Traditional Chinese Culture

1, traditional folklore. For example: local food culture, scenic spots; customs of various festivals; local wedding and funeral customs ==;

2, the Four Books and the Five Classics, the Hundred Schools of Thought, the qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, poems and songs, the Four Great Masterpieces ==;

3, yin and yang, the five elements, the Nine Grades of the Bagua, the medical diviner and the astrologer, the Qi Men Zunjia, the Five Elements of the Eight Works, and the strange and unusual ==

4, martial arts and jianghu;

Chinese New Year

In ancient China, the Spring Festival used to refer exclusively to the spring of the twenty-four solar terms, which was also regarded as the beginning of the year. Later it was changed to New Year's fireworks

as the first day of the first month of the summer calendar (the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar) starting as the first day of the year. From the Ming Dynasty onwards, New Year festivals generally did not end until after the 15th day of the first month (Lantern Festival), and in some places New Year celebrations even lasted until the end of the entire first month. The Spring Festival has been selected as China's largest festival by the World Records Association.　

After the founding of the Republic of China (ROC), the ROC government abolished the traditional lunar calendar (the lunar calendar, which is actually a yin-yang calendar) in favor of the European Gregorian calendar (the solar calendar), and tried to prohibit the people from celebrating the Lunar New Year, but it was unsuccessful due to the insistence of the people. During Yuan Shikai's rule, January 1 of the Gregorian calendar was designated as New Year's Day, and the first day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar was designated as the Spring Festival, but the people continued to celebrate New Year's Day, and writers continued to use the term "New Year's Day" to refer to the Lunar New Year. 　

The term "Spring Festival" really became popular after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and the Lunar New Year is now also known as the Lunar New Year and the Old Lunar New Year.

Japan's lunar calendar, the Tenpaku Planner, was discontinued on January 1, 1873, after the Meiji Restoration, and the solar calendar was used to count the days of the year, so the original lunar calendar was called the old planner, and the people's celebrations were limited to the three days of the national holiday from the first day of the Western calendar, but in spite of this, the Japanese people still celebrated the New Year according to their traditional customs and traditions, and only the date was changed, and the traditional customs and customs of New Year were changed to the New Year of the Gregorian calendar, which is the most popular calendar in Japan. However, the old New Year is still celebrated in Okinawa Prefecture, a former Ryukyu territory, and on the Amami Islands. In Korea and Vietnam, which were also influenced by Chinese culture, even though the official calendar was changed to the Western calendar, the Spring Festival is still celebrated in both official and private circles.　

New Year's Day in ancient China was not the first day of January on the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly used today. From the Yin Dynasty, when the first day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar was set as the first day of the year, to the Han Dynasty, when the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar was set as the first day of the year, there were many iterations. To the Republic of China Sun Yat-sen in early January 1912 in Nanjing, assumed the office of the provisional president for the "Shun Nongshi", "will statistics", set the first day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar for the Spring Festival, the change in the calendar on January 1, known as the first day of the year "New Year! "The first day of the first month of the lunar calendar was designated as the Spring Festival, and January 1 of the Gregorian calendar was changed to the first day of the year called "New Year's Day". Until after the liberation of the Central People's Government promulgated the unified use of the "National Annual and Memorial Day Holiday Measures", January 1 of the Gregorian calendar for the New Year's Day, and decided to take a day off for the whole country on this holiday. At the same time, in order to distinguish between the lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar two New Year, and in view of the twenty-four solar terms in the lunar calendar, "spring", just before and after the lunar New Year, so change the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar is called "Spring Festival".

