A brief analysis of the bad habits and aspects worthy of promotion in China folk fertility culture.

On the Folk Fertility Customs in China (I don't know if I can learn from one).

Since the birth of mankind, they have tried their best to breed their own population for their own survival. The constant birth of new life has enabled mankind to reproduce from generation to generation. In order to survive, our ancestors had to face the challenges of hunger, war, disease and famine. Due to poor material living conditions and underdeveloped science, the living environment of ancient humans was very bad, and a considerable number of adults could not live to 50 years old at all. Although the living environment is gradually improving with the deepening of human's understanding of the world, in China's feudal society for more than two thousand years, people suffered endless hardships due to social unrest caused by war, famine and disease, and the difficulty of survival is still the biggest challenge facing mankind. If human beings want to live endlessly, it is the only choice that human beings can make to let the surnames of each family continue, and to have children early and have more children. In this state, the birth and rational growth of new life has become a major event for every family. In order to welcome the birth of new life, people have created various folk customs and rituals in fertility and reproduction for thousands of years. From the beginning of marriage, even before marriage, this set of folk customs began to have an impact on men's and women's lives. Generally speaking, human fertility customs play an active role in promoting maternal and child health and ensuring racial reproduction.

In a person's life, from birth to death, different ceremonies and etiquette should be held in different important links. Newborn babies should hold a birth ceremony to confirm the physical maturity of men and women, hold an adult ceremony, and hold a marriage ceremony when men and women establish a spouse relationship and begin to assume corresponding family and social obligations. China was a patriarchal society in ancient times, and people paid special attention to carrying on the family line. Because marriage is the beginning of a new life, people have the expectation of having children at the beginning of marriage. Before marriage, men and women in ancient times asked fortune tellers to look at their horoscopes and zodiac signs. The most important thing is whether they can have children. When men and women get married, they should hold a ceremony of "seeking children". For example, in the marriage of Huizhou in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, it was recorded that "a woman who comes to Huizhou, Guangdong Province, must take a good life and be supported by the whole person", and this "person who takes a good life" is the so-called "person who has many children and many blessings". The meaning here is clear. "All those who live long will help them" means that they want to have more children and more happiness. When the bride gets on the sedan chair and becomes a monk, there must be a person holding a stove to burn charcoal, laying tiles and two pills in front of the sedan chair, and writing "Double Happiness on Red Paper" to show the meaning of future generations. In addition, the custom of sharing accounts in folk weddings is also a way to pray for children. In China ancient folk weddings, various customs of praying for children abound, which can be said to be the first procedure of folk fertility customs.

After a man and a woman get married, parents are most concerned about when their daughter-in-law will be "happy", that is, pregnant, which is the first sign of giving birth to a child. Before pregnancy, both Japan and China had reproductive worship, and during the New Year, there were various begging customs, such as worshipping the goddess Mount Tai in the north, worshipping the virgin of the seashore in the south, and worshipping Guanyin in most parts of the country. During the Lantern Festival in Quanzhou, Fujian, the bride's family will give her newly-married daughter a pair of red and white lotus lanterns and a "fairy to send a child" imperial city lantern, and send her the blessing of "having a baby early". Once the pregnancy is confirmed, the pregnant woman's parents, parents-in-law, husband and others will be beaming, because if there are descendants, there is no need to worry about the continuation of the family. Pregnancy is called happiness because it is related to the traditional ideas of China people. China people have always believed that "no offspring is great". Since there are descendants, and pregnant, it shows that there are still people in the future who can carry on the family line. It also shows that the married daughter-in-law has fertility, which is good news for the family's population reproduction. Due to the influence of China's feudal traditional concept, the most important "happiness" in happiness lies in having children. Although it is impossible to know whether the fetus is male or female without giving birth, pregnancy itself means that the fetus in the womb is a child. Even if it is not a child but a woman this time, she will have a son next time. The content of happiness is also included.

