Why do we plant willows during the Qingming Festival? Is there a need for a fire ban during the Qingming Festival?
Qingming Festival is a traditional cultural festival in my country. During the thousands of years of Chinese cultural history, various cultural customs have gradually evolved and have been continued by people to this day. So why do people plant willows on Qingming Festival? Is there a need for a fire ban during the Qingming Festival? A year's plan begins with spring. The wind in February of the lunar calendar officially brings spring, and the weather is gradually getting warmer. The Fortune Teller website will interpret every day of February of the lunar calendar in 2018 for you!Why do we plant willows during the Qingming Festival?Soul-calling theory <br /> In some places, the folks attribute this custom to commemorating Jie Zitui, such as the 1936 "Yangwu County Annals" of Henan Province: "On Qingming Festival, willows are offered in front of the shrines and the main shrine, and are inserted on the doors to call back the soul of Jie Zitui."Theory of warding off evil spirits <br /> It is an ancient belief that willow branches can ward off evil spirits. Jia Sishan's Qi Min Yao Shu says: "On the 1st day of the first lunar month, take willow branches and hang them on the door, and all ghosts will not enter the house." The Annals of Qufu County during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty also said: "On Qingming Festival, plant willows outside the door to ward off bad luck." The Emei County Annals printed during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty recorded: "During the Qingming Festival, women put willow leaf charms on their hair, which were called 'willow leaf charms'." This helps explain the idea of inserting willow leaves to ward off evil spirits. Theory of avoiding insects <br /> The Linhai County Chronicles of Zhejiang Province records: "On Qingming Festival, people plant willows at the door, or replace them, to drive away the 'Xiang Ji Niang', which refers to the giant magpie. It is similar to the theory of warding off evil spirits, and it is said to avoid snakes and insects." Hebei's Huailai County Chronicles states: "Breaking willow branches and inserting them into the door is said to ward off snakes and insects." Theory of improving eyesight <br /> There is also a saying that planting willows can improve eyesight. Wu Zimu of the Song Dynasty wrote in "Dreams of the Southern Song Dynasty": "In March, the Qingming Festival begins. The two days before the festival are called Cold Food Festival. People in the capital count from the winter solstice to the 150th day. On this day, every family inserts willow branches on the door, which is called Bright Eye..." The saying about Qingming Willow originated from the taboo of "Green Blind Day". The Linjin County Annals records: "On the Qingming Festival, women do not do any work, and it is called 'Qingming Day.'" That is to say, this day is a day off for women, so they are asked to put down their work; otherwise, it will be very bad for their eyesight. The taboo against blindness gave rise to associations with improving vision, and not entirely through willow planting. The "Xi'an County Annals" of the 16th year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty said that on Qingming Festival, "breaking willow branches and inserting them into the door or replacing them, and eating green beans can make people's eyes bright"; the "Changxing County Annals" of the 10th year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty said that eating snails on Qingming Festival was called "picking green", which can improve eyesight; in addition, it is also said that picking new tea on Qingming Festival can improve eyesight. Welcoming the Swallows Theory <br /> This theory holds that the willows on the Qingming Gate are meant to welcome the spring swallows. Swallows are migratory birds and return to the north in spring. Therefore, the saying of welcoming the swallow is only found in the north. Hebei's "LeTing County Chronicles" records that "willow branches are inserted at the door to welcome the Yuan bird." "Luanzhou Chronicles" records that "people use faces to make swallows, put them on willow branches and insert them into the door to welcome the Yuan birds." The Yuan bird is the swallow. Shanxi is the hometown of Jie Zitui. The swallows made there are strung on willow branches and inserted into doorways, and are called "Zitui Swallows". Is there a need to ban fire during Qingming Festival?It was first seen in "Zhou Li·Si Hengshi": "In the middle of spring, a fire ban was enforced in the country with a wooden bell." The explanation in "Xia Xiaozheng" is: "The one hundred and fifty days of last winter was the Cold Food Festival, because the dragon was afraid of the clouds gathering in Danyang, the dragon star was in the Kang position, spring belongs to the east, and the heart is the big fire, so people are very afraid of fire, so fire is banned." The ancients believed in the unity of man and nature, and the fire ban was due to the stars in space.With the development of material civilization, the method of making fire by drilling wood has gradually been eliminated. However, the reform of fire is an ancient system written into the "Book of Zhou" and "The Analects of Confucius" and has not been forgotten. During the Tang and Song dynasties, whenever fire was banned during the Cold Food Festival, the imperial court would use willow fire to reward close ministers and relatives. Volume 32 of "Song Dynasty Facts and Facts" "In Zhou Li, the national fire changes in four seasons. In spring, the fire is from elms and willows, and in summer, the fire is from jujube and apricots... In the Tang Dynasty, only the fire from elms and willows was given to close ministers and relatives during the Qingming Festival. In this dynasty, only the assistant ministers, relatives, generals, the three-in-one supervisors, the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, the Privy Councilor, and the envoys were given generous gifts, which was an extraordinary gift." Although the scope was slightly expanded in the Song Dynasty, granting fire was still a sign of great favor, which most people would not even dare to think about. The recipient uses this to light a fire, and then places the willow branches on the door as a sign of honor. Later, families who did not receive the gift of fire also put willows on their doors during this time, and thus the custom of putting willows on doors during the Qingming Festival was formed. |
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