Yuantan

"Yuantan" of "yuan", refers to the beginning, is the first meaning of the number of the beginning is called "yuan"; "Dan", New Year's Day

Hieroglyphic character, above the "day" on behalf of the sun, below the "one" on behalf of the horizon. "Dan" means the sun rising from the horizon, symbolizing the beginning of the day. People combine the words "yuan" and "dan" together, and it is derived as the first day of the New Year. New Year's Day is also known as "Sanyuan", i.e. the year of yuan, the month of yuan, the time of yuan. The term "New Year's Day" first began with the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, and the Book of Jin, written by Fang Xuanling and others in the Tang Dynasty, reads, "Zhuan Di used the first month of Mengchun as the first month of the year, and the first month of the year was the first day of the spring of the first month of the month of the first month of the year." That is, the first month was called Yuan, and the first day was Dan. The poem "Jieya" by Lan Ziyun, a Liang man from the Southern Dynasty, also reads, "The four qi are new on the first day of the new year, and ten thousand lifetimes begin this day."　There is also a legend that more than 4,000 years ago, in the ancient times of Yao and Shun, when Yao Tianzi was on the throne, he did a lot of good things for the people, and was very popular among the people, but because of his son's lack of talent, he did not pass on the throne of the "son of heaven" to his own son, but rather to Shun, who was a person of both virtue and talent. Yao said to Shun, "You must pass on the throne well, so that I can rest in peace when I die. Later, Shun passed the throne to Yu, who had been successful in curing the floods, and Yu did a lot of good things for the people as Shun did, and he was very popular among the people. Later, people regarded the day when Emperor Shun offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and the late Emperor Yao after Yao's death as the beginning of the year, and called the first day of the first month of the lunar year "New Year's Day" or "Yuanzheng", which was the New Year's Day in ancient times. Dynasties have been held on New Year's Day to celebrate ceremonies and prayers and other activities, such as sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, write the door to hang Spring Festival couplets, writing the word "Fuk", dancing dragon lanterns, the folk have gradually formed a sacrifice to the gods and Buddhas, sacrifices to the ancestors, posting Spring Festival couplets, firecrackers, the New Year's Eve, eat a reunion dinner, as well as many of the "fireworks," and other recreational and celebratory activities. Jin Dynasty poet Xin Lan had "Yuanzheng" poem: "Yuanzheng started the festival, Jiaqing from this. Salt play ten thousand years goblet, small common Yuexi." Recorded the New Year's Day celebration scene.　After the Republic of China, although January 1 for the New Year, when only the authorities, schools, and foreign-run foreign banks and large firms only 1 day holiday, the people do not recognize, still inherited the ancient custom to the first day of the lunar calendar for the New Year, so the old Beijing market and the people did not have anything to celebrate the activities. After the liberation, the first day of January 1 was renamed "New Year's Day", and the government still gave a three-day holiday to the "Spring Festival" in the winter holidays before and after the first day of spring in accordance with the lunar calendar which had been used for thousands of years and in accordance with the lunar calendar, and the people organized "temple fairs" and other celebrations to pass on the tradition of the "Temple Fair".

Metal Lantern Festival

Origin: This legend has to do with the custom of eating the Lantern Festival, according to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite minister named Dongfang Shuo, he was kind to hang lanterns on the Lantern Festival