After the pregnancy is confirmed, someone should say hello everywhere and inform the pregnant woman's family at the same time, and the pregnant woman's family will begin to prepare for the arrival of the newborn. There is an ancient custom in Zigong, Sichuan. After a woman is married and pregnant, her parents should prepare postpartum chickens, eggs and rice for her, and shoes, socks, clothes and hats for her upcoming baby. The custom in Hanshan, Anhui Province is that when a woman is pregnant, her mother's family should prepare clothes, diapers and other items for her baby, while her husband's family will fry "yin rice" when she is in labor, that is, steamed and dried glutinous rice, and then fry it in an iron pot, commonly known as "promoting rice", so that she can eat it with boiling water after giving birth. In some areas, such as Huizhou, Guangdong, the first thing to do is to worship God and rent a house. This has two purposes, one is to report good news to our ancestors, and the other is to pray for the blessing of the gods.

Once a woman is pregnant, her status and social status will also improve, and the whole family will make various responses that conform to the traditional folk habits. From the beginning of pregnancy, the family will take protective measures for pregnant women, and their behavior and diet will be restricted, forming different folk customs and "taboos". Most customs and "taboos" restrict pregnant women. For example, the folk tradition of Han nationality in China requires pregnant women to cover their foreheads with cloth, and prohibits pregnant women from attending weddings, funerals, entering children's homes, stretching, yawning, nailing and lifting heavy objects. In addition, pregnant women also avoid "cold" food. Although these folk "taboos" are superstitious, they still have certain positive significance for maintaining the stable mood and health of pregnant women and ensuring the normal development of the fetus.

Folk brides are pregnant, commonly known as "sick children" or "having bodies", and everything should be carefully cared for during this period. Pregnant women should pay attention to nutrition, nourish the body from the liver and kidney of chickens, ducks, fish and pigs, and promote fetal health. For pregnant women, the ancients paid equal attention to diet and prenatal education, and had the custom of "promoting birth". In terms of diet and nutrition, it emphasizes "sour children and spicy women" and "one person eats two meals", and attaches importance to meat soup, fried rice, vegetables and fruits. Folk pregnant women avoid eating rabbit meat, thinking that eating rabbit meat will give birth to a child with three mouths, namely rabbit lips. This statement has a wide range and a long history. Zhang Hua, a native of the Western Jin Dynasty, recorded in the Natural History that "pregnant women should not spit rabbit meat, and rabbits are invisible, which makes their sons lack lips." In addition, there are many customs of avoiding mouth for other pregnant women all over the country, mainly including:

You can't eat dog meat If you eat dog meat, children will love to bite people in the future, and they will also love to bite nipples when they are nursing. Don't eat ginger, or the baby will have six fingers; Don't eat sparrows (otherwise your children will be promiscuous when they grow up) and all the ugly things (your children will be cruel in the future); Avoid eating crabs, and let the born children not suck up foam and drool, saying that eating crabs makes the fetus dystocia. Folklore in Taiwan Province Province believes that children born after eating crabs scratch other people's hands and feet like crabs; Avoid eating ducks, thinking that eating ducks will make children shake their heads and feel sick; Avoid eating foods that "transform gas" such as dog meat. People think that "gas-changing" food will "tire" and be prone to miscarriage. In some places, pregnant women are not allowed to eat grapes for fear that the fetus will grow into a mole; You can't eat pig liver and chicken liver, otherwise it will lead to no milk or less milk after delivery, and so on.

In addition to all kinds of taboos and fasting during pregnancy, women also have all kinds of forbidden rules, that is, many items and things are not allowed to be seen, otherwise there will be deformity or dystocia. For example:

Pregnant women can't watch the parturient, otherwise it will be difficult to give birth in the future. This taboo has a scientific basis, because pregnant women can easily feel a kind of mental stress when they see the painful expression of their mothers and hear the cries of their mothers, which may lead to dystocia. Folk pregnant women in Taiwan Province Province avoid the eclipse and think that the children born after the eclipse are unhealthy, which is also out of the same kind of psychology. According to the folk custom in Huizhou, Anhui, pregnant women can't open their pants to dry during pregnancy, let alone hang them outside for the night. You can't watch funerals and bodies, and you can't watch windows and doors open when building walls; Can't look at the oven door, furnace hole, etc. When building the cooker.

