predecessor
Since ancient times, people in China have believed that peaches have the function of exorcism. In the pre-Qin period, the peach broom (1 theory) had magical power to exorcise evil spirits. "Book of Rites under Tan Gong" says: "It's evil to lose your monarch and Wu Zhutao to the throne." "Zuo Zhuan" has been "xianggong" for twenty-nine years, and there are examples in this regard. "Zhou Li Xiaguan" said that the vassal alliance should cut off the cow's ear to get blood, and the peach blossom should be used as a town object. In the fourth year of Zuo Zhuan, Zhao Gong recorded that when taking ice, a bow made of peach wood and a barbed arrow were used for disaster relief ceremony. The predecessor of peach symbol is peach stalk and peach branch. The function of peach branches to ward off evil spirits can be found in Zhuangzi: "Put peach branches in the house, even under the ashes. Boys are afraid to enter, but ghosts are afraid. " ("Literature and Art Collection" Volume 86) Slightly processed peach branches have the same effect. "Huainanzi Yan Quan" says: "Yi died of peach." In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Gao said, "Oranges and big sticks are all made of peach wood to kill foreigners. From then on, ghosts are afraid of peaches. " In this way, from the legendary era, the ancients had a special belief in peach wood. Due to the magical function of the Taofu Stick, the Wei Ji Taofu Stick was given to the officials, ministers, generals and princes in the Han Dynasty (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty Roars). Carving peaches into human shapes is also a means for the ancients to ward off evil spirits. When "The Warring States Policy Qi Ce III" said that he planned to be a Qin national, Su Qin told him the fable of clay figurine and peach stalk to stop him. Among them, the clay figurine said peach stalk: "Now the son of Dong Guo is a stalk, and he carved his son into a man." It can be seen that there were peach stalks that cut peach trees during the Warring States Period. According to the Records of the Book of Rites in the Later Han Dynasty, The Classic of Mountains and Seas is set in Dushuo Mountain, and stands in Shentu and Leiyu, where the big peach branches are the gates of death, the reeds are holding ghosts and the tigers are their careers. "The method of the Yellow Emperor is like this, and it stands at the portal after it is finished, because there are peach stalks." The Book of the Yellow Emperor was also quoted in the Customs of the Eastern Han Dynasty to tell this story, and it was said: "So the county officials decorated the Taoren with wax on New Year's Eve and hung the reed painting tiger on the door, which was a good thing before the effect." It can be seen that on the eve of the twelfth lunar month in the Han Dynasty, the custom of standing peach stalks (people) by the door has become popular. "Story of Jingchu's Old Age" said after the New Year's greeting: "Make a peach board and call it Xianmu." It can be seen that the peach board appeared again in the Six Dynasties. (Author's Publishing House: The general edition of this book is about paste chicken. After hanging the reed rope, it says "insert peach symbol beside it". The word "peach symbol" is wrong, so I won't take it. ) By the end of the Tang Dynasty, the word "peach symbol" appeared, and the Four Seasons of Korea and Hubei clearly pointed out: "Xianmu is the peach symbol of today." In other words, the symbol of peach is the cane and peach stem of ancient Zhi Tao, and the word "symbol" more clearly expresses its exorcism. Since then, the usage of "Fu Tao" has prevailed in the Song Dynasty, and the poem "Yuan Ri" quoted by Wang Anshi is an example.
Prosperous
The practice of writing the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on mahogany boards was very popular in the Song Dynasty. After talking about the legend of Dushuo Mountain in the Northern Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng wrote, "Therefore, it is better to write a book" Right Lei Yu, Left Shen Tu "and set up a Yuan Gate." The Chronicle Miscellanies of the Northern Song Dynasty, which reflects the customs of the Northern Song Dynasty, also said that the Fu Tao was painted with immortals, Bai Ze was a sister-in-law, and left Lei Yu and right Shen Tu were written. Therefore, the peach board can be called the symbol of peach. The portraits of Shen Tu and Lei Yu, as peach symbols to ward off evil spirits, have been popular until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Ming Jiajing's "Tingzhou Mansion Records" said: "Peach symbols, newly painted peach symbols, placed on both sides of the household, are like tea, standing on the ground to hate evil spirits." There are many records of hanging peach symbols on New Year's Eve in local chronicles of Ming and Qing Dynasties.
