Shaoxing folk composition! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

In Shaoxing, as soon as December of the lunar calendar enters, people are busy preparing for the New Year: buying wine, spring cakes, making zongzi, removing dust, killing chickens and geese, buying fish and meat, preparing clothes, shoes and hats for the New Year, buying gifts for relatives and friends, and so on. It can be said that I'm as busy as a bee for fear that I can't raise enough money and make a joke. On the 23rd night of the twelfth lunar month, every household will send the Kitchen God to heaven, offer a sticky candy and glue the Kitchen God's teeth so that he can't tell the Jade Emperor Chen about people's fault. After sending the Kitchen God, before New Year's Eve, every family always chooses an auspicious day to pray, which is the most solemn festival in every family year. The deities worshipped are "Southern Tour", which Shaoxing people call the Blessing Bodhisattva and the Great Bodhisattva, and they are said to be the emperors of the Song Dynasty. After the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, the adherents were afraid of the arrogance of the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty and did not dare to publicly sacrifice to the king of the Song Dynasty, so they had to do it quietly in the dead of night. This kind of eulogy with national consciousness was not only widely circulated later, but also added the significance of thanking the gods for blessing and praying for happiness in the coming year. According to the old people, the bodhisattva in the sky is not allowed to enter an unclean house. Therefore, before praying, the main hall, sacrificial platform and sacrificial vessels must be cleaned and cleaned. After the "Five Sacrifices and Blessings" are cooked, put them in a wooden red lacquer dish. There are also certain rules in the way of posing. For example, chickens and geese should kneel down and kowtow to the lucky god to welcome them. A live carp is hung on the "Longmen" with a red rope through the backstab, and colored eyes are glued with red paper, which means "carp yue longmen". If the ceremony is held late at night, the atmosphere will be more solemn. Men should kneel and knock three times according to their seniority, and women and men who are jealous of individual zodiac signs should avoid it. Not to mention Xianglinsao, the widow of Baitiling, even Lufu's wives and concubines were deprived of the qualification to pray.

Spring Festival:

The beginning of the Lunar New Year in China is called the Spring Festival, also known as the Lunar New Year. Celebrating the Spring Festival, commonly known as "Chinese New Year", is the most grand and lively ancient traditional festival in China, symbolizing unity and prosperity and placing new hopes on the future. According to records, people in China have celebrated the Spring Festival for more than 4,000 years, starting in Yu Shun. The festive atmosphere lasts for one month, and there are ceremonies such as offering sacrifices to stoves and ancestors before the first day of the first month; During the festival, there are ceremonies to give children lucky money and pay New Year greetings to relatives and friends. Half a month after the festival is the Lantern Festival. At that time, lanterns were all over the city and tourists were all over the streets. After the Lantern Festival, the Spring Festival is over.

Rice cake:

Spring Festival every year is the season when new rice cakes are on the market. Many families have the custom of eating rice cakes during the Spring Festival. They regard "high year after year" and "high year" as auspicious meanings of longevity. From the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, almost every household will make rice cakes. In fact, rice cakes are made by hand. The main tools are wooden pestle, mortar, wooden steamer and printing plate. The main processes are beating cake flowers, burning wok, beating hammer column, pulling mortar, rubbing cakes, printing rice cakes ... Finally, the rice cakes are stacked into a neat stack and the whole rice cakes are laid well. During the period, the house was full of fragrance, laughter and laughter, and the scene was so lively that people could not forget it.

Pull sugar:

Pulling sugar is a popular custom in Shaoxing, which is said to have originated in the Ming Dynasty. It takes considerable effort to pull sugar. Usually, the sugar puller scoops up a bucket of sugar and pours it into the pot. After heating and stirring, sugar becomes sugar juice. The sugar juice is quickly pulled into a long soft candy, and the thick and hot candy is flying up and down in the owner's hand like wool. Finally, it is cut into small pieces and chewed carefully. It is sweet, fragrant, soft and warm, which makes people feel warm.

