The origin and custom of Tanabata.

The Origin of Valentine's Day in China

"Valentine's Day in China" originated from the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, one of the four great folktales in China.

Valentine's Day in China is always associated with the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. This is a very beautiful story that has been handed down through the ages, and it is one of the four great folk legends in China.

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a clever and honest young man in Niujiazhuang, west of Nanyang. His parents died early, so he had to live with his brother and sister-in-law. His sister-in-law, Ma Shi, is vicious, often abusing him and forcing him to do a lot of work. One autumn, his sister-in-law forced him to herd cattle and gave him nine cows, but he was told to wait until he had ten cows, so the cowherd had no choice but to drive them out of the village.

One day, the weaver girl in the sky played games with the fairies and took a bath in the river. With the help of the old cow, the cowherd got to know the Weaver Girl, and they hit it off. Later, the Weaver Girl sneaked into the world and became the wife of the Cowherd. The weaver girl also distributed wild silkworms brought from the sky to everyone, teaching them to raise silkworms, spin silk and weave bright silks and satins.

After the marriage of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, a man plowed and a woman weaved, giving birth to two children, a man and a woman, and the family lived happily. But the good times didn't last long, and it was soon known to the Emperor of Heaven that the heavenly queen herself came down to earth and forcibly brought the Weaver Girl back to heaven, and the loving couple separated from each other.

There is no way for Cowherd to go to heaven, or the old cow told him that he could wear shoes with his own skin after he died. Cowherd did as the old cow said, put on shoes made of cowhide and took his children with him. On the verge of catching up, I'm afraid the queen mother pulled out the golden hairpin on her head, and a choppy Tianhe appeared. Cowherd and Weaver Girl are separated on both sides, and they can only cry each other. Their loyalty touched magpies, and thousands of magpies flew to build a magpie bridge, where cowherd and weaver girl met. The Queen Mother has no choice but to allow them to meet on July 7th every year.

Later, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, it is said that when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet at the Magpie Bridge, the girls will come to the flowers and the moon, look up at the stars and look for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on both sides of the Milky Way, hoping to see their annual meeting, and pray to God that they will be as ingenious as the Weaver Girl and that they will have a happy marriage, thus forming China's Valentine's Day.

The beautiful meaning of "Tanabata Meeting"

Meet on Chinese Valentine's Day is an exquisite legendary pen. This magical and mysterious imagination seems almost absurd. It is in this imagination and absurdity that people's courage and strength are fully expressed, and people's wishes are met to the greatest extent psychologically and emotionally. It is no accident that the date of meeting was arranged on July 7th Festival, which is considered extremely unusual. Besides people's beautiful expectations and expectations, it obviously has profound cultural connotations.

First of all, people have a mysterious feeling about "seven", which is related to digital worship.

Not only in China, but also in many countries in the world. It is not only common in folk literature, but also in religious ceremonies and scriptures.

There is a legend in Buddhism that Sakyamuni changed his face successfully in seven days.

Christianity says that God created everything in seven days, so there are seven days in a week.

Islam divides heaven into seven layers, namely, pure silver, pure gold, pearls, platinum, rubies and unattainable and unspeakable holy light.

Babylonians, Egyptians and China believed that there were seven sacred stars in the sky: the sun, the moon, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn.

At present, the western world still advocates the so-called "seven virtues" and avoids the so-called "seven deadly sins punished by heaven"; Arabs still like to use "seven" to call names; The Japanese often pray for the so-called "Seven Fortune Gods" to bless them; China said that people have "seven emotions": joy, anger, worry, thinking, sadness, fear and surprise; There are seven spectra of light: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple; There are "seven tones" in the sound spectrum: palace, Shang, horn, sign, feather, palace change and Shang; There are "seven treasures" in the treasure; Gold, silver, glass, dragonfly, agate, amber, coral.

In addition, there are "seven flavors" in the stereochemistry theory, and the human memory constant is seven; And so on.

