Appreciation of chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum, also known as yellow flowers, belongs to the family of chrysanthemums, and there are many varieties of chrysanthemums. Our country is the hometown of chrysanthemum, and it is very common to cultivate chrysanthemum since ancient times. Chrysanthemum is the flower of longevity, but also for the literary people praised as a symbol of the unyielding frost of the chrysanthemum, so people love it, praise it, so often held large-scale chrysanthemum exhibition. Chrysanthemum exhibition is naturally held in Chung Yeung, because the relationship between chrysanthemum and Chung Yeung is too deep; therefore, Chung Yeung is also known as Chrysanthemum Festival, and chrysanthemum is also known as the nine flowers. Appreciation of chrysanthemums has also become an integral part of the Chrysanthemum Festival. Song Dynasty "Tokyo Chuhua Records" Volume 8: "September Chrysanthemum, are under the chrysanthemum, there are several kinds. The yellow and white stamens of the lotus room said 'Wanling chrysanthemum', pink said 'peach blossom chrysanthemum', white and sandalwood heart said 'wood fragrance chrysanthemum', yellow and rounded 'Jinling chrysanthemum', pure white and big. ', pure white and large said 'hi Rong Ju. Nowhere.
Ming Dynasty, in the "Taoan Mengyi" recorded: "Yanzhou Shao Shen family style attacked the royal family. Chrysanthemum viewing day, its table, its kang, its lamp, its stove, its plate, its box, its pots, its watch, its cups, plates, big goblets, its pots, its apartment, its mattresses, its wine; its pasta, its clothes pattern, no chrysanthemums who burned candles at night to illuminate, steam baking and dyeing, more than the daytime color floated out of a few layers. Seats scattered, withdrawing the reed curtains to receive the luxuriant dew."
Chrysanthemum appreciation in the Qing Dynasty, such as the "Yanjing Times": "nine flowers, chrysanthemums. Every session of the Chung Yeung, the rich and noble families, to nine flowers hundreds of pots, racks and degrees of wide buildings in the former Xuan after light (Xuan short, the car in front of the high after the low called Xuan, before the low after the high called Xuan, a metaphor for the high and low superiority and inferiority), look at the if the mountain, said 'nine flowers mountain child'. Piled up on all sides, said 'nine flowers tower'." In the "qingjia record" in suzhou chrysanthemum appreciation activities, said: "borders chrysanthemum at first release, hufu flower farmers, has dried ounce (ancient belly small vessels) 100 yu quan into the city. Residents buy bottles to wash for the enjoyment of the people, or five or seven for one, the stalks placed in the cooked wire, laying down can be as desired. Or in the garden building stacked thousands of pots for play, crepe paper for the mountain, the number of chrysanthemum mountain. And the tea house is especially prevalent." Another book, such as "Plum in a Golden Vase", "Six Records of Floating Life" and other books also have records of chrysanthemum appreciation. To this day, during the Chung Yeung Festival, major parks still organize large-scale chrysanthemum exhibitions and tie chrysanthemums into various types of plants and animals, characters and other shapes, which are very beautiful.
Advancement
One of the most important festivities of the Chrysanthemum Festival is the ascent of heights. Therefore, the Chongyang Festival is also called the "Festival of Ascending Heights". There is no standardized rules for where to go, but generally it is to climb high mountains and towers.
Denggao As early as in the Western Han Dynasty, "Chang'an Zhi" in the capital of the Han Dynasty on September 9, when people play to view the record. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there is the famous story of "Longshan drop hat". According to the book of "Jin" in the "Meng Jia biography", the day of the September sun, the Jin Dynasty, Huan Wen and the army general Meng Jia and others climbed the Dragon Mountain (today's Hubei Jiangling County, northwest of a mountain), Meng Jia viewing the mountain scenery, and even the cap was blown away by the wind also do not know. Huan Wen called for a composition to laugh at him, and he did not show weakness, composition reply, a moment passed for a good story.
