Who has been to Wuzhen, Jiangsu? How was it there?

Twelve solar terms customs in Wuzhen

1. New Year greetings

The first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival, formerly known as "New Year", and is the most solemn traditional festival. The previous day is called New Year's Eve, commonly known as "New Year's Eve", and families gather together to have "New Year's Eve dinner". The bride dresses up and presents shoes and shoes to the elders, which is called "Farewell to the New Year". The elders give money to the bride and children, which is called "New Year's Money". That night, there were activities such as praying for good fortune and meeting the Kitchen God. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, people open the door and set off firecrackers, burn incense and worship the God of Heaven, which is called "Jie Tian". They worship their ancestors first, and then worship in the high hall. The elders and children worship in sequence, and then meet with relatives and friends to greet the new year, collectively called "New Year greetings". In modern times, it has been gradually simplified and kneeling is no longer required. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we don't even have guests. We go out for "Xishenfang". On the second day of the Lunar New Year, relatives and friends visit each other until the Lantern Festival.

2. Lantern Festival Walking on the Bridge

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, commonly known as "the first half of the first lunar month". Wuzhen people have the custom of walking on the bridge. They go out together at night, and at least Walking ten bridges, the route cannot be repeated

This custom originated from a popular disaster avoidance and relief activity in the old days, mainly involving women, which was called "walking ten bridges" or "removing all diseases". At that time, after dressing up, women would walk in groups each carrying an earthen pot for decoction. When crossing the bridge, they would throw the earthen pot into the river, thinking that this would ensure that they would be free from illness and disaster in the new year. In modern times, the practice of throwing medicine jars disappeared and evolved into a simple holiday fun and blessing activity.

3. Qingming Festival Outing

Qingming Festival is one of the twenty-four solar terms. After the Tang Dynasty, it was combined with the Cold Food Festival. Paying homage to ancestors, sweeping their tombs, and enjoying spring outings are common practice everywhere. Wuzhen has many customs related to sericulture

For example, on the eve of Qingming Night, people make green dumplings, wrap rice dumplings, and offer sacrifices to the "White Tiger". They use lime to draw bows and arrows in front of the door to pray. Silkworms, boil snails, pick and eat the snail meat with a needle, which is called "picking green". Starting from Tomb Sweeping Day, silkworm farmers from all over the countryside go to Pujing Temple to burn incense and pray for silkworms, which is called the "Fragrant Market". At that time, vendors gather and visitors are like ants. There are stalls and performing arts venues in the open space. White boats and boxing boats compete in the river harbor. Lasting for more than half a month, it has become a carnival for silkworm farmers in the water town.

4. Lixia is called people

The beginning of summer is also one of the twenty-four solar terms. It is a day to taste broad beans, salted eggs, green plums and cherries, which is called "taste the new". Farmers make "Lixia Cake" from malt, "Caotou" and

powder, and give it to relatives and friends. Children are invited from time to time to carry bamboo tubes, pick broad beans, cook bacon, collect wild firewood, gather rice from hundreds of families, and set up stoves and pots outdoors to cook "wild fire rice". It is said that eating it will prevent summer. The Lixia naming of people was most popular in Jiangnan. Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei's son Adou was taken to Jiangdong on the Lixia day. Mrs. Sun weighed her in person and raised her carefully. From then on, she weighed people again every year in the Lixia and wrote to Zhuge Liang to show her dedication and spread the news. Among the people, they follow each other and become customs.

5. Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the "Tianzhong Festival". Every family wraps rice dumplings and relatives and friends give gifts to each other. It is said that this custom originated from the traditional Chinese culture. In commemoration of Qu Yuan, the ancients regarded "Chongwu" as an "evil day" with "poisonous atmosphere and active ghosts". Therefore, pictures of Zhong Kui were hung, Tianshi talismans were affixed, mugwort, calamus, peach branches, and garlic were hung in front of the door to ward off evil spirits. Yellow croakers were eaten, realgar wine was consumed, and snakes and insects were even eaten to combat poison. Children wore tiger-shaped clothing, and women cut open silk ribbons into pouches to store realgar pendants. To show strength. At noon, use Cangcao, Angelica dahurica, turtle shell, and rue to "kill mosquito smoke", spray realgar wine on the walls and corners of the house, and sprinkle quicklime water to drive away insects.

