According to legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Jin Xiangong's concubine killed the prince in order to let her son inherit the throne, and Shen Sheng was forced to commit suicide. Shen Sheng's younger brother, Zhong Er, went into exile to escape the scourge.
During his exile, Zhong Er suffered humiliation. Most of the courtiers who went out with him went out one after another. Only a few loyal people have been following him. One of them is called meson push. On one occasion, Zhong Er fainted from hunger. In order to save Zhong Er, Jiezitui cut a piece of meat from his leg, cooked it with fire and gave it to Zhong Er.
Nineteen years later, Zhong Er returned to China and proclaimed himself emperor, and Jin Wengong came to power, which greatly raised his courtiers who shared weal and woe with him. Someone defended meson in front of Jin Wengong. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the past and felt guilty. He immediately sent someone to ask meson to take the imperial court to be rewarded as an official.
However, after several trips, the meson could not be pushed. Jin Wengong had to please. However, when Jin Wengong came to the meson pusher's house, he saw that the door was closed. Jiezitui didn't want to see him, and had already been hiding in Mianshan (now southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province) behind his mother's back.
Jin Wengong asked his body guard to search Mianshan, but he couldn't find it. So, someone had an idea, saying, it is better to let Yamakaji go, set fire on three sides, leave one side, burn it and the meson will come out.
Jin Wengong ordered the promotion of Yamakaji. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and nights. After the fire was put out, the meson was not pushed out after all. Looking up the mountain, the mother and son were holding a charred willow tree and were dead. Jin Wengong looked at meson push's body and cried for a while. Then I buried the body and found that the back of meson push was blocked by a willow hole, as if there was something. Take out a look, turned out to be a skirt, with a blood poem:
I hope your master is always clear.
It is better to be a ghost than to accompany you as an exhorter.
If your master has me in his heart, remember that I often reflect.
I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, diligent and honest.
Jin Wengong hid the bloody book in his sleeve. Then meson tui and his mother were buried under the charred willow tree. To commemorate Jiexiu, Jin Wengong ordered Mianshan to be changed to Jiexiu Mountain, and an ancestral temple was built on the mountain, and the day when Yamakaji was released was designated as the Cold Food Festival, telling the whole country that it is forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers on this day every year and only eat cold food. ?
When he left, he cut a charred willow and made a pair of clogs in the palace. He looked at it every day and sighed, "What a pity." The "first step" is the name of ancient people's subordinates respecting each other between superiors or peers, which is said to come from it.
The following year, Jin Wengong led his ministers to go hiking in plain clothes to show their respect and condolences. Walking to the grave, I saw the dead old willow tree resurrected, with thousands of green branches dancing in the wind. Jin Wengong looked at the resurrected old willow tree and seemed to see the meson push. He walked up to him respectfully, lovingly squeezed a branch, braided it into a circle and put it on his head. After the sacrifice, Jin Wengong named the revived old willow "Qingming Willow" and named it Tomb-Sweeping Day.
Later, Jin Wengong often took a bloody book with him as a souvenir, urging himself to take power. He is diligent and honest, and strives to govern the country well.
Since then, the people of Jin have been able to live and work in peace and contentment, and they are very nostalgic for Jietui, who has made outstanding contributions and is not looking for wealth. On the day of his death, it is forbidden to set off fireworks in memory of him. It is also made of flour and jujube paste into the shape of a swallow, strung with willows and inserted in the door to summon his soul. This thing is called "pushing swallows" (also called intermediary pushing).
Since then, cold food and Qingming have become grand festivals for the people of the whole country.
Extended data:
traditional custom
In addition to paying attention to hiking and sweeping graves, Tomb-Sweeping Day also has a series of customs and sports activities, such as banning fire, swinging, cuju, playing polo and inserting willows. In the history of China, it has long been a custom to ban cold food and pay homage to ancestors.
. After the Tang Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival gradually declined, and Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping and ancestor worship became a continuous festival tradition. Even in today's society, before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, people still have the custom of going to graves to pay homage to their ancestors: uprooting weeds, placing offerings, burning incense and praying in front of graves, burning paper money and gold ingots, or simply offering a bunch of flowers to express their memory of their ancestors.
When I was in Tomb-Sweeping Day, it was the time for spring to return to the earth. People use this advantage to enjoy the scenery of Shan Ye while sweeping graves. Going for an outing is also called a spring outing. In ancient times, it was called spring exploration. It means stepping on the grass, playing in the country and watching the spring.
1, swing
This is the custom of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Wang Renyu's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" in the Five Dynasties recorded that "the Tianbao Palace Mid-solstice Cold Food Festival actually erected a swing, which made the wives and concubines in the palace laugh and thought it was a feast.
The emperor called it a semi-fairy play, so the scholars in the capital called it. Wen Yanbo, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, wrote the poem "Cold Food Day Crossing the Dragon Gate", which was described as "the willow tree hangs on the bridge, swinging more colorful ropes. "Swing, that is, lift the rope, move.
Swing has a very long history. It was originally called Qian Qiu, but later it was changed to a swing to avoid taboos. In ancient times, swings were made of branches and tied with ribbons.