During the Southern Dynasty, Wu Jun, a Liang native, recorded a miraculous story in his book Qi Harmony: Huan Jing, a native of RuNan, traveled with Fei ChangFang to study, and Fei ChangFang asked him to let his family members each make a reddish-red bag on the day of the ChungYang Festival to hold cornelianthus and tie their arms, as well as to climb up to the heights and drink chrysanthemum wine, so as to be spared from disaster. Huanjing did as he was told, and only then did he escape the disaster. This story vividly reflects the people's mentality of avoiding evils and getting rid of disasters during the Chung Yeung Festival.
Of course, people are not only climbing, but also to view the mountain leaves and wildflowers, and drink wine and eat meat, enjoy some, so that the combination of climbing and wild feast, more attractive. Such as the Sui Sun Simiao "Qianjin Fang - month": "Chongyang day, will be to see the wine to climb high and far away, for the time of the banquet tour ornamental, in order to enjoy the fall. Wine must pick cornelian cherry, chrysanthemum to pan, that is, drunk and return." Remember the Sui dynasty customs, has been similar to later generations. In the Southern Song Dynasty's "Dream Sorghum Records" Volume 5: "The sun and moon shuttle fly, turn to look forward to the Chung Yeung. ...... is the day of 'Mengjia climbed Longshan drop hat, Yuanming to the east hedge to enjoy chrysanthemum', exactly the story." Han Yuanji of the Southern Song Dynasty, "Song of Water - Nine Days," the first piece: "Today I am the ninth day of the year, not to be ashamed of the chrysanthemum blossoms. Try to find a high place, hand in hand to take the show on Cuiwei. Putting eyes on the pale cliffs of ten thousand ren, cloud protection dawn frost into the array, know that I come with you. Ancient temple leaning on the bamboo, flying threshold absolute tip E." Describes the chrysanthemum appreciation and the rhyme of ascending to a high altitude to view the scenery of the Chrysanthemum Festival.
Ming and Qing dynasties, Beijing region to ascend the heights is quite prevalent, "Yanjing Years and Years Records" cloud: "the capital is called Chongyang for the ninth day of the ninth month. Every September 9 is the people with a pot with a pillar, out of the capital to ascend. South is the Tianning Temple, Taoranting, Longjiaohuai, etc., the north is the Jimen Smoke Tree, clear purification domains, etc., as far as the Western Hills, eight places. Poetry and wine, baked meat and cake, inquire about the happiness of the moment also." Not thesis people people, all like to climb the mountain after picnic, roast meat to eat. Some of the rich relatives with curtains and tents, baking equipment, horses and carts, musical instruments, climbing platforms, earth slopes, set up curtains and tents, tables and chairs, eat pop roasted lamb or shabu-shabu, and singing and playing music, listening to songs and watching dances. Such as the end of the Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager Cixi, every year in the Beihai East Peach Blossom Hill climbing, picnic, barbecue, and set up a blue cloth barricade, to prevent the idle peeping. In yuyuantan fishing platform and other places, also concentrated a lot of guests. The Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City, there are also climbing the mountain.
Again, such as the Guangzhou area, tourists more than in the Chung Yeung climbed the Baiyun Mountain, drinking and poetry, lively and influential to this day. In Shanghai, there is no nearby hills, it will be the Shanghai South Danfeng building and Yuyuan Garden as a large rockery, also very lively. To the Republic of China years simply climbed twenty-four-story International Hotel. And modern Beijing Xiangshan, Shandong Ox Mountain, Nanchang, Jiangxi Tengwangge, etc., are also climbing resorts. Especially Tengwang Pavilion, because of the Tang Dynasty Wang Bo in the Chongyang Festival in the Pavilion wrote a thousand years of famous text "Tengwang Pavilion Preface," more famous throughout the world. As for the monument of the Hatfall Platform on Longshan Mountain in Jiangling, Hubei, which commemorates the fall of Meng Jia in the Jin Dynasty, it also attracts many tourists.
