The Origin and History of Valentine's Day in China

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is a traditional festival of Han nationality in China, China Valentine's Day. Because the main participants in this day's activities are girls, the content of the festival activities is mainly begging skills, so people call this day "begging skills festival" or "daughter's day" or "daughter's day". Tanabata is one of the most romantic traditional festivals in China and the most important day for girls in the past. On this evening, women put on needles to pray for Fu Lushou. On the seventh day, the ceremony was pious and grand, filled with flowers, fruits and needles, and all kinds of furniture and utensils were exquisite and small, which made people fondle. On May 20th, 2006, China Valentine's Day was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council. Now it is also considered as "Valentine's Day in China".

brief introduction

On a clear summer and autumn night, the sky is full of stars, and a white galaxy spans the north and south like a flyover. On the east and west banks of the river, there is a shining star across the river, that is, Altair and Vega.

It is a folk custom to sit and watch morning glory and Vega on Tanabata. According to legend, on the evening of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year, the weaver girl and the cowherd meet at the magpie bridge.

Altair and Vega

The Weaver Girl is a beautiful, clever and clever fairy. On this night, ordinary women prayed to her for wisdom and skillful skills, and they also prayed to her for a happy marriage. Therefore, the seventh day of July is also called Begging Festival.

It is said that on Tanabata night, you can look up and see the Milky Way where the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, and you can also eavesdrop on the love story when they meet in the sky under the melon and fruit shelf.

On this romantic night, facing the bright moon in the sky, the girls put the fruits and vegetables of the season in the sky for sacrifice, begging the fairy girls in the sky to give them intelligent hearts and dexterous hands, making their weaver girls skilled and begging for the marriage of love and marriage. In the past, marriage was a lifelong event for women to decide whether they were happy or not. Therefore, on this quiet night, countless sentient men and women in the world will pray for a happy marriage under the stars.

origin

Tanabata, formerly known as the Begging Festival. Originated in Chinese Valentine's Day in the Han Dynasty, the Han stone reliefs in Gehong's Miscellanies of Xijing in the Eastern Jin Dynasty have pictures of cattle lodging and women lodging on July 7th.

The record of "everyone is" is the earliest record of begging for cleverness that we have seen in ancient literature. Qixi originated from people's worship of nature. According to historical documents, at least three or four thousand years ago, with people's understanding of astronomy and the emergence of textile technology, there was a record of Altair Vega. People worship the stars far more than Altair and Vega. They think that there are seven stars representing directions in the east, west, north and south, which are collectively called 28 nights, among which the Big Dipper is the brightest and can be used to tell directions at night. The first star of the Big Dipper is called Kuixing, also known as the champion. Later, with the imperial examination system, the top scholar in the middle school was called "Dakui Scholar in the World", and the scholars called Tanabata "Kuixing Festival" or "Book-drying Festival", which preserved the trace that the earliest Tanabata originated from worshipping stars. Qixi also comes from the ancient people's worship of time. "Seven" and "period" are homophonic, and both the month and the day are "seven", giving people a sense of time. In ancient China, the sun and moon, together with the five planets of water, fire, wood, gold and earth, were called "Seven Obsidian". Seven figures are staged in time among the people, and the calculation of time often ends with "July 7th". In old Beijing, when doing Dojo for the dead, it was often done by "July 7th". Using "seven obsidians" to calculate the current "week" is still reserved in Japanese. "Seven" and "Auspicious" are homophonic, and "July 7th" has a double auspicious meaning, which is an auspicious day. In Taiwan Province Province, July is called "Joy brings good luck" month. Because the happy character in cursive script looks like "seventy-seven", 77 years old is also called "Happy Birthday".

One legend is that ...

Rule number one

the Weaver Girl

According to legend, Cowherd's parents died young and were often abused by his elder sister-in-law, only accompanied by an old cow. One day, the old cow gave him a plan to teach him how to marry the weaver girl. On that day, the beautiful fairies did bathe in the Milky Way and play in the water. Then the cowherd, hiding in the reeds, suddenly ran out and took the clothes of the Weaver Girl. The panicked fairies hurried ashore, dressed and flew away, leaving only the weaver girl. At Cowherd's request, Weaver Girl agreed to be his wife. After marriage, the cowherd and the weaver girl loved each other and lived a very happy life. Weaver gave birth to a son and a daughter to Cowherd. Later, the old cow was dying. He told the cowherd to keep its skin and put it on for help when he was in trouble. After the old cow died, the couple reluctantly peeled off the cowhide and buried the cow on the hillside.