It is well known that Wang Anshi's poem "January Day": "firecrackers are one year old, and the spring breeze warms Tu Su; Thousands of households always exchange new peaches for old ones. " The poet described the joyful and peaceful scene of the spring breeze. In spring, thousands of families celebrated the Spring Festival and set off firecrackers. Families got together, drank Tu Su wine and replaced the old peach symbols on the door panels with new ones. In the Song Dynasty, the symbol of peach was replaced by paper, which was called "Spring Festival couplets" or "Spring stickers".
Spring Festival couplets originated in Fu Tao. There is a long-standing saying that peach trees can ward off evil spirits. Zhuangzi described: "Put the peach branches indoors, even under the ashes. Boys are afraid to enter, but ghosts are afraid. " Momo branch gives a magical effect. "The Chronicle of Jingchu" records: "Peach boards were made and landed in a household named Xianmu." Peach branches on every door have become peach boards. At first, the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu were written on peach symbols or painted with portraits and hung at the door to pray and avoid disaster. Then write some auspicious words on it.
New Year's Eve in 964 AD is a memorable day in history. Meng Changjun, the Emperor of Shu, ordered the bachelor to write an inscription on the Fu Tao board on his bedroom door, but the bachelor did not dare to neglect it, and the inscription was completed in a short time. Meng Chang saw it and was not satisfied. He wrote a neat and auspicious poem, "New Year's Day, Jia Festival in Changchun". Meng Chang's poems are the earliest and most standardized couplets in Historical Records, which are of milestone significance. From then on, peach charms can not only ward off evil spirits, but also write auspicious wishes for welcoming the New Year and jade.
There are two forms of early couplets recorded in Sui Miscellanies in the Northern Song Dynasty: one is to write in the newspaper and you Lei, and the other is to write other greetings. In Liang Lumeng, it is said that on New Year's Eve, "peach characters should be nailed and Spring Festival couplets posted", and this kind of peach-wood board Spring Festival couplets is becoming more and more popular. In the Ming Dynasty, it was generally replaced by paper products and named as "Spring Paste". Unlike Fu Tao, Spring Festival couplets became an independent custom style of welcoming the spring. According to the records of later generations, it is precisely because of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, that Spring Festival couplets began to be popular among the people and passed down from generation to generation. Chen Zeng, a scholar in Ming Dynasty, recorded: "Spring Festival couplets began in Jinling, the capital city. Don't forget to send a message before New Year's Eve. Whether public or private, Spring Festival couplets should be posted at the door. " Zhu Yuanzhang also traveled incognito and personally checked the implementation. He also wrote his own and gave it to the nearest minister, for example, a couplet for Tao An, a bachelor: "No one in China and North Korea can make a plan alone, and Hanyuan's article comes first". It is also uniform. Spring Festival couplets have become a social fashion, which is popular all over the world.
By the Qing Dynasty, the thought and art of Spring Festival couplets had reached a new level, and there were many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, such as "door heart, horizontal criticism, frame pair, bucket weight and spring strips". The door center is stuck in the center above the door panel, and the horizontal batch is stuck in the middle of the crossbar on the lintel, and the frame pair is used on the left and right door frames. There are many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, such as Cut to the chase, Sighing at the sky and so on. After the off-year holiday, thousands of families put up posters, and the breath of the Spring Festival is rich and obvious. For example, the famous folk work "Yanjing Years Old" in the Qing Dynasty once described: "After the kitchen sacrifice, it was gradually posted, and thousands of families took on a new look. Or use James Zhu or use red paper. " At that time, pasting couplets had penetrated into thousands of households and became an indispensable folk custom for the people to welcome in the new year and bid farewell to the old.
