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Spring Festival. couplet. The origin of lucky money

The origin of the Spring Festival 2007-01-17 17:32 Now, major universities have begun to have holidays one after another, and students have begun to go home. Our country's most important traditional festival - the Spring Festival is coming soon. Today, I found some information about the Spring Festival on the Internet and added it to the space.

The origin of the Spring Festival (1)

Legend has it that many, many years ago, there was a small village at the foot of Dingyang Mountain with beautiful mountains and green waters. On the hillside at the head of the village, there is a small stone house where a young man named Wannian lives. He comes from a poor family and makes a living by collecting firewood and digging medicine. The season was very chaotic at that time, making it impossible for farmers to farm. Wannian is a scheming young man who wants to set the seasons accurately, but he doesn't know where to start.

One day, Wan Nian went up the mountain to collect firewood and sat under a tree to rest. The movement of the tree shadows inspired him, so he made a sundial to measure the shadow of the sun and calculate the length of the day. However, the sky was cloudy, foggy and rainy, which affected the measurements. He just wanted to make another timekeeping device to make up for the shortcomings of the sundial. That day, he went up the mountain to dig medicine and came to the spring to drink water. The rhythmic ticking of the spring water on the cliff caught his attention. He looked at the spring water in a trance. After thinking for a while, I returned home, drew a picture, tried it out, and finally made a five-layer clepsydra. From then on, he measured the shadow of the sun and looked for water leaks, working diligently. Slowly, he discovered that every three hundred and sixty days, the length of the day would repeat itself from the beginning. The shortest day is on the winter solstice.

The emperor at that time was called Zu Yi. The disorder made him anxious. Then he summoned all the officials. The troubles caused by the irregularity of the imperial meeting and the festival. The seasonal officer named A Heng didn't know the laws of the sun and moon, so he said that people were careless and offended the gods. Only by kneeling down and offering sacrifices sincerely can God forgive you. Zu Yi took a vegetarian bath. He led hundreds of officials to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices, and told the whole country to set up a platform to offer sacrifices to Heaven.

But the sacrifices came and went without any results, and the seasons were still in chaos; people everywhere had to serve and donate in order to build the altar, which was really bile. Adding to the suffering. Wannian couldn't bear it anymore. He brought his sundial and clepsydra to meet the emperor.

Wannian met with the emperor and talked about the winter solstice and the cycles of the sun and the moon. After hearing this, Zu Yi was overjoyed and immediately ordered a large-scale construction project to build the Sun and Moon Pavilion, the sundial platform and the Leaky Pot Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven. Twelve more boys were assigned to serve him for ten thousand years. Wannian asked six boys to keep the sundial and six boys to keep the clepsydra, record carefully and report on time.

One day, Zu Yi asked A Heng to go to the Riyue Pavilion to inquire about the calendar making situation. Wan Nian pointed to the cursive calendar and said: "The sun rises and sets three hundred and six times, and the cycle starts from the beginning again. The withered grass and trees are divided into four o'clock. Years are twelve rounds long." When A Heng heard this, he felt it was right, but felt uneasy in his heart. He thought to himself: If Ten Thousand Years had set the seasons correctly, and the emperor would have been happy and used Wan Nian again, who would still listen to me, A Heng? Ah Heng thought and thought, and wanted to get rid of Wan Nian.

That day, A Heng found out about a sharp customer who was good at shooting, so he sent someone to invite him to his home, held a banquet, explained the reason, and promised to treat him with great courtesy. The assassin promised to carry out the assassination that night. The assassin took advantage of the drunkenness to leave Ah Heng and ran towards the Sun and Moon Pavilion. Unexpectedly, there were guards guarding the Sun and Moon Pavilion around the Temple of Heaven. Assassins could not get close, so they drew their bows and arrows and shot at Wan Nian, who was watching the stars on the Sun and Moon Pavilion. Unexpectedly, the assassin drank too much and his eyes were dizzy. The arrow only hit Wan Nian's arm. Wannian fell to the ground with an ouch, and all the boys cried out to catch the thief. When the guards heard the cry, they mobilized to catch the assassin and bring him to the emperor.

Zu Yi asked for the truth, sent an order to put A Heng in prison, and immediately left the palace and climbed to the Sun and Moon Pavilion to visit Wannian. Wan Nian was very moved. He pointed at Shen Xing and said: "Shen Xing has caught up with the Silkworm Star, and the stars have recovered. At the end of the night, the old year is over and spring has begun again. I hope the emperor will set a festival."

