Social customs in Jinzhong

Taigu, Qixian, Linfen, Yangcheng, Jincheng, Hunyuan, Shuozhou, Xiangfen, Dingxiang and other places have preserved a large number of Ming and Qing residential buildings. Xiangfen Ding Cun Folk Museum, Qixian Folk Museum and Dingxiang Folk Museum reflect the typical northern folk customs in Jinnan, Jinzhong and Xinzhou areas, such as age customs, weddings and funerals, etiquette customs, folk crafts and agricultural production, cultural and entertainment activities, etc. For details, please refer to Shanxi folk customs on this site.

Famous snacks: Xinghua Village Fenjiu, Shanxi Noodle, Pingyao Tuguang Lacquerware, Xinjiang Yundiao, Qi Diao, Datong Bronze and other products, which have a long history and are well-known at home and abroad.

Folk song art: Shanxi, known as "the ocean of folk songs". It has a long history and made great achievements as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. Tang style and Feng Wei in The Book of Songs, including Cut Tan and Storytelling, are Shaanxi folk songs. There are more than 100 counties in Shanxi, and almost every county has its own folk songs. According to statistics, more than 20,000 folk songs have been collected. There are not only many folk songs in Shanxi, but also very distinctive local colors. The artistic styles of folk songs vary greatly from place to place in Shanxi. Folk songs in Hequ, Baode, Pianguan and other places are high-pitched and have a great leap in tone, so they sound rather vast and forceful, lyrical and straightforward, simple and lively, and full of humorous and touching beauty. Compared with Hequ, Xinzhou and Dingxiang folk songs, Datong, Yanggao and Shuoxian folk songs have their own characteristics. Zuo Quan folk songs have their own context, fresh and gentle. There are many "three beats" love songs, which are not found in other folk songs. Qixian and Taigu folk songs, as well as Shouyang and Taiyuan folk songs, are more flexible, free and diverse in content and form. The folk songs in Huguan, Jincheng, Yangcheng and Qinshui in the southeast of Shanxi are old-fashioned and have a strong local flavor. The folk songs in Qinyuan County are good at expressing the warmth of local farmers in real life and have a strong flavor of the times.

Folk Dance: Many experts also call Shanxi "the hometown of folk dance". According to Su E's "Romance" in the Tang Dynasty, as early as the pre-Qin period, there was a beautiful dance in Taiyuan with the content of "Zhanchiyou" popular among the people. In the Han tomb excavated in Houcun, Yuncheng, a model of "Hundred Theatre Buildings" was also found, in which male and female dancers danced against each other. In the tombs of the Tang Dynasty excavated in other places in Shanxi, there are also many beautiful images of dancing children. There are many kinds of folk dances in Shanxi, and there are still about 200 kinds. Such as flower drum, drum, flower drum, fan drum, five tigers climbing, box-piercing gongs and drums, waist drum, mouth flower drum, tooth drum and so on. There are various forms of "flower drums" in Shanxi, including high drums (hanging on the chest), low drums (hanging on the waist) and multiple drums (hanging on the waist, chest and shoulders). Shanxi's "Flower Drum Dance" is dominated by Yuncheng and Linfen. For example, in 17 townships in Wanrong County, 13 have flower encouragement teams. In some towns, every street has a pile of flower drums, so it is called "the hometown of flower drums". The "Yangko" in Shanxi is all over Sanjin. It can be roughly divided into several types, such as kicking and inspiring, dancing with younger brothers, original flat dancing, Zuo Quan flower dancing, Houma Baidian dancing and Linfen umbrella dancing. In addition, there are lion dances, dragon dances, walking on stilts, boating, carrying sticks, carrying pavilions, playing the piano and singing and dancing, and various lantern dances. Shanxi folk dance has three obvious characteristics. First, it reflects the profound social life, expresses feelings delicately and realistically, and the combination of form and content is very tacit. The second is drama. No matter what kind of dance it is, it's all about costumes and facial makeup, which is very dramatic. There are also many ways to use drama plots in the performance content. Third, drama, song and dance are mixed, such as "Errentai" by Hequ, which is both a folk song and a folk dance. There is also the unity of acrobatics, dance and drama. Such as stilts, dry boats, lion dances, dragon dances, back sticks, iron bars and so on.

