What are the usual customs in old Beijing?

People will inevitably think of the past during the Spring Festival, especially in Beijing, a city with profound cultural heritage. Beijing people have a long history of keeping pets and have a lot of knowledge and attention. From the change of pet customs, we can find the change of life track.

Keeping cats is a pleasure in people's lives, with a long history, which is recorded in the Book of Rites. In old Beijing, cats are mostly hairy elders, and "those with four or five inches of hair are expensive". This kind of cat is particularly fierce, with drooping shawls and long hair, which is similar to that of a lion, so it is called a lion cat. In this breed, cats should be distinguished by their coat color. Generally speaking, white people and yellow people are top grades, followed by black people and variegated people. According to the fur pattern, it has been given different nicknames, such as black-tailed white cat, which is called "giving charcoal in the snow"; The upper body is black and the lower body is white, which is called "dark clouds cover snow"; A white cat with black head and tail is called "whip hydrangea". It is said that there are more than 100 colors of cats, but few are excellent. In addition, the cat's eye must be bicolor, which is the so-called "male and female eyes". As the saying goes, "one father and one mother", this is a Persian species. But old Beijingers don't like to keep white-tailed cats, and feel unlucky.

In the early years, rich cat owners cooked sheep liver, chopped it and mixed it with white rice, followed by smoked sausage and mixed it with rice. Poor households bought salt-free dried fish from oil and salt shops, called "cat fish", and chopped it with warm water and mixed it with steamed corn residue, which belonged to poor feeding.

Beijingers believe that owning a cat is a noble interest, which comes from relatives and friends as gifts to each other. At that time, old Beijingers didn't sell cats, but also regarded selling cats and dogs as a symbol of bankruptcy, and they would never do it.

Many celebrities have cats. For example, the famous painter Feng Zikai raises and paints cats; Bing Xin's old man's Mimi is named "giving charcoal in the snow" in the cat spectrum; Mr Lao She keeps cats, and so does Mr Duanmu Hongliang. A writer's cat has a sense of superiority, which is often written by a famous writer.

Some cat lovers also give a certain kind of cat a special meaning-Elvis Presley. It is said that the condition of "Elvis Presley" is: the weight must reach more than eight kilograms, which means that "an eight-kilogram cat can force a thousand kilograms of mice"; Its skin color is limited to pure yellow or pure raccoon color, with tiger stripes, flat head and small and thin ears; Eyes must be the so-called "golden eye night light". Its facial makeup must be a helmet with a white mouth and a red nose. There is a yellow spot the size of a finger's belly next to the mouth, commonly known as "butterfly spot", and its tentacles are as strong as steel needles. Whether it is yellow or raccoon coat color, the belly must be pure white. The tail is composed of long hair, which looks like a flame, so it is called "unicorn tail". People who don't know it often call it "bald tail root". Generally speaking, it is the lion's head, the tiger's body and the unicorn's tail. Besides, Elvis Presley is a man, and all the women are not on the spectrum.

keep a dog

Dogs have a long history of dealing with humans. Now all the streets and alleys in Beijing are "Jingba", and "Zushang" is very noble. The pet dog kept in the palace is called "poodle" (Beijing dog), which is six or seven inches high and weighs twelve or three pounds. It is especially precious in crimson color and white, and is known as "crimson white as gold".

In old Beijing, there was a dog market in Huguo Temple, but all the dogs traded were ornamental dogs: cuffed dogs and bulldogs. Pocket dogs are only the size of the palm of your hand, but they are naturally aggressive, also known as "fighting dogs", which can be hidden between sleeves, hence the name. Two dog owners put the dog on the console table to watch it fight and bite, in order to win a sense of pleasure. This move is mostly made by people with money and leisure. It is an elegant thing to combine chess, tea and painting. The words "pomegranate tree in the ceiling fish tank, Liu Li and fat girl" are an incisive summary of Beijing quadrangles, indicating that the beloved dog is much taller than the servants in the owner's mansion. Cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket cricket. There is a saying among the people that "a lazy woman is frightened to weave". The wind is tight and the autumn is cool, so winter clothes can't be put off any longer. Advocating weaving and singing means that the solar term is coming, and urging women to do needlework and make ready-made clothes.

Cricket is a widely distributed insect. Among the crickets in Beijing, the one from Sujiatuo in the north of Beijing and the one from Fushouling in the west of Beijing are the best. In old Beijing, the utensils for raising cricket and fighting crickets are very particular. Before the winter solstice, the clarifier was made of clarifier mud and fired in a kiln. In 1930s and 1940s, the most famous producers were clay figurines, Daguan and Li Tongzhou. Raising crickets is interesting in cricket fighting and singing, and the general cricket fighting is not noticeable. From the Mid-Autumn Festival to the Double Ninth Festival, some people who specialize in cricket prepare for the battlefield and then make an appointment. Most of the invitations say "Happy Autumn War" outside. Cricket fighting is a natural instinct of insects, but it is often mixed with many people's ingredients.

In the fifties and sixties, cricket was a free or extremely cheap thing for children in Beijing (of course, there was no top grade here), and there were probably no boys who had never played cricket.

Goldfish is a famous pet goldfish in water at home and abroad, and it is a bright pearl in the treasure house of China traditional culture. Goldfish is a variety of crucian carp. Because of its bright red body color and shiny scales, it is named goldfish. There are many kinds of goldfish. Looking up to heaven, dzi beads, pearls, red heads, hats, velvet beads, blisters, lion heads ... Beijingers are looking for luck, and keeping goldfish is the slogan of "how lucky" and "many years". In the spoken language of Beijingers, the precious goldfish with four tails in the court is called "Goldfish" and the goldfish with two tails of various colors is called "Little Goldfish". If you add fine print and then pronounce children's voices, this fish is two different things, and the price is far from the same. Little goldfish is very cold-resistant, and the twelfth month and the first month are the best seasons for little goldfish. The poor bought two small goldfish, coaxed the children and tried to get lucky, as a sign of a surplus in the coming year. In fact, after the children played for a few days, all the fish "backstroke" on it. However, a master with status and status, fish farming at home is specialized in fish processing. Families in old Beijing generally raise fish in round tripods or rectangular glass jars, while those with rich families raise fish in clay pots. Because of the long time, there is a layer of green velvet moss in the basin, which makes the fish more gorgeous.

Raising birds and pigeons

Beijing people have been raising birds for a long time. Bird farmers have more leisure classes. Literati raise larks, indigo naturalis and chizi; Strong people raise more thrushes; Those who leave the land to sell works of art will raise more people, such as Jiao Zui and "Old Xi Er". Whether it is a literati, a famous pear garden, a Xinglin national player, a coachman or a sedan chair, there are all good birds, but they are different. Fortune tellers raise more domesticated yellow birds and deceive people with their divination.

There were many pigeons in Beijing in the early years. Pigeons are described in Lao She's Camel Xiangzi and Cao Yu's Peking Man. The pigeon market in old Beijing is very lively, such as the Huguo Temple Temple Temple Fair on the 7th and 8th day of the lunar calendar and the Long Fu Temple Fair on the 90th day of the year. In addition, there is a special pigeon market outside the Chongwen Gate in Huaer.

Every temple fair, pigeons in cages will come by hand. There are many kinds of pigeons, including short-billed pigeons, iron cattle pigeons, green-haired pigeons, seven-star pigeons, purple-dotted pigeons and purple-winged pigeons. In late winter and early spring, Beijingers are used to enjoying the landscape pigeons in Wanchun Pavilion in Jingshan Park. Although winter is still here, the whistle of pigeons will make people feel the vitality of the ancient capital.