Since Chung Yeung is an autumn festival, the grass and trees begin to wither after the festival, so some people call the Chung Yeung Festival field trips as "resignation of the green", which corresponds to the March spring tour of "treading the green". Qing Pan Rong ah "imperial capital years and times record" records: "(Chung Yeung) have to rule to see with a drink in the countryside of each door to drink all day, called 'resignation of the green'." This is also a rather poetic name.
On the origin of the custom of ascending the heights, there are different accounts:
One says that it may have originated from the ancient worship of the mountain gods, which were thought to be able to save people from disasters. That's why people went to the mountains to avoid disasters on Chongyang, the day of "Yangji". Perhaps initially to worship the mountain god for good luck, and then gradually transformed into a recreational activity. (In ancient times, it was believed that "Nine is the old sun, Yangji will change", September - nine days, the month, the day are the number of the old sun, inauspicious. Therefore, the derivation of a series of activities to avoid bad luck and seek longevity, not as Cao Pi, the Emperor of Wei Dynasty, said that nine is "suitable for a long time" of the number. This is the view of the Ming Shi Zhaozhuang "five miscellaneous Tsui".
It is said that at the time of the Chongyang Festival, the fall harvest has been completed, farming is relatively free. At this time in the mountains and fields of wild fruits, medicinal herbs and so on is the season of maturity, farmers have to go to the mountains to collect wild fruits, medicinal herbs and raw materials for the side industry with plants. This kind of gathering in the mountains was called the "small fall harvest" by the farmers. Climbing the custom of the original may be evolved from this. As for the centralization of the day of Chung Yeung, it was a later event. That means as a symbol, the starting point to promote the role, just like the spring is suitable for planting trees, people set a tree planting day of the same reason. In addition, the weather during the Chongyang Festival is sunny, cool temperatures, suitable for climbing to the distance.
Peating Cornus - Hairpin Chrysanthemum
The Chrysanthemum Festival is also known as the Cornus Festival because of the custom of wearing a cornelian cherry on the Chrysanthemum Festival. Cornus officinalis is an important symbol of the Chongyang Festival. People also like to wear chrysanthemums at the festival. Cornus corniculatus is also known as the "Evil Weng", and chrysanthemum is also known as the "longevity guest". Pai cornelian cherry
Cornelian cherry is a kind of fruit that can be used as traditional Chinese medicine, because the cornelian cherry produced in Wu Di (today's Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other areas) is of the best quality, and therefore also called Wu Cornelian cherry, also known as Yue Pepper or Ai Zi, which is a kind of small evergreen tree, the tree can grow to more than ten feet high, the leaves are pinnately compound leaves, green and white flowers in the early summer, the fruit looks like a pepper; ripening in the fall. The fruit is yellow when young, and becomes purple-red when ripe. It has the effect of warming the middle, relieving pain, and regulating qi. Cornus leaf can also cure cholera, and the root can kill insects. The Compendium of Materia Medica says that it has a pungent and aromatic odor and is warm and hot in nature, so it can cure cold and expel poison. Ancient people believed that wearing cornelian cherry could ward off evil spirits and disasters.
The custom of wearing cornelian cherry in the Tang Dynasty was prevalent, people believe that in the day of the festival of the cornelian cherry can take refuge from disasters; or wear in the arm, or as a bag of cornelian cherry inside the belt, known as the cornelian cherry bag, there are also inserted in the head. Mostly women and children wear, some places, men also wear. Chrysanthemum Festival to wear cornelian cherry, in the Jin Dynasty Ge Hong "Western Scripture Miscellany" has been recorded. In addition to wearing cornelian cherry, people also wear chrysanthemums on their heads. This was already the case in the Tang Dynasty and has been practiced throughout the ages. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of the Chongyang Festival in Beijing was to put chrysanthemum branches and leaves on doors and windows to "lift up the evils and attract good luck". This is a variation of the head hairpin chrysanthemum. Song Dynasty, there will be colorful silk cut into cornelian cherry, chrysanthemum to give each other to wear.
