Folklore of the Chinese Zodiac

The folklore themed on the animals of the Chinese zodiac is rich and colorful, focusing on the time of the year and seasons, life rituals, recreation and entertainment, clothing and food, etc., and has a long history of evolution and development, a regional nature that is adapted to the local conditions, an ethnicity that is rooted in tradition, and a utilitarian nature that is oriented to the needs. On the 25th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the "Chest Filling Festival" is celebrated, and grain merchants and rice traders offer sacrifices to the "God of Chest", the rat. Pan Rongsheng of the Qing Dynasty, "the Imperial Capital Years and Years" as: "when this new festival over, the warehouse Rin for the virtual, should be reset and the real", fill the warehouse Festival night is not permitted to light the lamps, the night of the rat marriage. But the rat wedding day, not the same everywhere, the day people fried soybeans mixed with brown sugar, withdrawn in the corner of the house. Shaanxi area in the corner of the house sprinkled with salt and rice grains, called "mouse money". Southern Jiangsu is to take off their shoes as a marriage sedan chair, fruit leather as a gift box.

The mouse marriage is also an important theme of the New Year's paintings and paper cuttings. Picture of the sedan chair lanterns and drums band just like the human marriage ceremony, carrying the sedan chair music is the rat, only the bride and groom look different from place to place, the rat shape and even the god of reproduction. Lu Xun recalled in "Dogs, Cats and Rats", "The night of the 14th day of the first month is a night when I refuse to go to sleep easily and wait for their ceremonial rites to come out from under the bed."

Qinghai's "steam blind mice", the fourteenth day of the first month of the twelve pinched into a mouse, do not pinch the eyes, with a steamer, to be set on the Lantern Festival table, lighted incense begging rats do not hurt the crops. Whip spring cattle, also known as "playing spring", intended to persuade people to farm. Zhou Li - month this" in "out of the cow to send cold air", after the fixed in the spring. People dressed up as "Jumang God" whipped the cattle, local officials performed incense ceremony, announcing the beginning of the new year's labor. After the use of paper cows, tripe beforehand loaded with grains, whip after the scattering, symbolizing the "grain harvest, grain flow all over the ground". The Qing dynasty every year to the local issued "spring cattle Mang Shen Tu". Figure in the spring cow parts of the color according to the year the relationship between the dry branches and the five elements of yin and yang design, the age of the god of man, clothing, posture is also so, to play the role of the almanac.

The vertebrae ox is seen in funerals. To colorful flowers column bolted sacred cow, the master led a dozen hand-held spear youth, after the drums, the master's uncle and the youth in turn stabbed the cow, the cow fell to the ground after the cow's head to the direction of the master's home for good luck.

Jinhua, Zhejiang, like bullfighting. Chen Qiyuan of the Qing dynasty, "You idle Zhai notes" cloud: "two families each make the healthy four people wing their cattle, two cattle and face, the king looked at each other, a long time before the fight, fight to the corner, to ask against the gap, the skill of their own".

The Miao have grabbed the tail of the wedding custom. Wedding day, the female side of the yellow cow to the field, the bride cut off the tail, the groom immediately grab the tail, need to be captured before the arrival of the female parents, otherwise the marriage will collapse.

People believe that the tiger is the child's protector. Newborns wash their bodies with tiger bone water to get rid of diseases. Children wear tiger hats and tiger shoes. Shaanxi, nephew's full moon uncle send yellow cloth tiger, break the tiger's tail when entering the door means to throw away the bumps and bruises. Shanxi, nephew's birthday uncle send tiger pillow, can also be a toy. Dragon Boat Festival is also prevalent in the cloth tiger to children as toys, cloth tiger need to highlight the tiger's courage. Northeast Oroqen, children wear tiger claws and tiger teeth to drive away ghosts and evil spirits.

"Painting a tiger on the door", to the tiger as a door god to calm the house, since the Han Dynasty was prevalent, the earliest can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. In the old days, North China was popular in the main hall hanging annual painting "ZhenHai Shen Hu Tu", on the cloud "God tiger down the mountains, subduing the devil to the earth. The good family bought to go, the four seasons to ensure peace.

