In rural areas of Zhejiang, "Qijia porridge" is a must-eat at the beginning of summer, also called "Qijia tea". Qijia porridge is made by collecting rice from neighboring families, adding various beans and brown sugar, and cooking it into a big pot of porridge for everyone to share. For Qijia Tea, each family brings their newly roasted tea leaves, mixes them, cooks or brews them into a large pot of tea, and then everyone gathers together to drink it.
There is a proverb in Suzhou that "the beginning of summer sees three new things". "Three new" refers to newly ripe cherries, green plums and wheat. At the same time, people in Suzhou eat sea clams, gluten, white bamboo shoots, shepherd's purse, salted duck eggs, and green broad beans. On the day of the Beginning of Summer, various hotels offer wine and shochu to old customers who enter the store for free, so the Beginning of Summer is also called the Beginning of Summer. "Feed Festival".
Wuxi folk have always had the custom of "tasting three delicacies at the beginning of summer". The three delicacies are divided into three delicacies: ground delicacies, tree delicacies, and water delicacies. The three delicacies of earth are broad beans, amaranth, and cucumber; the three delicacies of trees are cherries, loquats, and apricots; the three delicacies of water are jellyfish, pufferfish, and anchovies.
Hangzhou has a custom of eating "Wild Summer Rice" on the Beginning of Summer. On that day, children gathered in groups to beg rice and meat from neighboring families. Then go to the wild fields to collect wild vegetables and bamboo shoots, set up a stove with stones, cook it yourself and eat it for free, which is called "wild summer rice" or "beginning of summer rice". This custom is to compare yourself to a beggar, thinking that you can avoid disaster. After finishing the Beginning of Summer meal, the adults brought baskets and large scales. Weigh the children to see how much they are heavier than last year.
Eat eggs on the first day of summer in Shanghai. On the day of Beginning of Summer, children always hang an egg in a red net around their necks. Shanghai also has a custom of "marking the festival and the beginning of summer clearly, and eating the food at the stall to test the treasure." On the day of the beginning of summer, pancakes made of taro and golden cauliflower are eaten, and both men, women, and children are required to weigh themselves at noon.
Customs of the Beginning of Summer: Eating bamboo shoots, locust beans, and "five-color rice" in southern areas
Everyone in Sichuan and Yantan mountainous areas eats bamboo shoots and locust beans. He said that eating bamboo shoots made his leg bones stronger, making it easier to climb mountains. They also eat green plums and make green tea to prevent "summer rot". There is also the custom of eating tofu. It is said that if you eat tofu, you will not be afraid of the rain or the stings of red bees.
In some places in the south, there is a custom of eating soft vegetables (junta vegetables) at the beginning of summer. It is said that after eating it, you will not get prickly heat in the summer and your skin will be as smooth as soft vegetables.
In some places such as Guangxi, red beans, soybeans, black beans, green beans, mung beans and other five-color beans are mixed with white japonica rice to cook "five-color rice", which is called Beginning of Summer rice.
Cult of Beginning of Summer: Eating black rice
Black rice, black and shiny, fragrant and delicious, is made from glutinous rice soaked in black leaves and then cooked for several hours. On the day of Beginning of Summer, everyone in rural areas of Jiangnan loves to eat it. It is said that this custom originated from Sun Bin, a famous military strategist during the Warring States Period.
Sun Bin and Pang Juan were classmates and students of Guiguzi. The two were equally equal in academics and intelligence, but Sun Bin was honest and kind, while Pang Juan was scheming. The two studied hard with their master for three years. When Pang Juan saw that his studies were completed and he wanted to go down the mountain to make contributions and become famous, he said goodbye to his master and came to Wei. Sun Bin thought that he had not yet completed his studies, so he continued to study with his master. Guiguzi had long taken a fancy to this honest and loyal student, and taught him the art of military formation, hoping that he could save the troubled times and show his grand ambitions.
Two years passed. One day, Sun Bin received a letter from Pang Juan, saying that he had become a general and invited him to come to Wei to assist the king of Wei. Sun Bin was very happy and asked his teacher to discuss it. The teacher was silent after reading the letter, but still agreed with Sun Bin to go down the mountain.