In the old society, it was difficult for the people to give a complete scientific explanation for pregnant women's abortion, dystocia, giving birth to disabled children and deformed people, so they attached various superstitions to warn ordinary village women. In this way, in addition to fasting and not observing, there are also many rules and regulations in behavior. For example:

Huizhou, Guangdong Province prohibits pregnant women from approaching graves. It is believed that if the land god is polluted, the son born will be deformed. Avoid nailing a mouse hole at home, thinking that nailing a mouse hole during pregnancy will damage Liu Jia, and the baby born will be missing lips (rabbit lips), or will be blind and have no asshole. These are the consequences brought by people nailing a mouse hole. It is forbidden to nail anything (such as walls, doors, bedplates, utensils, etc.) in Hainan Qiongya maternity room. If this crime is committed, the children born in the future will be quadriplegic; Don't put the knife on the stove, because children must get the permission of the kitchen god bodhisattva when they are reborn, and if they are dissatisfied with the kitchen god after pregnancy, the kitchen god will give up the idea of having children, and many children will die or cause miscarriage. The popular taboos for pregnant women in Zhejiang include: not crossing the rope, thinking that the rope is like the umbilical cord of the fetus. You can't sit on the board with your ass full, otherwise the fetal position will fall back and form dystocia; You can't hug other people's children, saying that the children you have hugged will get sick, commonly known as "changing tires." It is the custom in Puning that pregnant women should not go to temples. It is believed that the gods are supreme, white and selfless, bless the people, and should be pious and respected. And conception is the crystallization of blasphemy and disrespect for the previous gods. In addition, there are other folk customs in various places, such as Sichuan's taboo to place scales (hunchbacks) on the side of the hall when new people worship, and pregnant women can't hang other objects (pointing at children) at the bedside. These taboos stipulate that pregnant women should be cautious in their words and deeds and give priority to prevention. In short, let pregnant women live in seclusion and be cautious, which is the "worry" after joy. These cautious rules and folk traditions will come to an end before the baby is born.

China had a certain understanding of prenatal education in ancient times. Traditional medicine stipulated that women should be happy during pregnancy and have prenatal education. "Complete Works of Women's Prescriptions" said: "After pregnancy, you must be strict in sitting, have a gentle temperament, always live in a quiet room, and listen to good words, so that people can talk and read poetry, be polite, talk about music, not turn a deaf ear to words and ignore evil things." There is a cloud in Zhengsu Fang: "Pregnant women should naturally be generous, and God should be full of peace. Giving birth is not only safe, but also gentle. It was also called prenatal education in ancient times. " Some poetic families even taught their daughters and daughters-in-law to "look at evil colors, listen to evil sounds and not speak evil words" during pregnancy, and implemented what the ancients called "prenatal education": pregnant women were required to sit up straight and listen to good words, and some people read poetry books and played rites and music for her. At the same time, don't wander around, don't quarrel with others, and don't engage in heavy labor.

Folk customs also attach great importance to women's health care during pregnancy, which is recorded in the "Ten Taboos before Birth" in "Fetal Care". After pregnancy, "the first thing is to avoid sleeping together, ... those who are good at abortion are more cautious ..." "Sheng Da" said: "After pregnancy, it is advisable to abstain from sex. If you disturb the uterus again, your fetus will miscarry in January, March and May. " Zhang proposed; "First avoid sexual intercourse after pregnancy. ..... moving and leaking, half-delivery, dystocia, and death. " It can be seen that this point has been paid great attention to in folk fertility customs. For example, in the suburbs of Shanghai, it used to be popular that when her daughter was pregnant, her mother's family would send her to bed. When a woman is pregnant for the first time after marriage, her family usually sends a single bed to her son-in-law about three months after pregnancy, which is called "sending a separate bed". It is suggested that husband and wife should live separately from now on, which is beneficial to the health of pregnant women and the development of the fetus. The custom of "delivering to bed" is limited to daughters who are pregnant for the first time and will not be repeated in the future.