The Tiger Dance originated in the Han Dynasty, in which a man played the role of a tiger fighting with a man, and was replaced by a lion dance after the Tang Dynasty. The Hakka region still retains the custom of Tiger Dance, which evolved from Tiger Fighting. Taiwan in the temple celebrations or Mazu's birthday there is also a tiger dance. Tiger fighting cattle" is a folk dance in Dongying, with the main plot divided into "Hungry Tiger Seeking Food", "Tiger and Monkey Playing Together", "Shepherd Boy Letting the Cattle Go" and "Cultivating Cattle". The main plot is divided into four parts: "Hungry Tiger Seeking Food", "Tiger and Monkey Playing", "Shepherd Boy Letting the Cow Go" and "Cow Rescuing the Master", showing the fierceness of the tiger and the calmness and bravery of the cow. According to Chen Yuanliang's "A Chronicle of the Times and Years" of the Song Dynasty, in the old days, on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, it was customary to "hang a rabbit's head on the doorway". In addition, there is also a gift rabbit painting, the painting of six children around the table, standing on the table holding a rabbit auspicious picture of the person, wishing the recipient of the child's future life in peace.

The rabbit is associated with the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Ming Jikun "Flower King Pavilion Remainders" contains: "Beijing Mid-Autumn Festival more than mud to pass the rabbit-shaped, clothed and seated like a man, the children put and worship." Rabbit big three feet, small one inch, rabbit head person, hand-held medicine pole, styling more than mold printing, Shi color painting, gorgeous clothes.

The Chongyang Festival, the North China area to eat to welcome frost rabbit, mostly cooked with hare. Gifu Tongmei" said: "Before and after the Chongyang Festival, we were invited to a banquet, which was called "welcome frost". The food between the banquet is free, so it is called welcome frost free."

Somewhere in Shanxi, before the daughter got married to eat a rabbit-shaped gift bun to symbolize the male and fish-shaped gift bun to symbolize the female. In Shandong, before fishermen go out to sea at Ching Ming, wives stuff rabbits into their husbands' arms to seek peace.

The Dragon Dance, also known as the Dragon Lantern Festival, has bamboo dragons, cloth dragons, paper dragons, tin dragons and other varieties. Cheng Zimu's "Dream Liang Record" contains, "the night of the Lantern Festival ...... grass bound into dragons, with a green curtain covering grass on the, dense system of lights and candles ten thousand, look at the winding such as the double dragons of the shape." Chongqing Tongliang, the dragon dance team to the front of the residence to greet the owner, the owner of firecrackers to welcome to candy to thank. Foshan colored dragons with bamboo gimlets, wire for the skeleton, the head and tail with paper paste, the dragon body covered with silk, decorated with paper cutouts, pom poms.

February 2, "dragon head-raising", folklore that the hibernating dragon head-raising, rain gradually more. Ming Shen Bung's "Wan Department of Miscellany", "the townspeople from the door of the village people from the Commission meandering cloth into the house kitchen, circling the water tank, called 'draw the dragon back'. Pancakes were spread on the surface, and the beds and kangs were smoked to keep insects at bay." People cut their hair on this day, hoping that the spirit of the dragon; northern people with colored paper, grass straw threaded into strings hanging from the beams, said "wear dragon tail"; this day to eat noodles, pancakes or dumplings, respectively, to symbolize the dragon's whiskers, dragon scales and dragon ears.

Dragon boat racing is rumored to commemorate qu yuan, but in yinxian unearthed in the spring and autumn bronze locks are engraved with dragon boat pattern. Dragon boat races are held in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, with the Dragon Boat Festival being the most prevalent. Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi in the "Race Song" depicts: "Yang Beam hit the section of the thunder rumbling, turbulence into the sound of roaring, auger dragon get rain Jain hyena moving".

All over China, the various ethnic groups, every month there is a dragon festival, such as the first month of the Yunnan Yao Festival Dragon Festival, March Festival of Dragon King in Shandong, April Datong Leiyin Temple will be in May, Wuyue sub-dragon day in June, the sun dragon robes, in July, Wuxi Long Niang Temple Fair ...... Fujian referred to as "Fujian". ", is the shape of the snake in the door. Min Miscellany" in: "Fujian Zhangzhou Prefecture, outside the south gate, there is Nantai Temple, commonly known as the Snake King Temple, the god is a monk statue." Snake bites to the temple to complain that can be eliminated, out of the temple to see the dead snake shows that the snake god has been tortured.