As soon as Sun Bin arrived in Wei, Pang Juan recommended him to the king of Wei, and he was highly appreciated by the king of Wei. From then on, the two often discussed national affairs together, talked about how to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and discussed formations and military strategies. When Pang Juan saw that Sun Bin was much higher than him, he realized that his master had taught Sun Bin the art of war. He wanted to borrow military books to read, but Sun Bin had to tell the truth, and he would not let him take him down the mountain. Pang Juan was unhappy.
Suddenly one day, Sun Bin was kidnapped by a group of knife and axemen, tortured severely, and had two kneecaps dug out, and then thrown into prison. Sun Bin was so painful that he not only asked the soldiers loudly, but the soldiers did not answer and only said that it was the order of King Wei. Sun Bin felt that he was unjust. He had no fault, but he did not know why he was punished. How he hoped that Pang Juan could speak justice for him! As expected, Pang Juan came. He hugged Sun Bin's useless leg and burst into tears: "How could the King of Wei do such a thing!" Sun Bin also burst into tears and asked Pang Juan to help him. Pang Juan said desperately: "If others are fine, what can I do to King Wei!"
Pang Juan visited the prison every day and had people bring him good tea and food. Sun Bin eats it. Sun Bin was very moved and thought that it is better to learn a friend in adversity than an old classmate. Since Sun Bin's legs were disabled, he has lost all hope. He thought that he had read many military books, but now he was a cripple and could not make any achievements. What was the use of living? He wanted to commit suicide several times, but Pang Juan dissuaded him and said that he would serve him for the rest of his life. After hearing this, Sun Bin was moved to tears.
One day, Pang Juan came to see Sun Bin again and started chatting. Pang Juan said: "Junior brother, you have to cheer up. Although you are disabled and cannot lead the troops to fight and make achievements. However, you can still write down your military tactics, write a book, and pass it on to future generations. You can also be famous. Baishi!" Listening to Pang Juan's sincere words, Sun Bin felt that they made sense and couldn't help but nod in agreement.
From that day on, Sun Bin got up early and stayed up late, forgetting to eat and sleep, and kept writing military books every day. Pang Juan came more frequently, asking for help, checking on the progress of writing military books, and advising him to take care of his health.
Sun Bin thanked Pang Juan for his deep friendship and worked harder. He wanted to write it and give it to Pang Juan to thank him for his care.
A few months have passed, and the military book will soon be written. One day, the old jailer guarding Sun Bin said to Sun Bin enthusiastically: "After the military book is completed, I will try to send it home to you." Sun Bin smiled slightly and said, "Old man, it's no need. I will send it to you after the military book is completed." General Pang Pang. We are classmates and I feel relieved when I leave it to him." When the jailer heard this, he opened his mouth wide in surprise and was speechless for a long time. Sun Bin asked in surprise: "What's wrong with you?" The old jailer sighed and said sadly: "Sir, you are too kind. It was General Pang who harmed you! It was because he was jealous of your talent and knowledge, so he designed to frame you. Yes!" Indeed, although Pang Juan is resourceful, he is narrow-minded and jealous of talents. Seeing that Sun Bin was familiar with the art of war, he was afraid that it would affect his future, so he framed him and used execution to prevent him from leading his troops into battle. He also tried to defraud Sun Bin to obtain military documents.
When Sun Bin heard what the old jailer said, he was like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, and he was stunned. After thinking about it, he finally realized and saw through Pang Juan's sinister intentions. He was so angry that he didn't expect that his respected classmate and friend would turn out to be a treacherous villain. He burned all the military books he had written and thought of countermeasures.
The next day, Pang Juan came to the prison and saw Sun Bin with unkempt hair and dirty face, crying and laughing, going crazy, and the written military documents had been burned. He was so angry that he immediately ordered people to lock Sun Bin in a pig pen. Keep an eye on him to see if he is really crazy or pretending to be crazy. Unexpectedly, after a while, Sun Bin fell asleep with his pillow in the pig trough.