Chongyang cornelian cherry is actually also and the Dragon Boat Festival and calamus role is similar, the purpose is to get rid of insects and moths. Because after the Chongyang Festival, is the October spring, the weather has a period of time to warm up; and in the Chongyang before a period of time, the autumn rain is humid, autumn heat has not yet receded, clothing easy to mold. This is also the time when osmanthus flowers bloom, so folk called "osmanthus steam", this time must prevent insects. Cornus has a small poison, has the effect of removing insects, the production of cornelian cherry bladder custom is this way.
But after the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the custom of wearing cornelian cherry gradually rare. The reason for this change is probably to be found in the shift in the center of gravity of the Chanyang festival. Chongyang in the early time of the people's life emphasized is to avoid evil and eliminate disasters, with the improvement of people's living conditions, people not only pay attention to the current reality of life, but also to the future life to give more expectations, praying for longevity and prolonged life. Therefore, the status of "longevity" (chrysanthemum) eventually overshadowed that of "evil spirits" (Cornus officinalis).
Paper Harriers
Paper harriers are the main custom of the Chongyang Festival in Huizhou. In other words, the Huizhou folk festival is mainly characterized by the release of paper harriers. In addition to the ballads circulating in Huizhou, the Guangxu Huizhou Prefectural Records also has a record of this custom. Flying paper harriers
Paper harriers are also known as kites nowadays. The kite is the title after the Five Dynasties, before the Five Dynasties, the north used to call "paper kite", the south is mostly called "harrier", Huizhou's "paper harrier" title is obviously retained before the Five Dynasties, the ancient name, and the "paper harrier" is also called "kite". The old name, and there is a "north-south mix" flavor.
Kites were first seen in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the first types were birds. According to the legend, Gongchuban (Lu Ban) "cut bamboo into cranes and flew them" and "made wooden kites to spy on the city of Song". The "bamboo magpie" and "wooden kite" here are the prototypes of kites. However, there was no paper at that time, so it could only be made of bamboo and wood. Qing notes say "Han Xin led an army of 100,000 people to attack Xiang Yu in Gaixia, and made a kite with cowhide, and placed a good flute under it to play the song of homesickness, and the sound was sad, and 8,000 disciples of the Chu army were all dispersed". Here the Han Dynasty kite, but also just a kite made of cowhide. After Cai Lun's papermaking technique was introduced in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were paper kites, and there were the titles of "paper kite" and "harrier". The appearance of the name "kite" is remembered to have appeared in the Fifth Dynasty, and the "Inquiring Ruminant Records" recorded that: "Kite, that is, paper kite, is also known as wind kite. At the beginning, Li Ye made paper kites in the palace in the Five Dynasties, leading the wind as a play, and then used bamboo as a flute at the head of the kite to make the wind enter the bamboo, sounding like a kite, and was commonly known as the kite." After the Tang Dynasty, kites became popular and the Qingming Festival was designated as the Kite Festival, and after the Song Dynasty, kites were popularized among the people. Since then, the shape of kites has not been limited to magpies, kites, harriers and other birds, insects, fish, people and gods, and after the Ming and Qing Dynasties, kite making has become a very exquisite handmade art.
Huizhou folk paper harrier, has not been the original face, mostly for the quadrilateral plane, with a tail, its shape is similar to the folk posted door god, god, so it is suspected that a simplification of the god-like kites. In Huizhou folk, wind rash production is extremely simple, pick bamboo a branch of the bend, a straight vertical, hold up a quadrilateral paper, stick on the tail adjusted line, can fly. There is a kind of not with a tail, quadrilateral paper slightly larger, called "granny harrier", to let fly when smooth, stable and named.
