Legendary Stories of the Lixia Festival
Legendary Stories of the Lixia Festival1Origin of the Lixia Festival
Every year, around the first day of April (between May 5-6), the sun reaches the 45th degree of the yellow meridian for the Lixia Festival of the lunar calendar. Lixia, all things grow up to this point, so the name Lixia also." At this time, the sun's yellow longitude is 45 degrees, in astronomy, the beginning of summer indicates the imminent farewell to spring, is the beginning of summer days.
China's ancient will be divided into three summer: "a waiting mole cricket song; two waiting earthworms; three waiting for the birth of the king melon." That is to say, this festival can be heard in the first clam (that is: mole crickets) mayflies in the field of the whine (one said that the frog sound), and then the earthworms can be seen on the ground digging soil, and then the vines of the king melon began to climb fast growth.
The day that welcomes summer is the day of the first summer. At this time, everything flourishes. In order not to lose weight in the summer, people tend to take tonic in the summer to make their bodies strong and healthy.
Farming in the summer
Frogs are generally active in the water, especially next to rice paddies, ponds are more common. Frogs can not only eat small creatures in the water, but also under the rice straw to cool off, and raise their heads to swallow the insects flying in the field, after eating, the frog drums chirping, and with the insects on the trees, birds singing; the wet land in the field there are also occasional earthworms crawling through the weeds have been seen in the wild Wang Gua long ripe, can be picked and eaten. If spring is the season of life, then summer is the season of growth, plants and animals on the earth have entered a period of vigorous growth, the temperature in all regions of the country has increased significantly, the rainfall has also increased significantly, early rice in the south has been tillering, rapeseed has been fruiting, and is about to mature. Winter wheat in the northern region is also in the process of flowering and grouting. Spring sown crops such as soybeans, corn, sorghum, grains and cotton have emerged one after another. Crops are growing, field management is increasingly busy.
"Summer planting cotton, there is no lumps of firewood", this time has passed the cotton season. Cotton seedlings at this time, this time should check seedlings, seedlings, plowing seedlings, and pay attention to timely watering and irrigation. For wheat this kind of major grain crops, this time should pay special attention to field management, especially pay attention to prevent the occurrence of "wheat show cold". From the planting can be "before and after the summer planting groundnut" "summer planting rice point sesame", because "to the summer chaotic planting" - this time of year planted crops will grow. All will grow, should be sown in time to plant crops.
Most areas in the South, because of the vigorous growth of crops, weeds, pests and diseases are also rapidly growing and spreading. Hakka people live in places, the summer season, has entered the summer, the weather is hot, people's appetite, began to lose weight, that is, "withered summer". However, after the summer, it is the farming era, the most need for manpower, people want to take advantage of the summer "to be nourished", to strengthen the body. On the other hand, the poor physical condition, weak resistance of people susceptible to germs and diseases. Folk began to leisure summer, pay attention to dietary supplements, people eat some food in the summer, often hosted to pray for blessings, blessings of peace, wealth and prosperity of good intentions.
China's northern wheat planting, summer is the wheat flourish, so most northern areas of the summer when the custom of making and eating pasta, which is intended to celebrate the wheat harvest. Most of the Hakka people come from the area around He Luo, and have the habit of eating noodles. After coming to the remote mountain villages, they were influenced by local customs and changed to eat rice as their staple food, and their noodle-eating habits changed a bit, gradually forming their own unique noodle dishes.
Legendary stories of the summer festival 2"Weighing people" has a variety of legends. One of them is that at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang started his army, his general Chang Yuchun was unfortunately captured alive by the Yuan army in a battle. Zhu Yuanzhang learned of this news after the heart burning, and then after a lot of exploration only to learn that Chang Yuchun was put into the prison.
Zhu Yuanzhang in order to save the life of Chang Yuchun, one side sent people to buy the Yuan army generals, one side through friends to bribe the head of the prison forbidden son, let them treat Chang Yuchun, do not let him suffer. As the saying goes, "money can buy ghosts to push the mill", "eat someone's mouth is soft, take someone's hand is soft", coupled with the Yuan army generals and the head of the prison forbidden son has long seen that the Yuan dynasty to the end of the number of gas, is worried about not having the doorway to flatter Zhu Yuanzhang, which also dares to give often encounter spring sin to suffer it? But how to let Zhu Yuanzhang know that Chang Zhouchun has been treated well in the prison? The only way to do this is to make sure that you have a good understanding of what you are doing and what you can do to help!
