Yang Cibin: What is the origin of China traditional culture Mid-Autumn Festival?

Mid-Autumn Festival Mid-Autumn Festival, the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, is one of the traditional festivals in China. There are many theories about the origin of this festival, and there are also many legends and traditions about this day. Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the four traditional festivals of the Han nationality in China. Since 2008, Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20th, 2006, the festival was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

August 15th of the lunar calendar is a traditional festival in China-Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Dragon Boat Festival are the four traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was first seen in Hanfu Mid-Autumn Festival.

Rites of Zhou. According to historical records, the festival that the ancient emperors sacrificed to the moon was the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which happened to be half that of Sanqiu, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival". Because this festival is in August in autumn, it is also called Autumn Festival, August Festival, August Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. There are also beliefs and related custom activities that pray for reunion, so they are also called "Reunion Festival" and "Daughter's Day". Because the main activities of Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the moon, it is also commonly known as "Moon Festival", "Moon Festival" and "Moon Worship Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "correcting the moon". The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. About the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival, there are roughly three kinds: it originated from the worship of the moon in ancient times, the custom of singing and dancing under the moon to find a spouse, and the custom of paying homage to the land god in ancient autumn. In order to inherit national culture and enhance national cohesion, Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday in the State Council since 2008. The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20th, 2006, the festival was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Edit the origin of this festival

The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in Zhou Li. According to the ancient calendar of China, the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is in the middle of August in autumn, so the legend of Chang 'e.

It's called Mid-Autumn Festival. There are four seasons in a year, and each season is divided into three parts: Bangladesh, China and Kyrgyzstan. Therefore, the second month of the Mid-Autumn Festival is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that it became a fixed festival. The Book of the New Tang Dynasty (Volume XV) and Records of Rites and Music contain "Spring and Autumn Period in Wang Wenxuan and Wang Wucheng", and "In the 19th year of Kaiyuan, Taigong Fu Shang Temple was set up, with Sean in Liu Hou as its partner. In the Mid-Spring and Mid-Autumn Festival, there are sacrifices, and the system of sacrificial music is like a text. " Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Reunion Festival and August Festival, is the second largest traditional festival after the Spring Festival. The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Edit this Mid-Autumn Moon Cake

Moon cake is the first food in Mid-Autumn Festival, and there are different opinions about its origin. A talk about Mid-Autumn moon cakes in Jiangsu at the end of Yuan Dynasty.

Zhang Shicheng, the leader of Taizhou Anti-Yuan Uprising (or Liu Bowen, the counselor of Zhu Yuanzhang), took advantage of the crowded Mid-Autumn Festival to give each other round cakes, which contained a note of "Killing Tartars on the night of August 15th". Everyone saw the note in the cake, just like a "Tatar" (Yuan Bing) who personally committed various crimes that night. Afterwards, everyone ate cakes to celebrate the victory of the uprising, and officially called the round cakes of the Mid-Autumn Festival moon cakes. In a long historical period, even at the end of the last century, many moon cakes were still affixed with a small note! Unfortunately, the moon cakes produced in recent years have disappeared, and the "cultural code" passed down from generation to generation in moon cakes has also disappeared. There is also a saying that in the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da captured Beijing, the capital occupied by the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, and the good news spread to Nanjing, the capital. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Taizu who was playing chess, was ecstatic, that is, he announced that the Mid-Autumn Festival would be celebrated all over the world and rewarded his subjects with moon cakes that conveyed information during the anti-Yuan uprising. Since then, moon cakes have become the "legal" food for Mid-Autumn Festival, and must be eaten [1]. During the Republic of China, the moon cake market in Nanjing was a "three-point world" with Guangdong style, Soviet style and local style. Cantonese fillings are mainly ham, jujube paste and coconut paste, with Guanshengyuan as the leading manufacturer, followed by Dasanyuan and Kangleyuan. They used massive advertising as a means to publish huge advertisements in newspapers and decorate neon lights in windows. The famous Suzhou-Hong Kong manufacturers include Xiao Suzhou, Taiping Village and Daoxiang Village. The advertising production has the characteristics of Shanghai style and likes to engage in gimmicks. The quality of Soviet-style moon cakes is not worse than that of Guangbang, but the price is cheaper. Therefore, after the holiday, financial resources are better than Guangbang. Guangbang's customers are dignitaries and businessmen; Su Gang's customers are mostly well-off families; The general public is happy to join this gang. Although its fillings are only two kinds of meat, five kernels and plain salt and pepper, more than 100 dim sum shops in the city are old brands. They don't decorate the window, let alone advertise, but they all win customers by quality, honesty and low price, and their market share is worse than that of Guangbang and Su Bang.

Edit this holiday custom

Mid-Autumn Festival

This is a very old custom in our country. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of offering sacrifices to the sun at the vernal equinox, to the earth at the summer solstice, to the moon at the autumnal equinox, and to heaven at the winter solstice. Its places of worship are called Ritan, Ditan, Yuetan and Tiantan. It is located in four directions: southeast and northwest. The Moon Altar in Beijing is the place where emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties offered sacrifices to the moon. The Book of Rites records: "The son of heaven is sunny in spring and autumn is in the evening. The DPRK, the evening of the moon. " The moon here refers to offering sacrifices to the moon at night. This custom is not only pursued by the imperial court and the upper nobility, but also gradually affects the people with the development of society.

