Evolution of Double Ninth Festival.

The Double Ninth Festival in September of the lunar calendar is an auspicious day, which has been passed down from generation to generation and has become a festival to respect the elderly. As we all know, before the Han Dynasty, our ancestors always regarded the ninth day of the ninth lunar month as an evil day. Wearing dogwood, drinking chrysanthemum wine and climbing mountains in the suburbs are all aimed at eliminating disasters.

The origin of Chongyang can be traced back to before the pre-Qin period. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" said in the ninth season: Another day, Great King, tasting sacrifices and preparing for the son of heaven. It can be seen that at that time, when the crops were harvested in autumn and September, there were activities of offering sacrifices to the emperor and ancestors to thank them for their kindness. The name of Chongyang originated from the mysterious interpretation of the yin and yang attributes of numbers by the ancients. Odd number is Yang, even number is Yin, nine is the pole of Yang number, and the ninth day of September is the coincidence of two Yang, which means that Yang has reached its peak and everything has reached its peak and declined, which is an ominous sign. In order to avoid the so-called evil spirits day, the ancients held grand sacrificial activities, that is, wearing Chinese herbal medicines to ward off evil spirits or climbing picnics to ward off evil spirits.

Wu Jun in the Southern Dynasties recorded a story in Continued Harmony: Huanjing, a native of Runan, studied Taoism with Fei Changfang for many years, and Fei Changfang told him: On September 9th, there will be disaster in your home. It is advisable to leave in a hurry and let the family make their own crimson bags, hold dogwood, tie their arms, and climb high to drink chrysanthemum wine. This disaster can be eliminated. Huan Jing climbed the mountain according to teacher Fei's instructions. Going home at night, I saw that chickens, dogs, cattle and sheep suddenly died. Teacher Fei said after listening: This can be exchanged. Finally, Wu Jun concluded: People in this world drink on the ninth day, women hold the bag of Cornus officinalis, and the lid starts here. In fact, Xin has sold dogwood and chrysanthemum wine before. Mrs. Sanchi's attendants said in his Miscellanies of Xijing that on September 9, Pei Cornus ate tent bait and drank chrysanthemum wine, which made people live longer. It seems that long before Wei Wendi's xelloss, Liu Xin tried to vindicate the disaster of Chongyang.

Of course, the first person to correct the name of Chongyang and regard it as an auspicious day was Cao Pi, Wei Wendi in the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Pi's "Nine Days and Zhong You Book" made a brand-new annotation on the number of nine: one year to the month, and then suddenly returned to September 9. Nine is the number of yang, and the sun and the moon should be in harmony, which is a well-known custom, so it is necessary to feast for a long time. He used the meaning of "99" for a long time, and changed the main content of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month from avoiding disasters to praying for longevity.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was probably Emperor Taizong and Li Shimin who designated Chongyang as an official festival. Book of the Old Tang Dynasty, Volume II, Second Edition: In the afternoon of September, Zhao Yue said: The teeth are still heavy, and the first king set an example. That is to say, in the afternoon of September, Emperor Taizong of Li Shimin issued imperial edicts, respecting the elderly and honoring officials, and the first generation of holy kings left an example for future generations.

Wu Zetian chose the Double Ninth Festival in 690 AD, abolished Li Dan, called himself the Emperor of the Holy Spirit, and changed the country name to Zhou. At the age of 67, she came to this world. I'm afraid what she values is the' lasting significance' of the Double Ninth Festival. Since the Double Ninth Festival became an auspicious day, scholars have constantly injected cultural elements into it with poems and songs, while ordinary people have carried forward the custom of Double Ninth Festival handed down.

As a result, the most important folk customs of the Double Ninth Festival-Cornus officinalis and chrysanthemum of Yanshouke ushered in new glory. Cornus officinalis is an evergreen aromatic plant, which has the functions of killing insects and disinfection, expelling cold and wind, and is a famous Chinese medicine. According to Records of Local Habits in Jin and Zhou Dynasties, on the ninth day of September, the spirit of Cornus officinalis flourished and matured, and it was worn on the head to ward off evil spirits and drive away the cold. Therefore, people not only wear dogwood on their heads, but also wear dogwood on their arms and hang it at home, and plant dogwood at home and around wells.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, when the economy was prosperous and the society was stable, the chrysanthemums of Chongyang Yanshouke quickly overtook Cornus officinalis. Song Mengyuan introduced the grand occasion of the Double Ninth Festival in Kaifeng in 300 words. First of all, he said: On the Double Ninth Festival in September, there are several kinds of chrysanthemums that Beijingers like: the yellow-white one is called Wanlingju, the pink one is called Taohuaju, the white one is called Muxiangju, the petals are round and yellow, and the big one is called Xirongju. Hotels are all caves made of chrysanthemums, and most people go out to climb mountains in the suburbs.

The Double Ninth Festival in the Southern Song Dynasty has developed into a big festival. The careful historical note "Old Wulin Events" by the Southern Song Dynasty writers is three transgressions and nine times. On the eighth day, the forbidden city was heavily decorated. In the Qingrui Hall, thousands of chrysanthemums were arranged, dazzling, and chrysanthemum lanterns were lit, just like Yuanxi people were drinking new wine every month, flooding Cornus officinalis (with Cornus officinalis floating on the wine surface) and holding chrysanthemums. And each uses chrysanthemum cake as feed, with sugar and meat noodles (flour made of glutinous rice). Mix well, put a wisp of shredded duck cake on it, decorate it with durian and mark it with colorful flags. As for why people enjoy chrysanthemum, chant chrysanthemum, pick chrysanthemum, drink chrysanthemum tea and drink chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival, besides taking its homonym as nearly nine, chrysanthemum is also a fairy grass and a dose of Chinese medicine in Taoist prescriptions.