As for these three dishes, they have been handed down from ancient times. The sacrifices used to worship the dead are based on the number three, with three dishes, three pairs of chopsticks, three bowls of rice, three wine glasses, three incense sticks and three red candles.
When I was a child, I didn't understand this. When I saw my mother put these things at home for worship on holidays, I had to count the number, even the paper money to be burned. I said, why bother? Put more bowls of meat and several bowls of rice, and my ancestors will eat more. My mother said no, everyone has to put that number; The sacrifices placed in front of the cemetery during the Qingming Festival are also based on three. Later, when I grew up, I realized that it was necessary to worship the deceased, which was a kind of respect for them.
In the past, the family was poor, and when guests came, my parents would simply entertain them, and generally they would buy pork to cook, while my mother would cook two dishes, one part of the meat was fried with stalks, the other part of the meat was boiled with tender leaves, and the two plates were put on the table and eaten; If there are more people, you are still willing to kill a duck, and a duck can be made into two dishes (duck blood and duck meat), and then you can get tofu or vegetables and fried peanuts, so there are always five or six dishes, which is enough to eat.
And if it's a holiday, my mother will take home some delicious food such as steamed buns and zongzi, usually two or five or six, but there are no three or four figures.
Later, when I grew up, I felt that what my mother did was reasonable. In the past, people were sensitive to some numbers and homophones, while "yes man" and numbers 2 and 6 were more popular, while numbers 3 (homophonic dispersion) and 4 (homophonic death) were not good, so people didn't need to entertain guests.
Therefore, guests at home, of course, can't put three dishes, which gives people an unfriendly feeling, because three dishes are used to worship the deceased talents, and the number three is homophonic, which is a bit of a curse, and the guests are of course not happy; So either make two big dishes or five or six dishes, a little smaller.
In fact, as people's living standards have improved now, guests at home usually cook more than five dishes, with several kinds of meat and vegetables, and a table full of them is afraid that they can't finish it. Therefore, the phenomenon of "guests putting three dishes" should not exist, and it is good to know that there is such a etiquette.
There are many folk proverbs popular in rural areas, including weather, farming activities, and human aspects such as treating people. This is all summed up by farmers from practice for thousands of years, and it is the crystallization of farmers' wisdom.
But some slang is catchy, and people don't understand its meaning very well. They need to explain it, not only to say it, but also to understand what it means.
No, there is a saying that "visitors can't serve three dishes, but it's a pity that ten people don't know." Do you know what it means? It turns out that this proverb goes like this: "If you don't get three dishes, six people won't be the tortoise seats".
When people come and go, whether they treat themselves or guests visit, they always give a banquet to show their enthusiasm. Pay attention to serving, and always serve even numbers. According to the number of visitors, you should serve dishes such as 4, 8, 10, 12, which means that yes man, in pairs, has good things. That is to say, it is a good luck and a good lottery. But never serve three dishes. Why?
In the past, people often engaged in sacrificial activities, and the people who sacrificed the most were heaven and earth, that is, offering sacrifices to heaven and earth to worship ancestors. When offering sacrifices, three dishes of vegetarian dishes should be set. That is to say, the last three dishes are used to sacrifice the dead.
Now that the guests are here, you also serve three dishes. Isn't it disrespectful to the guests, causing them to get angry and break up in discord? It's not cost-effective to say that the little ones have lost their feelings and the big ones have turned against each other.
What about the six people not sitting on the tortoise seat? It turns out that people used to be particular about going out to sit at the table. There are rules about where the host sits, where the main guest sits, where the second guest sits, and where the guest sits. You can't do it indiscriminately. A wise man knows who is the master and who is the guest at a glance.
Six people don't make turtle seats, which means six people sit at the table together, and they can't sit symmetrically, two on the left and two on the right, one at each end. That sitting, like a turtle, is unlucky. Although the tortoise has a long life, it is really another name for tortoise among the people. Tortoise is a swearing word, which often refers to a man who is cuckolded. Not good.