The wife of the jailer saw her husband's sadness for a few days and asked him why. After listening to her husband said Changchun, his wife laughed and said: "This is not easy to do, you first weigh Changchun how heavy, and then good wine and meat to feed him, as long as he is not thin does not mean that he did not suffer in prison?"
The next day, the head of the prison forbidden son really according to the wife said to give the weight of often encountered spring, this day just is the day of the summer.
A year later, Zhu Yuanzhang led the army to conquer the city, and rescued Chang Yuchun from the prison, the head of the prison, in order to praise, in front of Zhu Yuanzhang's face to ask people to weigh Chang Yuchun, Chang Yuchun not only did not lose weight, but also heavier than the last year, ten pounds. Coincidentally, this day is also the day of summer. Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and said with a smile, "Good, good, standing summer, standing summer, weighing people, weighing people." After this, the custom of weighing people in the summer has been passed down in the folklore.
The second legend of the summer "weighing people" is related to Liu Zen, the lord of Shu in the Three Kingdoms.
At the end of the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Zen's state of Shu was running out of soldiers and generals. This year, Wei general Deng Ai was ordered to lead the army to attack Shu, soldiers forced Liu Zen to surrender. There was a loyal minister named Zheng, who told Deng Ai, "Liu Zen is the king of a country, after surrendering to Wei, he must not be mistreated half a bit, and he must not lose half a bit of meat, otherwise he would rather die than surrender". Deng Ai agreed to this condition.
Liu Zen surrendered and was taken to Luoyang, the capital of Wei at the time, where the Duke of Wei named him Duke of Anle and gave him a residence, 10,000 pieces of silk, and 100 beautiful women. Liu [Zen from the days of eating and drinking and having fun actually did not half forget the shame of the country. The next year is called to Liu Zen weighed, the forgetful king not only did not lose weight, but heavier than twenty pounds. This day also happens to be the day of summer, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has a poem that says, "Chase play for fun smile, do not miss the danger of the earth half a bit of grief. Happy foreign country forget the homeland, realize that the latter is mediocre."
Legends of the summer festival 3 Legends of a: The summer is also a traditional festival of rituals and customs of the year, the Zhou Dynasty in the summer of the day, the son of God to rate the three princes and nine secretaries of the House of Ministers and the great doctors, to the south of the city outskirts of the welcome to the summer. And held a ceremony to worship the late emperor Zhu Rong. The Han Dynasty also inherited this custom, "after the Han Book - Sacrifice Zhi": "the day of summer to welcome the summer, in the southern suburbs, sacrifices to the Red Emperor Zhu Rong, the car flag dress are red." Song "Zhu Ming", dance "cloud wing dance". To the Song Dynasty, the rituals are more complicated. In the Ming Dynasty, there was the "Tasting New Customs". Qing Dynasty, "the Imperial Capital Years and Years" in "summer to take the usual exposure of rice flour spring buds, and fried with sugar as a variety of colors of fruit stacks, feed each other". And use willow branches to wear fruit stack for children's food, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other areas of the custom of eating flower rice in the summer, also known as "eat complementary food". Folk custom is also "eat eggs in the summer, stones are trampled," said the summer to eat eggs and duck eggs can enhance the body, but also heat resistance. Some of the summer food bamboo shoots, some of the summer drinking, are rushed to the festival this day, the name is "summer to see the three new", the southern region of the old days when the summer day, the family steamed new tea, and with a variety of fruits, gifts to relatives and neighbors. Legend two: The second legend of the summer "weighing people" and the Three Kingdoms, Liu Zen, Lord of Shu. At the end of the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Zen's state of Shu was a weak state with few soldiers and few generals, and the state's strength was not sustained. This year, Wei general Deng Ai was ordered to lead the army to attack Shu, soldiers forced Liu Zen to surrender. There was a loyal minister named Zheng, who told Deng Ai, "Liu Zen is the king of a country, after surrendering to Wei, he must not be mistreated half a bit, and he must not lose half a bit of meat, otherwise he would rather die than surrender". Deng Ai agreed to this condition. Twenty-four seasons, refers to the dry calendar that indicates the seasons, climate, climate change, as well as the establishment of the "December build" of the particular season. "The twenty-four solar terms were initially defined by the pointing of the handle of the Big Dipper. When the handle of the Big Dipper points to the southeast, it is the beginning of summer. The current "twenty-four solar terms" is "fixed qi" division, that is, each solar term corresponds to the earth in