The origin of the custom of male left and female right

According to legend, after Pangu, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, became immortal, his body organs were transformed into the sun, the moon, the stars, the four poles and the five mountains, rivers, lakes and seas and all living things. Although this legend contains mythical elements, it provides reference materials for us to study the Sun God and Moon God in China. According to the calendar of the May Movement Calendar, the sun, moon and Er Shen of the Chinese nation are transformed by Pangu's eyes, and the sun god is transformed by Pangu's left eye. The moon god incarnated as Pangu's right eye, and the folk custom of "male left and female right" came from this. So who is Er Shen, the sun and moon of the Chinese nation? The sun god is Fuxi; Moon God is Nuwa, and both of them are legendary ancient gods.

A few years ago, in Shuimogou, Urumqi, I saw the white relief and explanation of Fuxi Nuwa map unearthed in Astana. Due to the tombs of Astana Hara and Gu Zhuo, several portraits of Fuxi Nuwa in Turpan were found in the cemetery near Jiaohe ancient city. Most of them are buried at the top of the tomb with wooden nails, and the picture is facing down. A few paintings are folded and wrapped around the dead. According to the ancient etiquette of China, Fuxi held the moment in his left hand, Nu Wa held the rules in his right hand, and the snake head twisted. Draw the sun on the head, the moon on the tail and the stars around. Because of its profound meaning, peculiar composition, artistic charm and mystery, it has attracted great attention from the academic circles since it came out at the beginning of this century. Fuxi and Nu Wa are both gods in ancient legends of China and ancestors of human beings. It is said that Fuxi once taught people to engage in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery production, and Nu Wa once taught people the ethical etiquette of marriage. The rules and regulations in their hands are not only tools of production, but also symbols of social order. 1953, scientists found that the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, the basic genetic object of biology, and the double helix structure of metaplastic basic genetic material are very similar to the image of human ancestors expressing metaplastic in Turpan area. In the name of metaplasia, the portrait of Fuxi Nuwa unearthed in Turpan became the first page illustration of UNESCO magazine International Social Sciences (No.1983).

In addition, the custom of "male left and female right" is closely related to the philosophical concept of ancient people. Ancient philosophers in China believed that the two opposites of things and people in the universe were Yin and Yang. Things in nature are size, length, up and down, left and right, and so on. The ancients divided it into big, long, upper and left yang, small, short, lower and right yin. Yang is strong and yin is weak. Men's character, men's violent and strong nature belong to the yang in the left, and women's gentleness belongs to the yin in the right. "Male left and female right" also has practical scientific significance in the application of traditional Chinese medicine. "Male left and female right" refers to the physiological differences between men and women in medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, a man takes qi in his left hand to divide the pulse, and a woman takes blood in her right hand to divide the pulse. Even if the child is sick, he will observe the handprint and adopt the habit of "male left and female right". This is the origin of "male left and female right". This custom, which has been followed to this day, existed as early as the Warring States period more than two thousand years ago. Of course, whether "male left and female right" can really express the physiological differences between men and women is another question.

China feudal society, many things are different, even around the east, west, north and south.

In ancient times, the south was regarded as supreme, while the north symbolized failure and submission. The palaces and temples face south, and the emperor's seat faces south. When he became an emperor, he called it "south is the respect"; Defeat, surrender to others, "defeat" and "surrender to the north." It is precisely because the direction of due south is so noble that when people built houses in the past, no one dared to take the direction of due south of the meridian, both east and west, so as not to violate taboos and be convicted.

In addition to respecting the north in the south, in the east and the west, the ancients also took the east as the head and the west as the second. The residence of the queen and concubines is divided into East Palace and West Palace, of which East Palace is the most important, followed by West Palace. Ancestral temples dedicated to ancestral tablets should be built on the east side of the palace. The "master" and "landlord" in modern Chinese also come from this.

In addition to east, west, north and south, there are also high and low points to indicate the direction. The ancient emperor was supreme, sitting north facing south, with the East on his left. Therefore, while advocating the East, the "Left" has also become noble. Wu Dong occupied Jiangdong during the Three Kingdoms period, also known as Jiangzuo. Wen Zuo Wu You's ritual system, the concept of male left and female right, etc. They are all manifestations of respecting the left, and some customs even continue to this day.

For example, the room is the most important part of the residential courtyard. The quadrangles in Beijing are bungalows with no buildings. The most important room in the yard is the main room. The first room is the north room, also called the upper room or the main room. Because the ancestral tablet and the main hall are located in the middle of the main room, the main room occupies the highest position in the whole house, and its width, depth and height are larger than other rooms. Generally, there are three main rooms, the ancestral hall is in the middle, grandparents live in the second room in the east and parents live in the second room in the west. Moreover, the second room on the left (east) of the main house in the old house is slightly larger than the one on the right (west), which is the result of the traditional custom of "left is top". In the past, people had the custom of respecting the left. We often say "Zuo Zu Ancient Temple", "Wen Zuo has no right" and "Men left and women right" all show respect for the left.

Another example: wearing a ring is also exquisite, which is not seen in written records, but established. People believe that the left is the top and the right is the bottom. The left side symbolizes dignity and strength, and the right side symbolizes tenderness and consideration. So people who wear rings are divided into "men left and women right". In addition, men wear the index finger to indicate courtship, the middle finger to indicate love, and the ring finger to indicate marriage. Women generally don't wear it on their index fingers, and others are similar to men. If someone wears a little finger in both his left and right hands, it clearly means that he is single. In contemporary folk customs, when men and women communicate emotionally, they must pay attention to the position of the ring worn by each other, respect this established custom and get along well.

Of course, in the history of China, there has also been a phenomenon that women are left and men are right. Located on the east bank of Jialing River, beside the stone cabinet pavilion on the ancient plank road, the cliff statue of Thousand Buddha Cliffs has a history of 1400 years. The statue is grand in scale and momentum, with a total length of 4 17m from north to south and a height of 45m. The statue grottoes overlap thirteen layers and are as dense as a honeycomb. There are more than 400 grottoes, with more than 7 statues of different sizes, which are divided into north and south parts centered on Dayungu Cave. Dayungu Cave is the largest cave in Ganfo Cliff. * * * There are 234 statues. The Maitreya statue in the center of the hall is the main Buddha statue in Dayun Cave and a symbol of Empress Wu Zetian. On the left is Empress Zetian, and on the right is Emperor Li Zhi. This arrangement has changed the traditional custom of male left and female right. Munige, with smooth clothes and full figure, is a rare artistic treasure in the grottoes. The screen carved after the Buddha enhances the expression of the stone carving polyhedron.

Men are left and women are right, which is the result of thousands of years of tradition that men are superior to women. From left to right, male first, then female. According to the oriental custom, every time you sign, if you are a husband and wife, you must first write the husband's name and add the wife as a suffix. Unlike in the west, everything pays attention to "ladies first", and even the opening speech is "ladies and gentlemen"