In terms of fertility, folk customs also have many regulations. The so-called "delivery" mostly means that pregnant women's families intentionally send what the baby needs after birth, or send other things to entrust, hoping that their daughter will give birth quickly and naturally. "Dream of Liang Lu" says: "Hang Cheng is born with children. If a pregnant woman enters the month, her period is approaching. Uncle menstruation will put a bunch of millet stalks in a silver basin or colored basin, cover them with brocade or paper, cluster flowers, plant grass and cover them with paste. Five men and two women will sleep on the sheep and lie on the deer, and draw 120 duck eggs, meals, sheep, raw dates, millet and babies with colored pictures.

The month when a pregnant woman gives birth is called the big month. When the month comes, her parents will give gifts to show her birth. There are generally two kinds of birth ceremonies: clothing and food. Clothes: clothes, shoes, hats, bags, birthday bags and even diapers that the baby needs after birth; There are eggs, brown sugar, long noodles, longan, walnuts and so on. Because birth gifts are rich, you often have to carry the burden. In some places, it is simply called "birth burden". Birth ceremony varies with folk customs and rural conditions, and each place has its own characteristics. In Quanzhou, Fujian, pregnant women usually send eggs, noodles, chicken and other items to their husbands' families before giving birth, commonly known as "giving birth", hoping that their grandchildren will be born smoothly. According to the birth custom in Raoping, Guangdong, the day before labor, the bride's family should prepare several sets of clothes, shoes and hats and various snacks (such as wheat buns, zongzi and red eggs). ) give it to the newborn and send it to the husband's family. This is called "life". The husband's family collected clothes and most of the snacks, returned a small part, and distributed the snacks to relatives, friends and neighbors. In Dongguan, if a parturient encounters dystocia, her mother-in-law will invite a wizard to solve the problem for her daughter-in-law, which is an ancient custom. At that time, 12 duck eggs will be used to burn gold ingots and bells into the sky to protect pregnant women and their fetuses from being born, which is also called "giving birth". Jiangsu Gaoyou sent many ducks, and the duck fat was not laid at the birth ceremony, indicating that the daughter was born smoothly. When the daughter is in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, the mother will send meat to her daughter. The meat is about an inch square, cut correctly and fairly, cooked and sent. Locally, it is called "instant meat", thinking that women will give birth soon after eating it. In Hangzhou at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, pregnant women are about to give birth, and their parents want to give them gifts. Happy eggs, longan and swaddling clothes were sent. On the first day of the month when the expected date of delivery is coming, when sending someone to deliver the above items to the man's house, you should bring a sheng to blow into the door, and use the homonym "Sheng" to express the meaning of having a baby. There are also ten pairs of chopsticks painted red at the same time, or bamboo chopsticks dyed magenta, which are sent together to express the meaning of quick birth and quick maintenance. The folk custom in Huizhou, Anhui Province is that before giving birth, the mother's family should prepare a soft hat (commonly known as a "bed hat"), a frock (a little man's clothes tied with a rope without a collar or buttons), a wrapped skirt, saliva, small shoes and socks, diapers, red dates, brown sugar and eggs for the newborn baby, and send them to the husband's family on the first or fifteenth day of each month, commonly known as "giving birth". According to the custom, when giving birth to a child, you still need an umbrella to cover the sky on the road, and you can't say a word. It is said that clothes are "born" and are protected by gods, so for the sake of health and good luck, it is not allowed to disturb the gods. According to Shanxi folk regulations, married daughters are absolutely not allowed to have children in their parents' homes. Before labor, in rural areas, the mother's family visited the pregnant women in labor with gifts and food, which is often called "labor". "Giving birth to a child" in rural Shanxi is not limited to the mother's family, but also includes other relatives of her family. Gifts are usually eggs, red dates, brown sugar and the like.