Since its birth, Spring Festival couplets have absorbed fresh nutrition from the fertile soil of China's poems, and passed down from generation to generation like a wonderful flower that shines alone, maintaining its own distinctive national characteristics. Its most striking feature is their opposition to each other.
Taozi legend
Peaches were originally considered as a plant to ward off evil spirits.
According to legend, ancient ancestors were often harassed by monsters, so the Jade Emperor sent two immortals, shentu and Lei Yu, to help Yao Di eliminate disasters. They were taken to Yiqi Mountain by two mysterious machines and got a mahogany scepter as a winner. The Jade Emperor said, "Yao Jun ordered it to be avoided with its wood."
The Jade Emperor has a special liking for aligning with a redwood, which makes Shencha and Lei Yu use Qiyi redwood as tools. This is because the Jade Emperor has an indissoluble bond with Yiqishan redwood. According to legend, the Jade Emperor personally went out in his early years. He came to earth and walked in Taihang Mountain. Looking at Yiqi Mountain in the distance, I want to visit Yao. I went to Foxiu Valley, met Fohe and discussed with Yao, and sat with them for seven days and seven nights. At the time of parting, the old man gave everyone a magic pill, but the jade emperor's magic pill was special. Back in the city, the more I walked, the more uncomfortable I became, and I immediately lay down. It is very dangerous to say that the Jade Emperor is lying alone on a hillside deep in Taihang Mountain. At this time, the panacea sent by the old gentleman on the throne was magically fast.
Quickly turned into a Yushu to protect the jade emperor. It's time for Jaken, a wizard who has been harmful to the Jade Emperor for a long time, to reach out and kill the Jade Emperor. At the critical moment, Yushu turned and whipped, and the witch was beaten three times. The pain was unbearable, and she fled in a hurry, but she didn't run far and fell to the ground and died. The Jade Emperor thought: Yushu protected me and let the evil spirits escape. I want to leave them on earth and protect all the people. The Jade Emperor took Yushu and turned it into a panacea, and then vomited hard. As soon as the panacea was dropped, it became the god of peach trees and the soul of many peach trees. In fact, the old gentleman in Taishang already knew that the evil spirits of the Wu Dynasty were looking for opportunities to hurt the Jade Emperor, so he sent a magic pill to protect him. Seeing that the Jade Emperor cared more about all the people than himself, the old gentleman was deeply moved, so he ordered the servants around him to become skilled craftsmen and make a handful of peach trees into different shapes to ensure everyone's safety.
According to Shan Hai Jing,
According to Shan Hai Jing, many years ago, there was a ghost world. There is a mountain full of ghosts, and there is a big peach tree, covering three thousand miles, with a golden rooster on the top. Whenever a rooster crows in the morning, ghosts who do evil outside at night will rush back to the ghost town. The two brothers, Shen Tu and Lei Yu, are miracles and good at descending ghosts. They strictly restrict the activities of ghosts. They stand under a big tree every year to review all kinds of ghosts. When they see a fierce ghost that is harmful to people, they tie it up with a special "awn reed rope", so that the gods and tigers who eat evil spirits can satisfy their hunger and kill pests for the people. However, Shen Tu and Lei Yu have limited abilities, and they cannot eliminate all evil spirits in the world. It can't guarantee the safety of every household. So the Yellow Emperor announced an order to the whole country that on the eve of the Spring Festival, every household should carve the statues of Shen Tu and Lei Yu with peach handles and hang them in front of the door on New Year's Eve. At the same time, hang a reed rope at the top of the gate and draw a tiger on the second door to avoid the intrusion of monsters. Later, people thought wood carving was troublesome, so they drew two statues directly on the mahogany, engraved with the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu, and hung them on both sides of the door on New Year's Eve afternoon to ward off evil spirits. This is the original symbol of peach.
The ancients wrote the names of "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu" Er Shen on mahogany boards, or painted the image of Er Shen on paper, hung it, inlaid it or posted it at the door to pray for good luck and eliminate disasters.