6. Fenlong Ayame

The 25th day of the fifth lunar month is "Fenglong Day", also known as "Fenglong Festival". It is said that the dragon kings of Si Yu go to the areas under their respective jurisdictions to rain rain on this day, hence the name Fenlong. On this day, the public welfare firefighting organizations---Water Dragon Club will hold fire drills as usual. At that time, the water dragon clubs in each district will assemble their teams. Bringing all the fire-fighting equipment, they gathered on the river bank in the open space in the town. Some put various paints in water dragons and buckets in advance. With a command, gongs and drums sounded, and each water dragon sprayed into the air at the same time, creating a colorful and flying waterfall. It is spectacular. Men, women, old and young gather to watch and cheer. The one with the fastest water discharge and the longest range will be the winner.

7. Sun-drying bugs

On the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, it is the scorching sun in midsummer. There is a proverb in Wuzhen that "on the sixth day of June, the sun will make duck eggs ripe."

It is indeed a good time to expose insects and mildew. In the Song Dynasty, it was designated as the "Tiankuang Festival". The reason for this was a carefully fabricated dream story by Emperor Zhenzong Zhao Huan. Later generations found it boring, so they changed the traditional "Exposure Festival" on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The "sun" moved up. Scholars dried books, monks and nuns in temples dried scriptures, and ordinary people dried clothes. On this day, there was also the custom of taking cats and dogs to bathe in the river. It is said to avoid lice, and townspeople dried hot water to bathe children. Women wash their hair every day, and the custom of eating wontons in every household may be derived from mixed bathing.

8. Zhongyuan River Lanterns

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Zhongyuan Festival, commonly known as "July 15". On that day, Taoist temples hold fasting rituals to recommend blessings, and Buddhist temples perform "Old Lantern Festival". "Basket Festival", Buddhist and Taoist religious leaders hold religious ceremonies, while among the people, every household worships their ancestors, so it is also called the "Ghost Festival". After the Southern Song Dynasty, the custom of entering the river with lanterns became popular on Zhongyuan night. Various flower-shaped lanterns made of bamboo strips and paper, with candles burning in the lamp and a wooden board underneath, or paper in various colors made into a boat shape, with a little lamp grass oil inside to light, and the lights lit at night. Go to the waterside or drive a boat to the river and place them in the river. The candles are flickering and drifting with the current, which is a spectacle. The Buddhists call it "Cihangpudu" for this purpose, and the Taoists call it "illuminating the dark and guiding the way", but the common people just think of it as An entertainment.

9. Mid-Autumn Moon Appreciation

The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. It is in the middle of autumn, when the moon is the roundest and brightest. The ancients used the full moon as a symbol of family reunion. It symbolizes, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". On this eve, families gather together for a feast, relatives and friends give each other gifts, and moon cakes are indispensable. As the moon rises, a table is set up in the courtyard to admire the moon. In addition to mooncakes, the offerings include melons, taro, lotus root, edamame and other seasonal fruits and vegetables. Most of them are also made of incense sticks on the desk, made of paper incense sticks. All kinds of colorful flags are placed on it, and the story of the Moon Palace is embellished. It is wonderfully made and burned outdoors after the offering, which means praying for a good harvest.

10. Chongjiu Climbing

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the Chongjiu Festival, also known as the "Double Ninth Festival" or "Chongjiu Festival" or "Chrysanthemum Festival". The custom of dogwood has a long history. According to legend, it originated from the story of "Huanjing's Escape". During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Huan Jing, a native of Runan, followed his teacher's instructions and on the ninth day of the Chongqing Festival, his whole family wore dogwood and climbed the mountain. This way they were able to avoid disaster. Later generations followed suit and it became a custom. By the Tang Dynasty, it had evolved into a traditional entertainment program. Its function seemed to be to strengthen the body, prevent diseases, and ward off the early cold. There are no mountains to climb in Wuzhen in recent weeks, so people climb towers instead. On that day, there is a "Double Ninth Cake" on the market, made of red beans and glutinous rice, with a small flag on it, which means eating cakes instead of climbing, and placing flags instead of planting dogwood.

