What does it mean to kill a pig and eat a piece of soup? Where to go?

Many places have the custom of killing pigs to treat diseases, but there are not many places called "planing soup". Xichang City in Liangshan has never heard of this name, but in Dechang, Huili, Ningnan and Yanyuan, the name "Goutang" is very loud.

Not long ago, a group of friends who have been engaged in journalism for many years were still debating whether to "dig soup" or "make soup", and finally wrote "make soup" according to the meaning. This interview found that it should be "digging soup". The old people in the village said that "planing soup" refers to the pork that has just been slaughtered, scalded and planed, and now it is eaten. This custom should be relatively old. In ancient times, "soup" meant hot water, that is, hot water for scalding pigs. The process of shaving pigs with iron is called "planing" by the people. Searching for the word "planing soup" on the Internet found many comments, which proved that there is a folk custom of eating "planing soup" in many places in China, and the explanations are similar. Now it is mainly distributed in eastern Sichuan, as well as the Han nationality areas in Chongqing, Guizhou and other places, and the Miao nationality areas in Guizhou also call this custom "planing soup". During the Ming and Qing dynasties, a large number of Han people moved into Liangshan area, and perhaps the habit of "digging soup" was introduced.

The reason for this custom may be that it was not easy to raise pigs in the past, and pigs are a symbol of farmers' wealth. Because of the lack of material life, of course, pigs should be distributed to relatives and friends. I remember in the 1970s, in order to eat "airplane soup", adults told me that when I was a child, I had to empty my stomach early to eat "airplane soup". Eating "slice soup" was really a great enjoyment at that time. Now, times have changed, people's living standards have improved, and eating "slice soup" is no longer as exciting as before.

There are some unwritten rules for "planing soup": people should be invited to choose an auspicious day to kill pigs, and eating "planing soup" is usually the same day or the next day. The "soup-planing" dish mainly takes the meat and viscera of pigs. Most vegetables are grown by ourselves, and now some people kill chickens. Pigs fed by farmers seldom use feed and vegetables seldom use chemical fertilizer, so even without a good cook, the dishes on the table are delicious. Most of the wine is brewed by village workshops, but now there are many beers on the table, and more people buy bottled white wine. The range of guests is generally small, ranging from pig butchers to relatives and friends, usually from a few tables to more than a dozen tables. Because of mutual ingratitude, the guests in the village don't give gifts. But when people in the city go to the countryside to eat soup, they usually send some gifts such as sugar, wine and fruit.

"Digging soup", farmers "turn around"

Nowadays, the specifications of eating "slice soup" are getting higher and higher, and relatives in the city should send some meat or sausage when they come. Sometimes there are only a few pigs left after killing. In some places, the custom of "eating" was changed to "sending", and a piece of meat was sent to those who invited them to drink soup. But in the end, because the mainstream custom was "eating", the villagers despised it and returned to the "making soup" banquet.

But eating "slice soup" makes people get together again and again, and friends and relatives get together in a festive atmosphere of plenty of food and clothing. * * * There will be a bumper harvest and good weather in the coming year. Eating "airplane soup" is not only limited to "eating", but also has become a folk activity with high spiritual enjoyment to enhance family ties and friendship, so the name of "airplane soup" has not changed, but its content has changed with the changes of the times.

Where there is a "soup-making" banquet in the countryside, the Chinese New Year begins with an endless "soup-making".