Nanping Zhanghu Town has a python spitting fire to drive the plague of legend, then set up a temple dedicated to the Snake King. The local Lantern Festival snake lights, snake lights made of bamboo gabions and wooden boards, a snake light small more than 30 light boards, large more than 700 pieces, connecting up to several hundred meters long. July 7 for the Snake Festival, the villagers will be equipped with live snake urn, placed in the temple pilgrimage, Sheng tour of the village, some people play snake in the arm, there are people wearing a yoke loaded with criminals, that can be eliminated from disease.

The Han Chinese folk believe that seeing snakes shedding skin is an unlucky sign. Proverbs say: "see the snake shedding skin, not dead layer of skin." In Qinghai, the snake found at home is most avoided to kill, that the snake will retaliate. If you find a snake at home, catch it in a jar or pick it on a long pole to the valley, and beg it to hide in a cave. The custom of sacrificing horses has been around for a long time. Spring festival horse ancestor (horse star), summer festival first pastor (teach people to herd horses of the gods), autumn festival horse society (stables of the land god), winter festival horse step (horse disaster of the gods). Han Chinese folk belief in the Horse King, peasant families in the lunar calendar on the 23rd day of the sixth month to sacrifice strokes, the offering is a whole sheep.

Mongolians at the end of August there are horse milk festival and horse racing festival, a one-day. Herdsmen bring horse milk, horse racing in the morning, after the race, people to the horse head qin singing, drinking. Hong Kong people are good at horse racing, with "horse as running, dance as dancing" to describe the way of life after the reunification remains unchanged. The third day of the Lunar New Year is the New Year's horse racing day, and people place bets on horses for good luck. If you meet the Year of the Horse, the scene is even more grand.

The Wa ethnic group, in the Chinese New Year, feed their horses glutinous rice and observe the horses' posture in the stables to account for their good fortune, with their heads facing east for the lucky year. The Miao people of Guizhou fall in love with each other, and after discussing marriage for three times, the man carries a saber and goes to formally propose marriage. Fish and goat are "fresh", and goat as the main food is popular in the north. Roasted whole sheep is a famous dish of the Mongolian and Uygur ethnic groups, the whole goat refers to the use of mutton cooking color, aroma and shape of different dishes, folk can do 44 kinds of officialdom can do 66 kinds of the emperor's whole goat to do 76 kinds.

Sheep is also an important raw material for clothing, sheep's fur in addition to clothing, but also made into bedding, hats, shoes, boots, blankets, felt and other decorative items.

Sheep's head is popular among the Kazakhs in Xinjiang, where the host will cook a sheep's head for the guest, and the guest will hold a knife to cut the sheep's head, cut the ribs to offer to the elders, cut the ears of the sheep to the young, and then cut a piece of the sheep to himself. Western peoples popular "gripping sheep" game, the riders divided into teams in a few hundred meters away from the sheep, to gripping sheep to the end of the winner, the winner of the sheep on the spot cooked and distributed to the participants.

Old Hebei in the sixth and seventh months of the lunar calendar, grandparents, uncles to the young nephews to send a live sheep, and later changed to send the face of the sheep, the legend is related to the Shenxiang cleaved the mountain to save his mother. Beijing Baiyun Guan has a stone monkey scattered in three places, all in relief, find all is not an easy task, the so-called "three monkeys do not meet". Visitors to the view to find monkeys and touch monkeys, it is said that one by one touch will be blessed.

The monkey show can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the "Xijing Fu" painted a hundred plays, and "the monkeys and ludus are super and high aid. Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty loved the monkey show, and gave the monkey show a row of robes and the name of Sun Feng. After the Song Dynasty, monkey plays were popular in the city. Ming chancellor Hu Weiyong domesticated more than ten monkeys for driving, singing and dancing. The Qing Barnyard Banknotes" in Fengyang artist Han Qi, all with monkeys serial theater, from the gongs and drums to the raw Dan clean end of the ugly by the monkeys as. Modern zoos and circuses also have monkeys performing bicycle, jumping rings of fire, tightrope walking, somersaults ......

Opera Wushang play the Monkey King, in the face, costume, action, etc., also known as the monkey show, the representative of Hao Zhenqi, Yang Xiaolou, Gai called the sky, and so on.

Lore has it that Hua Tuo invented the "Five Animal Play", which imitates the movements of animals in order to relax the tendons, and one of them is apes and monkeys. In traditional Chinese martial arts, there is "Monkeyish Fist", which imitates the agile movements of monkeys.

