What is a monkey?

People who grew up in Xinzhou were scared by adults when they were young: don't cry, cry again, and the monkey will come; Children want to go out to play, adults say, there are hemp monkeys outside, and your back is gone; Children who don't sleep at night threaten that monkeys will come to eat you, so close your eyes quickly. Wait, wait, wait. The monkey has been growing up with people from generation to generation, and then continues to scare his children with what adults hear. With exaggerated and mysterious tone, the monkey has become a terrible, child-eating monster, a word specially used to scare children.

So what is the monkey in Xinzhou population? Some say it's a monkey, some say it's a horse monkey, some say it's a monster, and so on. In Xinzhou dialect, the monkey is pronounced "Ma Hou Liao", but when it is actually spoken, it is pronounced "Monkey Er", so "Ma Hou Liao" here is just a sound, not a literal meaning, that is, it has nothing to do with monkeys.

Because it is so familiar, most people don't ask what it is. One day after more than 40 years, I heard my mother say "Empress Ma" and suddenly asked how many years my mother had solved the mystery: Empress Ma actually refers to the female wolf.

Wolves are one of the most terrible animals in Xinzhou people's cognition, because they are active around. In 1950s and 1960s, villagers often met wolves, and the news spread like wildfire, which became more and more terrible. Even some festivals are related to wolves. For example, February 2 nd. On February 2nd, the dragon raised its head, marking the end of China New Year. However, Xinzhou will eat river fishing on February 2, because it is necessary to clamp the wolf's leg and prevent it from holding the child.

It is also recorded in historical materials that Ma Shumou steamed Xiao Er to eat in Sui Dynasty. Ma Shumou is the semi-final of the conference, and hemp monkey may be the homonym of hemp beard. In Beijing, he used his "careless son" to scare children.

Once upon a time, there was a child, the monkey, who was frightened. Nowadays, children have been mixed up with Du Niang since childhood. What monkey king Lao Tzu, even if he comes, will not be frightened, knowing that it is all false. Yes, what does Lao Tzu mean? Ask mom today.

A small spoken vocabulary contains rich historical experience and connotation. It is no exaggeration to say that China culture is profound.