Zu Yi said: "Spring is the beginning of the year, so let's call it the Spring Festival. Aiqing entered the palace and stayed there for three years. She worked hard and worked hard to create the lunar calendar based on the full moon. It is really a great achievement. Now Aiqing If you are plotted by a traitor, please follow me to the palace to recuperate."

Wannian said: "Although the lunar calendar is crude, it is not very accurate. There is still a little time left at the end of the year. At the end of the day, the sun and the moon are like a shuttle, and the calendar will be wrong again. I live up to the expectations of all living beings, and I am deeply favored by the emperor. I am willing to break my heart and calculate carefully to make the grass calendar accurate."

< p>In this way, for thousands of years in the Sun and Moon Pavilion, I carefully observed the growth and decline of the plants, wheat, and bean sprouts, carefully calculated, and incorporated the accumulated sun and moon at the end of the year. In May of that year, Zu Yi went to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices to the gods. Then he climbed up to the Sun and Moon Pavilion and gave the fresh peaches in May to Wan Nian. Wannian presented the lunar calendar. Zu Yi looked at Wannian who worked day and night, his eyebrows and beard became white. He was deeply moved, so he named the lunar calendar Wannian calendar, and named Wannian as the sun, moon and longevity star. Therefore, later people also called the Spring Festival the New Year. During the New Year, a picture of the longevity star was hung in the house to symbolize longevity in the new year and to commemorate the ten thousand years of great merit and virtue.

The origin of the Spring Festival (2)

Among the people in Guanzhong, Shaanxi, there are magical legends about the Spring Festival.

Legend has it that in order to govern the human world, the Jade Emperor sent Maitreya Buddha from the Heavenly Palace down to earth. Tathagata Buddha found out about this, and he thought, I am the Lord Buddha, why don't you let me go? So, he went to the Jade Emperor to reason. After hearing this, the Jade Emperor was speechless and had to say: "Let's discuss it before we discuss it." Taking advantage of the discussion, the Jade Emperor thought of a way out of the siege.

He invited Maitreya Buddha and Tathagata Buddha, placed two pots of flowers in front of the two Buddhas, and said: "Each of you will take care of one of these two pots of flowers. Whoever's flower blooms first will go down to earth to manage it." The Tathagata Buddha has a keen mind and a lot of ideas. He knew that the Jade Emperor must be biased towards Maitreya Buddha, because he guessed that the Jade Emperor was afraid that he would not accept what he said, so he used flowers as an excuse to do this. For these two pots of flowers in front of me, I am afraid that the Jade Emperor has secretly made arrangements, so he also came up with a little plan. He took the opportunity of Maitreya Buddha to close his eyes and thank him, and quietly changed the positions of the two pots of flowers. The next day, the flowers of Tathagata Buddha bloomed, so Maitreya Buddha only stayed in the human world for one day, which was the first day of the first lunar month. It is said that Maitreya Buddha is kind-hearted. He asked people to eat well, wear clothes and sleep well on this day. Therefore, on the first day of the first lunar month, people rejoiced and spent the day happily. Later, in order to commemorate Maitreya Buddha, people called this moment of handover between the two Buddhas in early spring the "Spring Festival". Some people say that because Tathagata Buddha secretly changed flower pots and left behind the phenomenon of blindness, even now, there are still petty thefts in the world.

The origin of the Spring Festival (3)

Among the people in Fujian Province, there are wonderful legends about celebrating the New Year.

According to legend, in ancient times, there was a ferocious monster with a huge body, horn-like tentacles on its head, and round eyes. Live like two lanterns. A mouth so big that it can swallow a person in one mouthful. The name of this monster is "Nian".

It lives in a cave for years and is the overlord of the mountain. When tigers, lions, and black bears see it, they run away in fear; when goats, monkeys, and hares hear its roar, they collapse to the ground. He hunted animals in the mountains for years, and after eating, he lay down in the cave and slept. Whenever the severe cold is about to end and the new year is coming, Nian will run down the mountain and enter the village to eat people. Therefore, humans are also very afraid of it. When a child cries, as long as the mother says "it's new year", the child will be too scared to cry.

But at that time, there were two cattle herding children, one named Ashan and the other named Asui. They were good partners and both were very courageous. They often drove their cattle up the mountain to graze. The people at home said to them: "Child, there is Nian on the mountain, so you can't go!"

"Don't be afraid!" Ah Shan and Ah Shui had a plan, and said, "We carry bows and arrows, and if Nian comes When it comes, climb up the tree and shoot it to death!"

Having said that, the two of them went up the mountain several times, but Xingxi never encountered Nian. In a blink of an eye, it was the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, and it was dusk. Ah Shan and Ah Shui drove the cattle home. It was so strange that the cows mooed in panic and huddled together. What's going on?

