Traditional Cultural Knowledge and Customs

Traditional Chinese folklore, as an integral part of traditional Chinese culture, was nurtured, occurred and inherited under the constraints of the Chinese nation's unique natural environment, economic mode, social structure, political system and other factors, and thus traditional Chinese folklore has the ****ness of human folklore as well as a unique personality that is different from that of other countries and nations. Analyzing and revealing the basic characteristics of traditional Chinese folklore is a proper part of folk culture research, and its description with various specific events should be complementary and indispensable for the in-depth study of Chinese folklore. Regrettably, the comprehensive discussion has been relatively silent in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to draw people's attention to this aspect of research. A comprehensive examination of the inheritance and evolution of Chinese folklore reveals that the following characteristics are very obvious.

I. Long-term survival of primitive beliefs

Primitive beliefs and customs have been inherited and popular for thousands of years, which is one of the major features of traditional Chinese folklore. Nature worship, animal and plant worship, totem worship, ancestor worship, and witchcraft, divination, prayers for sacrifice, rituals, taboos and other customs are not only centrally manifested in people's faith activities, but also throughout the various aspects of people's material and spiritual life. We do not have to spend ink to describe the various and complicated witchcraft and sacrificial rituals, just look at the faith practices that permeate people's daily life, it is enough to illustrate this problem. For example, in material production activities, spring prayers, autumn reports, seeking rain, avoiding disasters, using divination to predict the climate and the yearly success, as well as a series of taboos formed around agricultural affairs, have long been the traditional customs of agricultural production. The Zuozhuan records, "The two sacrifices of the gods of the earth and grain ...... have been sacrificed since summer and above." [1] The Han Book - Suburban Sacrifice Zhi also recorded: "Suburban sacrifices to the gods of the earth and grain, the never Shang carry on." [2] It can be seen that the sacrifices to the gods of land and grain were popular as early as the indeterminable ancient times. Subsequently, the whole process of agricultural production, always accompanied by a series of beliefs and customs, according to the "Rituals - Monthly Orders" records, in addition to the eleventh and twelfth months of the year, ten months have "praying for the grain", "ordering the people's community", "praying for the coming year" and other fixed sacrifices. In fact, many agricultural festivals were formed as a result of these activities. Such agricultural beliefs and customs have flourished in later times and are still far from extinct today. In terms of hunting, herding, fishing, forestry, transportation, transport, trade and other industries and handicrafts, it is also very common to hold certain witchcraft ceremonies, to worship the relevant gods, and to abide by

certain taboos, etc.

They are also very common.

In food, clothing, housing and transportation, primitive beliefs and customs are often reflected. Such as building houses and graves will be closely linked with geomancy, please Mr. Yin and Yang to see the feng shui to choose the house, is the first step before the start of construction. From groundbreaking to the completion of the house into the house, each important link to choose an auspicious day and time, the whole process has a series of witchcraft, rituals, taboo activities. Among them, the beam ceremony is particularly grand, the beam should be affixed to the "beam auspicious", "Jiang Tai Gong here" and other red paper banners; craftsmen to sing "on the beam text", and then in the beam will be steamed buns, scattered money, etc. thrown down to drive away the evil spirits, suppressing the ghosts; and sometimes also in the eave to hang a Copper mirror, used to irradiate demons. All of these, to name a few. We can see from the Yinxu oracle bones in the "Divination" records, "Shangshu" in the "Calling Grant", "Luo Grant" two described King Cheng of the Zhou Dynasty to choose the capital of Luoyi when the turtle divination process, Dunhuang documents retained in the "building house text" [3], "Zhenzhai text", [4] and later generations of the endless feng shui books, the creation of the activities of primitive beliefs are The original beliefs in the creation of the activity have a long and continuous history.

Traditional Chinese clothing, according to the provisions of the ritual system, must be compatible with certain faith activities, so there is the so-called "sacrificial clothing". In addition, the folk are also popular to avoid many clothes and accessories, such as five poison undershirt, five incense bag, shoes, jade pendant, amulets and so on. In the dietary life, the boat family eating fish avoid turning over, not called "chopsticks" but called "chopsticks"; Henan people cooking taboo said "less", "no "no", "light", "rotten", "finished", "not enough", etc.; Northeasterners make dumplings. Northeasterners dumpling taboo not pinch folds, because pinch the light side like "monk head", inauspicious, and wrapped into the dumplings taboo set into a circle, must be set up horizontal and vertical rows, to be able to financial success, these taboos and customs are we often heard of the common. In fact, the diet of primitive beliefs were prevalent early, such as the Han Dynasty, there are "said: Thunder shall not be sauce, thunder has been sounded for sauce, people inside the belly thunder." "said: waxing on the first day of food to get dodder patella, the name of the day fortunate, rewarded with cold wine. Fortunately, good kind, people auspicious." Such records [5]. According to the "Mountains and Seas Classic" records: "Zhaoshuang of the mountains ...... have wood, its shape such as the valley and the black reason, its Hua four light, its name is called fan @ ① gǔ, Pei do not fan. There is a beast, its shape is like Yu and white ears, ambush pedestrian walk, its name is @ ② @ ② (orangutan), eat the good walk." "On the mountain of Twisting Yang ...... there is a beast whose shape is like a horse with a white head, whose writing is like a tiger with a red tail, whose voice is like a ballad, whose name is Deer Shu, and which it is good to wear for the sake of one's children and grandchildren." "In the柢山 ...... there is a fish, whose shape is like that of an ox, which lingers, with a serpent's tail and wings, whose feathers are under @③, whose voice is like that of a lingering ox, and whose name is @④, which dies in winter, but is born in summer, and which does not suffer from swellings and diseases when eaten." [6] This concept of eating and wearing something

can achieve some practical effect is the concept of simulated sorcery, and the later prevalence of what to eat to make up for what, such as "ate a bear's heart and leopard's guts" to describe the boldness of other people, is obviously in the same vein. As for drinking Chinese medicine, the dregs of the custom of pouring on the road, obviously related to contact with witchcraft.