and funny. One day in winter, it snowed heavily for a few days, Dongfang Shuo went to the Imperial Garden to the Emperor Wu to fold plum blossoms. Just as he entered the garden, he found a courtesan in tears, ready to throw herself into a well. Dongfang Shuo rushed to her rescue and asked her why she wanted to commit suicide. It turned out that the courtesan's name was Yuan Xiao (元宵), and she had two parents and a younger sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she never had the chance to meet her family. Every year to the end of the spring season, more than usual miss their families. She felt that it would be better for her to die because she could not fulfill her filial piety in front of her parents. Dongfang Shuo heard her story and sympathized with her, so he promised her that he would try to reunite her with her family.　One day, Dongfang Shuo went out of the palace and set up a divination booth on Chang'an Street. Many people were eager to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, everyone's fortune-telling request was "the 16th day of the first month, the fire burns my body". For a while, Chang'an was in a great panic. People asked for a solution to the disaster. Dongfang Shuo said, "On the evening of the 13th day of the first month, the Fire God will send a red-clothed goddess down to visit the earth, and she is the messenger who has been ordered to burn Chang'an, I will give you the copied verse, so that the present Son of Heaven can think of a solution." After saying this, he threw down a red post and went away. The common people picked up the red post and hurriedly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.　Han Wu Di received a look, only to see written on it: "Chang'an in the robbery, the fire burns the Imperial Palace, fifteen days of fire, flame red night", he was shocked, and hastened to invite the resourceful Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo pretended to think for a moment, then said: "I heard that the fire god gentleman loves to eat dumplings, the palace Lantern is not often for you to make dumplings? On the fifteenth night, you can let the Lantern make soup dumplings. Banzai burned incense and made offerings, and ordered every family in Kyoto to make dumplings to honor the Fire Goddess. Then summon the subjects to hang lanterns together on the fifteenth night, and light firecrackers and set off fireworks all over the city, as if the city were on fire, so that the Jade Emperor can be concealed. In addition, notify the people outside the city, the fifteenth night into the city to watch the lanterns, mixed in the crowd to eliminate disasters and solve the problem". After hearing this, Emperor Wu was very happy, so he sent an order to do according to Dongfang Shuo's method.　To the first month of the fifteenth Chang'an city of lights and colors, tourists bustling, very lively. The parents of the courtesan Yuan Xiao also took her sister into the city to see the lanterns. When they saw the words written "Lantern" large palace lanterns, surprise, shouting: "Lantern! When they saw the big lantern with the word "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! When they saw the big lantern with the word "Yuanxiao" written on it, they were surprised and shouted, "Yuanxiao!" Yuanxiao was finally reunited with her relatives at home.　The city of Chang'an was indeed safe and sound after such a lively night. Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty was very happy, then ordered every first month of the future to do dumplings for the fire god king, the first month of the 15th as usual, the whole city hanging lights and fireworks. Because the best dumplings, people called the dumplings Lantern, this day is called the Lantern Festival.

Qingming Festival

Qingming Festival is an important traditional folk festival in China, is an important "eight festivals" (on the first, Qingming, summer, Dragon Boat Festival, the middle of the year, mid-autumn, the winter solstice and New Year's Eve) one.　April 5 on the Gregorian calendar, but its festival period is very long, there are ten days ago after eight days and ten days ago after ten days two say, this nearly twenty days are Qingming Festival. The origin of the Qingming Festival is said to have begun with the ritual of "tomb sacrifice" of the ancient emperors and generals. Later, the folk also follow suit, in this day to ancestral sweep the tomb, and has become a fixed custom of the Chinese nation through the generations.　