Be pregnant in October and give birth once. When the baby is born, it is commonly known as "Tian Xi", also known as "labor" and "landing". In ancient times, most people gave birth at home, and "midwives" delivered babies at home. When delivering a baby, you need to get rid of other people, and at the same time, you should open all the doors and cabinets, which means "loose the door" and pray for a smooth delivery. Because there is no midwifery technology and equipment, there is no choice but to burn incense and kowtow to wait for death when encountering dystocia.

After China entered the patriarchal society in ancient times, people paid special attention to carrying on the family line. Newborn babies are welcomed by two different eyes when they come to this world because of gender differences. When Lin Yutang talked about "the subordinate position of women" in China People, he quoted two sentences from The Book of Songs Xiaoya Four Cadres: "People are born, sleep in bed, dress and dress, and play"; It's a girl, a place to sleep, a place to dress, and a tile to play with. Therefore, later generations called having boys and girls "Nongzhang playing with tiles". Zhang, that is, is a kind of treasure jade. In the Spring and Autumn Period, when heroes appeared in front of the prince, they held it in their hands and made a baby boy hope that he would become an official when he grew up. Tiles are spindles used by ancient women in textile. It means to raise a baby girl from an early age and be diligent in spinning. There is also a custom in the pre-Qin period: when a newborn is born, if it is a boy, it is necessary to hang a wooden bow on the left side of the door to symbolize the masculinity of men; If it is a girl, hang a handkerchief on the right side of the door to symbolize the feminine virtue of a woman. In the old days, male students in Quanzhou, Fujian, immediately went to the ancestral temple to set off firecrackers, and some even set off firecrackers to report good news to their ancestors. Throwing a "dirt knot" (a kind of mud block for building) at home or in the yard is intended to pray for children to grow up bravely in the future. Giving birth to a girl lacks such a warm atmosphere, and the gifts she gives are different. Relatives and friends usually only send eggs, not noodles, so as not to be suspected of having girls in succession. In some places, even in the Qing Dynasty, there was a bad habit of drowning baby girls. Shanxi folks call the birth of a boy "great joy", also known as "amusement"; The birth of a daughter is called "little Xi", which is also called "amusing". After having a boy, some families will write "Funny Joy" on the lintel with big red cloth at the gate, so as to convey information to the outside world and shine brilliantly. After a pregnant woman gives birth safely in Qingdao, Shandong Province, the first thing to do when she goes home is to "pick the red", that is, hang a red cloth on the gate to announce the safe birth of a neighbor's child. Lacey and other places have to hang a peach branch on their home. Onions, dates and chestnuts are tied to peach branches with red lines, which means that children will have a bright future and start a family (chestnut) and start a business (jujube) as soon as possible. "Picking the red" actually played a good news role. After seeing "picking the red", neighbors take the initiative to congratulate pregnant women, commonly known as "seeing the happy" and "sending Tommy", and the gifts are mostly eggs and brown sugar.

There are also customs and regulations on the treatment of fetal membranes after birth. For example, the custom in Changsha, Hunan Province is that the placenta should be buried in a clay pot on a nearby mountain after delivery, which means that the blood of parents and the land in their hometown will never be separated. You can't turn back after delivering the afterbirth, or you will pour milk. According to the folk custom in the suburb of Taiyuan, Shanxi, the placenta should be buried in a secluded place, and it should not be thrown around, let alone eaten by animals. After the umbilical cord was cut during childbirth, in the old society with backward sanitary conditions, people often stuffed some sheep dung on their navel. At the same time, women are often given a little urine and a few doses of biochemical soup prepared by traditional Chinese medicine.

