What are the nine ancient things in China?

Because nine is the largest single digit, it is regarded as an imaginary number and an extreme number to the sun in China, which often means the most and countless meanings, such as: Nine Days/Nine Days Cloud/Nine Heavenly Clouds (describing the sky is very high), Nine Dishes (describing Panshan Road), Nine Quiet (describing the extremely deep place), Nine Niu Yi hairs, and a narrow escape.

In addition, nine is homophonic with the Chinese character "Jiu", so nine is regarded as a long-lasting number. In some areas of China, when the groom goes to his spouse's house to marry the bride, he must give the bride's family, relatives and friends a red envelope of 99,999 yuan (or more "9") to show his long-term intention before entering the bride's house.

In ancient myths and legends in China, there was a goddess named Jiutian Xuan Nv, also called Jiutian Xuan Nv Empress. He has a bird's head. He is a disciple of the Virgin Yuan Jun and a teacher of the Yellow Emperor. In the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou in Zhuolu, Empress Xuan Nv descended to earth for nine days, and gave the Yellow Emperor six Sai Ren, dun armour, military symbols, stratagems and swords, and made eighty ox drums for the Yellow Emperor, thus breaking Chiyou. The statue of Xuan Nv in Jiutian was later believed by Taoism.

According to legend, nine cauldrons were cast by Yu in Xia Dynasty after water control, and the territory was divided into Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Liangzhou and Yongzhou Kyushu, each cauldron symbolizing a state. Shang Zhou, Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou are all regarded as the treasures of Fupu. Qin attack, Jiuding, one of which sank in Surabaya, the remaining eight Ding descendants can not be verified. Just compare Jiuding with your weight. Later generations compared important people to Jiuding Dalu, and the words with great functions to a word Jiuding.

"Nine" is the number representing "Yang" in China's Yin-Yang Theory (Yin-Yang Theory regards odd numbers as Yang and even numbers as Yin). On September 9, both the moon and the sun met on September 9, so it is commonly known as "Chongyang". "Jiu" is also a homonym of "Jiu". The ancients attached importance to "Nine", so they had the custom of the ninth day, which originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to Dai, a native of Runan in the later Han Dynasty, Fang Shifang, the alchemist, said that there would be a great disaster in his family on September 9, so it was advisable to lead his family to Peidogwood and go out with chrysanthemum wine to avoid the disaster. Then it became a trend. September and autumn are crisp, so it is advisable to climb high and look far. Cornus officinalis has a strong aroma, which can repel insects and remove dampness, dispel wind and cold, accelerate ripening, benefit the five internal organs, promote digestion and eliminate stagnation. Therefore, it is also a common custom to wear dogwood in Chongyang. Wang Wei, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a famous poem: "Being a stranger alone, I miss my relatives twice every festive season. I know from a distance where my brother climbed, and there is one person missing from the dogwood. "

China's nine Confucian classics are listed as "Nine Classics". Due to different times, the names of the Nine Classics are also different. In the Tang Dynasty, Zhou Li, Yi Li, Book of Rites, Fu, Bellow, Yi, Shu and Shi were collectively called the Nine Classics. The Book of Changes, Shu, History, Zuo Fu, Book of Rites, Zhou Li, The Book of Filial Piety, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius in the Song Dynasty are nine classics. In Ming Dynasty, Yi, Shu, Shi, Chunqiu, Book of Rites, Yili, Zhou Li, Analects of Confucius and Mencius are nine classics. In the Qing Dynasty, Yi, Shu, Shi, Chun Qiu, Li San, Xiao Jing, The Analects of Confucius, Mencius and Four Books are nine classics.

"Nine Songs and Nine Chapters" and "Nine Songs for Sacrifice" were rewritten into "Songs of the South", with nine songs and eleven chapters: Emperor Taiyi, Prince in the Cloud, Lady Xiang, Grand Commander, Little Commander and Little Commander. "Nine Chapters" is also the title of Qu Yuan's Songs of the South, which consists of nine chapters: Xi Yong, Ai, Si, Si Mei, Nostalgia, Orange Song, and Sorrow Returning to Empty.

