What is the origin of the Double Ninth Festival?

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the traditional Double Ninth Festival in China. There are roughly three views on the origin of the Double Ninth Festival.

1. According to "The Sum of Continuation of Qi", Huan Jingshi studied with Fei Changfang, a master of Yi Studies in Han Dynasty, for many years. One day, Master Fei told his disciples that cornus was going to climb the mountain on September 9, and Huan Jing and his family survived because they listened to the master's words. All the livestock that didn't evacuate died of the plague. So on September 9 every year, I go out to climb mountains to avoid disasters and get used to each other.

2. Taoism originated in Han Dynasty. In the Book of Changes, which is regarded as a classic by Taoism, odd numbers are regarded as positive numbers, even numbers as negative numbers, and "nine" in positive numbers as "extreme yang". September 9 is the meeting of the two poles, so it is called "Chongyang". Yang also means steel, and Chongyang is regarded as "the second day" because it is "the meeting of two steels". The purpose of climbing mountains and joining dogwood is to "solve problems", from which the custom of Chongyang comes.

3. Originated in Qi Jinggong during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in the 5th century BC. On the ninth day of September, he took a lot of people to climb mountains and walls, feeling crisp in autumn, so he decided it was an auspicious day. Since then, he will go out to climb mountains on this day every year. Later generations imitated it and formed customs.

However, historians and folklorists have not yet come to a conclusion as to which of these three statements is correct.

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Autumn is crisp, sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant, and the Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is rich in activities and interesting, including climbing mountains, enjoying chrysanthemums, drinking chrysanthemum wine, eating double ninth cake and inserting dogwood.

Climb the peak

In ancient times, Chongyang had the folk custom of climbing, so Chongyang Festival was also called "Climbing Festival". According to legend, this custom began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are many climbing poems written by scholars in the Tang Dynasty, most of which are the custom of writing the Double Ninth Festival. Du Fu's Seven Laws "Ascending the Mountain" is a famous article about climbing the mountain in Chongyang. There is no uniform rule for climbing mountains. Generally, we climb mountains and towers. There is also the custom of eating "Chongyang cake".

Eat Chongyang cake

According to historical records, Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake and five-color cake, is made randomly. It was the original intention of the ancients to make cakes at dawn on September 9. The child put a cake on his head and said a word in his mouth, wishing the child all the best. Exquisite Chongyang cake should be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two lambs on it, which conforms to the meaning of Chongyang (sheep). Some people even put red paper flags on Chongyang cakes and light candles. This probably means "lighting a lamp" and "eating cakes" instead of "climbing", and using a red paper flag instead of dogwood. At present, there is still no fixed variety of Chongyang cake, and the soft cakes eaten around Chongyang Festival are called Chongyang cakes.

Enjoy chrysanthemums and drink chrysanthemum wine.

The Double Ninth Festival is the golden autumn season of the year, and chrysanthemums are in full bloom. It is said that appreciating chrysanthemum and drinking chrysanthemum wine originated from Tao Yuanming, a great poet in Jin Dynasty. Tao Yuanming is famous for his seclusion, his poems, his wine and his love for chrysanthemums. Later generations have followed suit, so Chongyang has the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums. In the old days, literati and officialdom also combined chrysanthemum appreciation with banquets in order to get close to Tao Yuanming. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng was the capital, and chrysanthemum appreciation on Chongyang was popular. At that time, there were many varieties and shapes of chrysanthemums. People also call September of the lunar calendar "Chrysanthemum Month". On the Double Ninth Festival, when chrysanthemums are in full bloom in Ao Shuang, watching chrysanthemums has become an important part of the festival. After the Qing dynasty, the habit of enjoying chrysanthemums was particularly prosperous, and it was not limited to September 9, but it was the most prosperous around the Double Ninth Festival. 、

Evodia rutaecarpa and chrysanthemum

The custom of inserting Evodia rutaecarpa in the Double Ninth Festival was very common in the Tang Dynasty. The ancients thought that inserting Evodia rutaecarpa in the Double Ninth Festival could take refuge and eliminate disasters. Or wear it on your arm, or make a sachet and put it in it, or wear it on your head. Most of them are worn by women and children, and in some places, men also wear them. Ge Hong's Miscellanies of the Western Classics in the Jin Dynasty recorded that Kaunus participated in the Double Ninth Festival. Besides wearing dogwood, people also wear chrysanthemums. This happened in the Tang Dynasty and has been popular since ancient times. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of Beijing Double Ninth Festival was to stick chrysanthemum branches and leaves on doors and windows, "to get rid of evil and filth, and to make money into treasure". This is the vulgarization of the chrysanthemum on the head. In the Song Dynasty, some people cut ribbons into dogwood and chrysanthemum and gave them to each other.

The custom of celebrating the Double Ninth Festival in various places

In addition to the above common customs, there are some unique festivals in various places.

In the official harvest season of the Double Ninth Festival in northern Shaanxi, there is a song that says: "In September, there will be nine Double Ninth Festival, so autumn harvest is busy. Xiaomi, Xiaomi, go up and up. " The Double Ninth Festival in northern Shaanxi is in the evening, and one day is a whole day of harvesting and threshing. In the evening, in the treetops, people like to eat buckwheat noodles and instant-boiled mutton. After dinner, people go out of their homes in twos and threes, climb the nearby hills, light fires, talk about the land, and wait until the chickens crow before going home. When climbing mountains at night, many people will pick some wild chrysanthemums and put them on their daughters' heads to ward off evil spirits.

In Puxian, Fujian, people follow the ancient custom of steaming nine layers of Chongyang rice fruit. In ancient China, there was a custom of "eating bait" on Double Ninth Festival, which is today's cake and rice fruit. Jade Candle Collection in Song Dynasty said: "Those who drink chrysanthemum wine after the ninth eclipse will harvest millet and glutinous rice at that time, and taste new things because of their sticky taste, thus becoming a habit." Song Zuqian, a poet of Puxian in the early Qing Dynasty, said in "Nine Songs of Fujian": "When you smell the festival near Chongyang, you are shocked to hear the wild incense, and you can pick up the wild incense with your hand basket. The jade pestle is smashed into green powder and the pearl is called Langwei. " Since modern times, people have transformed rice fruit into a unique nine-fold rice fruit. Wash high-quality late rice with clear water, soak it for 2 hours, take it out and drain it, mix it with water and grind it into slurry, add alum (dissolved in water) and stir, add brown sugar (boiled with water to make a thick sugar solution), then put it on a steamer, spread a clean cooking cloth, then scoop in rice slurry for nine times, steam for a few minutes and cook it out, and coat peanut oil on the rice noodles. This rice fruit is divided into nine layers, which can be uncovered and cut into water chestnuts. Four sides are distinct and translucent. It is sweet, soft and delicious, and it doesn't stick to teeth. Respect for the elderly is the best gift for Chongyang.

In some places, people also have the opportunity to climb mountains, sweep graves and commemorate their ancestors in Chongyang. Puxian people worship their ancestors in Chongyang more than Qingming, so there is a saying that there is a small Qingming in March and a big Qingming in September. Due to the coastal area of Puxian, the ninth day of September is also the anniversary of Mazu's ascension to heaven. Villagers often go to the Tianhou Palace and the Palace Temple in Mazu Tempel or Meizhou to pray.

After the founding of New China, the activities of the Double Ninth Festival have enriched new contents. 1989, China double ninth festival was designated as the festival for the elderly. On this first day, all localities should organize the elderly to climb mountains and have an autumn outing, broaden their horizons, exchange feelings and exercise, and cultivate people's noble character of returning to nature and loving the motherland.