Folk Tales:What are the legends and origins of the Chongyang Festival?

Legend has it that long ago, there was a god of plague. When he appeared, people in the village would get sick and the common people would be tormented. There was a young boy named Jingheng, and the plague god took the lives of all his loved ones. He vowed to learn magic and defeat the plague. He searched everywhere for a famous teacher, not afraid of the long journey or the danger. Guided by a fairy crane, he finally found this magical immortal at Zhongnan Mountain. He studied for ten years and finally developed an extraordinary martial art.

On this day, the immortal called Hengjing to his side and said, "Tomorrow is the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth lunar month, and the god of pestilence will come out to do evil again. You have learned your skills, so you should go back to rid the people of evil." The fairy gave Jing a bag of shamrock leaves, a cup of chrysanthemum wine and a sword to cut down the demons, and told Jing to ride home on a crane. Lo and behold, the plague god came to the village in a murderous rage, but there was no one in the village. The Plague God was puzzled. Suddenly, a scent of dogwood and the alcohol of chrysanthemums hit his nose and made his brain dizzy. I looked up and saw that the villagers were hiding in the mountain, I was so angry that the Plague God let out a scream and rushed up the mountain. At that moment, Hengjing chased the plague god down the mountain with his demon-subduing sword and stabbed him to death in a few rounds. The black gas retreated and the people celebrated their victory by cheering at the top of the mountain. Since then, the activity of ascending the mountain on the ninth day of the ninth month has been passed down year after year.

The Origin of Chongyang Festival

The ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar is the traditional Chongyang Festival. It is also known as the Chung Yeung Festival because in the ancient I Ching, "six" was designated as a negative number and "nine" was designated as a positive number, and on the ninth day of the ninth month, the sun and the moon merge into the sun, so it is called the Chung Yeung Festival, also known as the Chung Yeung Festival. Ancient people considered it an auspicious day to celebrate, and they began celebrating this festival long ago.

Celebrations of the Chongyang Festival are colorful and romantic, and generally include activities such as sightseeing, climbing mountains, viewing chrysanthemums, planting dogwoods, eating chrysanthemum cakes, and drinking chrysanthemum wine.

The 9th day of the 9th lunar month, which is the largest number in the numerical scale, symbolizes longevity, because of its harmony with the Chinese character "九九", is also a time of the year to celebrate the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. Besides, fall is also the golden season of harvesting in a year, and the Chongyang Festival has a far-reaching influence. People have always had special feelings for this festival. There are many excellent poems about He Chongyang and Chrysanthemum in Tang and Song poems.

Today's Chongyang Festival has been given a new meaning. in 1989, China designated September 9 as the Day of the Elderly. Combining tradition and modernity, it has become a festival for the elderly to honor, respect, love and help them. At this time, the country's institutions, groups, streets often organize the retired elderly to enjoy the scenery in autumn, or play at the water's edge, or climb the mountains for fitness, so that the body and mind bathed in the embrace of nature; many families of the younger generation will help the elders to the countryside, or to the old man to prepare some delicious food.

Nine heavens as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period of the Chu word year is mentioned. Qu Yuan traveled far and wrote: "Gathering Chongyang into the emperor's palace, ten years at the beginning of the construction of Qingdu". The "Chongyang Festival" here refers to the day, not the festival. Cao Pi, the Emperor of the Three Kingdoms, wrote on the ninth day of his book with Zhong Yao, the year of the Chongyang Festival, very clearly: "The year to the month, suddenly back to the ninth month of the ninth month of the ninth lunar month. It is the number of nine suns, the sun and the moon to be combined. Common and famous, suitable for a long time. So enjoy a banquet."

Tao Yuanming, a scholar of the Jin Dynasty, said in the preface to his poem Nine Days of Idleness, "I am a hermit, and love to honor the name of nine. Gathering the English garden, while holding the mash, empty-handed to Jiu Hua, the words are precious." Chrysanthemums and wine are mentioned here. Wei Jin around Wei

A plague claimed the young Hengjing's parents, and he nearly died of the disease. After his illness, he said goodbye to his beloved wife and fellow villagers, and resolved to go out and travel to the Immortals to learn the art of ridding the people of the plague. Hengjing visited many famous teachers and scholars all over the world, and finally discovered that there was the oldest mountain in the east. On the mountain was an immortal with unlimited magical power. Guided by an immortal crane, Hengjing finally found the mountain and the immortal with magical powers. Touched by his spirit, the immortal finally took Hengjing in, taught him to subdue demons, and gave him a demon-subduing sword. After constant sleepless nights and hard work, I finally developed extraordinary martial arts skills.