There are nine people in the in-laws family. There are two ways to divide them. One way is to divide them into nine generations: father, grandfather, great-grandfather above them and son, grandson, Ceng Zi and great-grandson below them. The other is the "Nine Clans" with half blood relatives as the boundary, and four patriarchal clans, three matriarchal clans and two matriarchal clans as the "Nine Clans". "Jiuli" is an ancient clan name in southern China. * * * There are nine tribes, and each tribe has nine clans, with Chiyou as the leader. Legend has it that Chiyou has eighty-one brothers, that is, eighty-one heads of families. Believing in witchcraft, worshiping ghosts and gods, using bronze weapons and having criminal laws, they were the first members of the Southerners to enter the Central Plains. Chiyou once drove away Emperor Yan and occupied the position of "the son of heaven". After that, Yandi and Huangdi formed a tribal alliance, Chiyou fought Zhuolu, and Jiuli was defeated. Some people stayed in the north and founded Li Guo, which was later destroyed by the Zhou Dynasty. Some of them gradually merged with Huaxia nationality; The other part returned to the Nanhe Valley and established the Sanmiao Tribal Alliance, whose descendants are today's Miao people.

"Three religions, nine schools and ten schools" is the general name of academic schools from pre-Qin to early Han Dynasty. Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are collectively called the three religions, and Confucianism, Taoism, Yin and Yang, Legalism, Famous Scholars, Mohism, Strategists, Miscellaneous Scholars and Peasants are collectively called the Nine Schools. And ten writers added novelists on the basis of nine streams.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a system of "Nine Grades Being Right" in the selection of officials, and officials were divided into nine grades from one grade to nine grades. One to three grades are divided into positive and subordinate grades, starting with four grades, and the positive and subordinate grades are up and down, * * * 30. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao was in power and advocated "meritocracy". When xelloss came to power, he adopted the suggestion of Chen Qun, a senior official of the official department, and chose prestigious people from all counties as Chiang Kai-shek, who was responsible for classifying local scholars as ninth-class according to their abilities, and was selected by the court on the basis of merit, which was called the ninth-class official law, and Cao Cao's principle of "regardless of family status" was still maintained in employing people. When Cao Fang was in power, Sima Yi was in power, established Dazhongzheng in each state, and appointed clans as leaders. The principle of choice is "family background". Since then, the system of "no poverty in the top grade, no strength in the bottom grade" and "justice in the nine grades" has become a tool for clan landlords to manipulate political power. It was not until Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty that this system was abolished and changed to the imperial examination system.

There is a book called Nine Chapters Arithmetic in Ten Calculations Classics, which systematically summarizes China's mathematical achievements from pre-Qin to early Eastern Han Dynasty. The book is divided into nine chapters: ① Square field (the method of calculating area with four fractions and plane shape), ② Millet (the proportional method of grain trading), ③ Descent (the algorithm of proportional distribution), ④ Less light (the method of square root and rooting), and ⑤ quotient work (the method of calculating volume with solid shape).

There is a "Textual Research on Nine Dynasties" in ancient books, which mainly collects scattered legal materials before the Tang Dynasty. There are also nine hills (three graves, five classics and eight categories of nine hills). There is a "nine repayments to the Song Dynasty" in abacus calculation, and a "nine deductions and thirteen repayments" in private lending business, that is, every time a lender lends a dollar, the lender only gets 90 cents (cents), with a monthly interest rate of three points, and the principal and interest will be returned one month later.