Friends, what other meaningful slang words do you know? Write them and share them with you.
Visitors don't set three dishes, but it's a pity that ten people don't know. This is talking about the saying that people treat guests to serve dishes. There are many stresses and taboos in folk etiquette exchanges, and even the host and guest sit at the table. What I heard from my childhood is that visitors can't serve three bowls of dishes, and six people don't sit at the tortoise seat. This means that when guests come, they invite guests to dinner, and when serving dishes, they should not only have three bowls (dishes, plates), but six people should eat at one table, so don't sit on a tortoise's mat. How to call a turtle seat? That is, sitting in the shape of a turtle, in the past, it was mostly a square table, with eight people sitting, but now there are six people, two on the left and two on the right, and one on the front and one on the back is a turtle seat. This is considered bad and unlucky, and it is inappropriate to make taboos.
Why don't you treat me with three bowls of dishes? There is a reason. These three empty fingers represent many things, and the three here is a real three, which also represents the single, and three represents the people of heaven and earth. Tributes to worship the gods and buddhas are often made of three. These three generations are many, three sacrifices, three fruits, etc., and the guests use three to worship the gods, and the guests use three to set the dishes, which means disrespect to the guests. Therefore, there cannot be just three kinds of guests, ranging from two to more than five. There are some sayings among the people, such as "no three, no four", "three ghosts and four gods", and "three four" is considered unlucky and disrespectful. There are three customs to worship God and four to worship ghosts. Therefore, it is customary to treat guests with three taboos and four taboos. Of course, customs and habits vary from place to place, and there are also different opinions. However, it is better to avoid three or four, and it is forbidden. If visitors are fastidious and superstitious, they will be dissatisfied and unhappy. If they are not fastidious, the problem is not big, but it is better to pay attention to prevent unhappiness, which also reflects people's experience, knowledge, courtesy and character. Sacrifice to the Buddha or vegetarian food is often singular, while it is auspicious for people to hold banquets and treat people to serve food in pairs. Nowadays, young people lack traditional etiquette education, and many don't understand those taboos, which should be noticed. Some taboos of etiquette should be paid attention to, so don't break them easily, especially in some formal and grand occasions. Generally eat a meal, eat more and eat less, and you don't have to pay so much attention to more vegetables and less vegetables. Don't waste, eat well and eat well, and don't care about entanglement or three or four.
"Visitors don't set three dishes", which makes me come all the way. Rural etiquette is profound and contains a lot of rich etiquette. "Visitors don't set three dishes", and the next sentence is even more exciting. "Six people don't sit on the tortoise seat".
"Visitors don't put three dishes", which means that "three dishes" in the world means heaven and earth, and it is also a lucky number to respect gods, buddhas and ancestors. In ancient times, the condition of three dishes was low, and it was an indispensable way to commemorate ancestors or dead people. Three dishes were used to worship ancestors, but it was a little disrespectful or impolite to entertain guests with three dishes, which was also a taboo at the dinner table.
Let me talk about the second half of the sentence. There are many courtesies in the countryside, but we should pay more attention to important events. It is not too much to know about them. Don't make a joke. "Six people don't make a turtle seat." Don't do this if you are visiting your in-laws. It's hard to say who the tortoise is. Don't do bad things with good intentions. You don't pay attention at home. When guests come to the door, don't offend people. Network diagram.
The phrase "visitors don't put three dishes, it's a pity that nine people don't know" is particularly popular in Shandong and Northeast China. In these places, no matter whether it's a family dinner for guests or going to a restaurant for dinner, there are basically no three dishes.
First, the reasons for customs
It is disrespectful to treat guests with two or three dishes.
There is a saying in the countryside that "visitors don't put three dishes, but it's a pity that ten people don't know", which means that when you treat people to dinner, you must never put three dishes. Why can't we set three dishes?
This proverb involves the problem of treating guests. Now, when you treat guests in a restaurant, it is usually 10 for one table, and 10 for at least ten courses, right? Therefore, banquets are usually served with 12 dishes, 14 dishes, and no more than 16 dishes. In short, the dishes served are even.