From then on, Sun Bin did not eat or drink, went crazy and silly, and hung out with pigs all day long. The old jailer sympathized with Sun Bin's plight very much. He saw that he was losing weight day by day and was depressed all day long. The old jailer's wife found out about this and suggested: "Soak the glutinous rice with black leaves, cook it and knead it into small balls. The color and shape are similar to pig manure. You can hide it from Pang Juan and save Sun Bin." After hearing this, the old jailer was overjoyed and asked his wife to do it quickly. That day happened to be the beginning of summer, and the old jailer gave Sun Bin the glutinous rice dumplings while he was on duty.
The clever Sun Bin knew it without hesitation. When Pang Juan came to see him, he grabbed the pig manure beside him with a smile and threw it towards Pang Juan. Pang Juan dodged left and right, but was still covered in pig manure. Sun Bin clapped his hands and said with a smile: "This pig dung is so good. If you don't want to eat it, I will eat it." As he said that, he picked up each "pig dung" and started eating it. When Pang Juan saw Sun Bin eating pig dung, he believed that he was really crazy and relaxed his supervision of him.
The State of Qi has long heard of Sun Bin’s talent. Tian Ji sent someone to work with the old jailer to rescue Sun Bin. Sun Bin came to Qi State and was worshiped as a military advisor. He commanded the war from a wheelchair. Later, the state of Qi and the state of Wei fought. At Maling Road, Sun Bin defeated the Wei army and shot Pang Juan dead, finally taking revenge.
Sun Bin was very grateful to the old jailer. Every beginning of summer, he would eat a meal of glutinous rice balls made with black leaves. People admired Sun Bin's integrity and talent, and also made black rice to eat at the beginning of summer. The custom of eating black rice in Beginning of Summer was formed. It is said that eating black rice can dispel wind and poison, and even mosquitoes will not bite you.
Customs of the Beginning of Summer: Pasta is eaten in most areas in the north
Wheat is mostly grown in northern my country, and the Beginning of Summer is the season when wheat comes into season. Therefore, most areas in the north have the custom of making and eating pasta during the Beginning of Summer. , intended to celebrate the wheat harvest. There are three main types of pasta in Beginning of Summer: summer cakes, noodles and spring rolls. Summer cakes, also known as sesame cakes, come in various shapes, such as champion riding a horse, Guanyin delivering a child, monkey holding peaches, etc.; flour cakes are available in sweet and salty varieties. The salty flour cakes are made with shredded pork, leeks, etc. and are eaten with garlic paste. For sweet pancakes, more sugar is added; for spring rolls, refined thin pancakes are used to wrap fried bean sprouts, leeks, shredded pork and other fillings. The sealing area is sealed with flour mixed with egg white, and then fried in a hot oil pan until slightly Remove and eat when yellow.
Customs on the Beginning of Summer: Avoiding snakes if you are tired of evil spirits
The folk custom of Yunnan on the Beginning of Summer is about avoiding snakes if you are tired of evil spirits. According to "Yunnan General Chronicles" written in the first year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, on the day of the beginning of summer in April, "acacia branches and red flowers were placed in the house to avoid evil spirits; the foot of the gray wall was surrounded to avoid snakes." In April, avoiding snakes is related to the fact that the twelve zodiac signs are snakes. The earthly branches mark the month, March is Chen, and April is Ji. At the beginning of summer, when we are tired of evil spirits, we put acacia branches and red flowers on the door, which have the meaning of both black (water) and red (fire). According to the ancient Five Elements theory, black is water and red is fire. It is hoped that the two will restrict each other and achieve a balance. At the same time, the ancients not only used acacia to remove stains on a daily basis, but also used acacia as a medicine, believing that it had insecticidal properties. Treat it as a disgusting thing and also focus on removing filth and driving away evil spirits. In the old days, there was a custom of hanging acacia on the door in May. The acacia is shaped like a knife, which is called "hanging knife". It is said that it can scare away ghosts. The "Tengyue Prefecture Chronicles" of Yunnan during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty also said: "In the beginning of summer, place soap locust branches and safflowers in the houses to avoid getting sick, and surround the feet of gray walls to avoid snakes." "Langqiong County Brief Chronicles" of the Qing Dynasty records the area in Dali, Yunnan Custom: "At the beginning of summer, poplars are placed on the door, and ashes are sprinkled around the house. It is named 'Grey City' to avoid poisonous snakes." What is different from other areas is that poplars are planted in front of the door.