When the marriage between the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd was known by the Jade Emperor and the Heavenly Queen Mother, they flew into a rage and ordered the gods to take the Weaver Girl back. When the Cowherd was away, the gods took the Weaver Girl. Cowherd didn't see Weaver when he came home, so he quickly put on cowhide and chased after him with two children. On the verge of catching up, the queen mother was in a hurry, tore off the golden hairpin on her head and rowed to the Milky Way. The once shallow Milky Way suddenly became stormy, and the Cowherd couldn't go any further. Since then, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can only face each other across the river, with tears in their eyes, and forever and ever. The Jade Emperor and the Empress Dowager can't overcome their sincere feelings and allow them to meet once a year on July 7. According to legend, on the seventh day of July, human magpies will fly to the sky to build a magpie bridge for the cowherd and weaver girl in the Milky Way. In addition, in the dead of night on Tanabata, people can also hear the love story of cowherd and weaver girl in the sky under the grape trellis or other fruit trellis.

Rule number two

A long time ago, there lived a family in the mountains. All the old people died, leaving only two brothers in the family. The boss married a daughter-in-law. She has a bad heart and always wants to monopolize the family business left by the old man.

One day, Erxiao took the dog to herd cattle. When he arrived in the field, he patted the cow on the back and said, "Whoa, whoa, I'm going to sleep. Don't run around." The old ox seemed to understand people's words, lowered his hair and let out a few "moo, moo" cries, swinging his tail and eating the draft around him. The second pupil fell asleep lying on the grass.

Missed noon, my sister-in-law brought a jar to deliver food to her brother-in-law. When she saw the second pupil sleeping, she gave him a good kick. The second child woke up and saw that it was a sister-in-law. He quickly got up and stood on the ground like a chicken.

Sister-in-law put the rice jar on the ground and said angrily, "Don't worry, sleep with the cow, and I'll settle accounts with you if the cow is lost!" " Say that finish, she twisted her ass and left.

The second child's stomach is hungry. He just picked up the jar and was about to eat it. The big cow around him hit the jar and it broke into pieces. When the big black dog saw the rice on the ground, it opened its mouth and ate it. Soon, he licked the rice on the ground

The second child is scared when he looks at the broken jar and feels that it is not good to go home. He sighed; "Oh, how can I be so miserable!"

As soon as the second child sighed, the big black dog fell to the ground with a plop, bleeding from his nose and mouth, and soon died. Only then did he realize that his sister-in-law had poisoned the rice.

Second thought: It seems that I can't live with this pest, or I will die at her hands sooner or later. When the sun was about to set in the western hills, he drove the cows home. As soon as I entered the yard, I turned my head and saw my brother coming back from the outside. My second child's heart is sour and his eyes are crying. Seeing my brother so sad, my brother doesn't know what happened at home. He asked, "Why are you so sad?" "I broke the rice jar sent by my sister-in-law. The dog ate the rice on the ground and died." Hearing this, my brother understood that nine times out of ten, fighting can't beat a woman at home because it's difficult.

The second child cried and said, "Brother, let's separate." It made my brother see that he wanted to split up. For one thing, his brother is still young, and for another, he has gone out to do business. It's impossible without help at home. If we make do together, I'm afraid something will happen to my brother.

The second boy saw his brother in a hurry and said, "Brother, I don't want anything at home, just that cow." The two brothers said in the yard that they were separated, and the daughter-in-law was really happy when she heard it. She grabbed the door frame and said to her husband, "Let's live our own lives in the future. I took the lead in following my second brother! " "

My brother had tears in his eyes and couldn't say a word.

The next day, the second primary school drove away with an ox cart. Walking around, getting farther and farther. Second thought: How long will it take to go on like this? Let's live here! He stopped the ox cart, cut off many branches and built a shed on the hillside. The shed was set up, and the cow and I settled here.

