Why did people dry books and clothes on the Chinese Valentine’s Day in ancient times? Complete Collection of Traditional Customs on Chinese Valentine's Day
The annual Qixi Festival is coming soon. What are the customs on this day? Let the editor take you to learn about it! July is also called Qiao Yue, Gua Yue, Orchid Autumn, Zhao Qiu, New Autumn, First Autumn, Xiang Yue, Meng Qiu and Early Autumn. Come to Mr. Shui Mo's website to learn more details about the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 2020.Why did people dry books and clothes on the Chinese Valentine’s Day in ancient times?In ancient times, there was a custom of drying books on the Chinese Valentine's Day, which was said to prevent them from being eaten by insects. Around the Chinese Valentine's Day, the weather is the hottest and every household is busy drying their crops to dry out the summer heat. Drying the clothes in the sun, ordinary people dry their clothes, and scholars also dry their books.So when did the custom of drying books originate? According to historical records, this custom originated in the late Eastern Han Dynasty nearly two thousand years ago. In the "Monthly Orders for Four Classes of People" by Cui Shi of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is said: "On the seventh day of the seventh month, dry scriptures and clothes under the sun to prevent them from being worm-eaten." This shows that the custom of drying books on the Qixi Festival had already existed during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. During the Tang and Song dynasties, drying books on July 7 was still a popular custom. According to Suihua Jili by Han E of the Tang Dynasty, people had the custom of "exposing books and drying clothes" on July 7th. "Song Huiyao" records that according to the ritual system of the Song Dynasty, July 7 was designated as the "Book Drying Festival". On that day, the emperor gave money to all the three provinces and six ministries and below to hold banquets as a book drying party. Every year, the Chinese Valentine's Day falls during the hottest days of summer, when the temperature is high and the humidity is heavy, making books easily susceptible to moisture. So scholars would take their collections of books to an open space at noon on the Chinese Valentine's Day to dry them in the sun to prevent them from being damaged. There is an idiom "Hao Long drying books", which refers to Hao Long, a military officer under the Grand Marshal Huan Wen in the Western Jin Dynasty who was well-educated and talented. On July 7th, when he saw people drying books, he unbuttoned his clothes, exposed his chest and belly and lay in the sun to dry his belly. When others asked him about it, he said, "I'm drying books" to show that he is full of knowledge. Drying one's belly means drying books. There is also a folk story about drying books on the Qixi Festival in Yangzhou: During the Jiaqing period, there was a tribute student named Wang Zhong who despised the custom of drying books because he was ignored by the magistrate of Ganquan County at a party at Ruan Yuan's house. On the morning of the Chinese Valentine's Day, Wang Zhong lay on Tongsi Street east of Siwang Pavilion with his belly open, eyes closed, resting and basking in the sun, which is also called "drying books". On this day, as usual, the county magistrate went to the county school (the former site of the current Ximen Street Primary School) to meet with the tribute students to lecture on the scriptures. Wang Zhong was lying across the middle of the street, and the master's sedan chair could not pass. The bailiffs came forward to ask him to make way. He said that today was the Chinese Valentine's Day and he was exposing the sage books in his belly to the sun. The bailiffs hurriedly reported to the master, and the magistrate had no choice but to swallow his anger and take a sedan chair to go to the county school via a detour. This is the story of "Wang Zhong Drying Books" which is still popular among the people of Yangzhou. Speaking of drying books, the story of Cao Cao and Sima Yi has been passed down to this day. It is recorded that Sima Yi was suspected by Cao Cao because of his high position and power. In view of the darkness of the political situation at that time, in order to protect himself, he pretended to be crazy and hid at home. Emperor Wu of Wei was still not reassured, so he sent a trusted clerk to secretly investigate the truth. It was July 7th, and Sima Yi, who was pretending to be crazy, was also drying books at home. The clerk went back to report to Emperor Wu of Wei, who immediately ordered Sima Yi to return to the court to take up his post, otherwise he would be arrested. Sima Yi just obeyed the order and returned to the court. The phrase "I just realized that Ruan's family is poor" in Li Shangyin's poem has another meaning. It means that the custom of drying clothes in the Han Dynasty created an opportunity for the rich and powerful to show off their wealth in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Ruan Xian, one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove", looked down on this style. On July 7th, when his neighbors were drying their clothes, he saw the racks were full of Lingluo silk, dazzling. Ruan Xian was leisurely using a bamboo pole to pick up a worn-out piece of clothing. When someone asked him what he was doing, he said, "I am not immune to the common customs, so I am just answering your questions!" Poets of all dynasties have left many famous lines about drying books, such as Liu Yun's "The Qixi Festival of the Wushen Year": "Not only the Sichuan guest knows the trace, but also ask the man in the courtyard who dries his belly." Tang Sun Hua of the Qing Dynasty wrote a poem to mock the theft of Zhou Lipu's books and inkstone: "From now on, keep your belly from being peeped at, and don't lie down to dry your books in front of others." Qing Dynasty Sun Zhiwei's "Remembering My Wife on the Qixi Festival": "I pity the needlework woman from afar, who married a man who dries books in vain." Mao Qiling's "The Qixi Festival": "I tasted the fruits in the courtyard tonight, and I have been drying my belly every year." As for the current folk custom of drying clothes and books on June 6th, it actually started during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and was moved from July 7th to June 6th. The ten major traditional customs of the Chinese Valentine's Day1. Threading a needle to pray for wisdom <br /> Every Chinese Valentine's Day, women play games such as threading a needle in front of the moon to pray for wisdom from the Weaver Girl, which is called "begging for wisdom". A woman holds five-colored silk thread and a nine-hole needle (or five-hole needle, seven-hole needle) arranged in a row, and threads the needle continuously under the moonlight. The one who can thread all the threads quickly is said to be "deqiao".2. Worship Kuixing <br /> It is said that July 7th is the birthday of Kuixing. People say that "Kuixing governs literary affairs". Scholars who want to gain fame will worship Kuixing on this day and pray for his blessing for a smooth exam. 3. Happy Spiders Answering Skills <br /> This is also an earlier way of begging for skills, which is slightly later than threading a needle to beg for skills, and it started roughly during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The spider is placed in a box or covered with a bowl, and judged according to certain standards whether it is a good choice. For example, if it is a web, it is a good choice. Some people use the number of threads in the web as a standard, the denser the web, the more skill one has begged for. Some people use the orderliness of the web as a standard, the more skill one has begged for. There is also a criterion based on whether the spider silk can pass through the needle hole. If the spider silk can pass through the needle hole, it is considered lucky. After divination, those who got the lucky number right were all overjoyed and everyone congratulated them; those who did not get the lucky number right were often frustrated and sighed, or even sobbed and cried. 4. Throwing a needle to test your skill <br /> This is a variation of the custom of threading a needle to pray for skill on the Qixi Festival. It originated from threading a needle, but is different from threading a needle. It was a popular Qixi Festival custom during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At noon on July 7th, I threw the needle. Women expose a basin of water to the sun. After a while, a water film appears on the surface. An embroidery needle will float when thrown in. The shadow of the needle can be seen at the bottom of the water. Some take the shape of shadows of clouds, flowers, birds and beasts; some take the shape of shadows of shoes, scissors, and eggplants. This is called begging for skill. Others' shadows are as thick as a hammer, as thin as silk, and as straight as a wax shaft. This is a sign of clumsiness. 5. Celebrate the birthday of the ox <br /> On the Qixi Festival, children will pick wild flowers and hang them on the horns of the ox, which is also called "celebrating the birthday of the ox". According to legend, after the Queen Mother of the West separated the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl with the Milky Way, the old cow asked the Cowherd to peel off its skin so that the Cowherd could cross the Milky Way to see the Weaver Girl, so the old cow could ride on its skin to see the Weaver Girl. In order to commemorate the old cow’s sacrificial spirit, people have the custom of “celebrating the cow’s birthday”. 6. Drying clothes and books <br /> Liu Yiqing's Shishuo Xinyu Volume 25 says that everyone dries books on July 7th. The custom of drying clothes in the Han Dynasty created an opportunity for the rich to show off their wealth in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. At that time, the custom of drying books and clothes on the Qixi Festival was popular. 7. Eat Qiaoguo <br /> Qiaoguo is the most famous food for the Qixi Festival. Qiaoguo, also known as "Qiqiao Fruit", comes in many styles. The main ingredients are oil, flour, sugar and honey. In Dongjing Menghualu, it is called "Xiaoyaner" and "Fruit Food Patterns", and the patterns include Naxiang and Fangsheng. During the Song Dynasty, Qixi Qiaoguo was already sold in the streets. The method of making Qiaoguo is: first melt sugar in a pot into syrup, then add flour and sesame seeds, mix well and spread it on the table to roll it thin. After cooling, cut it into rectangular blocks with a knife, and finally fold it into spindle-shaped Qiaoguo embryos and fry them in oil until golden brown. Dexterous women can also sculpt various patterns related to the Qixi legend. 8. Worshiping "Mohele" Mohelo is a children's toy used for the Chinese Valentine's Day in the old days. It is a small clay doll, most of which are wearing a lotus leaf half-sleeve dress and holding a lotus leaf. In ancient times, both high-ranking officials and ordinary people used "Mohele" to worship the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, in order to realize their wishes of "begging for dexterity" and having many children. 9. Dyeing nails <br /> Dyeing nails is a Qixi custom that is popular in southwest China. It is also found in many county chronicles in Sichuan Province, Guizhou, and Guangdong. Young girls in many areas like to wash their hair with tree sap mixed with water during festivals. This not only makes them young and beautiful, but also helps unmarried girls find their ideal husband as soon as possible. 10. Worship the Weaver Girl <br /> On the Qixi Festival, people worship the Weaver Girl. After burning incense and worshipping in front of the table, everyone sits around the table together, eating peanuts and melon seeds while facing the Weaver Girl constellation and silently reciting their thoughts. For example, young girls who hope to be beautiful or marry a good husband, and young women who hope to have a baby soon, can pray silently to the Vega. We played until midnight. |
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