It can be seen that the worship of "Seven" is a very common cultural phenomenon. One "seven" is unusual, so the "seven seven" composed of two "seven" is of course more mysterious. According to China's ancient books, "The millet is ripe in July, and the seventh day is a positive number, so the elk is precious" (Taiping Magnolia (Volume 3 1), and "July 7 is an auspicious day", so it is regarded as an auspicious day to celebrate the autumn harvest, and it was regarded as a day of assembly and amusement during the Han and Wei Dynasties. That day is also the day when the immortals of the Heavenly Palace get together. In "Continued Harmony", "On July 7th, the weaver girl crossed the river and the immortals returned to the palace". Of course, more is to regard this day as a beautiful day for lovers to meet. "Hanwu Story" tells that the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty met the Queen Mother of the West five times, each time on July 7th. In the future, the date of Niu Nv was designated as Tanabata by "the Queen Mother who created the lovers' meeting", which is really people's expectation for "July 7" and all the beautiful meanings contained in "July 7". I have to say that it has a profound cultural background. Mr. Wang Junling, an expert in folklore in China, believes that Qixi is China's Valentine's Day. It is precisely because there are many legends about Valentine's Day in China, the meeting of lovers, the meeting of cows and girls, that it finally falls on such a day. As for the customs related to Valentine's Day in China, begging for children, begging for wisdom and begging for all happiness come from this.

The custom of Qixi

On the night of the festival, people either look up to watch the meeting of cowherd and weaver girl on the magpie bridge, or eavesdrop on the love story when they meet in the sky under the melon and fruit shelf. Due to the regional and cultural differences, the same activities in Chinese Valentine's Day have different contents in different places, but they are rich and colorful in any case. However, the most common custom is all kinds of begging activities carried out by women on the evening of July 7. Here's a brief explanation.

According to historical records, the custom of Qixi originated in the Han Dynasty. Ge Hong's Miscellanies of Xijing in the Eastern Jin Dynasty recorded that "women in the Han Dynasty often put seven-hole needles upstairs on July 7, and everyone took them", which is the earliest record of begging for skill in ancient documents we have seen. In later Tang and Song poems, women's begging for cleverness was repeatedly mentioned. In the Tang Dynasty, Wang Jian wrote a poem "The stars are bright and the pearls are bright, and Gong E is busy begging for cleverness". According to "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao", every time Emperor Taizong and his concubines held a banquet in the Qing Palace on Tanabata, the ladies-in-waiting begged with their own ingenuity. This custom is also enduring among the people and passed down from generation to generation.

In the old custom, a few days before Tanabata, a layer of soil was first applied to a small wooden board, and the seeds of millet were sprinkled to make it grow green seedlings. Then some huts and flowers were placed on it to make it look like a small village where people live in heaven, which was called "shell board", or mung beans, adzuki beans and wheat were soaked in a magnetic bowl until it grew into inch-by-inch buds, and then red flowers were placed on it. All parts of the south are also called "bubble cleverness", and the sprouted bean sprouts are called smart buds. Even the needles are replaced by smart buds and thrown on the water to beg for cleverness. Wax is also used to create various images, such as the characters in the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, or the shapes of animals such as vultures and mandarin ducks, which float on the water, which is called "floating on the water". There are also baby dolls made of wax, which women can buy home and float in the water and soil to show their good luck to their children, which is called "metaplasia".

Worship the Weaver Girl: "Worship the Weaver Girl" is purely a matter for girls and young women. Most of them make an appointment with five or six people, at most a dozen people, with friends or neighbors in advance to hold it together. The ceremony was held in the moonlight, with tea and wine on the table. Fruits, five sons (longan, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts, melon seeds) and other sacrifices; There are also some flowers, tied with red paper, inserted in the bottle, with a small incense burner in front. Then, the young women and girls who make an appointment to attend the worship of the Weaver Maid will fast for one day, take a bath and come to their host's house on time. After burning incense in front of the case, everyone will sit around the table and meditate on their thoughts while eating peanuts and melon seeds. If a girl wants to be beautiful or marry a husband, and a young woman wants to have a baby early, she can silently pray to the Weaver Girl. Play until midnight.

Bai Kuixing: It is said that July 7th is Kuixing's birthday. Kuixing literature, literati who want to be famous especially worship Kuixing, so they must worship him on Tanabata and pray for his success in the exam. Kuixing is mainly Kuidou, the Kuixing in the twenty-eight nights, the first star of the Big Dipper, and also the Kuixing or champion. In ancient times, scholars were called "the greatest scholars in the world" or "winning the championship in one fell swoop" because Kuixing was in charge of the exam. Because Kuixing can affect the test luck of scholars, so every year on July 7th, his birthday, scholars should solemnly worship.

