Kengchang folk culture

The Yellow River gave birth to Chinese civilization, and pits were hotbeds for ancestors on both sides of the Yellow River to thrive. In this ancient and magical cave area, there are many cultural sites scattered. Such as Yangshao Cultural Site in Mianchi County; Miaodigou in Shaanxi County, Sanliqiao Cultural Site, Huangdi Mausoleum in lingbao city and Zhuding Plateau all fully reflect that this land has nurtured splendid ancient civilization. As a symbol of residential culture in western Henan, the cave dwelling houses in Kengyuan contain rich cultural accumulation and rich cultural connotations, reflecting people's religious beliefs, social conditions and economic development level in a certain social and historical stage. The construction of pit kiln is very clever and ingenious. The cave is connected with the earth, lying in the soil, beating with the pulse of the earth, which has practical value and earthquake-proof function. From the artistic function, the whole kiln is square, standing in the middle of the yard and looking at the sky, just like a vault. It is the epitome of the unity of heaven and earth, embodies the beauty of the square garden, is the philosophical response of "harmony between man and nature" in ancient China, and is a typical example of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Although the pit kiln is a small farmhouse, it is very particular about its construction due to the influence of history and traditional culture. At the same time, it contains both scientific elements and a large number of feudal superstitions. In the local customs of the yellow land, the construction of pit kiln courtyard is called square courtyard, which is a major event related to the rise and fall of the family and the reproduction of future generations. Therefore, before breaking ground, please understand Mr. Feng Shui of Yin and Yang Gossip, build the terrain, determine the orientation, measure the size, set the pile off the assembly line, and break ground on a certain day. Where there are mountain ridges and tablelands behind the house, it is called "mountain thickness". As the saying goes, "backed by Jinshan, facing the south, a generation of big officials (endless)"; Those who are helpless in the ditch behind the house are called "mountains on their backs". As the saying goes, "You can't tie a chicken with your back, but God of Wealth can't reach you (see)", which is a big taboo. On the day of groundbreaking, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, firecrackers were set off, and the landlord burned incense to worship the land god (Lord) to welcome the auspicious god. This custom originated from ancient people's worship of land. Subsequently, three shovels were dug in the center and four corners of the foundation site, which was called "breaking ground". It is said that you can only break ground (work) after breaking ground.

The construction of pits is influenced by traditional cultural gossip. Before villagers build kilns, they must invite Yin and Yang teachers to inspect them. According to the topography and area of the homestead, around the eight directions of Yin and Yang fish, they decided to build that kind of yard according to the Eight Diagrams of the Book of Changes. According to the four different directions of due south, due north, due east and due west of the kiln yard and the position of the main cave in the kiln yard, the kiln yard is called Dongzhenfu, Xiduifu, Linanfu and Beikan House respectively. Among them, Dongzhenfu is considered as the best orientation. Dongzhen House: rectangular, with 8 holes, the main kiln is Zhengdong kiln, the southeast kiln is kitchen kiln, the southwest kiln and the west kiln are guest kiln, the south kiln is portal kiln, and the southwest and northwest corners are Wugui kiln and toilet. Li Nanfu: rectangular, with 8- 12 holes. The south kiln is the main kiln, the southeast kiln is the kitchen kiln, and the southwest kiln and the west kiln are the guest kilns. West facing house: square, 10 hole, with main kiln in the west, kitchen kiln in the southwest corner, guest kiln in the northwest corner, kiln in the north, kiln in the southwest corner, Wugui kiln and latrine in the southeast corner and east, and door kiln in the northeast corner. Beikan House: rectangular, with 8- 12 holes drilled, the main kiln is due north, the kitchen kiln is due east, the northeast kiln is a guest kiln or a five-ghost kiln (animal kiln), the northwest kiln and the south kiln are guest kilns, the southwest kiln is a guest kiln or a five-ghost kiln, the southwest corner kiln is a toilet, and the southeast kiln is a doorway kiln.

According to the orientation of the house, it is determined to dig the main kiln in the middle of a cliff for the elders to live in. The main kiln is 3-3.2 meters high, with one door and three windows, and the rest are partial kilns, 2.8-3 meters high, with one door and two windows. There are mostly two sets of doors, the old one opens inward and the air door opens outward. The old door is firm and the air door is transparent. The main kiln is wider than other caves to show the dignity of the owner. Some pits excavate two caves in the main direction, and it is impossible to determine the main kiln. In order to remedy the main kiln, a small kiln was dug on the half cliff between the two kilns, which was symbolically used as the main kiln of the house, also called the sun kiln. Wugui Kiln (also called Desperate Kiln) is fierce and is considered as the worst cave in the whole kiln. It is often used to raise livestock, grind flour, put farm tools and sundries. Because the stone mill is a white tiger star, it can suppress evil spirits.