Later, it gradually developed into two ropes, a pedal swing. Swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate courage, which is deeply loved by people, especially children.
2. Cuju
Bow is a rubber ball, the skin of which is made of leather, and the ball is stuffed with wool. Cuju is kicking the ball with your feet. This is a popular game in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day.
According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors. Playing polo is also one of the ways to play the Dragon Boat Festival. Polo is riding a horse and hitting with a stick. In ancient times, it was called bowing.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a saying in Cao Zhiming's name that "there is a sentence in a row". Analysis of Golden Branches records the traditional custom of polo as a festival in Liao country, and polo is played on Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival. Li Shizhi also recorded that Jin people hit the ball during the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Song Dynasty, there was a "Ball Play Music" dance team. In the Ming Dynasty, polo was still popular.
According to the general examination of continued literature, Ming Chengzu hit the ball and shot the willow many times in Dongyuan. In the Ming Dynasty's "Music Map of Xuanzong", there are scenes of Xuanzong enjoying polo. At that time, Wang Zhi, an official, wrote a poem about watching the game in the afternoon: "Jade is like a golden horse, carved with seven treasures." When you fly, you will be shocked and feel the stars.
The incitement page has become three wins, and joy is the first. Qingyun followed the footsteps and filled the eastern end of the temple. "Before the Baiyun Temple in Beijing, there was also a classic of riding a horse to hit the ball. There were polo in the Temple of Heaven in Qing Dynasty, and polo didn't disappear until the middle of Qing Dynasty. Since 1965, antique polo has appeared in Xi 'an, making this ancient sport reappear in China after many years of extinction.
Step 3 go for an outing
Hiking is also called spring outing. It was called Tanchun and Xunchun in ancient times. Qingming in April, spring returns to the earth, and nature presents a vibrant scene everywhere, which is a good time for an outing. China folks have always maintained the habit of going for an outing in Tomb-Sweeping Day.
China's outing custom has a long history, which was formed as early as the pre-Qin period. According to the Book of Jin, every spring, people go to the suburbs to enjoy the scenery together, especially in the Tang and Song Dynasties. According to "Old Tang Book", "In February of the second year of Dali, at noon, it was fortunate that Kunming was green." It can be seen that the custom of spring outing has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts. In Song Dynasty, outing was very popular. China people have the custom of going for an outing in Qingming since ancient times.
Step 4 plant trees
Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring was bright and the spring rain was falling, and the survival rate of planted seedlings was high and the growth was fast. Therefore, China has the habit of planting trees in Qingming since ancient times. Some people even call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day.
The custom of planting trees in Tomb-Sweeping Day originated from Tomb-Sweeping Day. There are three legends about Tomb-Sweeping Day. The oldest legend is to commemorate Shennong, the ancestor of farming, and later developed the meaning of praying for longevity. Later legends are all related to meson push.
It is said that when Jin Wengong led the minister to climb a mountain to pay homage to Jiexiu, he found that the old willow tree on which Jiexiu once lived came back from the dead and gave it the title of "Qingming Willow". Later, it was said that Emperor Taizong gave a wicker ring to the minister as a blessing to drive away the epidemic.
5. Fly a kite
Flying kites is also the most popular activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people not only wore it during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of colored lanterns is hung under the kite or on the wind-stabilizing stay, like twinkling stars, which is called "magic lamp". Someone used to put kites in the blue sky, then cut the strings and let the breeze send them to the ends of the earth. It is said that this can eliminate diseases and disasters and bring good luck to yourself.
Step 6 sweep the grave
Sweeping graves on Qingming Festival is called "respecting thinking about time" for ancestors. Its customs have a long history. In the Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital", it was written: "On the Qingming Festival in March, men and women went to the grave to pay their respects, and the gold ingot was hung on the back of the sedan chair, and the road was full of embarrassment.
Worshipers, mourners, weeping, weeding, adding soil to graves, burning ingots several times, and buying graves with paper money. If you can't see the paper money, it will be a lonely grave. Cry, don't come back, go to the tree, choose the garden, and get drunk. "In fact, grave-sweeping existed before the Qin Dynasty, but it was not necessarily the time of Tomb-Sweeping Day, but after the Qin Dynasty. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that it became popular. And spread to this day.
Tomb-Sweeping Day's sweeping ceremony was supposed to be held in person, but because of the different economic conditions of each family, the way of sweeping was different. "Burning a bundle" is the main form of paying homage to ancestors. The so-called "baggage", also known as "parcel", refers to the postal parcel that Xiao sent from Shi Yang to the underworld.
In the past, Nanzhi store sold the so-called "wrapped skin", that is, a big bag was pasted with white paper. There are two forms: one is a woodcut version with Sanskrit transliteration of "Death Mantra" printed around it, and a lotus tablet printed in the middle to write down the name of the deceased in the area code, such as "The late Zhang Fujun was afraid of the boss in Yunshan", which is both a package and a tablet.
The other is plain foreskin, which does not print any patterns. Just put a blue sign in the middle and write down the name of the deceased. Also used as a master card. There are many kinds of money in the bag.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Qingming