On this day, the immortal called Hengjing to his side and said, "Tomorrow is the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth lunar month, and the plague demon will come out again to do evil. You have learned the skill, so you should go back and get rid of the evil for the people." The immortal gave Hengjing a packet of dogwood leaves and a cup of chrysanthemum wine, and secretly taught him how to ward off evil spirits, so that Hengjing rode a crane and hurried home.

Jing returned home. On the morning of the ninth day of the ninth month, he followed the fairy's instructions and led the villagers to a nearby mountain, where he gave everyone a dogwood leaf and a cup of chrysanthemum wine in preparation for casting magic. At noon, with a few strange cries, the plague demon rushed out of the River Ru, but the plague demon had just jumped to the foot of the mountain, when he suddenly smelled a gust of the strange fragrance of dogwood and the mellow scent of chrysanthemums, and stopped, his face suddenly changed greatly. Just then, Hengjing chased him down the mountain with a demon-subduing sword, and after a few rounds, stabbed the warm demon to death with a sword. From then on, the custom of ascending the mountain to avoid the epidemic on the ninth day of the ninth month has been passed down year after year. Wu Liangjun recorded this in his book Renewal of Qi Harmonic Records.

Later, people regarded the custom of ascending the heights on the Chongyang Festival as a disaster-avoidance activity. In addition, the Chongyang Festival was later designated as the Festival of the Elderly as it meant longevity, health and longevity in the traditional concepts of the people of the Central Plains.

Customs of Chongyang Festival

With the coolness of golden autumn and the fragrance of osmanthus, the Chongyang Festival on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Lunar Calendar is full of activities and fun, including climbing mountains, enjoying chrysanthemums, drinking chrysanthemum wine, eating chrysanthemum cakes, inserting dogwoods and so on.

Climbing mountains

In ancient times, it was customary for people to climb mountains on the Chongyang Festival, which is why the festival is also known as the "Mountain Climbing Festival". According to legend, this custom began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, there were many poems written by literati, most of which were about the custom of Chung Yeung Festival. Du Fu's Seven Diatribes on Climbing High is a famous poem about climbing high on the Chongyang Festival. There is no uniform rule for walking anywhere. Generally, they climbed mountains and towers. There is also the custom of eating "Chongyang cake".

Eating Chrysanthemum Cake

According to historical records, Chrysanthemum Cake is also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake, five-color cake, there is no fixed method, more casual. September 9 dawn, is the original intention of the ancients to make cakes in September, put a piece of cake on the child's head, murmuring, wishing the child all the best. Delicate Chongyang cake should be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two lambs on top, in line with the symbolism of the Chongyang Festival. Some people even put a small red paper flag on the cake and light candles. This probably means "lighting a lamp" and "eating a piece of cake" instead of "climbing a mountain", as well as a small red paper flag instead of a dogwood. Today, there is still no fixed variety of Chung Yeung Cake, and the soft cake eaten on Chung Yeung Festival is called Chung Yeung Cake.

Enjoy and drink chrysanthemum wine.

The Chrysanthemum Festival is the golden autumn time of the year when chrysanthemums are in full bloom. It is said that enjoying chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine originated from Tao Yuanming, a great poet of the Jin Dynasty. Tao Yuanming was famous for his seclusion, his poetry, his wine and his love of chrysanthemums. Through the influence of later generations, it is customary to enjoy chrysanthemums at Chung Yeung. In the old days, the literati also combined chrysanthemum-appreciation with feasting in order to get close to Tao Yuanming. In Kaifeng, the capital city of the Northern Song Dynasty, the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums on Chongyang was prevalent. At that time, there

The custom of inserting Cornus officinalis on the Chongyang Festival was very common in the Tang Dynasty. Ancient people believed that inserting cornelian cherry on Chongyang Festival could take refuge and eliminate disasters; they either wore it on their arms, or made a scented capsule to put cornelian cherry inside, or wore it on their heads. Most of them were worn by women and children, and in some places they were also worn by men. Cornus officinalis is connected with the Chongyang Festival, which is recorded in Ge Hong's Western Scripture Miscellany of the Jin Dynasty. Besides wearing dogwood, people also wear chrysanthemums. This was the case in the Tang Dynasty and has been prevalent throughout the ages. The custom of Chongyang Festival in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty was to stick chrysanthemum branches and leaves on doors and windows to "ward off evil spirits and attract wealth". This is the vulgarization of the chrysanthemum on the head. In the Song Dynasty, colored ribbons cut into shamrocks and chrysanthemums were also worn as gifts.

Customs celebrating Chung Yeung Festival around the world

Besides the above common customs, there are also some unique forms of the festival around the world.

