The Culture Embedded in Hakka Ancestral Hall Couplets

Culture Embedded in Hakka Ancestral Hall Couplets (above)

Names are the symbols and titles of Han families. The history of a family name is part of Chinese history and part of Chinese culture. Couplets, as a tributary of traditional Chinese culture, have been shown to some extent in the culture of surnames. Its greatest characteristic is shown in the ancestral hall of the family name. In the past, every ancestral hall of a family name had to write or engrave distinctive couplets. Often, one look at the couplets on the door will tell you what the owner's family name is.

These couplets, which are as vast as the sea of words, will enable us to understand the virtues of the Hakka sages, who were diligent and thrifty, who cultivated the land and passed on knowledge to their families, who maintained good relations with their clans, who were kind and virtuous, and who revered literature and education. Ancestral couplets is also a Hakka family rules and family discipline, is a special textbook for the Chinese people to enrich the future of Kun, to promote the excellent family style.

Ancestral hall, also known as the old "ancestral temple" or "family temple", more than built in the tomb, so the ancestral hall is called "ancestral room". According to the provisions of the book of rites, only emperors, lords and lords can set up their own ancestral temples. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the court began to allow the people to build "family temples". Later, ancestral temples were built in or near family settlements. Because the earliest clan is not much, it is the first to set up the ancestral temple in the house, with the multiplication of the clan, it began to specialize in the construction of the clan ancestral temple and even the branch ancestral temple.

From a folklorist's point of view, the ancestral hall is "a civilization that interprets the times in its own way". As one of the best-preserved groups of ancient buildings in China, the ancestral halls have left many precious historical and cultural research values for future generations. Thousands of merits and demerits, in the ancestral hall can be seen; Chinese ancestors, from the ancestral hall can know the genealogical order of transmission.

China is an ancient civilization, its traditional culture is not only unique, and has a long history. Ancestral culture as an important part of the local folk culture, as early as thousands of years ago in the Xia, Shang and Zhou began to sprout, to the Song Dynasty to form a more complete system, the Ming and Qing Dynasty development to the peak. In a sense, the prosperity of ancestral hall culture reflects the social stability and economic development of this historical period, and is a concrete embodiment of the political and human harmony, national prosperity and people's peace.

The author lives in Gannan, known as the "cradle of the Hakka", and because of his work, he has come into contact with many ancestral halls of the family names in Gannan, as well as the couplets in the ancestral halls, and he has made comments on these couplets. For this reason, it is intended to make a rough dissection of Hakka couplets to show the vein of the cultural content of ancient ancestral halls.

Tracing the origin of the clan

The search for ancestors, blood is thicker than water, has always been the Chinese nation's deep-rooted traditional concepts; prudent pursuit of the distant, has always been the Chinese people can not be waved away the complex. This concept is fully reflected in the couplets. Such as the whole South Sapium Sapium Dam Li Ancestral Hall Couplet: "the Ming Dynasty since the Qing Dynasty, the introduction of Boyang, the number of canonical not forgetting the ancestral affairs; South Ridge Taocheon victory, Zhaotiezhongwu, build ancestral hall long shine in the state."

Boyang, Laozi's word. Laozi, surnamed Li name ear, word Dan, a word or said posthumous Boyang. He was a native of Qu Ren Li, Li Township, Bitter County, Chu State, who lived between about 571 B.C. and 471 B.C. He was a great philosopher and thinker in ancient China, the founder of the school of Taoism, and was posthumously recognized as the founder of the Li family name by the emperors of the Tang Dynasty. The first couplet describes the long years of the Li clan through the Ming and Qing Dynasties, tracing the ancestor of the Li family name, Laozi, and expressing the feeling of remembrance of "not forgetting our ancestors". The next couplet focuses on the present, pointing out that the ancestral hall was built in the "Taochuan", a place with beautiful scenery. Peach River, that is, the Peach River, originating in the territory of Quannan County, the eastern foot of the rice pool Roach, flowing through the Dazhuang, Sapiumba, Nanrun, Jinlong, Chenggang and other townships, in the Jiangkou of the Shangjiang Township, merging into the Huangtianjiang River, flowing into the Gangan tributary of the Gongjiang River.