Mr. Feng Shui believes that the construction and use of the pit courtyard pays great attention to the coordination of yin and yang and pays attention to the five elements. Every time you build a pit yard, you should first consider whether it is related to the fate of the owner (never give it to the other party), and then decide what type of house to build according to the relationship. For example, build a courtyard dominated by the north or the east, because the north is water, water can raise wood, and the east is wood, and wood can help each other. Of course, it is also possible to build a quadrangle mainly in the northeast. Ask the theme to be high and the other directions to be downward. The one with high orientation is Yang, and the one with low orientation is Yin. The house mainly occupies the yang position, and other members occupy it for a long time from high to low. Yin position should be used in toilets, cowsheds, mills, etc. There are strict requirements for its layout, especially the coordination of main stoves, that is, which cave kiln is the main kiln and which cave kiln is the kitchen, which is which. For example: the opposite house in the static house (namely Xidi House). The owner of a suitable house is a golden man who builds and lives. The house is high in the west and low in the east. The cooperation of the main door stove should be that the west is the husband's position and the main kiln; The extension of the year in the northeast is the doorway, the southwest is the kitchen, and the southeast is the toilet. In this way, the family of Yin and Yang will be peaceful, and residents can live a happy and developed life for their ancestors. According to the map of the Eight Diagrams Annual Tour, the orientation of Yin and Yang of this kind of house is determined, that is, desperate (Yin) in the east, six killers (Yin) in the southeast, five ghosts (Yin) in the south, evil (Yin) in the north, husband's position (Yang) in the west, natural medicine (Yang) in the southwest, life-prolonging (Yang) in the northeast and anger (Yang) in the northwest. Different types of patios have different yin and yang orientations, but there is a basic requirement: the terrain of the yang position should be higher and the terrain of the yin position should be lower accordingly, so as to maintain the trend of strong yang and weak yin. Eight orientations in the Eight Diagrams are endowed with yin and yang orientations, namely, husband's position (upper theme), sudden death (lower theme), disaster, five ghosts, heavenly doctor, anger, six kills and life extension, among which husband's position is yang, six kills, five ghosts, disaster and sudden death are yin. If the yang position of a hospital is too strong, it is the main door stove. On the contrary, the yang position is too low, life is not smooth, accidental injuries continue, future generations are not smart, family members, especially women, are sick and sick, grandparents have no money, and the yin position only needs to be low but not high. If one of the four yin positions is too high, the owner and his family will have lawsuits, diseases, accidental casualties, disability and grandparents' incompetence. The pit yard should not only pay attention to the coordination of yin and yang in the house, but also require the terrain and buildings around the house. /kloc-the topography, buildings and trees planted within 0/00 meters have great influence on the rise and fall of houses, and we should also pay attention to the trend of strong yang and weak yin. If it is within the limits of this house, the head of the household can't add soil in the shade and build tall buildings, but if there are tall buildings, trees, highlands, etc. In the shadow outside the boundary of this house, the head of the household should remedy it in the yang corner of his own house. What needs to be emphasized here is that these are superstitious statements, and it is not advisable to just understand them.

There are three important points in the construction of pit kiln, namely, the location of main kiln, door kiln and stove kiln is very important, and the balance of yin and yang is also good luck. The number of caves is also very particular, and there is a saying that there are five Ming caves, six dark caves, eight seals and nine. Nine, so the nine-hole kiln has the most courtyards. There was a lively and grand kiln closing ceremony. After the cave is dug, the craftsman leaves a hole on the top of the cave that can only hold a brick or a stone, and builds it with bricks or stones tied with red cloth or colored lines, then sets off firecrackers and holds a banquet for guests, wishing the host peace and good luck. They moved into the new kiln, and relatives and friends also prepared gifts to congratulate them, and drank the wedding banquet "warm kiln", which some people called "stepping on the yard".