There are also other shapes of harriers.
On the day of the Chrysanthemum Festival, people fly kites on the streets and in the open fields with the help of stools, and both children and adults fly kites, which is a spectacular event.
According to China's traditional habits, flying kites in the Qingming. Chrysanthemum Harrier can be said to be Huizhou folk custom. Its origin is not to be examined. But from the Huizhou collar south climate view, time seems to be quite appropriate. Before and after the Qingming for the rainy season, spring rains, this time is obviously not suitable for the release of paper harriers, and before and after the Chung Yeung Autumn high and refreshing, strong winds, people in accordance with traditional customs to climb the mountain, outdoor activities, at this time to release the paper harriers, the right place, right time, right person and, is quite a lot of for the right.
Eat Chongyang cake
Chongyang dietary style, in addition to the aforementioned drinking dogwood, chrysanthemum wine, eat chrysanthemum food, there are a number of, the most famous is to eat cake. In the north, the wind of eating Chongyang cake is especially prevalent. Chongyang cake
According to the "Xijing Miscellany", the Han Dynasty, there has been September 9 to eat Peng bait custom, that is, the original Chongyang cake. Bait, that is, the ancient cake. Zhouli" bait used as a sacrifice or eaten at banquets. The Han Dynasty also recorded a millet cake, may not be far from today's cake. Peng bait, must also be similar to the millet cake and so on. To the Song Dynasty, eat Chung Yeung cake style flourished. Cake and high harmony, eat cake is to take the meaning of good luck, and therefore favored by the people.
Chongyang cake, also known as flower cake, chrysanthemum cake, five-color cake, the system is not fixed, more random, there are "brown flower cake", "fine flower cake" and "money flower cake.
Stick some coriander leaves as a sign, the middle of the green fruit, small dates, walnuts and other brown dried fruit; fine flower cake 3 layers, 2 layers, each layer of the middle of the candied fruits are sandwiched between the finer, such as dried apples, dried peaches, apricots, dates, and so on; money and fine flower cake cake and basically the same, but smaller, as the "money", mostly from the upper-class families of the House of Lords. like, is mostly the food of the upper class aristocracy.
It is said that in the early years, not at home with the hairy cake sandwiched between dates, chestnuts and other fruits, or river rice, yellow rice flour steamed into a sticky cake, like "on the gold", "under the silver" of the flower cake.
A poem describes the production of Chongyang cake:
Cai Yun:
Campfire sound machine night work busy,
Weavers a drink to ascend to the high wine,
Still wind and rain of the ancient Chongyang,
steamed out of the jujube cake full of store fragrance.
September 9 when the sky is clear, with a piece of cake on the forehead of the children, the mouth recited the words, wishing their children a hundred things are high, is the ancient people in September for the cake's original intention. The delicate Chongyang cake to be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, the top is also made into two small sheep, in line with the meaning of Chongyang (sheep). Some also inserted a small red paper flag on the cake, and light candles. This is probably the "light", "eat cake" instead of "high" meaning, with a small red paper flag instead of cornelian cherry. Today's Chongyang cake, there is still no fixed varieties, everywhere in the Chongyang Festival to eat the fluffy cakes are called Chongyang cake.
The Chrysanthemum Cake is not only eaten at home, but also gifted to friends and relatives, known as the "send cake"; and invited their daughters to go home and eat cake, known as "Yingning".
Drinking Chrysanthemum Wine
Chrysanthemum is a famous flower in China, and it is also a famous flower for longevity. At the time of the frost, only this grass flourished, and because of its unique character, chrysanthemum became a symbol of vitality.