No matter in ancient or modern times, three courses have never been served at a banquet. This is really not a problem of few people, but the practice of offering three courses is a sacrifice to ancestors.
In the past, when offering sacrifices to ancestors, there were three vegetarian dishes and three incense sticks on the altar, which represented the worship of heaven, land and ancestors.
In some places, when offering sacrifices to ancestors, five dishes are served-two meats and three vegetables, two meats are a piece of cooked pork and a piece of mutton. Three vegetables are two plates of white tofu and one plate of boiled green beans, which means clear and white.
In most places, sacrifices are served with three courses, which means that only three courses are served when offering sacrifices to the dead. Therefore, when entertaining guests, it is disrespectful to serve three courses, which will make them angry, break up in discord and even turn against each other.
To sum up, folk sacrifices are unchanged. Generally, three dishes are served at the altar, and at least six dishes are served at the banquet, and the dishes of 3, 4 and 5 are never served.
Text/Reading Spring and Autumn by Candle
China is an ancient civilization, and its traditional culture is profound. Even in the interpersonal communication in daily life, we can't be careless in some manners of dining.
Otherwise, not only will you make unnecessary jokes, but sometimes you will even have some misunderstandings, which will cause the other party's disgust and directly affect their feelings.
As the saying goes in the countryside, "It's a pity that ten people don't know if a visitor doesn't set three courses", which is the way to treat people to dinner. Today, through this topic, I will talk a few more words about the big things and small feelings at the dinner table, and welcome you to share your experiences.
For example, the chopsticks we use when eating have many taboos. When dining with others, some people will unconsciously poke with chopsticks when talking to others, which is very impolite behavior.
Others like to use chopsticks to flip dishes, and they are only picky about their own fat, and their poor quality is inevitably boring.
Secondly, there are rules for seating when eating. The seat in the middle is the main seat, which is generally the seat of the venerable elderly. Both sides of the seat are seated in order. Young people should sit in the outermost position, which is convenient for taking care of serving and running before and after. This is the minimum respect for guests.
Also, when having a meal, if you talk to others with food in your mouth, you will not only pronounce words clearly, but also spill soup easily, and the scene is very embarrassing. There is also "the Lord doesn't invite, the guest doesn't taste", and you must not show greed when eating, which leads to lack of cultivation.
Of course, there are ladies for dinner, and smoking is not allowed. Furthermore, in coastal areas, you can't say "turn over" when eating fish. When turning the other side, you should say "cross over", otherwise, fishermen will be very unhappy. After all, "turning over" means that the fishing boat will sink, so it is good to pay attention to it.
Next, let's focus on the rural proverb "visitors don't put three dishes, but it's a pity that ten people don't know".
In life, we will find that whether it is a wedding banquet or a gathering of friends, the number of dishes on the table is generally increasing according to the double number of people.
Generally, it can be 8 dishes, 10 dishes, 16 dishes, 18 dishes, and even 28 dishes in some places. It can be seen that people attach great importance to the homonym of "8" and "Fa".
However, in some places, it is the opposite. It is impossible to serve eight courses, but it is very taboo to "8". The first reason is that the word "seven ups and eight downs" has a bad meaning.
Another way of saying this is due to the post-mortem language of "the dog goes to the table-picks up the big bowl". Because "steak" and "eight" are homophones, the guests are naturally uncomfortable when they serve eight dishes.
So, is there anything to say about the last seven courses? Of course there is. As long as you pay a little attention, you will find that people never serve seven dishes for dinner, because the "comfort wine" after the funeral must have seven dishes.
Besides, in the traditional concept of China people, it is unlucky to identify with each other in pairs and be alone. As for inviting guests to dinner, it is even more taboo to serve only three courses.
It is said that in ancient times, death row inmates only ate three dishes before execution. That's "decapitated rice"! There is another important reason, that is, when paying homage to ancestors, there are also three courses and five courses, which are all singular anyway.