Folk music: Shanxi has rich folk music heritage and unique soil for developing folk music. For example, Shi Kuang, the only earliest and most famous musician in China folk music with historical records, was a native of Hongdong, Shanxi. He was a musician in the State of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period, and China's famous ancient songs "Yangchun" and "Snow White" were all written by him. There are many precious "classical music" in Shanxi, many of which are still circulating among the people. Most of Shanxi folk musical instruments we see now are handed down from ancient times. These musical instruments are mainly made of silk and bamboo, such as sheng, pipe, flute, banhu, sanxian, suona, pipa, zheng, bawu, drum, cymbal, gong and cymbal. Shanxi folk music can be roughly divided into three categories. One is "Trumpeter Music" played by drummers all over the country. Drum music in Shanxi is spread all over the province, with Xinzhou and Jinzhong being the largest and most famous. For example, Dajie and Yuanping Eight Episodes, Fan Shi and Daixian. One is the tunes played by people all over the country with various musical instruments when they are in full swing. The most famous are Changzhi's "Eight-tone Concert" and Hongtong's "Power and prestige gongs and drums". One is the "temple fair music" handed down from Buddhism to Taoism or the miscellaneous music of Buddhism and Taoism. The most influential is the temple music played by Wutai Mountain monks. Shanxi folk instrumental art is often combined with rap art. Such as Lu 'an Drum Book, xiang yuan Drum Book, Northern Shaanxi Daoqing, Yongji Daoqing, Yangcheng Daoqing, Yicheng Qin Shu, Wuxiang Qin Shu, etc., all have such characteristics.

Opera Art: Shanxi is one of the birthplaces of China's opera art, and as early as the Han Dynasty, opera sprouted in Shanxi. During the Northern Song Dynasty, there were many local operas, such as burlesque, shadow play, musical and acrobatic drama, which were the embryonic form of China opera at that time. Later, Kong Sanchuan, a rapper in Zezhou (now Jincheng), changed the single-palace tune to the various-palace tune, which raised the reality and national opera in Shanxi to a new stage. In the Yuan Dynasty, the art of traditional Chinese opera flourished day by day. Shanxi was not only "famous in the world", but also became the center of national traditional Chinese opera art. As far as the stage of the Yuan Dynasty is concerned, the stage of the Yuan Dynasty discovered in China is basically located in the south of Shanxi. For example, the "Laoting" was built from Niuwang Temple in Wei Village in Linfen to the 20th year of Yuan Dynasty, the stage was built from Dongguan Village in Linfen to the 5th year of Yuan Dynasty, and the Qiaoze Temple in Wuchi Village in Yicheng was built from the 9th year of Yuan Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, folk artists from Zhou Pu, Tongzhou, and Shanzhou, Henan boldly reformed the singing of northern zaju, and absorbed huqin, gongs and drums, suona and so on. A pair of jujube bangzi was specially added in order to meet the needs of changing dishes, so the "Zhou Pu Bangzi" drama appeared in Shanxi. Later, Zhou Pu Bangzi was combined with local operas and customs in Jinzhong, northern Shanxi and southeastern Shanxi respectively, and gradually formed Middle Road Bangzi, Northern Road Bangzi and Shangdang Bangzi. In addition, there are many kinds of operas in Shanxi, including 54 kinds of operas in Shanxi, accounting for one-sixth of more than 300 kinds of operas in China. There are more than 200 professional troupes in Shanxi, with 1.5 million employees. Among the fifty-four kinds of operas, Zhonglu Bangzi has gradually developed into a representative opera in Shanxi, which is why people call Zhonglu Bangzi "Shanxi Bangzi" and "Shanxi Opera".

Paper-cut art: In terms of style, Shanxi's paper-cut art is basically divided into two categories: rough and simple monochrome paper-cut and graceful and soft color dot-dyed paper-cut. The former is distributed in southern Shanxi, southeastern Shanxi, Jinzhong and northwestern Shanxi, while the latter is concentrated in Yanbei area, among which Guangling is the most famous. In Shanxi's folk paper-cutting, there are many patterns, which are designed by homophonic techniques. For example, images such as "chicken", "fragrance" and "ruyi" are used to express "good luck and ruyi"; Use images such as "lotus" and "fish" to express "more than every year, more than every year"; Use images such as "Lotus" and "Osmanthus fragrans" to express "Lian Zi" and so on. Other designs are represented by legendary symbols, such as "deer" and "crane" to indicate longevity, and the combination of "dragon" and "phoenix" to indicate the happiness of wedding, that is, "dragon and phoenix are auspicious". In a large number of paper-cut works, we can see that the patterns with dragons, snakes, fish and frogs as the content are the most, which is the biggest feature of Chinese national culture with dragons and snakes as totems. Shanxi folk paper-cutting is not only realistic and vivid, but also full of artistic imagination. Shanxi's folk paper-cutting is also closely related to various folk activities of the people throughout the country, including traditional festivals, customs, birth, marriage, longevity, funeral and so on.