As early as in Qu Yuan's writing, there has been "eating autumn chrysanthemums in the fall of the Ying" sentence, that is, serving chrysanthemum petals. In the Han Dynasty, there was already chrysanthemum wine. Cao Wu in the Wei Dynasty had given chrysanthemums to Zhong Zhuan in the Chongyang Festival, wishing him a long life. Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty wrote in his book "Hug Park Zi" that people in the mountains of Nanyang, Henan Province, prolonged their lives by drinking sweet valley water with chrysanthemums growing all over it. In Emperor Jianwen's "Chrysanthemum Picking", there is a sentence "We call each other to pick chrysanthemum beads in baskets, and the dew is wet and stains the roses", which is also the act of picking chrysanthemums to make wine. Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, chrysanthemum wine is still prevalent, in the Ming Dynasty, Gao Lian's "Zunsheng Bazian" is still recorded, is the prevalence of fitness drinks.
Chrysanthemum wine is a traditional custom in China during the Chrysanthemum Festival. Chrysanthemum wine, in ancient times, was regarded as the "auspicious wine" that must be drunk to dispel disasters and pray for blessings.
Chrysanthemum wine was brewed in China as early as the Han and Wei Dynasties. According to the "Xijing Miscellany", "chrysanthemum Shu, and pick stems and leaves, mixed millet for brewing, to the next year, September 9 began to ripen, on drink, so called chrysanthemum wine."
Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty also said, "Wine can get rid of all diseases, and chrysanthemums can control the age of decay. Later, drinking chrysanthemum wine gradually became a folk custom, especially in the Chongyang Festival, more to drink chrysanthemum wine. The Jing Chu Chronicle of the Years and Seasons says, "On the ninth day of the ninth month, we should wear cornelian cherry, eat lotus ear, and drink chrysanthemum wine, so as to make us live longer."
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, chrysanthemum wine was made with a variety of herbs, making it even more effective. The production method is: decoction of chrysanthemum flowers, brewing with quartz and rice or adding dihuang, angelica, wolfberry and other medicines.
Because chrysanthemum wine can remove wind and heat, nourish the liver and improve eyesight, and eliminate inflammation and detoxification, it has high medicinal value. Li Shizhen, a medical doctor in the Ming Dynasty, pointed out that chrysanthemum has the efficacy of "curing head wind, brightening the ears and eyes, removing fistulae and curing all kinds of diseases".
Anciently, chrysanthemum wine was brewed for the Chrysanthemum Festival of the second year. September 9 this day, picking the first bloom of the chrysanthemum and a little verdant branches and leaves, mixed in the grain ready to brew, and then used together to brew wine, put to drink on September 9 of the second year. Legend has it that drinking this kind of wine can prolong one's life. From a medical point of view, chrysanthemum wine can brighten the eyes, cure dizziness, lower blood pressure, lose weight, lighten the body, tonify the liver, settle the stomach and intestines, and benefit the blood. During the festive season, when autumn is fresh and chrysanthemums are in full bloom, the hedges in front of the windows are filled with golden flowers. In addition to climbing up to insert dogwood, friends and relatives invited to drink chrysanthemum wine, *** enjoy the yellow flowers, indeed have some fun. Especially the poets, chrysanthemum drinking, poetry and singing, leaving a lot of good lines for future generations.
Because of the chrysanthemum wine, Chongyang has become a festival for the god of wine. For example, "Shandong Folklore - Chongyang Festival" describes that Shandong wine houses sacrifice to the god of cylinder on Chongyang Festival, and the god is Dukang. In Guizhou Renhuai County Moutai Town, every year, the sun, began to cast the material under the medicine brewing, legend has it that is because of the nine nine suns, Yang Qi is strong to brew a good wine. Whenever the first wine is baked, the owner will light incense and candles in the place where the "God of Du Kang" is posted and place offerings to pray for the success of the brewing (see Chinese Folklore Caiying Records). In Ningyuan, Hunan Province, on the ninth day of the ninth month, "the competition to make wine is held on the day of the Chongyang wine". These customs show that the relationship between Chongyang and wine is very deep.