1.Prominent Figures

Shangyu County Yingjiao Village Su ancestral hall is engraved with a couplet: "Kungo gave the surname, Su country ancestor virtue multiply far; Heng Gong Zhaoji, the Jiangnan branch of the clan long." Shangyu Yingjiao Su Ancestral Hall, built in Yingjiao Village, Huangbu Town, Shangyu County, is located in the east of Shangyu County. The above couplet highlights the ancestor Kunwu gave the surname of this event. Kunwu: according to legend, Zhuan Xiang's descendants of the Xia Dynasty with the Supervisory Tribe sealed in the Kunwu country (present-day Henan Xuchang East), to the fiefdom for the surname, said Kunwu. A descendant of the Kunwu clan was sealed in Su (in the area of Jiyuan County and Wen County in modern Henan Province), and his descendants again took the fiefdom as their surname and were called the Su clan. The next couplet highlights the ancestor who started the foundation, Mr. Heng, and expresses the pride of the clan's "long lineage".

2. Highlighting the region

"Pai Shao wuyuan, far-flung, generation of articles light shize; base macro xiangshui, the water around the mountain arch, the potential of kuibi reflecting the famous area." This is Huichang County Massachusetts town Guanyin row Wang ancestral hall association. The first couplet writes that Wang Clan sends to open wuyuan county, wuyuan, located in the northeast of jiangxi province (junction of gan, zhejiang and anhui provinces), is one of the six counties in the original huizhou. The next couplet writes about Xiangshui, which flows through Guanyin Row in Mazhou Town. People can't move away from their place of residence, and the region expresses a special sense of belonging to the homeland.

Then there is the Longnan Liren Chestnut Garden Tangerine Rui Tang Couplet: "Pai came from Wenshui, with a long stream of tributaries; the branch is the rise of Chestnut Garden, with firm and deep roots." Wenshui, the Li family comes from Wenshui County, Shanxi Province, which is 76 kilometers south of Taiyuan City, the hometown of Tang Dynasty female emperor Wu Zetian.

The Chestnut Garden enclosure was built in Hongzhi Xinyou (1501) for Li Qinggong, a fifth-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty, and is the largest Hakka enclosure in Longnan County, with the shape of a bagua enclosure. There is a fish pond in front of Orange Ruidang with an area of 6.6 acres, reflecting the humanistic characteristics of diligent production, culture and education, and development inherited from the Hakka family.

This couplet highlights the names of places, one ancient and one modern, one far and one near, outlining the ins and outs of the Li clan in Liyuan at a glance.

Glorifying the entire family

Coupletion of the Luo Ancestral Hall in Luokou Township, Ningdu County, "Yuzhang Shizhe; Pious City Family Reputation." Yuzhang, today's Nanchang, Luo ancestors out of Yuzhang West Mountain. Pious City is Ningdu, anciently known as Pious Hua County. The couplet praises the influence of the Luo's previous generations on their descendants and the good reputation of this family.

Another example is the couplet of the Luo Clan's Great Ancestral Hall in Dabu Fuxi, Dongshanba, Ningdu County, which reads, "A famous family of rituals and scholarships; a gate of loyalty and filial piety." The couplet praises the unusualness of the clan's gentry in terms of both scholarship and character, i.e., having the moral code revered by the ancients.

Shicheng County, the city north of Guan Huang surnamed Jiangxia Zhijian Gong Ancestral Shrine book has a couplet: "Unparalleled Shizawa transmission Jiangxia; the first family voice table Yingchuan." Jiangxia, the Huang surname prestigious family resides in Jiangxia County (now southeast of Yunmeng County, Hubei Province). Yingchuan, refers to Yingchuan County, the birthplace of the Huang Clan, and also refers to Huang Ba of the Western Han Dynasty, who was the governor of Yingchuan. This couplet is very impressive as it titles the Huang family as "the first" and "unrivaled".

