Unique Xiamen Poké Culture with the Sound of Dice

Mid-Autumn Festival is a day of family reunion, in many parts of China will hold different activities to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Pokémon is a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival activity that has been unique to the southern Fujian region of China for hundreds of years, and is also a unique custom in Xiamen culture. How can one not be intrigued by the fact that a recreational activity formed hundreds of years ago has gradually developed into a culture over a long period of time?

Mid-Autumn Bocai, originated in Tongan County, Quanzhou Province (now Xiamen Tongan), legend has it that it was invented by Zheng Chenggong, a native of Nan'an, Quanzhou, and it is a kind of Han Chinese folklore activity that is unique to the southern Fujian area and extended by the cake culture. Bocai is a popular recreational activity during the Mid-Autumn Festival, in which a combination of six dice is thrown to determine the participants' prizes. The traditional prizes are mooncakes of different sizes,*** counting a while, with one scholar, two against the hall, four three red, four into eight, two lifting 16, a show 32. Legend has it that this game can predict a person's luck in the coming year.

In southern Fujian, the Mid-Autumn Gambling Cake has also become a commercial activity and popular game. Fujian People's Publishing House published in 1985, "Fujian scenery" records: in the area of Quanzhou, the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a "win the first prize cake" custom. In some cities and towns in the central and eastern regions of Taiwan, as well as the outlying island of Taiwan, Kinmen County (under Quanzhou), still popular in the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of winning the first prize cake. In Kinmen, the Wu Chu Community Development Association in Kinmen Township celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival every year with a community gala, and there is the Scholar's Cake Competition.

Mid-Autumn Festival cake culture is very prevalent in southern Fujian. In the past, the Southern Fujian Mid-Autumn Festival Bocai, usually the traditional Bocai play, for example, the prize is usually used will cake. Bocai is purely for the sake of having fun. And in time local residents before the first day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, is not playing, Bocai time is normal in the first day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar to the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Bocai began as a game for the literati, and later popularized by industrial and commercial guilds and stores. In order to avoid the dice have "gambling" suspicion, some merchants will first be the Mid-Autumn Festival cake to honor the God of Wealth and land, and then "Buxin Cup" Bocai, the largest Mid-Autumn Festival cake is called "tortoise head" (i.e., "Ao Tou"). The largest mid-autumn cake is called "turtle head" (i.e. "ao head"), or "bo" the first meaning. Until the late 1940s and early 1950s there were such activities.

The rules of the Minnesota Bocai originated from the game "Scholar's Chip" (also known as "Scholar's Sign"). The game of "Scholar's Chip" (also known as "Scholar's Sign") appeared around the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. This is recorded in Qing Dynasty Gu Lu's Qing Jia Lu, Volume 1, "Scholar's Chip". Bocai a set of 63 will cake, and the scholar chip game rules are basically the same, that is, the two section name is the same, the same number, the same dice, the same Bo method, the difference is, the scholar chip play is not a chip cake, Mid-Autumn Festival Bo scholar play is a cake is not a chip.

As for the use of dice as a tool, can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, a kind of card play Xuanhe card, play is the number of points on the six sides of the dice, and the Bo cake with the Mid-Autumn Festival will be cake, can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty court Mid-Autumn Festival rituals, but also from the big to the small stacked, according to the rank corresponding to the size of the mooncake reward. Taiwan's history books recorded in the throwing of the first prize cake play with the Minnan Bocai match.

The combination of Scholar's Chip, Xuanhe Plaque, Scholar's Cake and Scholar's Cake game gave rise to Minnan Pok Pok Pok. The value of Minnan Bocai is that it is a fusion of Central Plains culture and Minnan culture, imperial examination culture and folk culture, ancient culture and modern culture, which confirms the regional characteristics of the same customs in Fujian and Taiwan from one aspect.

The Mid-Autumn Pok Pok activity has become a festive custom in many places, but there are some phenomena that are not in harmony with the historical and cultural connotations of Pok Pok. Some fabricate history, some continue to increase the value of the prize, almost become a kind of betting without betting. To protect the bobo, to protect its due historical and cultural connotations.

Minnesota Pokémon custom, pay attention to is a happy, is a good luck, most people would like to believe that Pokémon in the person, a year of luck will always be particularly good, this is of course because the Pokémon activities pouring people's emotional attachment, which is especially Xiamen area. Therefore, the people of southern Fujian always pay special attention to the Mid-Autumn Festival, and even have a "small Spring Festival, the big Mid-Autumn Festival" said.

Many outsiders come to southern Fujian, will be impressed by this custom with a strong festival color. Mooncake in southern Fujian's Pok Pok custom, has a name of its own, the beauty of the said: will cake. This is one of the essential "props" for the Mid-Autumn Festival.