The Mid-Autumn Festival is the name of Taoism, which is called July and a half in folk customs, and is called the Bonin Festival in Buddhism. Festival customs mainly include offering sacrifices to ancestors, setting off river lanterns, offering sacrifices to the dead, burning paper ingots and offering sacrifices to the land.
Its birth can be traced back to ancestor worship and related festivals in ancient times. July is auspicious month and filial month, and July and a half is a festival for people to celebrate the harvest and reward the earth in early autumn. Some crops are ripe, so people should worship their ancestors according to the law, and report Qiu Cheng to their ancestors with new rice and other sacrifices. It is a traditional cultural festival in memory of ancestors, and its cultural core is to respect ancestors and do filial piety.
In the Book of Changes, "seven" is a changing number and a number of resurrection. The Book of Changes: "Repeat the same thing, come back in seven days, and the sky will be fine." The seventh is the number of yang and the number of days. After the yang between heaven and earth is extinct, it can be resurrected after seven days. This is the way of the operation of heaven and earth, and the principle of the cycle of yin and yang. The folk choice to worship their ancestors on July 14 (Erqi) is related to the number of resurrection. The Mid-Yuan Festival in Taoism and the Bonin Festival in Buddhism are set on July 15th.
The Historical Development of Mid-Autumn Festival
According to the historical documents, the activity of ancestor worship in autumn has existed in the pre-Qin period. The custom of ancestor worship in July and a half is the product of local culture, and the inclusive festival is more complicated. It is not only the autumn festival for ancestor worship among the people, but also the Mid-Autumn Festival of Taoism and the Bonne Festival of Buddhism, and the folk, Taoism and monks are in one.
In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, when crops are ripe, some places in China have a tradition of holding ancestor worship ceremonies at this time since ancient times. The ancients offered sacrifices to their ancestors at four o'clock in spring, summer, autumn and winter. In July, they offered newly harvested fruits, vegetables, millet and other cereals, which was called "autumn tasting", also known as "recommending the new" and "tasting the new", that is, letting ancestors taste the new in autumn.
Qing Qianlong's "Puning County Records" said: "It is common to say that the ancestors have returned home, salty clothes and wine to recommend them, although they are poor." Among the sacrifices, clothes are indispensable. Because of the summer heat in July, it is necessary to change clothes to prevent cold, and "July is a fire, and clothes are given in September". In the old days, the Mid-Autumn Festival was not only of great significance in the belief dimension, but also a festival with high mass participation and distinctive entertainment functions in the secular level.
In the 1950s, ancestor worship in July and a half was still lively. However, it was later regarded as advocating feudal superstition and gradually marginalized. Traditionally, ancestor worship in July and a half was conducted by businesses with official assistance, but by the end of 1950s, most businesses had been transformed, unable to undertake and without official assistance, and naturally disappeared.
In the contemporary era, although the revival of traditional culture is mentioned again, the cultural implication of "July and a half" to worship ancestors and pursue the distance is largely related to Tomb-Sweeping Day. In addition, the "Mid-Autumn Festival", which evolved from the later period, is closely related to ghosts and superstitions, so it has not been highlighted in the existing festival system. Nowadays, the original meaning of "July and a half" sacrificial activities is mostly held spontaneously and sporadically in the family, which no longer has the traditional sense of publicity.
Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Zhongyuan Festival