Remembering the performance of ancestors

From the many ancestral hall family name couplets can be seen, the content of the joint depicted in many of the family name of the celebrities in the past and present, there is a great Confucian sages and sages, civil servants and military generals, hermits and filial piety son of the ...... authors more from their performance, morality, cultivation, learning, and the world to be extolled. And the couplets have a **** the same characteristics, in order to remember the ancestor, flaunt the family reputation is the main, expect the descendants to carry on the ancestral business, shining lintel.

1. Generalized statement

"Ancestral virtues of the sun and the moon; Zong Gong Shishi reflected mountains and rivers." This is the association of Xiao's family temple in Stone Street, Lai Village Town, Ningdu County. The Xiao family name from the neighboring village of Xinmin half-way moved here, has been more than ten generations. The couplet is only 14 words long, using hyperbole to praise the ancestor's virtue of the sun and the moon, the merit of the performance of the mountains and rivers, magnificent.

This is a clear point of view, a single statement of ancestry Zong Gong a thing, while some couplets are a different way to think about the ancient and write today into one. Such as Shicheng Wen's Chongxian ancestral temple couplet: "Trace the ancestor's merit, family and clan, blessing long and famous; Yang Chongxian discipline outline, Wen Jingwuwei, Luliyanxiang, performance of the new chapter." The couplet traces the ancestor's merit at the same time, not forgetting to inherit the ancestor's discipline, and then new performance.

Located in Shicheng County, Qinjiang East Road, the Li family house Ziyuntang engraved with a couplet: "Longxi Fazhong, branch multiplication of the ancestral virtues; Chengdong sub-Zi, the humanities rise Mu Zongen." While praising the ancestor's virtue, it also traces the origin of the family name.

2. To one or more ancestors to be praised

Xingguo County, West Street, Yue Guo Gong Ancestral Hall couplet: "merit Huan Huan Huang Tang, worship phase Feng Gong, the right to push my ancestor began; virtuous sound Zhao Yue country, build ancestral hall Zhao Sacrifice, Pingchuan Paier descendants base." The ancestral hall of the Duke of Yueguo was built for the worship of Zhong Shaojing, a member of the county. Zhong Shaojing, the character of Kedai, a native of Qingde Township, Xingguo, Tang Dynasty, was a famous calligrapher in ancient China. In the middle of the King years, served as director of the Palace, when the Queen Wei poisoned death in the King, party usurpation, Linzi King Li Longji and Shaojing conspired to pacify the chaos, Shaojing rate of the Palace of more than 200 Ding craftsmen to the Hall of Supreme Harmony *** in addition to the Queen Wei, in one fell swoop to pacify the Wei chaos. Emperor Ruizong worship Shaojing as a minister of the Central Committee, attend the government affairs. The next day, he also added the title of Zhongshu Ling, Duke of Yue. In the first year of Jingyun, he was changed to the Minister of Revenue and was appointed as the Assassin of Pengzhou. When Emperor Xuanzong ascended to the throne, he was summoned to be the Minister of the Household Department. He died at the age of eighty.

The couplet praises his ancestor, the Duke of Yue, for his great achievements in quelling the palace chaos and his brilliant plans, which are famous in history, and expresses the respect of the descendants for him. This is an example of a couplet highlighting one of the ancestors.

There are also praise for many people. For example, Huichang County City Xiao clan ancestral hall association: "Zuo Pei Gong, Feng 100 marquis, the famous world quite life after the Han Dynasty; officer too Fu, rose general, talent generation trace Lanling." The Duke of Pei, Emperor Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty, a native of Zhongyangli, Peifengyi, was the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. In his early years, he was a pavilion chief in Sishui, Pei County, and was later honored as the Duke of Pei and the King of Han. The upper couplet praises Xiao He, a Han Dynasty man, who was titled as Marquis of Group 100. He assisted Gaozu to defend Guanzhong during the struggle between Chu and Han, and transferred water to the army so that the soldiers did not lack food, thus leading to victory. When Gaozu took the throne, he was rewarded with the title of Marquis of Zan. The sixth grandson of Xiao He, Xiao Wangzhi (ca. 114 B.C. to 47 B.C.), who was the Crown Prince during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, was a native of Lanling in the East China Sea (present-day Lanling Town, Lanling County, Shandong Province) and migrated to Duling (present-day southeast of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province).