11. Worshiping Ancestors at Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice is also one of the twenty-four solar terms. It is a major festival in traditional customs. It is also called "Winter Festival" or "Yasui". Every family in the former family grinds flour and makes "Winter Festival Yuanzi", prepares wine and cooks, and holds sacrifices to ancestors, which is quite grand. There is a folk saying that "the winter solstice is as big as the year". There are also people who sweep graves during the winter solstice. It takes eighty-one days from the winter solstice. It is divided into nine "nine"s, which are the period of cold winter. There is an old "nine-nine picture to relieve the cold", which is said to have started in the Ming Dynasty. In the picture, a plum branch is painted with eighty-one petals. From the winter solstice, one petal is dyed according to the formula. If you click them all, the cold will end and spring will come, and farming will begin. It is intended to urge people not to forget farming during their leisure time to relieve the cold, and also get a piece of winter meteorological information.

Twelve. The twelfth lunar month of the twelfth lunar month.

The twelfth lunar month is commonly known as the "twelfth lunar month." Every evening at dusk, I would beat the gongs and bang the bangs, patrol along the streets, and sometimes shout: "It's cold in the twelfth lunar month, be careful with the candles, the front door is closed, the back door is heavy, look in the firewood room, there are piles of ashes, beware of thieves, the door is important." , like a song, like a chant, until New Year's Eve. It's winter, the climate is dry, and there is a lot of fire use among the people. There are many wooden houses in the town. Once a fire breaks out, it is not a trivial matter, and you must always be vigilant. At that time, there were no less than ten people in the town doing the watch. Every evening, the sound of gongs, bangs, and shouts came and went, which was helpful in reminding people to pay attention to safety.

Additional content:

Wuzhen is actually the Dongzha Scenic Area that has been opened for a long time; Xizha was opened to the public at the end of last year after renovation.

You have to take a ferry to enter Xizha. "Harmony" is the most accurate way to describe Xizha. Xizha is composed of 12 small islands, and more than 70 small bridges connect these small islands together. The density of rivers and the number of stone bridges are the highest among ancient towns in the country.

For example, Tongji Bridge and Renji Bridge are adjacent at right angles. No matter which bridge you stand on, you can see the other bridge in a bridge hole, so it is called "Bridge in Bridge". "Qiaoli Bridge" is the most beautiful ancient bridge scenery in Wuzhen, and it can be called a unique bridge view.

There are many "old-fashioned" things in Xizha - the old street is several kilometers long, the bluestone road, and half of the houses are raised on the water. There are several purely handmade things you can check out: First, the handmade sauce workshop. The braised dishes in the town taste good, largely due to the self-produced and sold soy sauce. The price is not cheap, a bottle of ordinary soy sauce costs 25 yuan; the second is a cast iron pot, which is hand-cast. The iron pot with an asking price of 99 yuan is said to be the most popular; the third is silk. Yida Silk was founded in the early years of Guangxu. You can personally operate the old silk reeling machine.

When night falls, drinking a small drink, watching opera singing on the balcony on the other side, or placing a few lotus lanterns by the water will be intoxicating. Photography enthusiasts, don’t forget to bring a tripod.

There are still some folk activities here. At that time, after dressing up, women would walk in groups, each carrying an earthen jar for decoction, and throw the jars into the river when crossing the bridge, believing that this would protect them from illness and disaster in the new year. In modern times, the practice of throwing medicine jars disappeared, and walking on the bridge with lanterns evolved into festival entertainment and blessing activities.

The hotels and B&Bs in Xizha are also very special. The outer shells are from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and they are equipped with air conditioning, direct drinking water, natural gas, broadband Internet, satellite TV, etc. Visitors can shuttle between ancient and modern times and enjoy Another kind of "harmony". The ancient streets of Xizha also "hidden" the most modern entertainment and leisure venues such as high-end business clubs, SPA health centers, and bars.