Pack zongzi:

Shaoxing has the custom of eating zongzi, and every household will make zongzi, especially during the Dragon Boat Festival and the Spring Festival. Legend has it that Zongzi was first thrown into the river with sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, for fear that fish and shrimp in the river would eat his body after Qu Yuan was thrown into the river, in order to make Qu Yuan's body complete. Later, in addition to glutinous rice, pork, peanuts, salted eggs and other fillings were added to the wrapped food, which evolved into modern zongzi. Zongzi is usually wrapped in bamboo leaves, with exquisite workmanship and skillful techniques. Its styles are varied, such as axe, triangle and cylinder. The tighter you wrap it, the better it tastes.

Meet in a teahouse and settle the dispute over tea.

In the old days, Shaoxing folk had the custom of "talking about tea while eating" in tea shops. In fact, this is a kind of folk spontaneous activity widely popular in society, mediating civil disputes. In the old days, tea shops in Shaoxing were all over the streets and alleys of urban and rural market towns. There are several large-scale and well-known tea shops, such as "Yishu" in Shaoxing Cloth Department and "First Floor" in Zhu Bao Bridge, where most tea shops choose to eat and taste tea.

In the old society, ordinary people were most afraid of going to court. They know the secret of "the door faces south, and you can't get in without money" Therefore, once there is a dispute between ordinary people, they would rather go to a tea shop for tea.

When talking about tea, the two sides always take the initiative to invite a group of neighbors, relatives and friends and insiders to a tea shop. In the old society, tea shops were not only places for ordinary people to drink tea, listen to songs and talk about things, but also places for people to discuss right and wrong, judge right and wrong, mediate disputes and make peace. Disputes between neighbors, relatives and friends, such as buying and selling houses, leasing, land use rights, irrigation rights and interests, forest development and logging, marriage, separation and property analysis, are mostly settled in tea shops according to traditional customs. According to the rules, after all the tea guests invited by both parties arrive, Dr. Tea (waiter) will make a bowl of stewed tea with a lid for each tea guest and a pot of good Longjing for the moderator sitting on the horse's head table. Then, first of all, the two sides publicly stated what happened and their respective reasons, and put forward handling opinions. "Tea drinkers" should express their opinions, analyze, judge and judge on the basis of the statements of both sides and the facts witnessed or heard by themselves, so as to find out who is right and wrong. We can neither take sides nor cover up our weaknesses.

In the general pattern of Shaoxing tea shop in the old days, there was always a pair of tables near the tent table at the door of the shop, commonly known as "horse's head table", which, as the name implies, means "riding on a horse and looking forward". Therefore, ordinary tea drinkers never dare to sit at the horse's head table. Those who are qualified to sit must be local celebrities with high qualifications, prestige, justice, respect, and certain prestige and appeal. When drinking tea, he always plays the role of master, which is the referee of course. When the "tea guests" express their opinions or put forward suggestions on how to deal with them, the "referee" comprehensively expounds his personal opinions on the horse's head table and makes a decision on the spot to decide who is right and wrong, while the "tea guests" express their opinions in succession, support the ruling, and say, "One store is the king!" Something like that The indefensible party should pay off all the tea money of the "tea guest", including the owner sitting at the horse's head table, which is equivalent to paying legal fees in court. Afterwards, it shall be implemented according to the decision of the "referee", and no objection shall be regenerated. Generally speaking, this kind of civil mediation can often take effect smoothly. Of course, there will inevitably be barbarians who refuse to accept the ruling on the spot, and even swear and hurt people and fight. However, such people can't fight public opinion anyway, and finally they have to admit their mistakes and failures when they have tea for the second time, thus solving the dispute. This kind of "drinking tea" is an established local rule, and public opinion is often superior to official judgment, which has a strong deterrent.

When did the custom of talking about tea while eating in Shaoxing originate? I can't find out for a while. However, according to the records of local unofficial history, the "First Floor" founded in the late Qing Dynasty had a "record" of fighting for tea. Generally speaking, it has something to do with Shaoxing being a master. Because teachers often have great influence in the local area and are proficient in law after returning home, tea consumption is the most popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties and even in the folk period, which is consistent with the rise and fall history of "Shaoxing teachers". Some people think that after the end of the Ming Dynasty, the government lost its prestige among the people, but it was a good opportunity for civil mediation. It seems that this statement is not unreasonable.

There are also customs and habits such as offering sacrifices, going to graves, watching plays and making wine.