In the many surnames ancestral hall couplings, it can be said that each surname will recount the proud ancestors, into the history of the struggle of the family an ancestor celebrity success; each couplet, is a thought-provoking aphorisms; each story, is a touching inspirational struggle blueprint.

These are just a few examples for the readers.

Yang surname, such as Xingguo County, Chenggang Township, Yang Ancestral Hall Union: "Qingfeng Mu four know, Reed section but gold, incorruptible officials Yimou light descendants; snow deep three feet, pro-teacher heavy road, the famous Confucian Virtue Yew Zong Gong."

Si Zhi: Yang's household name "Si Zhi Tang" comes from the story of Yang Zhen in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Yang Zhen, word Boqi, East Han Hongnong County, Huayin County (now southern Shaanxi) people. As a young man, he was well educated, and was known as the "Confucius of Guanxi". He was called "Confucius of Guanxi" at that time. He served as assassin of Jingzhou and governor of Zhuo County. After the Han Book - Yang Zhen biography" records: "Ren Donglai (now Shandong Laizhou City) governor, when the county, the road through Changyi, so the cited Jingzhou Maocai Wang Mi for the order of Changyi, visit. To the night, ten pounds of gold to leave Zhen. Zhen said: 'the late man knows the gentleman, the gentleman does not know the late man, why is it?' Mi said: 'There is no one who knows in the twilight.' Zhen said: 'Heaven knows, God knows, I know, son knows, what is ignorance?' Mi was ashamed and went out. Afterwards, he turned to be the governor of Zhuo County, he was fair and honest, he did not pay private visits, his children and grandchildren often walked on sparse food, the old elders, or they wanted to make them open properties. Zhen said: make the future generations known as the children and grandchildren of the clean officials, this legacy, not also thick." Yang Zhen arrived in Donglai County after taking office, personally wrote. "After Yang Zhen took office in Donglai County, he personally wrote a plaque with the word "Si Zhi" and hung it above the public hall as a mirror, which he always used to compare and urge himself to become an honest official in history. Later, Yang Zhen's children and grandchildren served as ministers for many generations, becoming a prestigious family in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The snow is three feet deep, which is the story of "Cheng Men Li Xue". Yang Shi (1053-1135 A.D.) was a famous rationalist in the Song Dynasty. Ancestral origin Hongnong Huayin (now Shaanxi Huayin East), South Jianxi Yongzhou Longchi group (now belongs to Fujian will be Le County, Fujian Yong town Longchi community), Xining nine years into the bachelor's degree. One year, Yang Shi went to Liuyang county magistrate on the way, with friends to the teacher Cheng Yi's home to ask for advice. At the time of winter, the sky is freezing, they traveled to halfway, the wind, they wrapped their clothes tightly, hurry to rush. When they came to Cheng Yi's house, Mr. Yang was sitting by the stove and meditating. Yang Shi and his wife did not dare to disturb the teacher, so they respectfully stood outside the door, waiting for the teacher to wake up. At this time, one of Yang Shi's feet was frozen, shivering from the cold, but still respectfully waiting. After a long time, Cheng Yi woke up with a start, from the window found standing in the wind and snow in the wind and snow Yang, only to see them covered in snow, the snow under the feet has been more than a foot thick, and hastened to get up to welcome them into the house. Since then, the story of "Chengmen Lixue" has become a beautiful story of honoring teachers.

Then the Xie family temple of Yang Yi Xie, Huangpi Town, Ningdu County, Xie family name: "Dongshan prime minister, the first day of hibiscus, abide by the Chen County first righteousness; Interfluence generals, the wind of the willows, spreading the article of Jiangzuo."

