What is a Hakka? What are the customs?

Hakka is a characteristic ethnic group of Han nationality, and it is also one of the most widely distributed and far-reaching ethnic groups of Han nationality in the world.

There are many theories about the origin of Hakka, mainly including the theory of Hakka Central Plains and the theory of Hakka ancestors. The theory of Hakka Central Plains holds that the main body of Hakka people is immigrants from the Central Plains, while the theory of Hakka aborigines holds that "Hakka * * is the same main body produced by the integration of Han people who moved south and ancient Vietnamese immigrants in the triangle area of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, and its main body is the ancient Vietnamese living in this land, not a few Central Plains people living in this area". Since the Song Dynasty, the Han nationality in the Central Plains moved southward on a large scale, passing through southern Jiangxi and western Fujian to Meizhou, and finally formed a relatively mature and stable Hakka family. Since then, Hakkas, based in Meizhou, have moved abroad in large numbers and moved to the whole country and even the rest of the world. The "three Hakka States" are Jiaying, Ganzhou and Tingzhou.

Hakka Yuanyuan

Hakka is a huge ethnic group of Han nationality in China with a long history and a large number of people. According to the data, there are 55 million Hakkas, including about 45 million in China. Most of them live in some Asian countries, including about 6.5438+0.25 million in Malaysia, 400,000 in Indonesia, 370,000 in Thailand, 300,000 in Vietnam and 20,000 in Singapore.

The ancestors of Hakkas came from the Central Plains. It is because of the large-scale direct migration from the Central Plains in the past dynasties, or moving in, or being an official, relegated, doing business and other reasons. Its ancestors migrated in the following periods:

(A) Qin and Han Dynasties unified China, and Central Plains immigrants began to move south.

1, in the twenty-fifth year of Qin Shihuang (222 BC), 600,000 people destroyed Chu, the king of all lands in the north, and set up Minzhong County in 22 BC1year, that is, they divided their troops south and entered the mountain from the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, which is now Jieyang Mountain, 150 miles north of Jieyang County, and reached Xingning and Xingning.

2. In the thirty-third year of Qin Shihuang, 500,000 people guarded the Wuling Mountains, that is, Zhao Tuo "led troops to guard Yue". From this point of view, there are two Qin Jun garrisons on the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, one is the border of Ye Nan and the other is Ling Jie.

3. In the thirty-fourth year of Qin Shihuang, Zhao Tuo built a city in Erli, across the river, controlled Wushui, and built a city of ten thousand people in Zhongshu Mountain. Zhao Tuo built another city in Longchuan. The number of these builders is unknown, but the number of people who moved to the northern border counties in the same period can be tested, ranging from 30 thousand to 50 thousand.

In the thirty-sixth year of Qin Shihuang, it was estimated that the immigrants stationed in Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi accounted for more than one third of the local population.

5. In the fifth year of Emperor Ding Yuan (BC 1 15), a large number of soldiers from the Central Plains were stationed in Lingnan in the south, in counties and military strongholds.

6. In the first year of Han and Yuan Dynasties (BC 1 10), all the people from Fujian and Jieyang (Chao Gu and Meigu were Fujian and Vietnam respectively) moved away, leaving only the descendants of immigrants from Qinzhong County. This shows that the residents in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi are mainly immigrants from the Central Plains.

(2) During the period from Jian 'an in the late Han Dynasty to Yongjia in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, people in the Central Plains took refuge, and some people moved to the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the people of the Central Plains took refuge in Jiaozhou, which once set off a climax. The southward migration mainly came from the sea.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when the North and the South confronted each other, the people of the Central Plains moved southward again on a large scale, with a population of about 960,000. Most of them settled on both sides of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, some of them entered the south of Jiangxi, and some of them entered the border counties of Fujian and Guangdong through Ningdu and Shicheng.

On the occasion of Yongjia, the gentry of the Central Plains flowed into Fujian.

