Why was forty called eight years in ancient times?

The concealment of age exists in ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, and there are various reasons. Forty-one of them are entitled examples, and there are forty-five, seventy-three, eighty-four and so on.

As far as forty-one is concerned:

Old legend

1 Related to the southern tour of Qianlong: Dezhou has been a land and water transportation hub between the north and the south since ancient times, especially the ancient Grand Canal, which makes Dezhou geographically very important. The Governor's Office of Shandong Grain Transportation is located here, and the household department also has branches directly under it. In the history of Qianlong's several southern tours, Texas was the only place to pass, so the Qianlong Palace was built in Texas. On one occasion, Emperor Qianlong was stationed in Tezhou and received local officials as usual. When asked about the age of the young magistrate, the magistrate said 4 1 year. When Qianlong asked about the zodiac, the magistrate of a county was embarrassed because he was a dragon. It is disrespectful to say that you belong to the dragon in front of the emperor, and you are in danger of being beheaded. So, under the emperor's questioning, he blurted out that he belonged to a donkey, which aroused the emperor's happiness.

Texas is rich in big black donkeys, which is quite famous in the surrounding areas. Because the big black donkey is rugged, rough and stubborn, it is often used as a metaphor for people, and later became a swearing word. As a result, the story of being a donkey at the age of 4 1 has gradually spread among the people. Texans are also beginning to taboo others knowing that they are 4 1 year old. Every time you are 465,438+0 years old, you can either make yourself 40 years old twice or 42 years old in a row.

According to legend, in the Tang Dynasty, once, Emperor Taizong and Prime Minister Wei Zhi chatted together. Emperor Taizong asked Wei Zhi, "How old is Ai Qing this year? What is it?" Wei Zhi thought: the emperor is forty-one years old and belongs to a horse; I am the same age as the emperor, and I belong to a horse. If we are a family with the emperor, wouldn't it be neck and neck? So, Wei Zhi knelt down and said; "Long live the report, I am one fortieth this year, and I am a donkey." Donkeys are not as good as horses, so others can drive them. Emperor Taizong laughed after hearing this. He also knows that there are no donkeys in the zodiac, but Wei Zhi is playing tricks! But he was very proud to see that even a big official like Wei Zhi was teased by himself in such a mess.

Later, a Pizhou man who was an official in Li Chao went back to his hometown to visit relatives. The villagers asked him what it was like to be a Beijing official, and he revealed the secret story. Everyone was surprised: "Hey, this official is still timid! If you don't even care about your own zodiac, what face can you care about? The emperor is a horse and the minister is a donkey. What about the seven sesame officials? They must be neither donkeys nor horses! " From then on, everyone regarded forty-one as an ignominious age and tried to avoid talking. Over time, this strange custom was formed. Later, the saying that this is a donkey spread all over Xuzhou, but the age was slightly different. Or 45-year-old donkey, or 43-year-old donkey, only Xinyi, Suining and other counties, like Pizhou, are all 4 1 year-old donkeys.

Transmission area: Pizhou, Suining and Xinyi

Modern fortune telling and mysterious interpretation

1? Wang is a homonym for forgetting, 5X8 is 40, which means 4 1 forgetting 40, so it's been eight years.

There is another saying, because this period, men are refractory. Women are very sexually active. If you don't satisfy a woman, you will be cuckolded. This is the origin of the year of Wang Ba.

2? Modern mysticism believes that the fate of human body has a digital peak, and men are at the lowest peak between 465,438+0 and 42 years old, so it is easy to have physical reasons or emotional problems.

As far as forty-five is concerned:

Say no to 45.

According to "Beiping Customs, Louzheng Language", "Yan people say that they are forty-five, and when asked, they say' forty-four last year' and forty-six next year'. I don't know what this means. "

According to some investigation data, it is said that the origin of forty-five years old is related to the release of grain by Bao Gong Chen Zhou. Legend has it that Bao Gong Chen Zhou was forty-five years old when he released grain. He was robbed halfway, disguised as a turtle (prostitute and turtle leg), and escaped from a dangerous place to avoid being killed. There is also a legend that Bao Gong planned the arrest of Wang Zhao. Because of Zhao Wang's lewdness, Bao Gong lied about his death, and secretly asked his wife to flirt with Zhao Wang, who came to mourn and mourn, in order to defraud him of the sword above, and then gave it to Zhao Wang to kill. Although these legends are not necessarily accurate, it can be seen from the legends that the taboo of 45 years old is actually related to such ominous things as distress, suspended animation and being a turtle. Any of the above points is enough to form folk taboo customs.

Some people say that 45 is the ninth out of every nine, and it is also the most prone to accidents.

Seventy-three and eighty-four:

The age of 73 and 84 is the nominal age when two "saints" in ancient China died.

Kong Qiu, a sage in the Spring and Autumn Period, lived 72 years (5565438 BC+0 ~ 479 BC).

Monk, an "Asian sage" in the Warring States Period, lived to the age of 83 (372-289 BC). Confucius died in vain at the age of 73 and Mencius died in vain at the age of 84. In ancient China, Confucius and Mencius were highly regarded. They thought that the age of death of Confucius and Mencius was unlucky, and that saints were prone to die at these two ages, not to mention ordinary people.

So a proverb is derived: "Seventy-three, eighty-four, the ghost king is not invited."