Dongshan Chancellor, that is, Xie An (320 to 385 A.D.), the word Anshi, the Eastern Jin Dynasty celebrity, Chancellor, Han ethnicity, Chen County, Yangxia (present-day Taikang, Henan Province) people. He was a Han Chinese, a native of Yangxia, Chen County (present-day Taikang, Henan Province). He had an elegant and gentle temperament, was fair and decisive in his dealings, did not monopolize power for personal gain, was not proud of his achievements, and had the temperament of a prime minister and the style of a Confucian general. According to the Book of Jin, Xie An's biography, after the western Jin Dynasty moved southward, the Xie family was depressed, and the young Xie An went to live in seclusion in the East Mountain of Huiji, Zhejiang Province, and when he was 41 years old, Xie An left the East Mountain of Huiji and came to Nanjing (then known as Jianye) to become an official. He built a villa on a hill 30 miles east of Nanjing (behind the present-day government of Jiangning District) and called it Dongshan according to the name of Huiji Dongshan, so people called Xie An Xie Dongshan.

Interface General: in August 383 A.D., the Interface River. The Eastern Jin Dynasty was at war with the former Qin Dynasty. Fu Rong led a 250,000-strong vanguard army, and Fu Jian led 600,000 infantry and 270,000 cavalry, **** 1.12 million troops. Xie Xuan, the nephew of Xie An, led 80,000 "Northern Household Troops", which had been trained for 7 years and had strong fighting ability, to go westward along the Huai River to meet the main force of the Qin army. The Eastern Jin Dynasty, faced with a large army, issued an imperial decree, appointing Xie Shi, the servant of Shangshu, as the general of conquest and expedition, and Xie Xuan, the assassin of Xu and Yanzhou, as the vanguard, and Xie Yan, the auxiliary general of Xie Yan, the general of the west center, Huan Yi, and others, commanding 80,000 troops to resist the former Qin, and letting General Hu Bin, the general of Longchamps, lead a 5,000-strong water army to aid Shouyang, and **** divided into three military forces to go north to meet the former Qin army. The Eastern Jin Dynasty won, and Fu Jian was killed after the defeat of the former Qin.

Jiangzuo article: Xie Lingyun (385-433 AD), Han Chinese, originally from Yangxia, Chen County (present-day Taikang County, Henan Province), was born in Shining, Huiji (present-day Xietang Town, Shangyu District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province), and was a member of the Xie Clan of the Chen County scholarly clan. He was an outstanding poet and literary scholar during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, and Zhejiang was known as Jiangzuo in ancient times.

These couplets celebrating people's surnames, as a cultural history book, so that we can see the long history of China's emergence of talent as bright as the stars. There are great Confucian sages, ministers and military generals, hermits and filial piety ...... they are fond of the country attached to the people, honest and dutiful, courageous and know the righteousness, courtesy of the wise and virtuous, learning line of notorious ...... In fact, these couplets characters and deeds, composed of the Chinese nation of a noble morality, cultural traditions. This is not only which surname which tribe's pride and joy, but also the Chinese family in every Yanhuang children proud of.

Some of the couplets face the local at that time, recounting the ordinary acts of righteousness of the clan, anecdotes in the clan, vivid and touching. For example, Xingguo County, Troublesome River Town, Zhuba Village, the Chen family ancestral hall couplet: "three dynasties of generals and ministers; nine generations and the same family of righteousness." The "righteous" family, written by a common ancestor of the Chen family Chen Hongjin, he ruled strictly, it is said that one year of drought, a thief into his home at night, huddled on the beam intends to steal some of the property, Chen Hongjin noticed, convened the whole clan of children and grandchildren training, teaching everyone to study and practice art, or else in the future will end up in the same situation as the gentleman on the beam. When the thief heard this, he jumped down in a panic and begged for forgiveness. Chen Hongjin did not criminalize the thief, but instead sponsored him to earn a living, and later people called it the House of the Righteous.