(3) The Anshi Rebellion and the war disaster in the Tang Dynasty brought great disasters to the people, and a large number of people in the Central Plains fled south.

(4) During the Huang Chao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty, a large number of people from the Central Plains fled to Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi. For example, the imperial clan Li Meng moved from Chang 'an to Bianliang, and then moved to Gubi Township in Ninghua, Fujian. Gushi people Wang Xu and Wang Chao responded to the Huang Chao Uprising and led 5,000 peasant rebels from Guangzhou and Shouzhou to Jiangxi. From the late Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the population of Fujian and Jiangxi provinces surged.

(5) At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, a large number of Central Plains people fled to central Guangdong and the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi.

When Jian Yan went south, some officials and scholars moved to Hangzhou, Su Xiu, Suzhou, Changzhou and Taihu Basin. The other part, and most of it, followed Tai Huang along Hongzhou, Jizhou and Ganzhou, and Tai Huang returned to Lin 'an. These scholars didn't follow the conditions of the queen mother, and they couldn't go back to the north. As a result, some of them crossed Dagengling from the south and entered Nanxiong, Shixing and Shaozhou. Part of it entered Tingzhou from the former state. Some of them are trapped in some counties in southern Jiangxi.

At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yuan Army went south in a big way, and a large number of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Song people fled from Putian to Chaoshan, Guangdong Province, and fled to Hainan Island.

(6) In addition to the large-scale southward migration caused by the above-mentioned war, the people of the Central Plains fled to the south due to drought and flood, and some officials were relegated to the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi to do business and study.

Judging from the above historical data, Hakka ancestors mainly came from the Han nationality in the Central Plains. In the process of the formation of Hakka clans, the southern minorities such as She, Yao, Dan and woodcut have been continuously melted and absorbed, and the Hakka team has grown.

Hakkas (Hakkas) are one of the eight Han families. Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Han nationality in the Central Plains has migrated to the border areas of Jiangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces for many times. After a long period of reproduction, a Hakka family using Hakka dialect and following Hakka customs has been formed. Later, Hakkas migrated from the border areas of Jiangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces to other 16 provinces (cities, districts) in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and even crossed the ocean, spreading all over the world.

According to the estimation of relevant scholars, at present, the total number of Hakkas originated from Hakkas is about 80 million. Among them, more than 68 million people are distributed in more than 80 counties (cities, districts) in 19 provinces (cities, districts), about 6.4 million people are distributed in Chinese mainland, Macau and Taiwan Province, and more than 5 million people are distributed in more than 80 countries and regions in the world. In the long years, Hakka people have played and are playing an important role in the economic development and social progress of China and many countries in the world with their unique history and culture, patriotic feelings and spirit of struggle.

Hakkas have their charming customs. Most of the traditional customs preserved by Hakkas were brought by immigrants from the Central Plains in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the long-term historical development, Hakka people have merged and assimilated some indigenous minorities, and at the same time absorbed and integrated their customs into their own. They also absorbed their good customs and habits in their contacts with other ethnic groups in other regions. In addition, Hakka has a large population and a vast territory, forming a "different wind in ten miles and different customs in a hundred miles", so Hakka customs are particularly colorful in inheritance and variation.

Social customs and habits

Hakka folk songs: the sound of nature spread for thousands of years

Hakka folk songs have spread thousands of miles, all of which are sung with affection, all of which sing Lang's heart and a girl's heart. Hakka folk songs are one of the famous folk songs in China, and they are a bright pearl in the art treasure house of the motherland. It inherits the style handed down from generation to generation from 300 pieces of The Book of Songs, with distinctive themes, distinctive local characteristics and strong local life. Its artistic style is unique, its language is easy to understand, vivid, fluent and natural, and its literature and art have connotations and are thought-provoking.