After the baby is born, people should be sent to the maternal home to "report the birth", and the family should send eggs, noodles, chickens and other gifts again to celebrate and let the maternal make up for the body. People who give good news are different according to local customs. Generally, the mother's husband and the newborn's father personally report the good news, and the gifts they carry with them have their own characteristics. In Huizhou, Anhui Province, after the baby landed smoothly, the male family should prepare water wine and red eggs and send them to the grandmother's house to report the good news. The rice wine is full, the spout is male and the handle is female. Every household in the family is divided into four or eight or twelve duck eggs, and even the eggs are not allowed, and even the eggs must be folded in half. The custom in Yixian County is to keep silent when giving birth to a daughter and give birth to a boy. They often set off firecrackers, burn incense to worship their ancestors, dye eggs red, and fill out a red form, which men send to Yue's family to report good news and accept congratulations from relatives and neighbors. The baby's father took a rooster, a pot of wine and a basket of eggs to his mother-in-law's house to report good news, which is a custom in Hunan. If it is a boy, put a red flower in the spout, and if it is a girl, write a word "hi" on the kettle body. The Yue family immediately prepared a banquet for their son-in-law and neighbors. The custom in Changsha is that boys match cocks and girls match hens. The Yue family knows that they have a man and a woman without asking. In Hakka area of Guangdong, two bottles of yellow wine were given to male students, and a rooster, seven red eggs and a hen were given to female students. Grandmother and uncle know whether the baby is male or female when they see the gift, and the gift in return is called "Kaisheng". In Penglai, Shandong, boys bring roosters to report good news, while girls use hens to report good news; Zouxian used a book to give good news to boys and a flower to give good news to girls. The custom in Gaoping, Shanxi Province is that the son-in-law will go to his father-in-law's house to report the good news on the day the child is born. Generally, you have to take a bus and hold a hi pot in your left hand. There are peach branches and mugwort leaves in the pot; Holding a chicken in the right hand, giving birth to a male red rooster and a female colored hen; Tie a small piece of red cloth on the chicken leg. In Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, the old method not only gave birth to the mother's family, but also gave the baby Sanhuang decoction (rhubarb, coptis root and astragalus root decocted together) the next day to remove blood stasis, intestinal fever and fetal poison.

After the baby was born, the old folk customs in most parts of China have many similarities. To sum up, there are roughly the following procedures:

Wash three dynasties

In ancient China, it was said that only three days after a child was born could his or her family hug him or her. If it is a boy, a ceremony will be held to shoot "The Four Corners of Heaven and Earth", which indicates that the boy will take the matter of heaven and earth as his own responsibility. Three months after the baby is born, he will choose an auspicious day to get a haircut. At the same time, the father named the child (baby name). Most of the rituals and customs before and after the birth of newborns in later generations were born out of the etiquette in the pre-Qin period. But there are also many additions and deletions. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, from the imperial court to the people, the custom of washing children for three days was widely popular in all walks of life. In the 14th year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (AD 726), Li Yu, the son of Guo, the wife of the Crown Prince, came to take a bath on the 3rd, and Xuanzong personally gave him a golden basin to take a bath. The newborn looked "fragile", so the nanny changed a strong child to pretend to be the grandson of the emperor. I didn't expect Xuanzong to see at a glance that it was not the dragon grandson. So he brought his true grandson, and Xuanzong was overjoyed. "Look at the sun and say,' Bless his father'. When the emperor came back, he left all the banquet utensils. Gu Lishi said:' You can drink with the prince. It's fun to see three emperors in one day! "My favorite Wang Mao's wife, Li, gave birth to a baby for three days. Xuanzong ordered Gao Lishi to give him wine and gold silks, and ordered his son to be a five-product officer. There is also a famous story about washing children. On the first day of the first month of the tenth year of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (AD 75 1 year), he celebrated his birthday in An Lushan, and Xuanzong and Yang Guifei gave many gifts. " In the next three days, the imperial concubine lengthened Lushan Mountain with embroidery, which dazzled her wife, made her colorful and cheered. Xuanzong asked someone to ask him, and reported,' The imperial concubine and Lushan washed their children for three days, and then they reached Lushan again to laugh. Xuanzong saw it and was very happy. He was very happy because he gave the imperial concubine gold, silver and money to wash her children. Wang Jian's "Gong Ci" also describes the birth of concubines in the courtyard and the wife begging for money to wash the children. The so-called "money laundering" should be similar to the "throwing money" used at weddings and it is also a special kind of happy money. In the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi celebrated the poem of Hongmo's grandson washing his children, saying, "Jade buds and pearls are the villain, and Luo Jianlan's soup bath is exhausted." Also known as: "There is a mulberry arc hanging on the door of the bridal chamber, and Feng Chu is bathed in a perfume basin. It is also like being born for three days, and the full moon becomes a pearl. " The "blue soup" and "fragrant soup" mentioned in the poem all show that bathing children is not with clear water. Sun Simiao said, "It is advisable to take a bath with peach root soup when a child is three days old.". Taogen Decoction is made of Taogen, Li Gen and Megan. It can be decocted with water for 20 times to remove me, which can "remove bad omen and make the child scabies free for life". It can provide reference for understanding the custom of washing children in dog days. In the Song Dynasty, it was popular to hold a ceremony of "throwing and baking umbilical cord" for babies three days after delivery, which was called "three washes", which meant that newborns completely left the fetal period and formally embarked on the journey of life. There is also a folk custom. When washing the Three Dynasties, please ask grandma to send happy eggs, perfect fruits, dried noodles and sweet cakes, and give the baby a delicious soup for "washing three times", chanting "Long flowing water, long flowing water, clever drama" and "Wash your hair first, be a prince, then wash the ditch and be a judge".