the ecliptic every 15 ° run to a certain position; it will be the sun's annual trajectory is divided into 24 equal parts, every 15 ° for a first class, each equal part for a solar term. It divides the sun's annual trajectory into 24 equal parts, with every 15° being one equal part, and each equal part being a node. When the sun reaches 45° of ecliptic longitude, it is the node of summer. The node of Lixia was established at the end of the Warring States period (239 BC), heralding the seasonal . Conversion, for the four seasons of the year the beginning of summer day. In fact, according to climatological standards, the average daily temperature rises steadily above 22 ℃ for the beginning of summer, "summer" before and after, China is only Fuzhou to the south of a line south of the real "green trees and shade of the summer long, the building reflection into the pond" summer, and the northeast and parts of the northwest. Northeast and northwestern parts of this time is just entering the spring, the average temperature in most parts of the country in the 18 ~ 20 ℃ up and down, it is "a hundred red and purple fight Fangfei" of the mid-spring and late spring season. Into the month of May, many places acacia flowers are also blooming. Summer is the time when everything flourishes. People are accustomed to the summer as a significant increase in temperature, the heat will come, thunderstorms increase, crops into the peak season growth of an important season. According to folklore experts, summer is an important festival in ancient China, and experts pointed out that many ancient festivals and their customs are derived from rituals, of course, "summer" is no exception, according to some data show that "summer" According to some sources, the earliest appearance is also from the ancient sacrificial rites, in the Zhou Dynasty, people's sacrifices to the gods is no longer daily in a fixed moment, but the time of sacrifice into seasonal changes, such as: spring, spring equinox, summer, summer solstice, Autumn, Autumn Equinox, winter, winter solstice. At the beginning of summer, everything flourishes. Ming "Lotus eight killed and maimed" book wrote: "the day of Meng Xia, heaven and earth began to intersect, all things and show." At this time, the summer crops into the late growth, winter wheat flowering and grouting, rape is close to maturity, the summer crop year is basically finalized, so the agricultural proverb has a "summer to see the summer" said. According to records, the Zhou Dynasty, the day of summer, the emperor to rate the civil and military officials to the outskirts of the "welcome to summer", and instructions to Stuart and other officials to go around to encourage farmers to grasp the plow. The old custom of the summer and the traditional folk festival, called the "summer festival." The Han Dynasty also inherited this custom, "Houhan Book - Sacrifice Zhi", "the day of summer to welcome the summer, in the southern suburbs, the sacrifice of the Red Emperor Zhu Rong, the car flag costume are red." Song "Zhu Ming", dance "cloud wing dance". To the Song Dynasty, the rituals are more complicated. In the Ming Dynasty, there was the "Tasting New Customs". Qing Dynasty, "the Imperial Capital Years and Years" in "summer to take the usual exposure of the rice flour spring buds, and fried with sugar as a variety of colors of fruit stacks, feed each other". And use willow branches to wear fruit stack for children's food, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other areas of the custom of eating flower rice in the summer, also known as "eat complementary food". Folk custom is also "eat eggs in the summer, stones are trampled", said the summer to eat eggs and duck eggs can enhance the body, but also can withstand the summer heat. Some of the summer food bamboo shoots, some of the summer drinking, are rushed to the festival this day, the name is "summer to see the three new", the southern region of the old days when the summer day, the family steamed new tea, and with a variety of fruits, gifts to relatives and neighbors. According to the record of the "Monthly Order seventy-two waiting collection": "Li, the beginning of the construction is also, summer, false, false, large, things to this time are false large also." That is, in the summer this time, the end of spring, the beginning of summer, so some places and the "summer" is called "the end of spring day". In the Zhou Dynasty, the gradual formation of the seasonal change in the sacrifice to the gods, as the Lord of the Zhou Emperor is the need to pro-day presided over the sacrificial rites, the "Book of Rites" has such a record: the day of the summer, the Prince of Heaven pro rate of the three dukes, the nine ministers, vassals, great doctors, to welcome the summer in the southern suburbs. In terms of seasons, the beginning of summer is actually the beginning of summer, which means that there will be a lot more rainstorms and thunderstorms, and everything will enter a season of vigorous growth. In the countryside, there are still a lot of predictions about the weather on the day of the summer to predict the overall weather trend in summer, such as: "no rain in the summer, the drought to the wheat", "no rain in the summer, the plow and harrow hanging high".