"Hey, let's go!" Ah Shan and Ah Shui waved their bullwhips and whipped them several times. Suddenly, a strange cry of "gawa" was heard, and a monster was so frightened that it ran towards the road in front of the village.

Ashan said: "Ashui, look, it's a Nian that ran away!"

"It's really strange, Nian is a ferocious beast, why did he get so scared when he saw us that he ran away? ." Ah Shui felt very strange.

"Well," Ah Shan said decisively, "let's go after it and have a look."

The two little shepherd boys were so bold. They kept waving their bullwhips to urge the cattle to move faster. The crackle of the bullwhip made Nian run away faster. "Oh, that's right!" Ah Shan suddenly realized, "Turns out Nian is afraid of the sound of the bullwhip!"

Ashan and Ah Shui drove the cattle into the village and saw Nian rushing to Eunuch Wu's house from a distance. A bright red dress was hanging in front of Eunuch Wu's house. Nian was so frightened that he turned around and ran towards the back of the village.

There is also a village over there. At this time, night fell, and Nianyi saw lights flashing brightly in the windows of every house, which made him dizzy, and he turned around and ran away. At this time, Ah Shan and Ah Shui had already driven the cattle into the shed and chased after them. They deliberately swung their whips so loudly that Nian screamed in horror and ran up the mountain.

Ah Shan and Ah Shui saw all this clearly. When they returned to the village, they said to the villagers: "It turns out that the New Year is afraid of noise, red, and fire. We know its weaknesses. From now on, You can resist it."

After hearing this, the villagers quickly came up with a good idea. Everyone lit a bonfire in front of the village. Ah Shan and Ah Shui threw in bamboos one by one, and the fire made a crackling sound. A few years ran down the mountain. When I saw the bonfire and heard the noise, I ran back again. In this way, the night passed, and the villagers were safe and sound. The next day, the first day of the first lunar month, the villagers took out tangerines, peanuts and other delicious things to eat together and congratulated each other: "Congratulations!"

From then on, people called the first day of the first lunar month "New Year" . Whenever this day comes, every household puts up red Spring Festival couplets, sets off firecrackers, lights red candles, and wears red clothes, using "red" as a symbol of good luck. It is said that these customs gradually evolved from the methods used to resist the "year" in the past.

The origin of the Spring Festival (4)

In the folk areas of Handan, Hebei Province, there are myths and stories about the Spring Festival.

The Spring Festival, commonly known as the New Year, is a traditional folk festival that people value. People celebrate the Spring Festival by posting couplets, and the horizontal couplets often have the words "the time of summer" written on them. The Chinese lunar calendar started from the Xia Dynasty, so it is also called the Xia calendar.

Legend has it that when King Xia ruled the world, the weather was smooth, the country was peaceful and the people were safe, people had enough food and clothing, lived and worked in peace and contentment, and their lives were wonderful! But later, no matter how many years passed or which dynasty it was, the world became chaotic. Sometimes it is dry, sometimes it is flooded, sometimes it is windy, sometimes it rains heavily. Some people became poor, some became rich, some became rich, and some became slaves.

At that time, there was a wealthy family in the village who employed several Mihan (long-term workers).

One day, after dinner, people worshiped the Kitchen God. When Xiao Mihan saw it, he knelt quietly in front of the Stove Lord and prayed: "The Stove Lord appears. Don't let it clear when it's overcast. Don't let it shine when it's dark. Don't let it kill you if you get sick." I don't want to, This happened to be heard by the rich man. After Xiao Mihan left, the rich man also knelt in front of the Kitchen King and prayed: "The Kitchen King shows his spirit. When it is overcast, it will be dark, and when it is dark, it will be bright. If you want to be sick, let him get sick in his free time. When he is busy, he will make a living. ."

At that time, the Kitchen God was taking a nap. I didn't hear it clearly; I vaguely remembered the words "cloudy, sunny, rainy, windy, sick, painful..." and kept them in my mind.

As we speak, a year has passed. On the night of the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, all the gods and goddesses will go to heaven to pay homage to the Jade Emperor. Of course, the Kitchen God will also go. He went earlier than anyone else because he was always thinking about the rich man and Xiao Mihan praying. After meeting the Jade Emperor, he said without saying a word: "Your Majesty the Jade Emperor, the little god has something to report. At present, the yin and yang in the world are out of order, and the wind and rain are causing disasters. People cannot survive. A great god should be sent to deal with it as soon as possible..."< /p>

When the Jade Emperor heard this, he couldn't help being surprised: "Is this true?" , to manage the people’s food, clothing, housing and transportation. After the imperial edict, all the gods looked at me and I looked at you, but no one was willing to accept the edict.