On the official harvest season in northern Shaanxi province, a song goes like this, "On the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth month of September, Chongyang Festival, so autumn is busy. Millet, millet, go up to the ground." Chongyang Festival in northern Shaanxi is held at night, the day is a full day of harvesting and threshing. At night in the treetops, people like to eat buckwheat noodles and shabu-shabu. After dinner, people walk out of their homes in twos and threes, climb a nearby hill, light a fire, talk about nothing, and wait for the rooster to crow before returning home. At night, many people pick a few wild chrysanthemums and put them on their daughters' heads to ward off evil spirits.

In Fujian Putian, people followed the ancient custom of steaming nine layers of Chongyang rice fruit. Ancient China has "bait" custom, is today's pastries, rice fruit and so on. Jade Candle BaoDian Song Dynasty cloud: "food bait and drink nine days chrysanthemum wine, when the combination of millet and millet, so that it is fixed on the flavor of the rice family and taste new things, thus becoming a habit". Song Zuqian, a poet in the early Qing Dynasty, said: "I was surprised to hear that the festival will arrive at the Chung Yeung Festival, and I picked up the wild fragrance with my hand in a basket. The jade mortar and pestle pounded the green powder into wetness, and the pearl called Lang to taste it". In recent times, people have turned the rice country into the unique Ninefold Rice Country. Wash high-quality late rice with water, soak it for 2 hours, fish it out, drain it, mix it with water, grind it into pulp, add alum, stir it, add brown sugar, then put it into a steamer, lay a clean cooking cloth, scoop it into the rice pulp nine times, steam it for a few hours, and then take it out of the cage, and coat the rice with peanut oil. This rice fruit is in nine overlapping layers, which can be uncovered and cut into rhombuses. It is clear and translucent on all four sides. It is sweet, soft and tasty, and does not stick to your teeth. It is the best gift to honor the elderly in Chung Yeung.

In some places, people also have the opportunity to climb mountains and sweep tombs on Chongyang Festival to honor their ancestors. The people of Putian pay more tribute to their ancestors on Chongyang than on Chingming, so it is commonly known as small Chingming in March and big Chingming on Chongyang Festival. Due to the coastal area of Putian, the ninth day of the ninth month of September is also the anniversary of the ascension of Mazu. Most villagers go to A-Ma Temple Meizhou or Hong Kong's Tin Hau Shrine and Palace to worship and pray for blessings.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Chung Yeung Festival was enriched with new activities.In 1989, the Chung Yeung Festival was designated as Senior Citizens' Day in China. On this first day, the elderly are organized to go on autumn excursions to broaden their horizons, exchange their feelings, exercise their bodies, and cultivate the noble character of people who return to nature and love the great mountains and rivers of the motherland.

Chongyang Poem

Sangzi Chongyang

Mao Zedong

Life is easy for God, but it's hard for you to grow old.

It's the Chongyang Festival again, and the yellow flowers of the battlefield are fragrant.

The annual fall wind is strong, unlike spring,

It's like spring, with its vast rivers and miles of frost.

Vacationing in the mountains thinking of my brothers in Shandong

Wang Wei

I am a lonely stranger in a strange land, thinking of my family at every festival.

Thinking of my brothers' bodies ascending to high places, will they also

Purple chrysanthemums fall along the hedges, and picking chrysanthemums and drinking wine make you happy.

I can't bear to think of home today, so I'll stick my shamrocks on all of you.

On the 9th, I was lucky enough to climb Linweikan and get a participle.

Anshi

To reopen the Autumn Festival, you have to move Chen Yi.

Golden winds waft chrysanthemums, jade dews cry hill dogwood branches.

Look at the eight treasures, there are seven astronomical obsidians.

Depth response is just around the corner, and when you're high, you forget the danger.

Drinking drunk

Li Qingzhao

The fog is thick and the clouds are sad forever, the brain sells the golden beast.

The Chongyang Festival, lying under the quilt, in the middle of the night, the body's cold has just been soaked through.

Dongli drinking until after dusk, light yellow chrysanthemum fragrance overflowed both sleeves.

The road is fascinating, the curtain rolls in the west wind, people are thinner than yellow flowers!

Yu Chang'an returned to Yangzhou on September 9, rhyming at the Weishan Pavilion.

Heart went south to the clouds, but the body came back from north to south in the fall.

The chrysanthemums under the fence in my hometown, how many flowers are blooming today?

Drunken Dongfeng Chong wine

Guan Hanqing

Poetry on the red leaves makes it resistant to the imperial provisions of emotion, and the people in the chrysanthemums lie in the song upstairs.

The shadows of geese are sparse for a long time, and the moon is thin after sunset.

When the weather is cold and fall, withered willows and cicadas are sad,

Who will teach white clothes to send wine.

Nine days

Vincent

Three chrysanthemums of the heavy sun, blooming not at home.

He's drinking today, but suddenly he's spending time in his home town.

Wild clouds and wild trees, geese gathering sand on cold days.

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