Scholars admire the moon

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. Folk Mid-Autumn Festival began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but it did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. In the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival centered on appreciating the moon was formed and officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Different from the Tang people, the Song people appreciate the moon more because they feel hurt by things, and often use the lack of rain or shine as a metaphor for human affairs. Even on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the bright moon can't hide the sadness of Song people. But for the Song people, there is another form of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a secular and joyful festival: "Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, shops sold new wine, and you decorated pavilions, and people competed for restaurants to play with the moon, listening to songs for thousands of miles, and playing until dawn" (Tokyo Dream China). The Mid-Autumn Festival in the Song Dynasty was a sleepless night. The night market is open all night, and there are endless tourists playing with the moon. Yue Bai

Folk Yue Bai

According to legend, the ugly women in ancient Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was very devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not loved. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her queen, and Yue Bai came from the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for its beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wants to be "like Chang 'e and have a bright moon". After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the relationship of the times, the practical utilitarian factors in social life were prominent, and the secular flavor of Japan and China was rich. The lyrical and mythical literati tradition centered on "enjoying the moon" has weakened, and utilitarian worship, prayer and secular feelings and wishes constitute the main forms of Mid-Autumn Festival customs for ordinary people. Therefore, "folk Yue Bai" has become people's yearning for reunion, entertainment and happiness; Send love by the month. In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. Put a big incense table, with offerings such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same.

Moonlight horse

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the image of Luna changed greatly, from the Taoist Moon Palace with Chang 'e as the main image in the early days to the secular image of Moonlight Bodhisattva and Jade Rabbit. During this period, people presented moonlight paper painted with a moonlight bodhisattva, also called "moonlight horse". Yanjing Time by Fu Cha Deng Chong (1996). Records: "Riding a horse in the moonlight, with paper as its object, is painted on the Taiyin Star King, such as the Bodhisattva statue, painted on the Moon Palace, and rabbits play medicine. People stand up and hold the pestle, the algae are exquisite and resplendent, and they sell much in the market. Seven or eight feet old and two or three feet short, with two flags on the top, red, green, basket and yellow, all dedicated to the moon. Burn incense and salute, and burn thousands of ingots. "

Rabbit-headed clay figurine

Male prostitutes originated in the late Ming Dynasty. Amin Jikun (born around 1636) wrote in "The Legacy of Kaoting": "The Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing is mostly in the shape of a mud rabbit, posing as a human being, and is worshipped by children." By the Qing dynasty, the function of male prostitutes had changed from offering sacrifices to the moon to children's Mid-Autumn Festival toys. It is becoming more and more exquisite, some dressed as military commanders in armor robes, some with paper flags or umbrellas on their backs, or sitting or standing. Sit down, there are Kirin, tiger leopard and so on. There are also vendors dressed as rabbit heads, or shaving masters, or sewing shoes, selling wonton and tea soup. "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, smart people in the city make a toad and rabbit statue out of loess to sell, called a prostitute." In the old society, there were often male prostitutes' stalls around Dongsipailou, selling male prostitutes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, Nanzhi Store and incense sticks are also available for sale. This male prostitute has been personalized through the bold creation of folk artists. That's a rabbit's head with a jade pestle. Later, some people shaped male prostitutes into warriors wearing golden helmets and shining armor, some riding animals such as lions and elephants, and some riding birds such as peacocks and cranes. It is a strange thing for male prostitutes to ride a tiger, but it is a bold creation of folk artists. There is also a male prostitute whose elbows and jaws can move, commonly known as "scratching", which is more pleasing. Although it is provided by Yue Bai, it is really a wonderful toy for children. On the streets of Beijing decades ago, old Beijing, who was over 60 years old, can still remember it. After July 15, the stall of male prostitutes was put out. There are male prostitute stalls everywhere, big and small, high and low, and they are very lively.

Mid-Autumn Festival banquet custom

In ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet custom of Han people was the most elegant in the court. For example, eating crabs was very popular in the court of the Ming Dynasty. After steaming the crabs with cattail, everyone sat around and tasted them, served with wine and vinegar. Drink Su Ye Tang after eating and wash your hands with it. The banquet table was filled with flowers, pomegranates and other fashionable things, and the Mid-Autumn Festival drama was staged. In the Qing Palace, a courtyard placed a screen to the east, with cockscomb flowers, soybean crafts, taro, peanuts, radishes and fresh lotus roots on both sides of the screen. There is a square table in front of the screen, with an extra-large moon cake on it, surrounded by cakes and fruits. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes are cut into several pieces according to the royal population, and each person symbolically tastes them, which is called "eating reunion cakes". The size of moon cakes in Qing Palace is unimaginable. For example, the moon cake given by the last emperor Puyi to Ying Shao, Minister of the Interior, was "about two feet in diameter and weighed about twenty pounds".

Play with lanterns