The cave is a "stove kang" facing the mouth of the cave. Some kilns have double kang in front and back, with children sleeping in front and old people sleeping in the back (kiln bottom). Cooking with fire in winter, the rice is cooked. Pan Kang has a "seven" for the day and a "seven" for the size. For example, 6 feet 7 inches long and 4 feet 7 inches wide. "Seven" is homophonic with "wife", which means "share a bed with your wife and grow old together for a hundred years". The chimney of the stove fire leads to the ground through the heatable adobe sleeping platform, which is called a smoke hole. The kitchen god is enshrined in the cupboard kiln, and the couplet often says "God speaks well and goes back to the palace for good luck". At the entrance of the pit yard, the passage is made of bricks in a stepped shape. The gatehouse is carefully paved with bricks and tiles, commonly known as the "poor courtyard rich gatehouse". Planting flowers and trees in the courtyard of the pit is an essential process for the owner to decorate the courtyard of the pit. The warm spring in bloom makes people feel that they are living among flowers, and they have a quiet peasant mood, which is especially cheerful. Plant more fruit trees in the yard, so that you can enjoy the cool in summer and have fresh and delicious fruits to eat in the fruit season. Planting trees in the pit yard is particularly particular. Don't plant mulberry before, willow after, and there is no ghost clapping in the yard (poplar). Because of the homophonic sound of "mulberry" and "mourning", it is considered unlucky for vitamins to mourn with wood, and the sound of poplar leaves being blown away by the wind is also terrible. The pear tree is in front, the elm tree is behind, and the pomegranate tree is planted in the yard. Because "pear" and "profit" are homophonic, elm is called a cash cow, and pomegranate has many kinds of seeds, all of which are auspicious. There is a big locust tree next to the door, called "Millennium pine and cypress, Millennium ancient locust", which means happiness and well-being.

Stick grilles (also called paper-cutting) is a traditional folk custom in cave windows. Most of them are women. In the old society, when girls were about twelve years old, they had to learn paper-cutting besides working and sewing. The production of window grilles is very fine, which is divided into five steps: painting, cutting, smoking, dyeing and pasting. (1) painting. It is to draw the appearance first, and draw the familiar or imaginary things. (2) cut. Talking about knife work, cut the painted flowers with scissors, the finer the better. (3) fumigation. This is a scientific replication method. The cut pattern is pasted on a pile of paper with window paper, smoked on an oil lamp, and then the pattern is taken down, revealing white flowers and a black background. This can save the tracing procedure. (4) dyeing. That is, coloring (before colorful paper), drawing cut patterns with various colors to make the lines clear and beautiful. (5) paste. Stick the finished window grilles on the window paper, and it is finished.

Window paper-cutting can be divided into seasonal and non-seasonal types. In the past, the Spring Festival was the best time for women to show their skills. The cave and the window of the house have become exhibition rooms for paper-cutting, and the newly-married daughter-in-law should give her paper-cutting to relatives and neighbors to show her intelligence. Secondly, it is to get married or have a happy event. Paper-cuts are pasted not only on the windows, but also on the walls of caves to beautify the room and add festive atmosphere.

In the old society, women's life circle was limited to indoor housework, and most of their paper-cut contents were "Magpie Climbing Plums", "Dragon Playing with Beads", "Proud", "Goddess Scattering Flowers" and various patterns of flowers, flowers, insects, fish, birds and animals, and most of them reflected fat dolls. In addition, there are paper-cuts that are auspicious, prosperous for a long time, prosperous for six animals, rich in grains and evil spirits. These bright red paper-cuts are full of folk and local flavor, which reflects people's yearning for a better life and adds color and spring to the desolate and barren caves. The marriage customs and burial customs in the pit field are very distinctive. A man rides a horse and a woman rides a sedan chair. In front of the guard of honor is a hemp umbrella (actually, it is a pholiota adiposa, but people can only call it a hemp umbrella). Then the flag bearer, playing eight flags at most. Then there are lanterns, as many as flags. Behind the lantern is a sign with auspicious words. Onions and wine bottles are tied on both sides. Onions are smart, and wine means long-term. Behind the sign is a gong. Then there is the band, with suona, sheng, bangzi and Xiao Gong. Behind the band is the groom's horse and the bride's sedan chair.

When getting married, the relatives of the woman's family followed, which humiliated the man's family. According to analysis, it is a relic of the ancient custom of "robbing relatives", which is found in Shaanxi, Lingbao, Lushi and Luoning. It should have been the man who robbed relatives at the earliest, so he painted his face black for fear that the woman's family would recognize him. Later, it evolved into a game-style slapstick, and the face was not completely blackened, but painted with oil.

The wedding procession goes up the cliff first (called Nai in the local dialect), and the groom worships the bride and calls it a sedan chair. Then two women from the husband's family came out to help the bride out, firecrackers sounded, and the bride got out of the sedan chair and stepped on the "five grains" basin (filled with peanuts and cotton). The ground was covered with a red carpet, stretching from the cliff to the groom's room. Senior bridal chamber, when entering the bridal chamber, the new person grabs the door, the groom goes out and the bride enters, indicating that the man is outside and the woman is inside. The newlyweds eat first, the bride eats first and the groom eats in the kitchen. The steamed stuffed bun has sixteen petals of lotus. The bride breaks it, eats half and gives half to the groom. The bride should also eat bean sprouts. "Eat bean sprouts first, then have another baby" means to take root early. After dinner, the bride's family leaves and the couple will meet the bride again. Sacrifice ancestors first, then parents, and husband and wife worship each other. When visiting the church, put a bucket on the table, each bucket is 30 kilograms, put food in the bucket and insert a steel scale. There is a mirror hanging on the scale, which means exorcism.