This time. Suddenly I heard a cry from outside the Nantian Gate: "Gods, step back, I will do this job!" When I looked up, I saw a bald-headed, chubby gentleman with a big belly, squinting eyes, and laughing. God - Maitreya Buddha. This Maitreya Buddha is broad-minded and generous. He felt bored watching the scenery outside Nantianmen all day long. He wanted to do something good for people, so he took the initiative to take on this important task.

But it is said that when Maitreya Buddha came to the world, the first thing he did was to let people live a happy New Year, with good food, good clothes, and no work. Therefore, people followed his wishes and organized New Year's goods at every market, and they were really busy. Maitreya Buddha also specifically stipulates: twenty-four, clean the house; twenty-five, grind tofu; twenty-six, steam buns; twenty-seven, buy things; twenty-eight, kill the pig; twenty-nine, make rice wine; three 10. Eat flat food…………. At the same time, all the gods and goddesses should be invited, and all preparations should be made for fragrant foil and paper. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is the first day of the New Year, every family will wake up, set off firecrackers, dress up, congratulate each other, and eat, drink and have fun. At the same time, we have to visit relatives and friends, visit the graves of ancestors...

In this way, the world will really be peaceful. The Jade Emperor parted the clouds and looked down at the world. He saw a scene of joy, and he was naturally happy in his heart. A few more days passed like this, and on the fifth day of the lunar month, at dawn, there was a sudden noise. It turned out to be Jiang Taigong's wife (people called her the God of Dirty, who was responsible for the huts and dung), and she was quarreling with the fat-bellied Maitreya Buddha.

It turns out that on New Year’s Eve, when people invite gods, they forget about the dirty gods. She couldn't get angry, so she went to make trouble with Maitreya Buddha. Maitreya Buddha was smiling all over his face, but he didn't answer. This dirty spirit was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet, and his orifices were filled with smoke. Seeing that the matter was about to get serious, Maitreya Buddha said: "Let's do it! Today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, let people fire a few more cannons for you, make dumplings once, and spend money once!" - This is the origin of "Powu" .

Unexpectedly, these cannons were heard in the Heavenly Palace, where the Jade Emperor was playing chess. When he heard the cannons, he thought something had happened in the world. Then he sent the God of Wealth to the human world to observe. The God of Wealth is the God in charge of gold and silver in heaven. When he came to the human world, he saw that there were fragrant foils everywhere. He was so happy that he forgot to go back.

The Jade Emperor also sent Cangguan down to earth. Cangguan is the god who specializes in warehouses. He saw that every house was piled with steamed buns to offer incense, and he didn't want to die.

The Jade Emperor sent several more gods to earth, but still no response. With that said, half a month has passed and the Jade Emperor's chess game has been finished. He suddenly remembered that the gods he sent had not returned, so he went to the human world to check it out in person. When he saw people dressed in brand new clothes, eating rice, white flour and meat and vegetables, and doing no work, he felt very angry. He summoned Maitreya Buddha and shouted: "I asked you to take charge of all the affairs of the people. Who told you to do all the work?" Letting people eat well and wear good clothes is not enough to make a living?" Maitreya Buddha said with a smile: "Your Majesty, calm down, you want me to take care of people's food, clothing, housing and transportation, but you don't ask me to let people work!" , the Jade Emperor was speechless. The Jade Emperor thought about it, and it was right. Since he had already done this, it could only happen once a year. After spring, he would have to work in the fields. Therefore, since then, the old tradition has been left, and there is a Spring Festival once a year.

After that, Maitreya Buddha could no longer return to Nantianmen. To this day, there are still statues of him in some temples. People say that Maitreya Buddha cannot be entirely blamed for this. After all, he wanted to do good things for people. Therefore, people offered incense to him as usual.

Couplets are commonly known as "couples" and "couples". It is simple in expression, profound in meaning, neat in contrast, and harmonious in level and oblique. It is a unique art form of the Chinese language with one word and one sound. It can be said that the art of couplets is a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation.

Classification

The types of couplets are roughly divided into spring couplets, happy couplets, longevity couplets, elegiac couplets, decorative couplets, industry couplets, social couplets and miscellaneous couplets (including humorous couplets... .)wait.

The length of the couplet text varies. The short ones are only one or two words; the long ones can reach hundreds of words. There are various forms of couplets, including positive pairs, opposing pairs, running-water pairs, joint-ball pairs, and collection-sentence pairs.