However, now that three or two friends are eating together, there are also some three dishes, basically one for each person. It is also a waste to order too much. In fact, no one cares too much now, just remember not to line up, that would be disrespectful to people.
Why? Because when offering sacrifices, three dishes are arranged in a row, just like burning incense and burning three incense, and three dishes are arranged in a row, which will make people feel that you are entertaining the dead. Can people not be angry?
From this, it can be seen that the old saying in rural areas that "visitors don't put three dishes, but it's a pity that ten people don't know" has some truth.
The rural proverb "visitors don't put three dishes, but it's a pity that ten people don't know" is actually the most common hospitality etiquette in rural areas. As we all know, farmers in China are the most honest and kind. When guests come from afar, they will definitely bring out the best food at home.
However, farmers in China are actually the most fastidious. When a guest takes a table, which direction to sit in, how many dishes, glasses and bowls are there on the table, all of which are fixed and have rules, and they can't mess around. One of the biggest rules is never to serve three dishes, because "three" and "scattered" are homophonic, and three dishes are not used to entertain the living, but to pay homage to the dead.
So where did this unlucky number "three" come from at the earliest? It is said that the three sworn brothers in Taoyuan, Liu Guanzhang, died together, and the word righteousness came first. In the end, all three brothers died, and later generations felt the loyalty of their brothers, especially building ancestral temples to worship them.
On the first and fifteenth day of the first lunar month, incense is offered, because it is to worship three people, so whether it is food or bowls and chopsticks for food, there are all three servings. Over time, people have formed such a custom that as long as it is a memorial ceremony, they can only put the number three. From paying homage to Liu Guanzhang, it was later extended to paying homage to one's ancestors. Therefore, if a guest finds that there are three dishes on the table, no matter how rich they are, they will immediately throw their sleeves and leave.
Then, three dishes can't be set. How many dishes are appropriate? Even numbers are good, and even numbers are especially auspicious. Six dishes mean that you are lucky, and eight dishes mean that you are rich on all sides. If you serve ten dishes, it will become perfect and extremely good.
But now there is a problem, that is, young people in rural areas don't know what some old sayings mean. In addition, many young people in rural areas were busy for various reasons after firing alone, and guests came to the house, trying to make three dishes to cope with it. This situation also exists, but if the old man sees it, he will sigh. If the visitor doesn't put three dishes, it's a pity that nine people don't know.
The implication is that today's young people don't understand any rules, and where there are three dishes to serve, this is not to urge the guests to die. Not only three dishes can't be served, but also four dishes can't be served, because the homonym of four words is a dead word. Therefore, it is necessary to add a soup to the four dishes and turn it into four dishes and one soup, which means that the stars are holding the moon, which is auspicious.
However, young people nowadays don't care so much, and time is tight. They can cook as many dishes as they can. Again, the rules are made by people. Since they are made by people, people can change them. With the development of society, many old rules have come to be changed.
Like the family in the city now, it is generally a family of three, and everyone's appetite is calculated when eating and serving. If you get seven or eight dishes regardless, it will not only be easy to waste if you can't finish them, but also consume the owner's time. You know, the most precious thing for people in cities is time, time is life, and time is money.
It is really not cost-effective to waste time on meaningless cooking and cooking. In rural areas, although the old rules are still there, many people don't mind. When a distant guest visits, the host is pressed for time. If three dishes are fried, a pot of wine will be served, which will also have a special flavor and will not have any opinions on the number of dishes. The most important thing is that both sides are satisfied with their food and have a good talk.
There is a magical number in our traditional culture, which is this "three".
From the folk saying, we can find a lot of "threes": it's nothing more than three or three pillars, and there must be my teacher, to the sky kingdom, and the sea has gone. Everything that means a good thing, a very important thing and a complete thing will have a "three". It can be said that the cultural status of "three" is very important. From ancient sacred worship to today's daily life, I really can't imagine what state it would be without this number.