The origin of the Qingming Festival is said to have begun in ancient times when emperors and generals performed the ritual of "tomb sacrifice", which was later copied by the people, who made offerings to their ancestors and swept their tombs on this day, which has become a fixed custom of the Chinese nation over the generations. Originally, the Cold Food Festival and the Qingming Festival were two different festivals, but in the Tang Dynasty, the day of the tomb festival was designated as the Cold Food Festival. The correct date for the Cold Food Festival is one hundred and five days after the winter solstice, around the time of the Qingming Festival. Since the two days are close to each other, the Qingming Festival and the Cold Food Festival were combined into one day!　The custom of visiting ancestors and sweeping the graves in front of their tombs has its origins very early in China. As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, great importance was attached to tombs. During the Warring States period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Mengzi - Qi Ren Zhuan (孟子-齐人篇), also mentioned that a disgraced Qi man used to go to the graves of Dongguo to beg for grave offerings, which shows that tomb-sweeping was a very popular custom during the Warring States period. To the Tang Xuanzong, the imperial decree set the cold food tomb sweeping as one of the "five rituals", so whenever the Qingming Festival comes, "the fields and roads, women all over, soaps and servants and beggars, all have to parents Qiu tomb." (Liu Zongyuan "and Xu Jingzhao book") tomb sweeping has become an important social custom.　And in the spring is still a little cold, but also to ban the fire to eat cold food, for fear that some of the old and weak women and children can not withstand the cold, but also in order to prevent cold food and cold food to hurt the body, and so set up a trekking, picnicking, swinging, playing soccer, playing polo, sticking willows, tug-of-war, cockfighting, and other outdoor activities, so that we can come out to bask in the sun, and activities, increase resistance. Therefore, in addition to the Qingming Festival, in addition to ancestor sweeping, there are various field fitness activities, so that the festival, in addition to the sentimental feelings of prudence, but also blended with the atmosphere of joy and enjoyment of the spring; both the parting of the tears of grief and sorrow, but also everywhere a fresh and bright and vivid scene. It is really a very characteristic, very special festival. Qingming grave-sweeping is a festival related to funeral rites and customs. It is reported that in ancient times, "the tomb but not the grave", that is to say, only hit the grave pit, do not build a mound, so the festival of sweeping is not found in the records. Later on, the tomb and the grave, the custom of cleaning will have a basis. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the tomb festival has become an indispensable ritual and customary activity.　The Han Book. Yan Yan Nian biography, Yan even if the capital of thousands of miles away from the Qingming "return to the East China Sea to sweep the tomb". In terms of Chinese ancestor worship and the development of the sense of kinship, Yan Yan Nian's action is reasonable. Therefore, later generations did not include the ancient norms of the tomb sacrifice into the five rituals: "the common people's homes, it is appropriate to allow the tomb, into the five rituals, forever as a regular pattern." With the official recognition, the custom of tomb worship was bound to flourish.　Due to the Qingming and cold food days close, and cold food is the folk ban on fire sweeping day, gradually, cold food and Qingming will be combined into one, and cold food has become the alias of Qingming, but also become a custom for the Qingming festival, Qingming day does not move fireworks, only eat cold food. One of the twenty-four solar terms. On April 4 or 5 or 6 each year, folk custom is to sweep graves during this period.　Since the vast areas of China have the custom of ancestor worship, tomb sweeping and trekking on the day of Qingming, it has gradually evolved into a traditional Chinese festival in which Chinese people honor their ancestors by sweeping their tombs and paying homage to them, at the intersection of midsummer and late spring, usually 106 days after the winter solstice and one day after the Cold Food Festival. Tomb-sweeping activities can continue for about ten days before and after the festival.