Hakka folk songs are sung in Hakka dialect, which is basically four sentences and seven characters, and the first, second and fourth sentences rhyme; When singing, I often touch the scene, improvise, come out casually, and have deep feelings; The singing is rich and changeable, and the rhythm is free and changeable. They are Hakka folk songs with similarities and differences, such as Meicheng folk songs, Songkou folk songs and Shimashan folk songs, with different tones. There are more than 100 tones in Meizhou alone, but they are all loud, lyrical and beautiful. In the art of singing, he inherited Fu Bixing's traditional techniques, and often used such techniques as direct narration, metaphor, pun, sentence breaking, exaggeration and overlapping words. There are folk songs, love songs, lyric songs, tail refutation, metaphysical songs, aria, tune guessing and so on in types and genres; The forms of singing are solo, duet and performance singing.

For thousands of years, Hakkas have used it to sing about their working life, express their feelings, stimulate their fighting spirit, exchange feelings, keep in touch with friends and entertain themselves.

Grand occasion of folk festival

Heart, such as: "folk songs are tight, well water is tight, until the green hills turn and the lotus blossoms." But in the old feudalism, singing folk songs was forbidden at all levels and was only sung in Shan Ye. Since the 1950s, it has developed into public singing, singing in Beijing and even overseas.

Meizhou is the center where Hakka people live together, and Hakka folk songs are well known. Known as the "hometown of folk songs", this place has nurtured many famous folk singers, such as, Diao Sao, and modern Yao Nan, Mingzhe Tang,. "In the East Normal School, there is a singing platform, and singers from all directions show their talents. Folk songs such as Meijiang have a long history. " In order to promote Hakka culture, Meizhou holds a folk festival every Mid-Autumn Festival, which is very lively.

Hakka wine custom culture

Family members are very hospitable. Whenever relatives and friends come, they like to treat them with their own brewed rice wine, also called "water wine". If it is distilled from the first altar, it is called "nine niang". This kind of "wine girl" is delicious, although the degree is not high, but it has great stamina and is easy to intoxicate. When they drink, they pay great attention to etiquette.

Hakkas like to use the Eight Immortals Table, commonly known as the Eight Immortals Table, which is a wooden table for eight people to sit together. When seated, they attach great importance to the arrangement of seats, and generally sit in the order of precedence of relatives and friends. The size of the banquet hall is arranged in this way. For example, there is only one table in the main hall. At this time, the left side facing the gate is the first, and the right side is the second. Then from left to right, the preface is interspersed, and the right side facing the main hall is the smallest. If two tables are arranged, the table on the left is big, the table on the right is small and the seats are staggered. If three tables are arranged, it is called "first class". In this case, the chief is respected. If five tables are arranged, the general arrangement is "plum blossom seats".

When you pour wine for the first time between banquets (also called wine screening), you should pour wine first in the order of generations, and then pour wine for yourself. After pouring wine, don't point the hip flask at the guests, but at yourself, otherwise it's impolite. When toasting, the toaster should stand up, press his chest with his left hand (showing respect and sincerity), raise his glass with his right hand and say a few auspicious words, and take a sip first to show respect. If someone is late, they will be fined 1-3 drinks, and half a cup for ladies. If you leave halfway, you have to drink 1-3 cups to leave.

When drinking, Hakkas have the custom of guessing boxing to increase the fun and excitement of various banquet occasions, whether vulgar, elegant, simple or complicated. There are also some rules when guessing boxing. For example, you can't play with your thumb, middle finger and index finger at three o'clock. After a while, the thumb should be sideways, not upturned. When playing the second game, if you use your thumb and forefinger, you should play sideways. You can't point your index finger at each other as polite as a light mauser gun.

