It is also the carrier of order, Xuelin’s essays｜Festivals are the product of order
Festivals are the product of order and the carrier of order.
Starting from the early years of Qianlong's reign, the Qing court would perform moon-order-response dramas during every festival, such as Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Shuo Shuo, Winter Solstice, December Day, Kitchen Sacrifice, New Year's Eve, etc. On the one hand, it reflects festival customs, entertains gods and people, and heightens the festival atmosphere; on the other hand, it cooperates with the implementation of government orders, educates subjects, and embodies the will of the country.
However, if you continue to act according to the seasons, you will inevitably fall into the conflict between the old order and the new environment.
During the Zhenyuan period, Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty went hunting in late autumn and felt very cold. He wanted to advance the time for changing clothes stipulated in the "Moon Order", so he discussed with the accompanying ministers: "The clothes in September and the robes in February are not suitable for the time. I want to hand them over." How about moving for a month?" Everyone felt the same and expressed their gratitude. The next day, Dezong ordered Hanlin to prepare an edict and change the order, "when the saint can obey the heaven, he will do all the physical things." Unexpectedly, Li Xiangcheng, a bachelor, vetoed the vote and insisted in a memorial: "I would like to follow the "Moon Order" and start Qiu in October. The "Moon Order" was deleted by Emperor Xuanzong and cannot be changed." The ancestral system is immutable and has always been " Dezong, who believed deeply in etiquette and law, had no choice but to give up.
Since the Tianbao period, the climate has shown signs of cooling, causing great damage to agricultural production and social order. In the fourth year of Tianbao, "in August... there were floods in the eight counties of Suiyang, Huaiyang, and Qiao in Henan"; in the twelfth year of Tianbao, "in August, there was a heavy rain in the capital, and rice was expensive"; in the thirteenth year of Tianbao, "it was autumn, and there was a heavy rain." After more than sixty days, all the buildings in the capital were in ruins, prices were skyrocketing, and there were too many people without food."
During this period, there were 28 floods, 42 droughts, and 10 locust plagues in the Guanzhong region. The hunger and cold caused by irregular winds and rains, and the people's livelihood, coupled with the severe war damage caused by the Anshi Rebellion, eventually dragged the Tang Dynasty towards the fate of decline.
Awe and respect for order are essential for the normal functioning of society. This does not mean sticking to the old rules and not changing the past. Being paranoid about either end of the natural laws and social laws will lead to the danger of system imbalance. Confucius said that the road is not far away. The laws of heaven and human relations should not be a "choose one" question.
Chen Yuanliang of the Song Dynasty recorded a festival that is rarely known today in "Sui Shi Guang Ji": "In the first month of the fourth year of Xiangfu, the imperial edict designated June 6 as the day when the heavenly book was released again as the Tiankuang Festival. Slaughter was banned in Beijing for nine days, and the edict All roads are prohibited." Such a festival, which was created by the emperor's edict, the state's endorsement, and the official establishment, was of noble origin, but it soon disappeared into the world.
In contrast, the folk customs of June 6th Festival have gradually become more lively and lively, and have derived from serving glutinous rice, harvesting melon stems, making god noodles, frying glutinous rice cakes, brewing rice vinegar, returning to one's parents' home, offering sacrifices to ancestors, enjoying summer feasts, etc. Suning clothes and books has become a traditional festival full of fireworks.
Just as the expression and inheritance of genes are affected by the environment, the content and form of vital festivals will also vary according to local conditions and people. On June 6th, it is popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas to eat wild purslane in the fields, thinking it can relieve the epidemic. The wheat in the Jiaodong Peninsula is ripe, and people use the newly harvested wheat to make various kinds of pasta, which is called trying new things. The custom in Rushan and other places is that every household steams rabbit noodles to celebrate the birthday of the rabbit, which reflects the local hare problem. and the resulting belief in the Rabbit God.
In the process of population migration, ethnic exchanges and integration, and cultural inheritance and innovation, the festivals and customs of various places and ethnic groups have gradually formed the characteristics of prominent commonalities, distinct personalities, each having its own beauty, and sharing the beauty and beauty, creating a pot of unique and all-encompassing Chinese culture. Cultural "Nine Palaces" Feast.
"When heaven is up, physics is down." This can also be seen from the changes in the customs of drying clothes and books.
According to the records in "Shishuo Xinyu" written by Liu Yiqing of the Southern Song Dynasty, on July 7th, people in Beiruan were drying clothes, all gauze and brocade. Ruan Xian, who lived in poverty in Nanruan, had nothing to dry in the sun, so he "hanged a big cloth robe on a pole in the courtyard." Others asked him why he hung out a pair of coarse shorts that couldn't fit on the countertop and became an eyesore. Ruan Xian replied: "I can't avoid the vulgarity, so I'll talk about it."
What is also interesting is that Hao Long, a famous scholar in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, "lyed on his back in the middle of the sun on July 7" because he could not be reused. When people asked why, they replied: "I posted books." On July 7th, celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties showed off their demeanor and revealed the truth about their "life experiences" that the custom of posting things originated from July 7th.
It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the custom of drying clothes and objects on June 6 was written down. The "Scenery of the Imperial Capital" written by Liu Tong and Yu Yizheng of the Ming Dynasty recorded: "On June 6th, the people were drying their clothes in the sun. The old Confucians broke their books, and the poor girls broke their clothes. They kept working hard in the sun, and they harvested it in the morning." Qing Dynasty Fucha Dunchong's "Records of the Years of Yanjing" records: "On June 6th, the capital will dry clothes and books, saying that there will be no insects." Pan Yijun, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, also wrote a poem "Drying Books on June 6th": "Three days of winter Take advantage of the joy of the morning and relax in the courtyard."
After the customs of drying clothes and books were stripped away, July 7th immediately became the Qiqiao Festival, while the Suning Festival "drifted" to June 6th and took root and settled on June 6th, thus the custom of "June 6th, sun-drying red and green" .
A reasonable explanation is that the climate began to cool down in the Tang Dynasty, causing the high temperatures in summer to move forward; until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, June 6th was obviously more suitable for drying clothes, books, etc. than July 7th.
Grafting the Festival from July 7 to June 6, and taking full advantage of the time and place on this day, the value of June 6 to production and life can be brought into full play, and this festival can be celebrated in full swing according to the needs of the people. Vibrant and vigorous, it is the real "when the heavens go up, the physics goes down". As the saying goes, the road is never far away, and this is why.
With the blessing of order, festival customs have a backbone that can withstand the impact of changes in the sun, moon, and dynasties; with the inheritance and evolution of ritualized customs, the order carried by festivals—especially the ethical principles—can also be As a result, the social structure remains strong and stable.