That cow is the lower bound of Taurus in the sky. It followed the second primary school for more than a year and died that night. After the cow died, he gave the second boy three dreams in succession. In the dream, he said to the second novel, "Tomorrow at 3: 30, I will go back to heaven. After I leave, you peel off my skin and put it on you on July 7 to ensure that you can go to heaven. The Queen Mother has seven daughters. They went to Tianhe to take a bath that day. Remember that the fairy in green is your wife. You can't let them see you. When they are all in the water, you will run back in your clothes and she will chase you. She won't leave as long as you go home. "

The next day, Erxiao saw that the cow was dead. He didn't eat or drink, but cried when he touched it. Later, the cowhide was peeled off, leaving the cowhide to bury the cow. He knelt in front of the cow grave and cried. On July 7th, Erxiao put on cowhide and immediately floated off the ground to the bank of Tianhe River. He waited quietly in the Woods. After a while, the seven fairies of the Queen Mother came. They took off their clothes one by one and plopped into the water.

Take a good look at the green skirt, run over, grab it and run. The third fairy saw someone holding her clothes and jumped out of the water to run after her. Follow the slow pace and catch up with the second house. The third fairy asked the second boy why he took her clothes, and the second novel wanted her to be his wife. The third fairy repeatedly said that heaven forbid, and the second fairy repeatedly said that the world is better than heaven. The third fairy was very moved when she saw that the second primary school was good-looking, so she agreed to him. After that, the third fairy came down to earth. She plays with flowers at home every day, and people call her Weaver Girl. The second primary school goes out to sell cloth every day to earn money. The young couple live a comfortable life.

After three or five years, the three fairies and two pupils gave birth to a man and a woman. One day, the second primary school went to work in the field, and a heavenly drum sounded in the sky. The Jade Emperor sent heavenly soldiers to take the Weaver Girl away. When the second child came home, he saw two children crying. I don't know where my daughter-in-law is, and I'm in a rash. When I asked the child, the older child pointed in the air with his hand, and the second thought the Weaver Girl had left. He quickly picked up two children and put on cowhide to catch the weaver girl.

The second boy was impatient and ran after him. Seeing that he was about to catch up with the Weaver Girl, he annoyed the Queen Mother: "Well done, second boy, are you going to catch up with the Lingxiao Hall?" She unplugged the silver tube from the beginning, drew a line between the second primary school and the Weaver Girl, and immediately drew a Tianhe. The second primary school couldn't cross the river, so it stamped its feet, and the two children in the basket called Niang. The Weaver Girl and the Second Primary School are crying. It's no use crying. The second boy wanted to leave a message for the Weaver Girl, so he took out the cow button and threw it at the Weaver Girl, and the Weaver Girl held it in her hand. The weaver girl thought about it, but there was nothing to send. She took out her loom and threw it by the second. The weaver girl's hand is weak, so she throws the woven fabric askew.

Until now, Vega on one side of Tianhe has a button star in her arms, and there is a shuttle star next to Altair on the other side.

Rule of Three

According to legend, a long time ago, there was a Niujiazhuang in the west of Nanyang. There is a clever, honest and diligent child named Linger in the village. Because my parents died early, I had to live with my brother. My sister-in-law, Ma Shi, is evil and often abuses Shiner. One autumn, just after the harvest, the horse forced Linger to go to the mountain to herd cattle and said to him, "Give you these nine cows, and you can't come back until you have ten cows!" " After listening, I linger; Helpless, I had to drive the cow out of Niujiazhuang.

The villagers rushed to the scene and expressed deep sympathy for Linger. Some brought food, some clothes, Linger thanked them one by one, and then a person drove the cow to the mountains.

When he arrived at Caoshan, he stopped to rest and sat under the tree crying. I thought, when will there be ten cows? Just then, an old man with white hair and frost suddenly appeared in front of him. The old man patted him on the shoulder and asked kindly, "Son, why did you go to this remote place to herd cattle alone?" Why are you so sad? "Linger abused his sister-in-law and forced him to herd cattle in detail. The old man smiled and said, "So that's it! Don't be sad, there is an old sick cow in Funiu Mountain. You feed it well and you can drive it home when it is ready. " With that, the old man disappeared. Shine seems to be dreaming. He followed the old man's instructions and went to Funiu Mountain.

