Customs of Tanabata

1, wearing a needle to beg for coquettish

This is the earliest way of begging for coquettish, began in Han, flowing in later generations. Xijing Miscellany" said: "Han color women often wear seven holes in the seventh day of the seventh month needle in the Kaixiao building, people with the practice." Southern Liang Zongmou "Jing Chu chronicle" said: "July 7, is the evening of the women of the family color building to wear seven holes outside, or to gold, silver, stone for the needle." The opinion of the land said: "Qi Wudi up layer of the city view, July 7, the palace people more than boarding the needle.

The world called the piercing needle building." Fifth Wang Renyu "Kaiyuan Tianbao remains" said: "Tanabata, the palace to brocade knot building hall, 100 feet high, on the can win dozens of people, Chen to fruits and wine sizzling, set up seating, to sacrifice the cow female two stars, concubines to nine holes in the needle five-color line to the moon to wear, over the person who got the coquettish marquis. Move the song of the Qing Shang, feast music up to the end of the day. The soil people's homes all follow the example."

Yuan Tao Zongyi "Yuan's Yaiting Records," said: "Nine cited Taiwan, Tanabata begging for coquettish place. To the evening, the courtesans on stage to colorful silk wearing nine-tailed needle, the first to finish for the coquettish, late finishers called the loss of coquettish, each funded to give the coquettish."

2, happy spider should be coquettish

This is also an earlier way of begging for coquettish, its custom a little later than the needle begging for coquettish, roughly in the North and South Dynasties. In the Southern Dynasty, Liang Zong懔《荆楚岁時記》said; "It is the evening, Chen melon fruit in the court to beg for coincidences. If there is a net on the melon, it is thought to be a charm."

Wang Renyu of the Fifth Generation, "Kaiyuan Tianbao" said: "July 7, each capture the spider in a small box, until dawn to open; depending on the spider web sparse and dense to get the coincidence of the Hou. The dense say more, the sparse say less. Folk are also effective" Song Dynasty Meng Yuan Lao "Tokyo Meng Hua Records" said, July 7 Eve "to small spiders in the An Hezi, the next day to see, if the web is round is said to get coquettish."

Song Zhou Mi, "Qian Chun years and times" said; "to a small spider stored in the Hop, to wait for the sparseness of the web for how long to get coquettish," Ming Tian Rucheng, "Xichao music," said the Tanabata Festival, "to a small box to hold the spider, the next morning to see its web sparseness for the coquettishness of the more or less." From this, the method of inspection of different generations, the North and South Dynasties, depending on the presence or absence of the web, Tang, depending on the sparse web, Song, depending on the roundness of the web, the later generations of the Tang custom.

3, casting needle inspection

This is a variation of the Tanabata needle begging custom, from the needle, there are different from the needle, is the prevalence of the Ming and Qing dynasties Tanabata festival custom. Ming Liu Dong, Yu Yizheng's "Imperial Capital Scenery" said: "July 7 afternoon throw the needle. Women's exposure to ounces of water in the sun, a short while, the water film surface, embroidery needle casting is floating, look at the bottom of the water needle shadow.

There are cloudy things into flower head bird and animal shadow, there are shoes and scissors into the water eggplant shadow, said begging to be tricky; its shadow as thick as a hammer, as thin as silk, straight as a shaft of wax, this is a sign of clumsiness."

"Zhishu Zhili" also said, Liangxiang County (now southwest of Beijing) "July 7, women begging for coquettish, throwing needles in the water, borrowing the sun shadow to test the work, to the night is still begging for coquettish in the weaver," please Yu Minzhong, "under the sun, the old news of the examination," quoted in the "Wandian Department of the miscellany," said, "Yandu women to the bowl of water in the seventh day of the seventh day of the sun storms, and each throw a small needle floating in the water, and each of them to throw a small needle floating in the water. The women of Yandu on the 7th day of the 7th month to the bowl of water under the sun, each cast a small needle to float on the surface of the water, and then look at the shadow of the sun under water. Or scattered as a flower, moving as a cloud, thin as a line, thick rent as a cone, because to divine the female trick."

4, seeding for children

old custom, a few days before Tanabata, first in a small wooden board on a layer of soil, sowing corn seeds, so that it gives birth to green seedlings, and then set up some small huts, flowers and trees in the above, made into a small village of people in the field of the model, known as "Shell Plate", or will be mung beans, peas, wheat, etc. immersed in the Magnetic bowl, wait for it to grow out of the buds, and then tied into a bundle of red and blue silk rope, known as the "species of life",.

South is also known as "bubble Qiao", will grow out of the bean sprouts called Qiao buds, and even Qiao buds instead of needles, thrown in the water begging. Also use wax to shape various images, such as the cowherd, the characters in the story of the weaving woman, or bald eagle, mandarin ducks, and other animal forms, placed on the water to float, called "water floating".

5, sunshine book sunshine clothes

It is reported that Sima Yi year due to the high position of power, quite subject to Cao Cao's jealousy, in view of the darkness of the politics at that time, in order to seek self-preservation, he pretended to be crazy to hide at home. Emperor Wu of Wei was still not quite at ease, so he sent a close friend to secretly find out the truth. On July 7, Sima Yi was at home, pretending to be crazy. The historian went back to report to Emperor Wu, who immediately ordered Sima Yi to return to his post, or else he would be taken into custody. The first time I saw this, I was able to get a good look at it, and I was able to get a good look at it, and I was able to see it.

There is also a kind of people who, in the chaotic world, express their depression by being unrestrained. They flouted the laws of propriety and opposed the customs of the times. Liu Yiqing's Shishu Xinyao, Volume 25, says that on July 7 everyone would sunbathe their books, but only Hao Long ran into the sun to lie down, and when people asked him why, he replied, "I sunbathe my books."

This is, on the one hand, a contempt for the custom of tanning books, and on the other hand, a boast of the talent in his belly. Ruan Xian, one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove", despised this style.

July 7, when his neighbors tanning, only to see the rack is full of Ling Luo silk, brilliant. And Ruan Xian did not panic with a bamboo pole to pick up a worn-out clothes, someone asked him what he was doing, he said: "I can not be exempted from the custom, chatting about the ear!" From these few short stories, it seems to know how prevalent was the custom of tanning books and clothes on the eve of the seventh day of the seventh month.