folk custom

In Beijing's hutongs, there are many quadrangles surrounded by houses in the east, south, west and north. This is a quadrilateral.

The gate of quadrangles is usually opened in the southeast corner or northwest corner. The north house in the yard is the first one, which is built on the masonry abutment, bigger than other houses, and it is the owner's living room. There are east and west wing rooms on both sides of the yard, where the younger generation live. There is a corridor between the main room and the wing room for people to walk and rest. The walls of quadrangles and houses facing the street generally do not open windows, and the environment in the courtyard is closed and quiet.

There are large and small quadrangles in Beijing, but no matter how big or small, they are all made up of quadrangles surrounded by houses on all sides. The simplest quadrangle has only one yard, while the more complicated one has two or three yards. The deep house compound where the rich live is usually the house in the north of China, and the quadrangle in Beijing is the most representative. As a traditional residence in Beijing, quadrangles appeared in the Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1271–1368). However, most of the existing quadrangles were built from the Qing Dynasty (A.D.1644–1911) to the 1930s.

The word "four" in the quadrangle represents the southeast, northwest and four sides; "Together" means surrounded. In other words, quadrangles are surrounded by houses or walls. The architectural layout inside, under the control of feudal patriarchal ethics, symmetrically arranged houses and courtyards according to the north-south central axis. Siheyuan is a general term. Due to the size and orientation of the building area, there are large quadrangles, small quadrangles and three-dimensional quadrangles in the spatial combination.

In quadrangles, windows are generally not opened except for the gate. Even if the window is opened, only the south house opens a small window at the height of the south wall for lighting. So as long as the gate is closed, a closed small environment will be formed in the yard. People living in quadrangles don't often associate with their neighbors. In the small courtyard, the family lived a different life. It can be said that the quadrangle is a peaceful and quiet nest found by Beijingers in the torrent of history and turbulent social situation. Generations of Beijingers have spent a long time in these countless quadrangles, large and small. The north room is the tallest, built on the basis of four steps, and the east and west rooms are one step lower, surrounded by cloisters in front of them. The North House is the center of the quadrangle. There are three big rooms, the one in the middle is called the hall, and no one can live in it. Calligraphy and painting and couplets are hung on the north wall of the house, and there is a long case made of hardwood against the wall. There are vases and incense sticks on the case, and in the middle is a wooden ancestral tablet. In front of the long table is a square table with two plush chairs on each side. On holidays, there are snacks on the table to worship ancestors. The elders sat in plush chairs, and the younger generations went forward in turn to kowtow to the old people and seek happiness. Later, these old customs and habits were abolished, but the big events at home were still held in the main hall.

Chinese folk

Miao and Tujia people generally celebrate the Spring Festival one or two days earlier than Han people, and some celebrate it six or seven days earlier, which is called "catching up with the Spring Festival". The time of "catching up with the Chinese New Year" varies according to the surname and clan. Take Youyang County as an example; Peng surname in Laozhai township, the twelfth lunar month passed the "catch up with the year"; Peng's surname is in Houxi Township, and the twelfth lunar month is a "catch-up year"; Li's surname can be found in Daxiang and Tanxiang, and the twelfth lunar month has passed the "Catch the New Year". The way of "catching up with the New Year" is not exactly the same. Li in HKUST and Shatan Township is forbidden to kill chickens and pigs during the Chinese New Year. It is forbidden to light oil lamps at night, only candles, which will not go out all night. When some Peng surnames are "catching up with the Chinese New Year", men have to cook in the morning. When the meal is ready and the ancestors are worshipped, wake the women and children up. After dinner, the whole family went out to play. Tujia people usually cook in pots. "After dinner, it is to cut the meat, add seasoning, sandwich the meat layer by layer, and sandwich the radish. And cook in one pot. " To make a good New Year's Eve dinner, you must sacrifice to your ancestors first. When offering sacrifices, burn incense and candles, burn money and turn paper into paper, kneel three times and knock nine times, miss the merits of ancestors and pray for blessing. In the new year, we should first feed fruit trees, plowshares, cowshed, pigsty and henhouse, and stick "lucky money" to pheasants, grinders and hoes, so that crops, livestock, fruits and vegetables can flourish and financial resources can flourish.