The rooster is a brave fighter, and the ancients imagined that it had the power to ward off evil spirits. In the early Qing Dynasty, Chen Haozi's "Flower Mirror" said, "The rooster can win, and the eye can ward off evil spirits. Southern Dynasty Zong Shen "Jing Chu years and times record" contained: "the first day of the first month ...... stickers on the chicken household, hanging reed rope on it, insert the peach charm of its evening, all the ghosts are afraid of". The first day of the first month do not kill chickens, this day is the birthday of the chicken. To this day, the Chengdu area during the Spring Festival is still in the lintel chicken painting.

Shandong area when marrying, the female family to choose a boy to hold a hen with the sedan chair to send the bride, and "Ji" harmonized. In the old days, there is a "long life chicken", men and women are prepared to rooster hen, the wedding day, the two chickens together tied to the table leg, from time to time to hit the rooster, symbolizing the wife subdued husband, two chickens shall not be slaughtered.

The Tujia called shuttlecock "kick chicken", men and women get together to kick "chicken", received "chicken" can be used to grass to chase anyone, young people use this to chase the person of interest. Dali Bai popular "chicken rice gift", a single gift for a rooster and an altar of rice wine; double gift for two roosters, an altar of rice wine and an altar of grain seeds, in the first relatives or in-laws to send each other.

Anciently, in order to become sworn brothers, one had to slaughter a rooster, put drops of chicken blood in the wine, swear to heaven, and drink all the blood and wine. In Hong Kong, there is also the ritual of chopping off the head of a chicken as a pledge of faith. The 16th day of the first month is the Yao "Pan Wang Festival". This day is dedicated to the ancestor of the Yao people, Mr. Panzou: the Panwang Dance, the ritual of returning the wish of the Panwang, the slaughter of cows for the Panwang sacrifice, and the singing of the "Panwang Daigong" (the Great Song of the Panwang). To this day, Yao people wear shorter shirts and longer shirts, and women's belts are intentionally worn at the back to mimic a dog's tail.

Buyi New Year's Eve "Eat New Festival", the evening banquet ancestor sacrifice dog sacrifice, and then into the table to eat. The dogs are sacrificed by the elders who put "new grain rice" and three pieces of pork into the dog's food bowl, and watch the dog eat while reading the words of sacrifice, which are meant to give thanks to the dog for bringing grain to mankind.

Leizhou Peninsula everywhere there are stone dogs squatting, the existing ancient stone dogs nearly 10,000, known as "Leizhou Terracotta Warriors". Stone dog from the Qin Dynasty Han Yue fusion of totem worship, now Leizhou people on New Year's Day, the first fifteen or red and white are worship, pray for blessings, pray for rain, send a son, penance, and so on. Leizhou people also love to eat dog meat, as the saying goes, "dog meat rolls three times, the gods can not stand firm. The stone dog eating dog is a perfect blend.

The earliest dog in Guangdong was called Wangcai, which originated from the sound of its bark, "Wangwang". In the Year of the Dog, all gifts are to please the "mouth color", gifts are stained with the word "Wang". The Han Chinese must use pig offerings for all major rituals, and the pig's head is the most important, commonly known as the "pig's head three animals". Wu Gu Ren "New Year's Day": "Hangzhou custom, the end of the year sacrifices to the gods still pig head ...... selected wrinkles such as the word of life, called the 'life word pig head'" Nowadays, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other areas in the waxing month still reserve pickled pig head for the New Year's goods. Qingming Festival Guangdong people love to use roasted pig ancestor, the proverb "Tai Gong divided pork, everyone has a share", describing the sacrifice after the whole family to share the offerings.

There is a wedding custom of sending pig's feet in Shaanxi. The day before the marriage of the male party to send four pounds of pork, a pair of pig's hooves, called "gift hanging", the female party to return the pig's front hooves, the next day after the wedding, couples with double noodles and pig's hooves back to the bride's home, after the hooves back, commonly known as "hooves to come, hooves to go". Northeast Han Manchu also married "away from the mother meat". Xishuangbanna Brown wedding, men and women two families with bamboo skewers of pork sent to the home to show that the "flesh and blood".

In the past, Sichuan, where the disease is unfortunate, the elders of the family set up incense to hit the sow ghosts, sacrifices to drive away the evil, that "kill a sow ghosts, drive away an evil". Sacrifice time to choose the auspicious day of the zodiac, kill the old sow, entrails, etc. placed in the hall, sacrificed and eaten.