What is the custom of weighing people at the beginning of summer? What kind of legend is there?

What is the custom of weighing people at the beginning of summer? What kind of legend is there?
The custom of weighing people at the beginning of summer is currently more popular in the Jiangnan area. So what are the specific circumstances of this custom? Let’s take a look together. If you want to know more about the third month of the lunar calendar in 2018, please pay attention to our fortune teller website!

The custom of weighing people on the beginning of summer

At the beginning of summer, the elderly hang a large scale on the beam of the house or on the fork of a tree in front of the yard. Men, young and old, step on the scales one by one to measure their weight, and then compare it with last year's weight to see whether they have gained or lost weight. This custom is mainly popular in the Jiangnan area, including Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi and other places. There are some rules for weighing people at the beginning of summer: 1. The weight cannot be moved inwards, only outwards, which means it can only be increased, not decreased. 2. If the weight is nine, you must add another one, because nine is the end number and is unlucky. 3. In some places, when weighing children, a stone is placed in the child’s pocket, which not only increases the weight but also represents longevity. In addition, different parts of Jiangnan have different interpretations of the meaning of weighing people at the beginning of summer. For example, in Ji'an, Jiangxi, people believe that weighing people can prevent weight loss. In Shanghai and Fuyang, Zhejiang, people believe that weighing people can eliminate the troubles of summer. In Linhai, Zhejiang, it is believed that weighing people can prevent people from getting sick. And in Suzhou, Jiangsu, it is believed that weighing people can ensure peace in the coming year.

The legend of the summer scale

The legend of weighing people at the beginning of summer is related to Liu Chan of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei felt it was inconvenient to take Liu Chan with him to war, so he wanted Zhao Yun to take Liu Chan to the State of Wu to find Lady Sun and ask Lady Sun to help raise him. Because the climate in the south of the Yangtze River was better and Lady Sun was also good to Liu Chan, Zhao Yun brought Liu Chan to the State of Wu. It was the Beginning of Summer when Zhao Zilong escorted Adou to the State of Wu. When Mrs. Sun saw the chubby little Adou, she was very happy, but she was a stepmother after all, and was afraid that she would not be able to raise him well and would be talked about by others. So he came up with an idea: today is the beginning of summer, so he should use a scale to weigh little Adou in front of Zhao Zilong, and then weigh him again on the beginning of summer next year, and he would know whether the child was raised well or not. In this way, on the day of the beginning of summer every year, Lady Sun would put Liu Chan on the scale to weigh him, and then report to Liu Bei, so that she would know whether he was well recovered or not. In this way, the custom of weighing people at the beginning of summer was spread from this, and because it was spread from the Wu State at that time, this custom was mostly popular in the Jiangnan area.

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