Shadow Play Art: Shanxi Shadow Play Art was widely spread as early as the Song Dynasty in China. Shadow play is mostly carved from cowhide, with extremely rich shapes, from heaven to underground, from characters to birds and animals. Shadow play is made up of plane curves, and the characters are all positive and side shapes. There are all kinds of roles, such as life, Dan, Jing, tail and ugliness, which are similar to drama masks and costumes. During the performance, the picker manipulates the body and limbs of the characters with three sticks, and projects the image on the "paper window" or "sand window" with the help of light, which looks very interesting.

Art of New Year Pictures: The woodcut New Year Pictures in Shanxi began in the Song and Jin Dynasties. Among them, Jinnan woodblock New Year Pictures are as famous as Hebei Wuqiang New Year Pictures, Tianjin Yangliuqing New Year Pictures and Suzhou Taohuawu New Year Pictures. Shanxi's woodblock New Year pictures are mainly auspicious and festive in content. The common forms are lamp painting, nave painting, screen painting, tribute painting, window painting, door painting, kitchen niche painting, shadow mural painting, door painting, table skirt painting and so on. Shanxi woodblock New Year pictures are full of composition, bright colors, simple lines, rough style and strong decoration.

1.2 Wedding, Funeral, Wedding and Lunar New Year Orders

1.2. 1 weddings and funerals

Birth, marriage and funeral are three major events in life, and Shanxi is no exception. For a long time, a grand ceremony has been formed and the activities are particularly exquisite. From birth, there are full moon, one hundred days, one year old, animal year and other festivals. Generally speaking, these festivals need invitations, gifts and dinners.

Marriage is the most important of the three major events, from blind date, betrothal, marriage to the ceremony of making love to the bride and going home, all of which are very grand and elegant.

Death is also a major event in life. Funerals in Shanxi are also unique, with many ceremonies and complexity. As far as clothing is concerned, people should prepare clothes for the four seasons before they die, embroidered with longevity flowers. At the funeral, the children and their young relatives were dressed in white from head to toe to show filial piety. Special products are also very particular. 12 bowls and 8 tables of rice are bright in color, rich in variety and unique in taste.

1.2.2 years old seasonal sequence

The folk customs of the four seasons are closely linked with the long-term agricultural society in China. With the climate change all the year round, the bumper harvest of crops and the needs of people's lives, a series of folk customs have gradually formed. There are mainly Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival and Laba Festival. Although this is a typical China New Year season, the way to celebrate it is unique. For example, on the "Cold Food Festival" in Jinzhong, local people not only ban cold food and fire, but also make "cold dumplings" for children to eat and play with. Eat zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival in May; Be a face-to-face person on July 15; During the Lantern Festival, there are lantern riddles and fireworks. In addition, there are some unique festivals in Shanxi, such as Shangliang Festival and Oil Festival.

1.3 Folk architecture

Houses are closely related to people's mode of production, living characteristics and environment. When building a house, you should use local materials. Shanxi cave dwelling is the most typical and unique. Cave dwellings in the Loess Plateau are scattered in mountainous areas with large topographic relief. Using loess as material, dig caves near mountains or soil to avoid wind and sand, which is warm in winter and cool in summer.

Another form of Shanxi folk houses is compound. Siheyuan is a typical feature of Shanxi, and most of it is the residence of merchant families. Strong economic strength makes its housing large-scale, beautifully built, magnificent and patchwork. From the outside, it is majestic and tall, neat and dignified, with rows of houses in the courtyard; From the inside, it is magnificent and orderly, with pavilions and courtyards matching each other. Stone carvings, brick carvings and wood carvings can be seen everywhere in the existing courtyards, which are exquisite, rich in content, exquisite in patterns, exquisite in skills and rich in ideological connotations, reflecting the educational thoughts of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and their people. For example, Ning Ruiju's stone carving "Lu Longmen" and Wang Family Courtyard "refer to the sunrise", which embodies the Confucian educational thought; And "the wet nurse is loyal to her relatives" embodies the traditional moral concept; These are all expectations and teachings for the younger generation.