Daur nationality: Daur nationality in northern China has the habit of visiting New Year every year. During the Spring Festival, people wear holiday clothes, visit each other and congratulate each other. Every family has steamed cakes, and as soon as New Year's greetings come in, the host treats them with steamed cakes. "Gao" is homophonic with "Gao" in Chinese, and treats each other like cakes, which means that the living standard in the new year will be further improved. During the festival, Daur people also held songs and dances and sports activities, which lasted for half a month.

Mongolians: It is another scene for Mongolians in the north to celebrate the Spring Festival. Before the festival, every household prepared rams, various dairy products and several jars of wine. On New Year's Eve, people put on beautiful Mongolian robes, and the whole family sat among them to welcome the New Year. Eat and drink at midnight. Usually, you should eat and drink more. The more wine and meat left, the better. This symbolizes that there is no shortage of wine and meat in the new year. On the morning of the first day of junior high school, men and women wore all kinds of costumes, rode on war horses, and rushed to "Haote" (villages and towns) in groups of three and five, stringing together yurts one by one. When stringing bags, you should kowtow to the elders first, and then the son-in-law of the host family will toast the guests who come to string bags, and people will sing and dance.

Zhuang people: The Zhuang people living in the south of China welcome heroes and call the Spring Festival "New Year's Day". On this day, people should congratulate each other no matter who they meet when they go out, thinking that this year can be auspicious. Zhuang people also have a custom of providing for the aged, which Zhuang people call "Chi Li Festival". The "Food Festival" is on the 30th of this month. It is said that more than 65,438+000 years ago, a Zhuang peasant armed force returned home in triumph after fighting against foreign invasion. At this time, the Spring Festival has passed. In order to welcome them, the Zhuang people celebrated for them on the 30th of this month.

Buyi people: Buyi people who live in the southwest frontier of China are the earliest people who carry water. Every New Year's Eve, they stay up all night. At dawn, the girls scrambled to fetch water outside the house. Whoever takes the first sip of water is the most hardworking girl. The Jingpo people there like to hold shooting activities before the Spring Festival, and the girls are the organizers and referees of this activity. They hung the embroidered purse on the bamboo pole with thread and swayed from side to side at the top of the tree, asking the young man to make a move. The girls will give the wine as a prize to whoever hits the wallet first. A wallet usually contains a coin, some millet and some decorative beads as a symbol of happiness.

Hani people: A few days before the Spring Festival, the village where Hani people live was already very lively, and women were busy with Baba. Baba is a cake made of glutinous rice. The boys are busy chopping bamboo up the mountain, ready to set up a swing. The swings there are more than ten meters high, and the Hani people, regardless of gender, age and age, love to play on swings. During the festival, everyone wears their favorite clothes to swing, showing a lively and harmonious holiday scene everywhere.

Dai: Young Dai men and women like to throw chaff bags. During the Spring Festival, boys and girls throw chaff bags at each other to see who can catch them accurately. After playing for a certain time, the girls quietly grabbed the broadsword, baotou cloth or tied the horse from the young man and ran home. If a young man has feelings, follow him. When parents saw their daughter coming back with a headscarf and a good horse, they gave a banquet.

In addition, April 13 every year is the Dai calendar New Year, and it is also the most solemn festival of the Dai people-the Water Splashing Festival. They regard splashing water as a symbol of exorcism and decontamination, and also regard this day as the most beautiful and auspicious day.

Gaoshan people: The Gaoshan people who surround the furnace live in Taiwan Province Province, China, and the Chinese New Year has a different flavor. On New Year's Eve, a family sits around a round table and eats hot pot, which is called "around the stove". Women who usually don't drink should also take a symbolic sip of wine to show good luck. Vegetables eaten around the stove need not be cut with a knife. After washing, you should cook by roots to show that you wish your parents a long life. If someone at home goes out, you should also leave a seat empty and put this person's clothes on the empty seat to show that the whole family misses him.

Manchu: Manchu is divided into four flags: red, yellow, blue and white. During the Spring Festival, people with red flags hang red flags, people with yellow flags hang yellow flags, people with blue flags hang blue flags, and people with white flags hang white flags. These flags are beautifully patterned and brightly colored, symbolizing the auspicious beginning of the year.