Linger walked over the mountains and finally found the sick cow, which was lying on a big flat stone. Shine immediately got down, repeatedly knocked on her head for three times and shouted "Uncle Niu". The old cow opened her tired eyes and then closed them again. Linger looked at the old cow's listless appearance, thinking that she might be hungry, and quickly went to scoop bundles of grass for the old cow. After feeding for three days and nights, the old cow was finally full. Suddenly I looked up and said to him, "Good boy, I used to be a fairy in the sky. I broke the rules of heaven, because I secretly took the seeds of grain from the world. I was kicked out of heaven by the Jade Emperor and broke my leg. I can't move. " If you can wash me with toilet water for a month, I'll be fine. "Hearing this, Xiao Linger stayed in Funiu Mountain. When she was hungry, she ate some wild fruits. Drink some spring water when you are thirsty and snuggle up to the cows at night. Pick flowers every morning and wash the old cow with dew on the flowers. For a whole month, the old cow's injury really healed, and it went home with Linger.

When Linger came home, Sister-in-law saw that he had really driven ten cows back, insisting that one of them was stolen by someone else, and gave him a good beating, only after being persuaded by the villagers. From then on, Linger herded cows during the day and slept beside them at night. Everyone in the village calls him "Cowherd". The old cow saved by Cowherd is very close to Cowherd. Once, my sister-in-law put poison in the dish, and the old Niu Jiao Cowherd didn't want to eat it. Sister-in-law was angry and clamored for separation from Cowherd, who wanted neither a house nor a field. As long as the old cow, two broken cars and a rotten suitcase left home, she built a hut under a mulberry tree and lived down. The old cow spit out a tea bean from his mouth. Cowherd planted tea beans in front of the hut and they broke out the next day. On the third day, Cowherd was busy putting on airs. In a few days, beans and vines were all covered with shelves. The old cow said, "Son, if you hide under the tea bean stand at night, you can see the fairy girl in the sky and the fairy can see you." If anyone peeks at you for seven consecutive nights, she just wants to be your wife. At that time, I will drag you to the sky with my car, pull her down and marry you. "

The cowherd listened to the old cow's instructions, went under the tea bean rack at night and looked up at the sky. He saw a group of fairies bathing in the Yaochi. When he left, a fairy gave him a look. The next night, I saw the fairy come to Yaochi alone and looked at Cowherd boldly. On the third night, I looked at the cowherd and smiled slightly. On the fourth night, I nodded to the cowherd. On the fifth night, I brought out a basket of silkworms. On the sixth night, I stole a loom and waved to the cowherd with it. Cowherd and Weaver Girl, one in the sky and the other in the ground, are flirting. Cowherd and Weaver Girl are looking forward to their reunion. On July 7, a magpie fell from the sky and landed on an old cow's head, chirping and saying, "The Weaver Girl sent me, get together quickly. Go get together, get together. " The old cow smiled and nodded, and the cowherd got on the bus and sat on it. The old cow flew in the air and soon came to the fish pond. The Cowherd got out of the car and put the loom on the car with the Weaver Girl. Weaver got on the bus with a silkworm basket on her arm. Cowherd jumped on the bus and sat with Weaver. The old cow walked in the clouds and soon got home.

When the villagers learned that Cowherd had become a family, they all came to congratulate him. The weaver girl gave the wild silkworms she brought from the sky to her sisters and taught them to raise silkworms, reel silk and weave silks and satins.

As a result, everyone in the village knows that Cowherd has a good wife who can raise silkworms, spin silk and weave bright silks and satins. It is said that the loom is brought from the sky, and the satin woven is made into clothes, which is warm in winter and cool in summer. The news spread, attracting silk merchants from all over the country to buy Nanyang silk. This incident caused a sensation on both sides of the Baihe River and in Funiu Mountain area, and all families sent girls to learn knitting. Weaver girl is kind-hearted and willing to teach people. In less than two years, every family learned to raise silkworms and weave silks and satins.

On July 7th of the third year, the Weaver Girl gave birth to a boy and a girl, the boy's name is Brother Jin and the girl's name is Sister Yu. Cowherd plows, weaver weaves and lives in harmony.