The couplet of Yang Gong Ancestral Hall of Liao's family in Sanjian, Xingguo County reads, "The bamboo staff is exquisite, with ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains under the staff; the green bag is wonderful, with one day's stars and buckets hidden in the bag." Sanjia Village of Xingguo County is the first village in China's geographic culture of feng shui, located in Meijiao Town of Xingguo County. It is shaped like a Taiji figure, with two temples and seven ponds each representing its own significance, a large number of ancient tombs since the Song Dynasty, a collection of feng shui works from different eras, and a generation of feng shui masters, Yang Yunsong (Save the Poor), who had been living in seclusion and teaching here.

Establishing a shrine for the ancestor of Chinese feng shui, Yang Yunsong, is a unique cultural phenomenon in Sanjian Village, Xingguo. The village is home to the descendants of two of Yang Yunsong's disciples, Zeng Wen辿 and Liao Yu, and each of the Zeng and Liao families has built a shrine for Yang Yunsong, with the Liao's Yang Gong Ancestral Hall located in the northwestern part of the basin of the village at the foot of the Royal Screen Peak. The "Bamboo Staff" in the story is an anecdote about Liao Yu, a member of the same clan. According to legend, he once studied Taoism in the mountains and lived in Cuiwei Peak's Golden Essence Cave in Pianhua (ancient Ningdu County), where he studied and practiced Taoism, and called himself the "Golden Essence Mountain Man," which is why he was known as Liao Jinjing in later times. When Yang Yunsong was active in the Xingguo, Ningdu and Yudu areas, Liao Yu met him in Ningdu. At the time, Liao Yu was young and vigorous, and was not convinced by Yang Yunsong, and repeatedly fought with him. On one occasion, the Huangpi Liao family asked Yang Yunsong to survey the location of a gatehouse. Liao Yu used a compass to determine the location one day in advance and buried a copper coin in the ground to mark it. The next day, after Yang Yunsong came, he did not use a compass, but just used a bamboo stick in his hand, and casually inserted it into the ground, but it was inserted into the square hole in the coin. Liao Yu then served, immediately and devoutly worship Yang Gong as a teacher, morning and evening to follow Yang Yunsong, Liao Yu from Huangpi Zhongba with the master moved to Xingguo Sanjia Village to live, and later got Yang Gong personally transmitted the secret of the green bag.

Then look at Shicheng County, the city's North Pass Huang Zhijian Gong Ancestral Hall of a long couplet: "qin water ripples flow, Shudu Zongfeng, Qing Han thousands of hectares, 21 branches of the distribution of the Chinese state, Shaowu Zongfeng Zhen the world; Xianfeng with the Yang Zhi, the second Gong Shihshi, Ruijie Nine Pods, eighteen leaves Zhaoyang River foot. Qinjiang Wen Han A our family." The couplet not only praises the ancestor Shudu, the second Gong's clan style, but also interspersed with the story of their Huang's family branch of a large clan. "Twenty-one branches," "eighteen leaves," said the five generations after the Zhou Guangshunyuan year (951), the age of eighty years old Shaowu peace Huang's great clan ancestor Crag Hill Gong, he will be twenty-one house grandchildren to gather all together, and then announced a major decision in public: "will be the Huang family since the spring Shenjun after thousands of years of accumulation of ancestral property copper money eight hundred thousand guan, gold and silver more than eight hundred claims, and divided into twenty one, and three wives under the name of *** twenty-one house grandson, each receiving a family heirloom, and then leave their hometowns, and set up a separate base, and seek their own development." Because of the three wives cry request, the craggy mountain public on the original decision slightly changed, re-announced: "In addition to the official, Wu, Zheng three wives under the name of the eldest son of each left a room to support his mother in order to fulfill the warmth of the righteousness of the rest of the eighteen house grandchildren, not allowed to love this one side of the native land, shall be their own faith in the world, to choose the wood and live, live with the land." Then, Mr. Clifford divined an auspicious day to leave home, and on that day, the newly revised "Huang's Family Tree" was given to twenty-one sons, each receiving a set of it, and instructing them to carry it with them, to treasure it properly, and not to forget what they had been given. The strategic vision of Craggy Mountain Gong to separate his children and grandchildren and go out into the world independently was praised by everyone.