The word "dragon gives birth to dragon sons" comes from Li Dongyang's "Huailutang Collection": "Dragon gives birth to nine sons, each with his own strengths; A prison cow has good music all his life. Today, the beast carved on Hu Qin's head is his portrait. I have been killed all my life, and today the dragon swallowing mouth on the hilt is its portrait; Laugh at the wind, I have had a close call in my life, and walking silently in this temple corner is its portrait; Singing all my life is not old, it is the portrait of the beast button on this clock; Sister-in-law, sit well all your life. Today, the lion in the Buddha's seat is his portrait. Overlord, a good burden in life, this monument beast is its portrait; Armadillo is a litigator all his life. Today, the lion's head on the prison door is his portrait. Negative performance, good at writing life, the portrait of Long Wen is on both sides of this monument; This is a beautiful kiss, and it's easy to swallow your whole life. The head of the animal on the ridge in this temple is its portrait. " This proverb is usually used to describe that brothers and sisters have different personalities and interests.

The folk cultural heritage also includes Nine Rings (folk toys and tricks), Nine Palace Patterns (cultural supplies), Nine Stacks of Seal Carving (the art of seal carving), Nine Transfers to the Golden elixir (a Chinese medicine refined by Taoism), The Story of Nine Kingdoms (the title of which is Biography of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms) and Nine Mothers (the goddess who helped human reproduction) in the Han Dynasty.

Ancient literati painted "Nine-Nine Pictures to Eliminate Cold" and "Nine-Nine Pictures". In China calendar, eighty-one days in Xia Hou and eighty-one days after winter are divided into nine sections, each of which is called "Summer 99" and "Winter 99" respectively. Usually the so-called 99 or 99 weather refers to 99 in winter. The map of 99 cold is to draw a plum blossom and braid 81 flowers on the solstice in winter. Without coloring, one of them was rendered day by day, and the picture was completed, and the 99 th Plan came to an end. In China's idioms and proverbs, there are "a narrow escape", "nine Niu Yi hairs", "ten sheep and nine sheep", "three kneeling and nine knocking", "three truths and nine fierceness" and so on. Because "nine" is the largest number, it has the meaning of "extreme", and words such as "nine days", "outside the cloud nine", "under the grave" and "land of nine loves" are all products of this meaning.

The emperor called it the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" because of the Book of Changes. Five, five. The divination of "Gan" in the Book of Changes: "In the Ninth Five-Year Plan, flying dragons are in the sky, which is beneficial to meet adults." Dragonfly refers to the emperor, so "nine" has become a special number for the emperor. Even the objects and buildings in the court are called "kowloon cup", "Kowloon Column", "Kowloon Wall", "Nine Peach Pots" and so on.

Because "nine" has a lofty position in the eyes of the middle class, it becomes an "auspicious number", and everything must be spelled with the word "nine". According to legend, when Genghis Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, was born, the cradle was made of nine wicker rings with nine lambskin inside. When Genghis Khan ascended the throne, he celebrated for nine days, drank 900 jars of kumiss, knocked on the door nine times and raised a white flag with nine legs. In the past, when Han people offered sacrifices to ghosts and gods, they sometimes held a ceremony of "turning to the ninth floor". The tables were stacked in nine floors, and the Taoist priests turned from the bottom floor to the top floor, doing various acrobatics. Here is a "nine" tightly buckled.

"Nine" also means magic and fickle. "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" says: "Nine: The change of Yang is also like its bending shape." There are many strange beasts with the word "nine" in China's ancient books, such as the man-eating nine-tailed fox, the bleeding nine-headed bird, the fierce nine-headed dragon, the nine-phoenix and nine-baby with a human face and a beast's heart, the secretive hydra and the nine-tailed turtle, etc.

The rich cultural connotation of the word "nine" was later extended to other numbers related to "nine", especially the multiples of "nine", such as eighteen martial arts, thirty-six plans, seventy-two changes, eighty-one difficulties, one hundred and eight generals, three hundred and sixty lines and so on. As long as you get in touch with the culture of China, you will find the word "nine" everywhere. Therefore, the meaning of "nine" is extremely rich and complicated. Even a well-read and well-informed land can hardly explain all the cultural implications contained in the word "nine" for a while.