A few years later, the cowherd was ploughing the fields when it suddenly thundered in the clear sky. The old cow looked at the Cowherd and cried, and said to him, "Son, I dragged the Weaver Girl down to the sky and broke the sky. It seems that I can't live. " After my death, the queen mother will definitely not let you go. At that time, you can eat my flesh and become immortal, and you can make shoes with my skin and fly into the sky. "After that, the old cow fell down; After the cowherd cried for a while, he did as the old cow said.

On the seventh day of July, Cowherd was hoeing the ground, and Jin Ge and Yumei came to tell Cowherd with sad faces that an old woman had come and pulled her mother away from the loom. Cowherd hurried home in shoes made of old cowhide, holding Brother Jin in one hand and Sister Yu in the other, and chasing after him in the air. On the verge of catching up, the queen mother took out gold from her head and took a picture at her feet. A raging river appeared. Cowherd pulled Jin Ge and Yumei and stood by the river crying. The crying alarmed the Jade Emperor. Seeing that they are a pair of children, the Jade Emperor decided to let their family meet once a year on July 7th.

People suddenly found that the cowherd family had disappeared and felt suspicious. At night, they looked up under the tea bean stand and saw a choppy river. The weaver girl on the other side of the river is crying, and the cowherd on the other side of the river is crying with brother Jin and sister Yu. People found a silver belt in the starry sky, so they called it Tianhe. There is a star on one side of the Tianhe River. This star is called Vega. There are three more stars on one side, called Altair. People miss the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and they always get under the tea bean stand and look up at the sky every night. On the night of July 7, I suddenly saw magpies flying to Tianhe, biting each other's tails and building a magpie bridge. Cowherd pulled Brother Jin with one hand and the other. Weaver girl came from the other side of the bridge and went to the middle of the magpie bridge to meet the family.

custom

acupuncture

This is the earliest way to beg for cleverness, which began in the Han Dynasty and flowed to later generations. "Miscellanies of Xijing" said: "Women in the Han Dynasty often wear seven-hole needles in Jinkai Building on July 7, and people have the ambition of Xi." The Chronicle of Jingchu Years Old by Liang Zongmou of the Southern Dynasties said: "On July 7th, it was a woman of Xijia family, who was wearing a colorful building with seven holes, or with gold and silver as needles." "Geographical Records" said: "Emperor Wu of Qi began to visit the city on the first floor. On July 7, court officials tried to thread the needle several times. The world calls it the needle-piercing building. " The Five Dynasties Wang Renyu's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" said: "On Qixi Festival, the palace was made of brocade, which was hundreds of feet high and could beat dozens of people in the world. Chen baked melons and fruits with wine, set a banquet, worshipped cows and girls, and each of his concubines wore a nine-hole needle, with five-color lines facing the moon. This is a wonderful time. It's fun to play the song of Qing business. The home of the natives is effective. " Yuan Taozong Yi's Record of Ye Ting in Yuanshi County said: "Chinese Valentine's Day is a place of ingenuity. In the evening, the ladies-in-waiting went on stage to wear Kyubi no Youko needles with colored silk. The person who finishes first is smart, and the person who finishes late is called a loser. Everyone contributed a gift. "

Spiders should be smart.

This is also an early way of seeking cleverness, and its popularity is a little later than that of seeking cleverness with needles, which generally began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Liang Zonggu of the Southern Dynasties said "A Record of Jingchu Times"; "In the evening, Chen Guaguo begged for cleverness in court. If you have a happy subnet on melon, you think it is corresponding. " The Five Dynasties Wang Renyu's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" said: "On July 7, we all caught spiders in small boxes until dawn; Think of cobwebs as sparse and dense. Secret people have many clever words, while rare people have few clever words. So are folk works. " A Dream in Tokyo by Meng Yuanyuan, a poet of the Song Dynasty, said that on the seventh day of July, "Put a spider in the zygote and watch it the next day. If the net is round, it is just a coincidence. " Song Zhou Mi's "When I was one year old" said; "How long does it take to store small spiders in the house and wait for the density of the net?" Tomita Rucheng's "Joy of the Xi Tide" said that on Tanabata, "It is very clever to put spiders in a small box and see the density of their webs the next morning." It can be seen that the methods of testing ingenuity in past dynasties are different. The existence of the visual network in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the thinness of the visual network in the Tang Dynasty, and the roundness of the visual network in the Song Dynasty, followed the customs of the Tang Dynasty in later generations.

