It is said that Sun Bin left his hometown at the age of 18 and went to Yunmeng Mountain thousands of miles away to learn the art of war with Guiguzi as his teacher. It was twelve years since I left. On the fifth day of May that year, Sun Bin suddenly thought, "Today is my mother's eightieth birthday." So I asked the master for leave to go home and visit my mother. The master picked a peach and gave it to Sun Bin, saying, "You failed to repay your mother's kindness while studying abroad. I will give you a peach to take back to your mother for her birthday."

when Sun Bin came home, she took a peach from her master and gave it to her mother. I didn't expect the old mother to look younger before she finished eating the peach, and the whole family was very happy.

People heard that Sun Bin's mother became younger after eating peaches, and wanted her parents to live a long and healthy life, so they all followed Sun Bin's example and sent fresh peaches on their parents' birthdays. However, fresh peaches are seasonal, so people make birthday peaches out of flour to celebrate their parents' birthday in the season when there are no fresh peaches.

Giving birthday peaches is one of the traditional folk customs of the Han nationality, which symbolizes the filial piety of the younger generation to the older generation. Whenever the elderly celebrate their birthdays, children should give birthday peaches to the elderly to wish them health, longevity and happiness. In the old days, people thought that old people would become younger and live longer after eating longevity peaches.

why do peaches occupy such an important position in the birthday celebration? This is probably related to the belief of the ancient Han people in peach trees and the myths and legends of the Queen Mother of the West.

The Divine Classic records: "There is a tree in the east, which is 5 feet high and named peach. His son's diameter is three feet three inches, which is delicious and makes people live longer. " It can be seen that peach trees are immortal trees, and their fruits can prolong life.

it is also recorded in the "Notes on the Picking Up": "It takes less than 5, miles for Pangyan Mountain to go to Fusang. In the cold, peach trees are surrounded by thousands of flowers, and their flowers are blue and black. Long live a meal. " The peach trees on this mountain are "long live and eat", and eating people can certainly prolong life.

Book of Beginners written by Xu Jian in the Tang Dynasty quoted Canon, saying, "Peach lovers are the essence of five trees. Therefore, the evil spirits are suppressed, and hundreds of ghosts are suppressed. Therefore, today's people make peaches and doors to suppress evil spirits. This fairy wood is also. " It has been officially recognized here that peach trees are immortal trees. Since they are called "immortals", they certainly have the meaning of longevity.

Shoutao was not called Shoutao in Nanjing in Ming Dynasty, but called Guitao. Turtle and peach evolved from face turtle and face peach. "Sacrifice Records" said that in ancient times, turtles were made of flour and peaches were used to pray for longevity. Later, they were simplified into one, and they were called turtles and peaches in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the custom of giving people "longevity peaches", it can be traced back to the legend that the Queen Mother of the West gave peaches to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. According to the folklore of the Han nationality, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty advocated the immortal way, and the Queen Mother of the West sent messengers to inform her that she would come at some time. At the quarter past seven on the night of July 7th, the Queen Mother of the West came to the west side of Emperor Wu's palace by cloud car. There are three bluebirds, standing at the left and right of the Queen Mother of the West. The Queen Mother of the West gave Emperor Wudi five big peaches and told him, "This is a fairy fruit that only bears fruit once every three thousand years." Giving peaches here implies giving birthday. This is also the reason why people today give birthday peaches and presents them to the elderly on their birthdays.

The paintings of Shoutao by Qi Baishi and Zhu Xuanxian, Chinese painters, are a reflection of the very successful traditional Shoutao culture in China.