There is a custom of washing the Three Dynasties all over China, and the general practice is similar. Bathing the baby, giving banquets to neighbors, relatives and friends, eating noodles and drinking wedding banquets are just different names. For example, Qingdao, Shandong Province is called "Three Dynasties", Huizhou, Anhui Province, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province and other places are called "Making Three Dynasties", and Changsha, Hunan Province, besides "Washing Three Dynasties", there is also "Worship Three Dynasties" (in the third day, the elder women made mugwort leaves, maple balls, eggs and other soups to bathe the baby, which is called. After washing, roll eggs for the baby, dispel wind and bless health. Dress the baby in new clothes, hold it by grandma or other elders, cover the baby with a sieve, connect scissors, abacus, etc. On the sieve, everyone will gather around, or knock on a split bamboo stick with their hands-driving a chicken stick, or holding a pestle to worship their ancestors in front of the shrine in the main hall) and "swim three times" (after worship, swim around the main hall and alley, which is said to prevent "umbilical wind"

name

In the long history of the Chinese nation, the custom of naming has evolved for thousands of years. But in fact, no matter ancient or modern, there are no very strict rules about naming time. According to Xu Shen, a famous scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "A name, a name, comes from the mouth. At night, if you don't meet, just pretend. " The name is a symbol of the representative, but also a symbol of the title. Names are not necessarily related to people, but because they are code names of people, people are related to names. Therefore, the quality of children's names is very important. It is generally believed that names have a lot to do with people's fate.