1.4 craft

Folk embroidery in Shanxi has not only a long history, but also a wide range of themes, rich content, simple patterns, bright colors, simple composition, exaggerated modeling, correct stitches and exquisite embroidery, which embodies the characteristics of local customs and customs in Shanxi and its own unique artistic style. Folk embroidery is mainly divided into three categories: clothing, daily necessities and sacrificial supplies, such as neckline, cuffs, hats, insoles, quilts, pillows and purses. For example, insoles are often embroidered with patterns such as love, happiness and lotus.

Shanxi paper-cut is also widely circulated among the people, accompanied by birthdays, weddings and funerals, festive festivals and daily life. Paper-cutting used in life etiquette mainly expresses people's yearning and pursuit of beauty. For example, the word "hi" at marriage means adding joy to happiness. The paper-cutting in Luliang area is simple, rough and vigorous; Jinnan paper-cut knife and pen are vigorous and bright; The paper-cuts of Guangling and Lingqiu in Yanbei are dignified and gorgeous, which have both the interest beyond the Great Wall and the beauty inside. Jinzhong paper-cut is located in the hinterland of Shanxi Province, and its style is round and beautiful, delicate and fine.

Shanxi dough sculpture is also a kind of folk culture, which is called "flour flower" among the people. It is a token or symbol of ceremonies, New Year's Eve and other folk festivals as gifts, sacrifices, celebrations and decorations. There are many kinds of dough figurines with a wide range of subjects. It can be said that nature has everything, such as animals, plants and people, to symbolize all beauty, happiness and longevity, harmony and friendship.

Straw weaving is also a folk art in Shanxi. Straw materials come from nature, including wheat straw, wicker, corn husk, rattan and so on. Straw includes daily necessities and toy ornaments. In the folk, there are small ornaments to wear, small chess pieces to play with, cages and bamboo baskets for putting fruits. The big ones are laundry baskets, carrying baskets and so on. They are beautiful and vivid farm tools. We should develop these folk straw weaves, so that they can be changed from simple practicality in ancient times to practical appreciation now, and can be extended to woven bags, ornaments, chair cushions and other supplies to enter the market.

1.5 literature and art

Shanxi is one of the cradles of China opera. There are mainly four kinds of operas: Jin Opera, Pu Opera, Shangdang Bangzi and Hokuriku Bangzi. Shanxi Opera is a representative opera in Shanxi Province, which is characterized by smooth melody, beautiful melody, mellow kindness, clear roads and strong local flavor, and has its own unique style in Jinzhong area. Pu Opera is high-pitched, simple and unrestrained; Shangdang bangzi is bright, rough and simple; Hokuriku Bangzi has an impassioned frontier style. In addition, Taoist drama and shadow play in Shanxi are also deeply loved by working people in urban and rural areas.

Shanxi folk songs are the crystallization of collective wisdom of working people for thousands of years, a true portrayal of working people's lives and a reflection of local people's psychology, emotions and wishes. These folk songs have a wide range of themes and profound contents, involving all aspects of social life. Qu Shan in the northwest of Shanxi, Hua Diao in Taihang Mountain and Rolling Pin in Xinzhou area are short songs that working people can sing at any time in Shan Ye, cliffs and yards, with short and simple forms; Freedom of melody and beat; Sincere feelings need no company. The folk songs are loud; The tone of flowering is euphemistic and delicate; There are many kinds of yangko, such as "Two-person Lift" in Hequ, "Little Flower Play" in Zuo Quan and "Wind Stage Play" in Heshun. Many divertimentos are about historical figures or legends, such as Zuo Quan's Da Qiang, Xingxian's Kunqu Opera and Sok Li's Playing and Singing.

The school of "Yam Yao Dan" headed by Zhao Shuli is the most influential literary school in the history of new China literature. His works include The Marriage of Little Black Boys and Li Youcai's Banhua. Zhao Shuli has made great historical contributions to the nationalization, popularization and localization of novel art, and formed a unique artistic style, and is known as the "iron pen master" who writes about farmers. Under his influence, in 1950s and 1960s, a group of powerful writers in Shaanxi, such as Rong, inherited Xiaohe's style of marriage and love, published a large number of works with similar styles, and formed a group of writers with nationwide influence. From the term "Shan Yao Egg School", which is full of local flavor, we can easily imagine how close these works are to the masses and life, and have the unique charm of Shanxi literature and art.