In the burial custom of the pit yard, geomantic omen is still emphasized, and the deceased pays attention to "golden mountains on his head, rice boats on his feet, and silver mountains in his hands", or seeks good luck for future generations. It is also necessary to "light up" the deceased. The deceased was lying in the coffin, the lid was opened, and the dutiful sons took turns to wipe their faces with cotton dipped in water. It means protecting future generations.

The scenes, atmosphere and etiquette displayed by the wedding customs and burial customs on the yellow land, together with caves, old trees, window grilles and plaid cloth in the pit yard, are tangible cultural assets and intangible cultural resources, including people's values, lifestyle and aesthetic realm, which together constitute the genes of folk cultural ecology. The folk custom of the 20-year-old season is accompanied by people's production activities and the development of social history. Although the forms of expression are different, most of them are characterized by jubilation and exultation. The most important New Year for people living in the pit yard makes folk customs a social fire performance during the Spring Festival. People walk on stilts and paddle dry boats to celebrate the festival, hoping that in the coming year, crops will be plentiful, livestock will flourish and live a long life.

The most important fun of playing Social Fire is that people play various roles to connect their unique stories. There are mainly the following types of shapes for playing social fire here: (1) mythical and legendary figures. These characters are all "immortals", which means "protecting the country and helping the people, and blessing the longevity". They have formed their own traditions from makeup, props and singing, and tend to be standardized. (2) Historical story figures. Such figures have names, historical origins and concrete examples, but they are often visualized and typified after artistic processing. Such as Liu Bei, Zhao Yun, Zhao Kuangyin and Bao Gong. (3) Clowns. As the saying goes, "don't be ugly, don't publicize it", and social fire is no exception. Funny and hilarious clown characters, such as "fat wife", can set off the holiday atmosphere well and have a unique style. (4) Typical animal images. Animals symbolizing auspiciousness, benefiting the people and exorcising evil spirits are often used for social fire, making a wish and thinking; The second is to add holiday fun. Such as Dragon Dance, Lion Dance, Bamboo Girl, Catch the Bear and so on. There are the following kinds of literary folk customs in Kengyuan Village in western Henan: (1) Henan Opera: also known as Henan Bangzi and Henan Gaoti. Because early actors sang with their own voices, they turned up the ending tape with falsetto when they started and closed the cavity, which is also called "Henan Fu". The performances in western Henan are mostly based on mountains and plains, which is called "Shout at the Back of the Mountain" locally. (2) Quju: It was formed in the 1920s, but the Qupai it sang was widely circulated among the people in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, about 200 * * *, which can be described as young and ancient. Quju music belongs to folk music, or "Qupai couplets" music. Each Qupai is characterized by multi-function and multi-purpose monomer, and its independent personality is obvious and strong. Qupai, Quti and Modal are rich, and there are musical structures such as up and down, three sentence patterns, four sentence patterns, five sentence patterns and multiple sentence patterns. There are three modes: court mode, commercial mode and expropriation mode. He is good at lyricism, clarity, simplicity, vividness and liveliness. He has both the passion of northern music and the graceful elegance of Jiangnan music. Simple and friendly, easy to understand, with a strong local flavor, people are fascinated by it. (3) Pu Opera: that is, "Zhou Pu Bangzi", commonly known as "random play" by local people. It is named after it originated in Zhanpu Prefecture in the southwest of the mountain. Pu Opera has high-pitched and passionate tone, beautiful rhyme and is good at expressing passion. Because of the local people's living habits and language tones, its melody jumps greatly (usually once or even fourteen degrees), rising and falling, and it is good at expressing excited and sad feelings.

There are the following kinds of folk customs in Kengchang Village: (1) Nasol. Semi-practical, semi-consumptive and comfortable soles have become an easy job for women on weekdays, so they also have relatively time to consider the patterns and fancy of soles. Contrasting red and blue are the most common sole colors. (2) Textile. In the old society, women in pits were good at spinning and weaving. In the slack season, especially in sunny days, women will move their spinning wheels into the yard to enjoy the sunshine and spin when there are dogs running around, which naturally outlines the unique landscape of the pit. Now there are fewer and fewer people who can spin and weave in the pit yard, and many old looms and spinning wheels are idle in caves.