Not just Ghost Festival, July 15th
On the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, Taoism is called the Zhongyuan Festival, Buddhism is called the Yulan Bon Festival, and the folk are commonly called the Ghost Festival and the half of July. Although this festival has a strong color of Taoism and Buddhism, the original source of Zhongyuan Festival has a profound imprint of Confucianism.
The legend about the origin of the Zhongyuan Festival Festival probably originated from a festival of ancestor worship. Dong Zhongshu of the Western Han Dynasty's "Spring and Autumn Flourishing Dews": "The ancient people sacrificed four years ago... Spring said Temple, Summer said Temple, Autumn said Taste, Winter said Steam... Taste the millet and millet in July." When the crops were ripe in the Lunar New Year, the ancient people presented the newly harvested fruits and vegetables, millet and millet and other grains, called "Autumn Taste", also called "Recommend New", "Taste New", that is, autumn meant to let the ancestors taste new.
The original time for "Autumn Taste" ancestor worship was not necessarily on July 15th, but it was later fixed on this day due to the intervention of Buddhism and Taoism.
According to the Buddha's Sutra of the Ulan Bona, the Ulan Bona is the Pali language. The meaning of "yulan bowl" is to save "objects hanging upside down in pain". Later, "yulan bowl" evolved into filling a bowl with the five fruits of the hundred flavors, offering to Buddha and monks to save suffering beings who enter hell.
During this Buddhist festival, most people make pots for collective worship in temples. After the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, this festival became widely popular with the popularization of Buddhism.
Almost at the same time, Taoism also named the 15th day of the seventh lunar month as the festival "Zhongyuan". In the Taoist world, the basic elements that make up all things in the world are the three elements of heaven, earth, and water. The gods who formed Taoist beliefs are the "three officials" of heaven, earth, and water, respectively in charge of blessings, forgiveness, and relief. Their birthdays are on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, and the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month.
Blessed by the Heavenly Officials of the Upper Yuan Dynasty, pardoned by the Earthly Officials of the Middle Yuan Dynasty, and relieved by the Water Officials of the Lower Yuan Dynasty. According to the "Record of Practice", "On the first day of the seventh month, the local officials descended to determine the good and evil of the human world. As a result, Taoist priests recited scriptures day and night, and hungry ghosts and prisoners were also liberated." Ancestors who had passed away would return to the human world on the first day of the seventh month to visit their descendants, and other lonely souls and wild ghosts would also come out to cause trouble. Zhongyuan Festival is called "Ghost Festival", which is exactly the result.
In order to avoid accidents, people should offer sacrifices to their ancestors and burn paper money on Zhongyuan Festival, which not only expresses filial piety, but also gives some comfort to the ghosts and souls, in exchange for peace in human life. The belief of Taoist local officials in forgiving crimes has evolved into a festival custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors and filial piety on Zhongyuan Festival Festival.
Zhongyuan Festival is the epitome of the confluence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. This process started from the Wei and Jin Dynasties and reached its peak in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. There was a strange scene of the coexistence of Confucianism, Buddhism, Yulan and Taoism.
The "Tang Huiyao" records: "On the 13th day of the fourth year of the Dali era, an edict was issued: one day before and one day after the 15th day of the seventh month, it is advisable to follow the old practice of taking a vacation." On the 15th day of the seventh month, there are three days of vacation, which is the day of the Yulan Festival, and the court's emphasis on this festival is evident.
The numerous records left by historical records also prove that this section was widely implemented among the people in the late Tang Dynasty. As stated in Chen Yuanchu's "Remembering Chang'an in July": "Embroidered hubs and golden saddles are infinite, and visitors return late everywhere." The poem describes the scene of festive revelry, with a constant flow of cars and horses, bustling and bustling, to the point where visitors return late. After the Tang Dynasty, the religious color of this festival gradually faded, moving from religion to folk customs, and the festival color approached the Qingming Festival.