During the festival, boys set off firecrackers in groups, or take various homemade wooden sledges and swish on hills and ice. Girls and young daughters-in-law wear newly-made flowery clothes and play Galahad (kneecaps of pigs or cows) in groups of three or five. From the night of the first day to the fifth day, people also volunteered to organize yangko dancing to celebrate the New Year. A strong yangko team not only dances in this village, but also dances in other villages. Onlookers are often so happy that they forget fatigue and cold. There are even enthusiastic audiences-they follow the yangko team from village to village and don't come back until dawn.

Bai people: "Let Gao Sheng" Yunnan Bai compatriots celebrate the New Year with a celebration called "Let Gao Sheng". The so-called "soaring" is to use the whole big bamboo and put gunpowder in the cracks of the bamboo. After lighting, the whole bamboo can collapse into the sky and become a veritable "soaring". In some areas, Bai compatriots, like Miao and Zhuang, have the custom of "throwing hydrangeas" from Spring Festival to Lantern Festival. Anyone who can't catch the hydrangea should give each other a souvenir. Those who concede goals many times and can't exchange souvenirs show that they have accepted each other's love.

Dong people: Lushenghui is a Dong compatriot in Guizhou and Hunan. During the Spring Festival, there is a popular mass activity called "Playing Dong Year" (also called Lusheng Festival). This activity is similar to the "group worship" of the Han nationality, but it is more joyful and enthusiastic than the "group worship". This kind of activity is usually held by two villages. The two teams formally held a Song Lusheng and Dance Competition in the square. At this time, the audience of the two villages danced with the music and enjoyed themselves.

Yi people: The Yi people in Maidichong Jumping Tiger in Shuangbai County, Yunnan Province have a special custom "Jumping Tiger Festival" during the Spring Festival. On the eighth day of the first month, adult men in the village gathered at the site of the earth temple behind the village to kill chickens and offer sacrifices to "rice" ("rice" means earth, "rice" means master and rice means god), and then "Bimo" in the village offered sacrifices to the earth god and invited the tiger god. Eight villagers danced as tigers. "Tiger" has towering ears, thick tail and tiger stripes all over the body. They drew a Chinese character "Wang" on their foreheads and hung a big bronze bell around their necks, which was very dignified. After Bimo said a farewell ceremony and invited the Tiger God, King Tiger led all the tigers into the village.

Throughout the Tiger Jumping Festival, the whole village was immersed in a happy atmosphere of welcoming tigers, sending tigers, watching tigers jump and exorcising evil spirits. The local people are convinced that only through the annual traditional jumping tiger, offering sacrifices to the tiger god and praying for the blessings of their ancestors can all the villagers have a bumper harvest every year, a prosperous population and a happier life.

Sani nationality: Eating glutinous rice balls on New Year's Eve is called "thinking period" in Sani language. On New Year's Eve, it is very solemn to worship ancestors and eat New Year's Eve. In the afternoon, green branches are planted in front of every house, and a straw hat is hung on the branches. This is a silent notice: please don't enter! No talking! Even people at home are not allowed to talk loudly.

There is an interesting phenomenon in Sani language: "Tangyuan" and "Chinese New Year" are the same word, called "Kuanzima". Because we must eat glutinous rice balls during the Spring Festival.

For half a month from the first day of the first month, people were immersed in joy. A bonfire party was held on the evening of the first day of junior high school, with folk songs duet and three-stringed Hu solo, which was simple and lyrical. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

Sacrificing the mountain gods on the second day and sending Mars on the fourth day is to drive away disasters and show the strength of human beings.

On the afternoon of the second day of the Spring Festival every year, farmers take the cow out, walk around the center of the village several times, and put flowers tied with red cloth on its forehead to show respect for its one-year contribution. I also fed it rice and fat pork to show my comfort to my close friends.

Sani people have activities of offering sacrifices to their ancestors from New Year's Eve to the fifth day. From their admiration and nostalgia for their ancestors, we can find the cohesion of this nation and the beautiful things in traditional morality.