However, no matter what type of couplet and what form is used, it must have the following characteristics:

Format

1. The number of words must be equal and the sentences must be consistent. Unless the position of a certain word is intentionally left vacant to achieve a certain effect, the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be the same, no more and no less.

2. The levels and tones must be consistent and the tones must be harmonious. The traditional custom is "廄 rises and flat falls", that is, the last word of the first line is in the square tone, and the last word of the second line is in the flat tone.

3. The parts of speech should be relative and the positions should be the same. It is generally called "Void to Void, Real to Real", that is, noun to noun, verb to verb, adjective to adjective, quantifier to quantifier, adverb to adverb, and relative words must be in the same position.

4. The content should be relevant and connected from top to bottom. The meanings of the upper and lower lines must be connected to each other, but they cannot be repeated.

In addition, the traditional practice of hanging couplets must be written vertically, from right to left, from top to bottom, and cannot be reversed.

Hengpi, which is closely related to the couplet, can be said to be the title and the center of the couplet. Good horizontal batches can play a finishing touch and complement each other in the couplets.

The origin and development of couplets

Couplets are one of my country’s unique literary forms. Its wonderful combination with calligraphy has become a colorful artistic creation of the Chinese nation. Couplets, also known as "couples", are named after the couplets that were often hung in the halls and halls of houses in ancient times. As early as before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was a custom of hanging peach charms during the Chinese New Year. The so-called peach charms are the names of the legendary ghost-conquering gods "Shen Cha" and "Yu Lei", respectively written on two peach boards and hung on the left and right doors to drive away ghosts and suppress evil spirits. This custom lasted for more than a thousand years. It was not until the Five Dynasties that people began to inscribe couplets on peach boards. According to the "History of the Shu Family in the Song Dynasty", Meng Chang, the lord of Shu after the Five Dynasties, "every year, he ordered a scholar to compose a poem, write a peach charm, and place it around the door of his bed. In the last year of his life (AD 964), the scholar Xing Yinxun wrote a poem, and Chang used it as a poem. Fei Gong's self-motivated inscription says: "New Year's Day", "Jia Festival" is Changchun. This is the earliest Spring Festival couplet in my country. After the Song Dynasty, it has become quite common for folk to hang Spring Festival couplets during the New Year. The sentence in Wang Anshi's poem "Thousands of households always replace old talismans with new peaches" is a true portrayal of the grand occasion at that time. Since the appearance of Spring Festival couplets is closely related to Taofu, the ancients also called Spring Festival couplets "Taofu".

It was not until the Ming Dynasty that people began to use red paper instead of peach boards, resulting in the Spring Festival couplets we see today. According to the "Miscellaneous Stories of Hairpin Cloud Tower", after Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty established his capital in Jinling, before New Year's Eve, he ordered the ministers, officials, and common people to add a Spring Festival couplet to every door, and he personally went out incognito to watch and enjoy the couplets door to door. Since then, all literati have regarded the combination of title and couplets as an elegant thing. After entering the Qing Dynasty, couplets were at their peak, and many famous and famous couplets appeared.

With the development of cultural exchanges between countries, couplets have also been introduced to Vietnam, North Korea, Japan, Singapore and other countries. These countries still retain the custom of posting couplets.

Introduction to couplets

Chinese calligraphy is extensive and profound, with endless charm. There are various styles of seal script, official script and regular script, which are either majestic, vigorous, graceful, dignified or simple, or are handsome, unrestrained and gentle. The beauty is the most beautiful, giving people a sense of elegance and beauty. The couplets are concise, neat and precise, with the number of words in the couplets ranging from four to as many as one. Five or seven-character rhymed poems and eight-character prose are the most common. The content is rich, including several poems, aphorisms, aphorisms, proverbs and even vernacular. , elegant and dazzling, with dazzling literary talent, it is really a chapter that shines on people's eyes and every word is precious. Therefore, integrating calligraphy and couplets, appreciating the poetic philosophy of beautiful prose in calligraphy and ink, and appreciating the charm of beautiful books between words and sentences are indeed the perfect embodiment of humanities and art. Throughout the ages, calligraphers have been happy to use this as a reward and gift, and literati like to hang this elegance on their walls. This is believed to be the charm of the beauty of both calligraphy and writing and the interplay of artistic interest, which makes people fall in love with it and will last forever.

Development

The Chinese Couplet Society is a national first-level society registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The emergence of the Internet has enabled couplets to break through the local communication situation. The couplet website forum has reached [url=/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=6713