girders. At that time, the carpenter will put a corolla or a small tree decorated with ribbons on the roof, and then the foreman will sincerely pray and wish the host family happiness and good luck. After praying, drink to the happiness of the owner and throw away the empty cup. Finally, the host entertained the craftsmen with a sumptuous banquet. Although these ceremonies are not as complicated as the traditional ceremony of putting the beam on the beam in China, their intentions of praying for happiness and peace are the same.