Beginning of spring dachun
In 2020, the time for beginning of spring to spring is:17: 03:12 (February 4, 2020).
Playing spring is the common name of beginning of spring, and it is the solar term of spring returning to the earth.
The custom of playing spring originated from the imperial palace. It is said that on this day in beginning of spring, it should be regarded as a festival both inside and outside the imperial palace, and it should be celebrated with great solemnity. As early as the day of beginning of spring, it was necessary to break the clay sculpture spring cattle standing in front of the palace. It is recorded in the history book that "the Duke of Zhou only made beginning of spring native cattle." In that case, years are almost as old as our Chinese nation. The book "Kyoto Customs Records" once recorded: In front of the palace, "Mang God is located in the east and Spring Cattle is located in the west." After the ceremony was over, "all the soldiers fought and burned, so it was called' playing spring'." At that time, breaking the spring cattle meant to urge the old cattle to plow the fields, and people took the pieces of the spring cattle home one after another as a symbol of good luck.
The mountain god mentioned here is the spring god, who dominates the farming for one year, which is recorded in the Book of Rites and Zuo Zhuan. On this day in beginning of spring, in the temple fairs in old Beijing, spring cows are usually sold, and the man who leads cows in front of him draws a picture of Mang Shen. Ordinary people, even if they have entered the city, will invite the pictures of spring cattle home, which has the same meaning as the fragments of spring cattle taken home. They pray to themselves that spring gods and spring cattle are blessed by a year's harvest.
Painted cows painted their bodies, firecrackers exploded in unison, dressed as spring officials, ran in front of the road to meet the mountain gods and beat spring cows. This ceremony has a long history. And at the earliest, the emperor personally handled all this, and he wanted to personally meet Mang God and Chunniu in the palace. At the earliest, the emperor had to make a symbolic shape by personally plowing like a model and cutting the ribbon. In the Song Dynasty's Tokyo Dream Record, it was recorded that Mang Shen and Chunniu "entered from the middle gate of the meridian gate, went to Ganqingmen and Ciningmen to pay tribute, and the internal supervisors each played, and they all retired after the ceremony." It can be said that etiquette is prosperous.
Later, this tradition has changed a little, setting the Mang God and the Spring Cow in front of the palace instead of in the suburbs. This change has been recorded in the Ming Dynasty. However, in Beijing, all ceremonies are still organized and completed by Shuntianfuyi entrusted by the court, which means celebrating the whole world and having fun with the government and the people.
The Origin of beginning of spring's "Beating Spring Cattle"