What is the name of the plow that the ancient emperor's men plowed in one acre of land every year? What are the rules?

The emperor of the Qing dynasty like to "planting", the so-called line "plowing with ritual". Ancient China to the agricultural economy, in order to show the importance of agriculture, every spring before the plow, the son of heaven, the vassals Lei and plow in the field on the three pushes, known as "by the ritual". Poetry - Ode to the Zhou - the preface of scything: "scything, spring fields and pray for the gods of the earth and grain also." This rite has been through several generations, until the Qing Dynasty. Qing Dynasty emperor's personal plowing field in Beijing Xiannongtan, counted 1.3 acres, it is said that the folk saying "a mu three land," that is, from this. The system of the Ming Dynasty is that each emperor "at the beginning of the throne, the plowing with the ceremony, then the pro-offering", so the Ming Emperor during the reign of the pro-plowing with only once. In contrast, the Qing Emperor paid more attention to agriculture as the foundation of the country, often to plow with, often more than once.

The emperor planted when different from the people, according to records of the Kangxi Emperor once "planting", "the viewers of 10,000 people", such as the record is true, it is estimated that the good land

was also trampled into the salt and salt land. Line "plowing ceremony", as usual in March in the lunar calendar held in the Temple of the First Farmer, the emperor's three-quarters of an acre of land above the "set up shed hanging color", "five-color colorful flags to attract the wind with the line", and with an orchestra! Fourteen musicians sang "36 Words of Wo", which was nothing but some auspicious words, such as: "Black millet is three kinds of millet (millet white and yellow), and millet millet is firm and good and fruitful. Jigen millet is good and fragrant. The spike of millets is more than a foot long. Five beans and five peas fill the ridge." In addition, there are many other things to follow and pay attention to, the limited space of the article will not be repeated here.

The emperor posed pose, by the "Ministry of Household Secretary Lei Liyu, the governor of the whip, kneeling in the north to enter". Silk whip and plow stick are decorated with yellow, pulling the plow animal with yellow calves. The emperor's left hand Lei, the right hand whip, the elderly two people holding cattle, and two farmers to help the emperor to help the plow. So "the emperor by the Lei three pushes, the minister of the green box, the Ministry of household ministers to sow, the elderly with the cover." The "green box" here refers to the box containing the seeds. The so-called "three pushes", not three pushes on the work, but refers to the plough stick back and forth plowing three trips, that is, "three pushes three returns". Yongzheng Emperor love to do farming, think "three pushes" is not addictive, and then changed to "four pushes". "Three pushes" is customized since ancient times, and a few pushes is not a mess, the Han Dynasty Cai Yong "dictate": "the king plowing with the field of aliases: the son of three pushes, three public five pushes, the Secretary of the Lords and Lords of the nine pushes." Since the Yongzheng Emperor changed to "four pushed", and since then the successive Qing emperors have to be tired than the previous emperor to run more than one trip. Emperor on the age, "four pushes" also some can not afford, Qianlong 37 years, "the group of ministers consider the emperor's high spring and fall, the龠 strike pro-plowing, not allowed. Order is still in accordance with the ancient system of three pushes. Jiaqing to fall, still add a push as in the beginning."

Not all the Qing emperors are keen to do farming, such as the reign of the Tongzhi emperor during the period did not perform a "plowing with the ritual," according to records "Tongzhi first year in March, sacrificed the first farm altar, sent officials to perform, since the year, every year, quarter of spring sacrifices of the first farm altar, have been ordered to send an official to perform the ritual. " Guangxu Emperor in "(Guangxu) fourteen years fifteen years are personally performed. Sixteen and seventeen years, all sent officials to perform rituals." This is not unrelated to the end of the Qing dynasty internal and external problems, the Qing emperor has no time to be involved. From the "Yongzheng Emperor sacrificed to the First Farmer's altar map" can be seen at the time of the line "plowing with the ritual" of the pomp and circumstance, such as in the "three-quarter of an acre of land" above the giant colorful scaffolding set up for the Emperor to shelter from the wind and the rain. Later, the Qianlong Emperor that "set up shed hanging color, righteousness is not taken. And a piece of time used, the cost of dozens of households in the production also", since the twenty-third year of Qianlong abolished. "Raising Ji Zhai series of records" also recorded cuts at the time there is a juggling entertainment programs, "farming with feasts, yellow children and white men drumming eulogies, incense bucket old man, into the treasure back to back, the five sides of the Night Forks, the five sea Dragon King, etc. to respond to the cuts."

People often use "a mu of land" as a synonym for egoism. So where did the idiom "one acre of land" come from?

The Manchus were originally a nomadic people in the north of China, and after the establishment of the Qing dynasty in 1644, in order to keep abreast of the farming season and familiarize themselves with the seasonal patterns, the emperor, who lived in the palace compound, would take the dragon car to plow the land at the time of hibernation, from the gate of Zhengyangmen to the Temple of the First Farmer. At that time set aside a piece of land called "acting plow field", every year by the emperor, the empress acted test "pro plow", that the whole world should be planted grains, and in this way to show the importance of its agricultural production. This practice has been inherited from generation to generation, others may not change the land for other purposes. At that time, the emperor "pro-plowing" of this piece of land happens to be "a mu three-quarter of the land", so, by extension, personal interests or personal sphere of influence known as the "mu three-quarter of the land".