Duanwu Festival

For the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year, also known as the Duanyang Festival, Wuzhi Festival, May Festival, Wuzhi Festival, Ai Festival, Duanwu, Chongwu, Wuzhi, Summer Festival, was originally a summer festival to drive out the plague. Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival of the Han Chinese people in China, the essential activities of this day gradually evolved into eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, hanging calamus ` Artemisia absinthium, moxa leaves, lavender Cangzhu, Angelica dahurica, and drink xionghuang wine. It is said that eating rice dumplings and dragon boat races, is to commemorate Qu Yuan, so after liberation had the Dragon Boat Festival named "Poet's Day" to commemorate Qu Yuan. As for hanging calamus, moxa leaves, fumigate Cangzhu, Angelica dahurica, drink xionghuang wine, it is said to be in order to avoid evil spirits. The "Chinese Dragon Boat Festival" is one of the national legal holidays and is included in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List. A large number of poems, lyrics, songs and fugues have been passed down through the ages.

The Tanabata Festival

Origin: According to legend, the Cowherd's parents died early, and he was often mistreated by his brother and sister-in-law, and only had an old cow to keep him company. One day, the old cow gave him a plan to marry the Weaving Maiden as his wife. On that day, the beautiful fairies did go to the Milky Way to bathe and play in the water. At that moment, the cowherd, who was hiding in the reeds, suddenly ran out and took away the weaving maiden's clothes. The frightened nymphs rushed ashore, put on their clothes and flew away, leaving only the Weaving Maiden. At the Cowherd's request, the Weaving Maiden agreed to be his wife. After the marriage, the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden plowing and weaving, love each other, live a very happy and fulfilling life. The Weaving Maiden also gave the Cowherd a son and a daughter. Later, when the old ox was about to die, she urged the Cowherd to keep its skin and put it on in times of emergency to help. After the death of the old ox, the couple took the skin off and buried the ox on the hillside.　When the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother knew about the marriage between the Weaving Maiden and the Cowherd, they were furious and ordered the heavenly gods to come down to the heaven to retrieve the Weaving Maiden. The gods took advantage of Cowherd's absence to capture the Weaving Maiden. When the Cowherd came home and did not see the Weaving Maiden, he hurriedly put on his cowhide and chased after her with two children. Seeing that it was about to catch up, the Queen Mother was in a hurry, and pulled down the golden hairpin on her head to the Milky Way, and the formerly shallow Milky Way became turbid in a flash, and the Cowherd could no longer pass through it. Since then, the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden can only tearful eyes, look at each other across the river, the sky is long, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother can not argue with the sincere feelings between them, they are allowed to meet once a year on the seventh day of July, legend has it that, on the seventh day of the seventh month, earthly magpies will be flying up to the sky, in the Milky Way for the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden to build a magpie bridge to meet. In addition, when the night is quiet on the seventh day of the seventh month, people can hear the pulsating love words of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden in the sky under the grape arbor or other melons and fruits.

Midwinter Festival

Also known as "July Festival" or "Bon Festival", it is one of the three major ghost festivals. Zhongyuan Festival is a Taoist saying, "Zhongyuan" name from the Northern Wei Dynasty, some places commonly known as the "ghost festival", "Shi Ku", also known as the Festival of the Dead, half of the seventh month. According to an ancient book, "The Taoist scriptures take the 15th day of the first month as the upper yuan, the 15th day of the seventh month as the middle yuan, and the 15th day of the tenth month as the lower yuan." Zhongyuan Festival, together with the three festivals of New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival, and Chongyang Festival (New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival, and Ninth Festival), are the four major festivals of traditional Chinese festivals for ancestor worship. The Taoist Collection contains: "the day of the middle yuan, the earth official hook searching the election of all people, respectively, good and evil ...... in its day and night to recite is the scripture, the ten sides of the great saints, all chanting the spirit of the chapter. Prisoners and hungry ghosts, at that time to free". Folk are mostly in this festival to remember loved ones, and send good wishes for the future.

Mid-Autumn Festival

The term "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the Zhou Li. According to China's ancient calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar falls in the middle of the 8th month of the fall of the year, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". There are four seasons in a year, and each season is divided into Meng, Zhong, quarter three parts, because the second month of autumn is called Zhongqiu, to the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become a fixed holiday. The New Tang Book - Volume 15 Zhi Fifth - Rituals and Music V "in which the spring, mid-autumn libation in King Wen Xuan, King Wucheng," and "Kaiyuan nineteen years, began to set up the Taigong Shangfu Temple, with the Marquis of Liou Zhang Liang with. In the spring, mid-autumn on the E sacrifice, livestock, music system as in the text. The prevalence of the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, has been on a par with New Year's Day, one of the major festivals in China. It is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.

Chongyang Festival

The 9th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar is the traditional Chongyang Festival, also known as the "Festival of the Elderly". Because the "I Ching" in the "six" as the number of yin, the "nine" as the number of yang, the ninth day of September, the sun and the moon and yang, the two nine heavy, so it is called Chung Yeung, also known as Chung Kau. Chongyang Festival has been formed as early as the Warring States period, to the Tang Dynasty, Chongyang was officially designated as a folk festival, and since then it has been inherited by successive dynasties. Chongyang, also known as "Treading Autumn" and March 3 "Treading Spring" are all the family pouring out of the room, Chongyang this day all the relatives have to climb together to "avoid disaster", insert cornelian cherry, chrysanthemums. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the atmosphere of the Chung Yeung has become increasingly rich, for generations of writers and writers to sing the most one of the several traditional festivals.