Taiwan Province Province pays homage to "Bed Mom": In addition to Qi Niang, Taiwan Province Province often prepares a small bowl of fried rice to pay homage to "Bed Mom" in the room on Tanabata, which should have a similar meaning. Childbearing is an irreplaceable responsibility of women, so this kind of god? They are also goddesses; There is a close connection between goddess and female believers, which relieves women's anxiety and fear when they undertake motherhood. "Bed mom" is the patron saint of children. July 7th is the birthday of my bed mother. Families with children at home worship their mothers at the bedside where their children sleep that night. The offerings are: fried rice, chicken wine (or sesame oil chicken), roasted "square gold" and "bed clothes". You can't worship your mother for too long, unlike the usual worship, you need three rounds of wine. After the offerings are set and the incense is lit, you can prepare to burn "square gold" and "bed mother clothes", and then withdraw the offerings after burning. I hope the children will grow up quickly and don't worship for too long.

Clever attempt to float the needle: July 7 is "Women's Day". The girl held the water in the jar to the sun, with a needle floating in the middle, and took photos of the shadow in the water to try the trick, resurrect the fruit and compete for "seeking the trick".

Wash your hair with sap and dye your nails with flowers: Young girls in many areas like to wash their hair with sap on holidays. It is said that not only young and beautiful, but also unmarried women can find husbands as soon as possible. Dyeing nails with flowers and plants is also a hobby of most women and children in holiday entertainment, and it is also closely related to reproductive beliefs.

Listening to whispers under the pumpkin shed: In the countryside of Shaoxing, many girls will secretly hide under the lush pumpkin shed this night. If they can hear the whispers when the cowherd and the weaver girl meet in the dead of night, the girl to be married will get this eternal love in the future.

Catch dew: In rural areas of Zhejiang, it is popular to catch dew with washbasins. Legend has it that the dew on Tanabata is the tears when cowherd and weaver girl meet. If you put it in your eyes and hands, it can make people agile.

To this day, Tanabata is still a romantic traditional festival. However, many customs have weakened or disappeared, and only the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, which symbolizes loyal love, has been circulated among the people.

Another name for tanabata

Double seven: this day, month and day are all seven, so it is called, also called seven.

Incense Day: It is said that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet on Tanabata, and the Weaver Girl should dress up, paint and even smell incense all over the sky, hence the name.

Week: Cowherd and Weaver Girl have special status, and they can only meet once a year, so this day is called week.

Qiaoxi: It is called Qiaoxi because there is a custom of pleasing on Qixi.

Women's Day: Valentine's Day in China is called Women's Day, also called Girls' Day and Girls' Day, because girls worship immortals and strive for cleverness.

Blue Night: The seventh month of the lunar calendar was called "blue moon" in ancient times, so Tanabata is also called "blue night".

Children's Day: It's called because the customs such as being clever and begging for books are mostly done by girls and boys.

Needle-piercing Festival: It is named after the custom of needle-piercing on this day.

Appreciation of China's Ancient Tanabata Poems

One of the nineteen ancient poems (Korean) is anonymous.

Distant Altair, Jiao Jiao Hehan girl.

Touch your hand and make a loom.

There is no chapter all day, and tears are pouring down.

The river is clear and shallow, and there are many differences.

Between water and water, there are no words.

Female Song (Jin) on Qixi Night is anonymous.

Gracford will never die,

Farewell anniversary

Silkworms don't cocoon,

Hang silk all night. Tanabata (Tang) Bai Juyi

Hazy clouds and a moonlit sky,

So is the autumn of Qin and Han Dynasties.

How much joy and hatred,

Year after year, on this night. Qiu (Tang) Du Mu

Red candle Qiu Guang cold painting screen,

A small fan flies to the firefly.

Day and night are as cool as water,

Sit and watch the morning glory and Vega. Qixi Ci (Tang)

In Chang 'an, the moon is like practicing, and every family holds a needle and thread this night.

Yu Pei knew it, but heaven and earth didn't meet.

Long letter deep cloudy night retreat, Yao Taiwan golden pavilion number fireflies.

Banky was preoccupied that night, and Hehan watched the bullfight in the middle of the night. Queqiaoxian (Song) piano hall

Thin clouds are clever, flying stars spread grievances, and yinhan sneaked into Chen Cang.

On the seventh day of autumn dew and autumn, it is time to meet, mostly those who are together in the world, but the appearance of husband and wife.

Tender as water, like a dream, you can go home from the bridge!

If the relationship between two people is long-lasting, it is still a matter of time! Tanabata (Tang) Xu Ning

The magpie bridge is very big,

Yu Pei, a thousand words spread to Lingling.

And elderly guests,

Disappointment is not as good as a river drum star.

Tanabata Drunk Answer to Dong Jun (Ming) Tang Xianzu

Jade hall opens in spring,

The new word is Peony Pavilion.

No one will be sad,

Pinch Tan Mark and teach Xiaoling.

Related topics: Qixi Valentine's Day topic