Hakkas' drinking orders are very learned. The number of guesses ranges from zero to ten. If you guess the total number of fingers made by both sides, you are the winner. If both parties guess or fail at the same time, they also use the name of "four characters". If they guess "one", it is called "one product promotion"; When guessing "two", it is called "two families are reconciled"; When guessing "three", it is called "Samsung is shining high"; When guessing "four", it is called "getting rich in four seasons"; When guessing "five", it is called "five-child test"; When guessing "six", it is called "six six goes smoothly"; When guessing "seven", it is called "seven clever pictures"; When guessing "Eight", it is called "Eight Immortals' Birthday"; When guessing "nine", it is called "nine long"; When you guess "ten", it's called "perfect". So it's auspicious.

When drinking and guessing boxing, we usually take three glasses of wine as a group. The loser drinks, and after three glasses of wine, he passes. If the afterglow is not over, you can have another group or groups. If you need to ask someone to substitute boxing for wine, you should negotiate with each other and get their consent. In addition to guessing boxing and fighting wine, there is also the finger number of fighting wine. It is customary to designate a person as the person in charge of the dinner party. According to the total number of fingers given by everyone, whoever counts will have a drink. For example, if everyone sticks out six fingers, then the drinker is the sixth. In addition, there is also a "rotating spoon" to compete for wine. Put a spoon in the table and turn it by yourself. When the spoon stops turning, whoever the handle of the spoon points to will have wine to drink. In addition to "guessing singles and doubles", put one or two coins in the palm of your hand for others to guess singles and doubles, and the loser drinks.

Hakka's wine list is varied, and educated people like "word list" (including local specialty list, agricultural proverb list, etc. ), "Shi Ling" and "your legend" (most of them are ingenious and involve interest, which makes people laugh. ), including speculation. Hakka people like to use wine rules, a popular entertainment game for the masses, to increase their spirits and eliminate loneliness and drowsiness until they get drunk. (Excerpted from Sanming Overseas Chinese News)

Hakka marriage customs

Hakka marriage customs are deeply influenced by ancient fashion, and their main purpose is to carry on the family line. The marriage between men and women in Hakka pays attention to "being suitable for each other", and the formal marriage relationship in Hakka society is a kind of "marrying into a rich family", and the wind of uxorilocal is not prevalent.

Although there is inevitably a prejudice of preference for boys over girls in Hakka society, on the whole, the relationship between men and women is relatively equal. For example, Hakka women work as well as men at home. Therefore, women are equal to their brothers at home; When getting married, parents attach importance to their marriage, and in-laws must follow traditional etiquette and follow the rules in order to get a good wife. Hakkas' marriage styles are all in accordance with the ancient "Six Rites". With the changes of society, although there are changes, they are generally handled with reference to the old system. Six sacrificial ceremonies: "Farewell, setting a date, giving a bride price, offering a dowry, picking up the bride, seeing her off, paying homage, eating noodles and bowls of chicken". Similar to the ancient "Six Rites". In the wedding ceremony, there are still old customs such as disturbing the house and consummating the house.

On the third day after the bride's marriage, the bride's family hosted a banquet in honor of her daughter and son-in-law, which was called "inviting the three dynasties". On this day, my daughter can't stay at her parents' house, but must go back to her husband's house. In some rural areas, the bride's family invited some women and relatives to visit her daughter's house in a few days; Or the bride's family invites her daughter's house to make full moon wine (when she is married for a full moon). Men and women in-laws choose their own dates and hold banquets to invite each other, which is called "visiting" to strengthen the communication between the two in-laws.

Wedding reception for guests, commonly known as "wedding reception", is very grand, especially in the past. Among them, the woman's visit to the man's house is called "big guest"; The man will set off firecrackers in front of the door to welcome them, and can't hold a banquet until they arrive. The groom should hold the pot at the mother-in-law's first table and take turns pouring wine for her mother-in-law. The guests were seated according to seniority, age and family situation. The top left of the hall is the chief, the right is the second seat, the old man is at the top, the guests are at the bottom, and so on.

Other forms of marriage, such as holding a child bride, uxorilocal marriage, changing parents, changing parents, remarriage, etc. Some of them gradually become scarce and disappear.