National Day

The term "National Day", which originally referred to national celebrations, was first used in the Western Jin Dynasty. Western Jin Dynasty writer Lu Ji in the "five vassals" in an article had "National Day alone to enjoy its benefits, the main worry and its harm" record, China's feudal era, the country celebrates the big event, no more than the emperor's ascension to the throne, the birth of the Emperor (the Qing Dynasty said the emperor's birthday for the Festival of long-lasting), and so on. Therefore, in ancient China, the emperor's accession, the birth date is called "national day". Today, the anniversary of the establishment of the country is called the National Day.

La Ba Festival

The eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar (the twelfth month of the lunar calendar is known as the month of waxing) is the traditional La Ba Festival of the Han Chinese people in China, and on this day, most regions in China have the custom of eating La Ba congee. Laha congee is cooked with eight kinds of fresh grains and fruits harvested that year, generally sweet porridge. But many farmers in the Central Plains like to eat Lahai salty porridge, porridge in addition to rice, millet, mung beans, Lahai porridge ingredients

cowpeas, soybeans, peanuts, jujubes and other raw materials, but also to add shredded meat, radish, cabbage, vermicelli, seaweed, tofu and so on.　

LaBa Festival, also known as LaRi Festival, LaBa Festival, the Marquis of La or Buddha's day, the original ancient celebration of the harvest, thanks to the ancestors and the gods (including the door god, house god, house god, stove god, well god) of the sacrificial rituals, in addition to the activities of the ancestors and God, people also want to expel the epidemic. This activity comes from the ancient exorcism (ancient rituals to drive away ghosts and epidemics). One of the medical methods in prehistoric times is to drive away ghosts to cure diseases. As sorcery activities in the waxing moon drums to drive out the epidemic custom, now in Hunan Xinhua and other areas still have survived. Later, it evolved into a religious festival to commemorate Buddha Siddhartha Gautama's attainment of enlightenment. Xia dynasty called the waxing day for the "Jia Ping", the Shang dynasty for the "clear sacrifice", the Zhou dynasty for the "big wax"; held in December, it is called the month for the waxing month, the day of the wax festival for the waxing day. Pre-qin wax day in the winter solstice after the third day of the eleventh day of the north and south dynasty began to be fixed in the eighth day of the month of wax.　

Saying Wen: "Three days after the winter solstice, Lunar sacrifice to all the gods." It can be seen that the third day after the winter solstice was once the day of wax. Later, due to the intervention of Buddhism, it was changed to the eighth day of the twelfth month, and has been customized ever since.　

Why the end of the month called "wax" has three meanings: First, "wax, take also", meaning that there is a change of the old and new ("Sui book - rituals," recorded); Second, "wax with the hunt ", refers to the field hunting to get beasts and animals good ancestral sacrifice to God, "wax" from the "meat" side, is to use the meat "winter sacrifice"; three says "Waxing, by the epidemic to welcome the spring", Waxing Festival is also known as the "Buddha into a festival", also known as "into a meeting", in fact, can be said to be the first eight days of December for the origin of the day of waxing. According to legend, the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni, cultivated deep in the mountains, meditation for six years, starving bones as thin as wood, had wanted to give up this bitter, and met a shepherdess, sent him milk, he ate and sat cross-legged under the Bodhi tree, in the eighth day of December, enlightenment and became a Buddha, in order to commemorate and the rise of the "Buddha into a Taoist Festival". Chinese believers from the pious, so with the "waxing day" fusion, the square into the "Lapa Festival", and also held a grand ritual activities.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is one of the most important of China's traditional festivals. It refers to the evening of the last day of the year in the lunar calendar, that is, the evening before the Spring Festival, because it is often on the thirtieth or twenty-ninth day of the waxing moon in the summer calendar, so it is also known as the thirtieth day of the year. The last day of the year is called "New Year's Eve", and that night is called "New Year's Eve". People often stay up all night on New Year's Eve, called the New Year's Eve. Su Shi wrote "Keeping New Year's Eve": "Children are strong enough not to sleep, and they keep vigil all night long." New Year's Eve this day, home and outside not only to clean up, but also paste the god of the door, paste the Spring Festival couplets, paste the New Year's paintings, hang the door cage, people change into new clothes with festive colors and patterns.