Needle throwing test

This is a variation of the custom of needlework on Qixi, which originated from needlework and is different from needlework. This is a popular Valentine's Day custom in China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Dong and Yu Yizheng's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" said: "On the afternoon of July 7th, we lost a clever needle. When a woman comes into contact with water, the water film looks strange, and the embroidery needle floats and looks at the shadow of the underwater needle. There are clouds, flowers, birds and animals, shoes, scissors and eggplant shadows, which are called clever begging; Its shadow is as thick as a hammer, as thin as silk and as straight as axis wax, which is wrong. " According to Zhili, in Liangxiang County (now southwest of Beijing), "On July 7th, women begged for cleverness, threw needles into the water, and inspected their work by the shadow of the sun." Please quote ten thousand miscellaneous notes in Textual Research on Old News in the Sunlight: "On July 7th, Yan Dou women threw small needles into the water. Or scattered like a flower, moving like a cloud, as thin as a line and as thick as a cone, all because of the ingenuity of the diviner. "

Seed search

In the old custom, a few days before Tanabata, first spread a layer of soil on a small wooden board, sow the seeds of millet to make it bear green seedlings, and then put some small huts and flowers and trees on it to make it look like a small village where people live in heaven, called a "shell board", or soak mung beans, adzuki beans and wheat in a magnetic bowl and tie it with red and blue silk threads. 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".

Sacrifice "grinding and drinking music"

Moeli is a little clay doll, a children's plaything on Valentine's Day in old China. Its image is mostly a lotus leaf half-arm skirt, holding a lotus leaf. On July 7th every year, in Kaifeng, "the tiles outside the Dongsongmen Gate of Panlou Street, the tiles outside the Xiliangmen Gate of Zhou Zhou, the tiles outside the North Gate, the tiles outside the South Suzaku Gate and the tiles in Xingjie Ma are all plastic puppets". In fact, the grinding and drinking music after the end of the Song Dynasty is no longer a puppet, on the contrary, it has become more and more exquisite. Moeli varies in size and posture, and the largest is as high as three feet, comparable to a real child. The materials made are ivory carving or bergamot carving, and the dressing of grinding and drinking music is extremely beautiful. There are painted wood carvings as column seats, or red sand cages as covers, and the toys in hand are mostly decorated with precious stones. The cost of grinding and drinking music is often as high as several thousand yuan.

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 is to lay a table in the moonlight, and put tea, wine, fruit, five sons (longan, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts, melon seeds) and other sacrifices on the table. 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.

According to folklore, Lord Kuixing is ugly, his face is covered with spots and he is lame. Someone wrote a limerick to make fun of him: if you don't publicize it, why decorate it? Even lead, don't cover it. Marrying Ma Gu into two beauties is no worse than coming to the hive. Leave claws under the eyebrows, and geese step on the sand beside their noses and mouths. It's just a nap in front of the eaves, and the wind blows plum blossoms on your forehead. Xiang Jun's jade toe is the strangest, with one high and one low. I want to dance when I take a leisurely walk, and the degree of fluttering is like a mouth. Only the road in the world is dangerous, and I am so tired that I am surprised. Don't laugh, the waist branches are often half folded, and the temporary swaying is also colorful.

However, the champion was ambitious, worked hard and went to high school. When the Emperor visited him, he asked him why his face was covered with spots. He replied: "Ma's face is full of stars"; Asked why he was lame, he replied "hop on one foot". The emperor was very satisfied and accepted him.

Another completely different legend says that Lord Kuixing was knowledgeable before his death, but unfortunately he failed every exam, so he threw himself into the river in grief and indignation. Unexpectedly, he was saved by turtle fish and ascended to heaven to become a champion. Because Kuixing can affect the test luck of scholars, every year on July 7th, his birthday, scholars should solemnly worship.