According to the custom of China people, people's names can be divided into two categories: nicknames and official names. In Qingdao, Shandong Province, naming children is also a part of the "dog days". Most of the birth names (nicknames) are given by grandparents, parents and other elders in advance. On this day, it is announced to friends and relatives that teachers or educated people should have a formal name when they enter school. In Huizhou, Anhui Province, children are generally named in the "Three Dynasties", but also at any time, generally sooner rather than later. Liuyang, Hunan Province also had the custom of sending numbers in the Three Dynasties. Neighbors and relatives wrote the designated baby boy's personality, school and name on red paper in regular script. In the sound of firecrackers, congratulations such as "Gong Wei and his wife are happy with Wen Lang Zhiqing" or "Gong Wei and his boss are happy with Sun Wen Zhiqing" were posted on the walls at both ends of the main beam of the hall. Due to the different conditions of houses, people and so on, some people send several numbers at the same time. Before the Qing Dynasty, baby girls were not given names. After the Republic of China, baby girls were given numbers, but only one name was given, usually "boudoir". In Wuxi, Jiangsu, children are given eight-character names according to which of the five elements (gold, wood, water, fire and earth) is missing. Generally named after the missing radical. If there is a shortage of gold, it is named after gold or a word with gold as the radical. The lack of wood is named after the word "forest" and "root" with wood as the radical. According to the old custom of Hakka people in Guangdong, when naming a name, someone will treat you, and someone will write it on red paper and stick it in the ancestral hall to report to the ancestors that there is another man. Women don't have to report it. The naming ceremony is usually held on the day of celebrating the full moon or the first birthday. Ask the patriarch or a prestigious person to name it. This is called giving a name to show respect for the namer. In Raoping area, seven days after the baby was born, parents, heads of families or other elders named the newborn and wrote their initials on the red paper of the ancestral hall. According to the ancient custom in Quanzhou, Fujian, babies are named by their parents three months after birth, which is mostly based on the father's opinion, and grandpa or elders in the village and prestigious people in the clan are also invited to name them.

Sit for a month.

After the mother gave birth to the child, she began a month-long life called "confinement".

The traditional folk practice of confinement in the north is: you are not allowed to get out of bed for three days, you are not allowed to leave the house for one month, you are not allowed to go to the streets, and you are only allowed to eat and live indoors. During the confinement period, it is mainly to take care of the health of the mother and the baby, and to be afraid of the moon disease. There are many taboos in this way, such as eating in moderation, especially not eating too much, which will hurt the spleen and stomach and make it a lifelong symptom. In the north, pregnant women mostly eat millet porridge, eggs, dried noodles and noodles, and rarely eat rice and other foods. It is forbidden for lying-in women to talk more for fear of tongue disease; It is forbidden for pregnant women to go to work for fear of overwork; It is forbidden for lying-in women to wash their hands with cold water for fear of damaging their joints. At the same time, strangers are forbidden to enter the maternal and child room. The stranger entered the room, afraid of "stepping on death" and making him sick. In the delivery room, you are generally not allowed to enter your own family. Only the mother, mother-in-law, husband and other people who take care of the mother are allowed to enter, and even the mother's father and father-in-law can't meet before the mother's full term. There are many maternal customs among the people, aiming at the health and safety of babies and mothers.

In southern China, there is also the custom of "confinement" among the people. For example, according to the old custom in Hanshan area of Anhui province, the parturient usually has to rest for one month after delivery, during which the family prepares nutritious food such as old hen and pork to let the parturient recover. In Wuxi, Jiangsu, it is stipulated that pregnant women from the Three Dynasties to the full moon will be pregnant for two months, and relatives and friends will send chickens, fish, meat, eggs, walnuts, sesame seeds and snow cake. For pregnant women. Sending clothes, shoes and hats to children is called "sending Geng", and the time for sending Geng cannot exceed the full moon. The custom in Quanzhou, Fujian Province is that one month after the baby is born is the period of maternal aftercare, commonly known as "in the second month". Stay in bed, eat more nutritious food to restore physical strength, and ensure that your baby has enough milk. That's the delivery room, and outsiders are generally not allowed in. The old custom in Zigong, Sichuan Province is that after giving birth, a woman should lock the door to prevent others from taking away the milk, and pregnant women should not go out before the full moon.

In ancient China, there was a peculiar custom of "paying for childbirth", which was also a form of confinement. According to "Tai Ping Guang Ji", "If you have a wife in the south, you must have children. Her husband lies on the mattress and eats like a nurse. If she is not taken care of, her pregnant woman will get sick. His wife is not bitter, and cooking is easy. " What's more vulgar is that his wife or son took a bath in the stream three days later. When I came back, I married my husband and sat on the couch with my baby in my arms. This is called the birth of Weng. " Amazingly, it is the maternal husband who is confinement.

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