Drying books and clothes

According to the report, Sima Yi was quite suspicious of Cao Cao because of his high status and great power. In view of the political darkness at that time, he pretended to be crazy and hid at home in order to protect himself. Wei Wudi was still worried, so he sent a close friend to let history secretly explore the truth. It was July 7, and Sima Yi, who was pretending to be crazy and selling stupidity, was also drying books at home. Make history back to leave Wei Wudi, Wei Wudi immediately ordered Sima Yi back to the office, otherwise you can be taken into custody. Sima yi only obediently obeyed and returned to the DPRK. Another kind of people, in troubled times, express their depression through depravity. They despise etiquette and oppose custom. Liu Yiqing said in volume 25 of Shi Shuo Xin Yu that on July 7th, everyone printed books, and only Long Hao went to bask in the sun. When people asked him why, he replied, "I print books." On the one hand, it despises the custom of printing books, on the other hand, it also boasts about the talent in its belly. Drying your belly is also drying books. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the custom of hanging clothes in the Han Dynasty created opportunities for rich children to boast about their wealth. Ruan Xian, one of the "Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest", looked down on this style. On July 7, when neighbors were hanging clothes, they saw that the shelves were full of silks and satins, which was dazzling. Ruan Xian unhurriedly picked up a worn-out dress with a bamboo pole. Someone asked him what he was doing, and he said, "I can't avoid customs and tell you!" " From these short stories, we can see how prosperous the custom of drying books and clothes on Tanabata is.

For Niu Qingsheng.

Children will pick wild flowers and hang them on horns on Qixi Day, which is also called "Happy Birthday to Cows". Because it is said that after the Queen Mother of the West separated the Cowherd from the Weaver Girl by Tianhe, the old cow asked the Cowherd to scrape off its skin and drive its cowhide to see the Weaver Girl. In order to commemorate the sacrifice spirit of the old cow, people have the custom of "celebrating the life of the cow"

Eat proper fruit.

Appropriate fruit is the most famous festival food on Tanabata. Proper fruit, also called "Kiki Fruit", has many styles. The main material is suitable fruit.

This is oily molasses. "Tokyo Dream China" refers to "laughing at children" and "eating fruit patterns", and the patterns include holding incense and winning prizes. During the Song Dynasty, the unique fruits of Qixi were already sold on the streets of the city.

If you buy a catty of proper fruit, there will be a pair of dolls in armor, such as door gods, which are called "General Fruit food". The way to make a proper fruit is to melt sugar into syrup in a pot, then add flour and sesame seeds, mix well, spread it on the table, let it cool, cut it into cubes with a knife, especially the dough folded into a spindle, and fry it until golden. Handy women will also create various patterns related to the legend of Qixi. In addition, the melons and fruits that can be used skillfully can also be varied. Or carve melons and fruits into exotic flowers and birds, or embossed patterns on the surface of melon skin. It is called "flower melon"

Appropriate fruits and melons are the most common Qixi foods. However, in history, different dynasties had different dietary customs. For example, soup cakes were popular in Wei on July 7. In the Tang Dynasty, festival foods included cakes on July 7th, which was designated as the book-drying festival. Each of the three provinces and six departments gives a certain amount of banquet money, which is called the "book-printing party". Tanabata is also a day suitable for dispensing medicines. It is said to be a secret recipe with pine and cypress as medicinal materials. This magic pill was made with dew on July 7th. Taking one pill can prolong life for ten years, and taking two pills can prolong life for twenty years. In addition, there are bait pine nuts, arborvitae seeds, stacked lotus leaves and so on. , are called the medicine of immortality. The more practical prescriptions are dried Sophora juice for hemorrhoids, fried bitter gourd for eyes, and pedicled melon for diarrhea. Only those who have tried know how effective it is. Now in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou and other places in Zhejiang, people will make all kinds of small objects out of flour and put them in a frying pan, which is called "proper fruit". Evening, appropriate fruits, lotus, white lotus, Hong Ling, etc. Will be placed in a clean yard, and relatives and friends at home will sit together.

Different customs

Guangdong qinianghui

Guangzhou-qimei's birthday

Jiaxing-Qixi Xiangqiao Expo

Hunan and Zhejiang-women wash their hair and collect dew.

Jiaodong-Worship Seven Sisters

Southwest China-nail dyeing

Guangzhou-welcome immortals

Shaanxi-ligating ancient bridge

Guangxi-Tanabata Water Storage

Shaoxing-Listen to the whispers under the pumpkin shed.

Chinese Valentine's Day, Minnan, Taiwan Province Province

PS: Because there are too many words, I deleted a lot, which may be incomplete ~ You can go to Baidu, which is very complete ~ ~ ~