Confucius' theory of charming the stove

 

Confucius' theory of charming the stove

 

China is a country that believes in many gods. Among the many gods believed in by people in ancient my country, the Kitchen God has the highest status among the people. The folk proverb goes: "Three sacrifices to the stove, four sweeps of the house...", which refers to the sacrifice to the Kitchen God on the 23rd (one version says it is the 24th) of the twelfth lunar month every year. The Kitchen God, commonly known as Kitchen King, Kitchen Lord, Kitchen Lord, is a kind of god worship developed from the primitive fire worship. Therefore, among primitive people, the God of Fire and the God of Kitchen are the same. However, since the creation of the Kitchen God, his duties have nothing to do with fire or stove fire. He is the supervisor sent by the Emperor of Heaven to each house. He is the head of the family, responsible for supervising the good and evil deeds of the whole family, and regularly reporting them to Heaven. , and thus gained the worship of ordinary people.

But talking about the Stove Lord has to involve Confucius. Influenced by Communist Party education, I know that during the May 4th Movement, people put forward the slogan "Down with the Confucius Family Store" in order to pursue democracy and science. Mao Zedong's evaluation of Confucius was that he was worthless. But Confucius, who could not be defeated, was resurrected. He once encountered obstacles when traveling around the world, but now he traveled around five continents and was once again named a sage of Confucius. So what is the relationship between Confucius and the Kitchen God?

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius, an illegitimate son who lost his father at the age of three and his mother at the age of seventeen, did not understand the importance of learning until he was fifteen, so he studied hard and became an official, hoping to become an official. Unfortunately, the highest official titles he had when he was thirty years old were just a warehouse manager and a ranch manager. How can one make a living if one's limbs are not working hard and one's grains are not separated? He can only live by giving lectures and collecting tuition fees from each student. The so-called "teaching without distinction" is conditional. Confucius would not accept him as a disciple without paying ten strips of dried beef as tuition.

Confucius used only one mouth to lobby for his views on governing the country and the people. He was just a politician. His talk of "benevolence, righteousness and morality" failed to be accepted by the ruling autocratic king. So he set his sights on the stupid and superstitious people, asking them to understand the principle of "the king, the king, the minister, the father, the son, the son", and to unconditionally obey the superiors, sons to Lao Tzu, and students to obey their teachers... Those in power all was delighted, and therefore gave him the highest posthumous honors.

But what should we do if the people don’t accept this? Confucius knew that people believed in gods. At that time, the Kitchen God was also very popular and was one of the bosses of the gods. Confucius then put forward the idea that "it is better to be charming to the stove than to be charming to the Austrian people". When Confucius explained to his disciples the reason why he should "be charming to the stove", he pointed out: "Otherwise, you will be punished by Heaven and have nothing to pray for." (See "The Analects of Confucius·Bayi")

According to Confucius, if you don't please the Kitchen God, the Kitchen God will report your bad behavior to heaven. Since humans cannot communicate with the Emperor of Heaven, the Emperor of Heaven can only let the Kitchen God talk nonsense, leaving mortals with "nothing to pray for." Whatever the Kitchen God complains about, the Emperor of Heaven will punish you accordingly. The Kitchen God did not allow the people to complain, say weird things, or complain. Various taboos frightened the people, but made the rulers happy. Emperors of all dynasties also worshiped the Kitchen God together.

In ancient times, sacrifices to the stove were made regardless of status or status. From the palace and ministers to the common people, everyone showed respect to the Kitchen God. According to relevant records: Every year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty routinely offered sacrifices to the Kitchen God in Kunning Palace, and at the same time installed the heaven and earth gods. The emperor bowed nine times in front of the gods to welcome the new year. On the day of offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove, a confession table is set up in Kunning Palace, a sacred tablet is placed, incense and candle offerings are placed in front of the sacred tablet, and a furnace and a worship mat are set up in the palace. When offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, the palace supervisor invited the emperor to burn incense and pay homage in front of the Buddha statues, deity statues and Kitchen God in Kunning Palace. After the ceremony, the palace supervisor asked the queen to bow to the Kitchen Lord and other gods in turn.

Even the emperor wanted to please and flatter the Kitchen God, not to mention the common people? Since then, it has become a folk custom to seal the mouth of the Kitchen God with sugar during sacrifices to the Kitchen God. In fact, it seals the mouth of the people who are dissatisfied with society. ​

Therefore, before the Qin Dynasty, offering sacrifices to the stove had become one of the "seven sacrifices" in the national sacrificial ceremony. In the Han Dynasty, worshiping the stove was listed as one of the "Five Sacrifice" of the officials, and the stove god was also personified and given new functions. Volume 186 of "Taiping Yulan" quoted "Huainan Wanbi Shu" and said: "The Kitchen God returns to heaven at dusk, and white people are guilty." Zheng Xuan's annotation of "Book of Rites·Notation" also says: "(The Kitchen God) lives in the world, and the Chief Inspector Xiao Yes, he is the one who condemns." This shows that, at least in the Han Dynasty, the Kitchen God has become a god who monitors human faults, reports to the Emperor of Heaven, and speaks ill of people. People actually live under strict control.

Therefore, if people want to pray for blessings and prevent disasters, they must be respectful to the Stove Lord. For example, they must not use the stove fire to burn incense, hit the stove, place knives or axes on the stove, or speak strange words, complain, cry, or call in front of the stove. , singing, not sending dirty things into the stove to burn, etc. There are many names. Every year on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, when the Kitchen God ascends to heaven to report the situation of the year, people also place offerings to the Kitchen God and offer delicious food and drinks. This is the so-called sacrifice to the Kitchen God.

When offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, maltose and wine are indispensable. The wine is to make the Kitchen God get carried away and dizzy, while the maltose is sweet and sticky. Paste it on the Kitchen God’s mouth. Once the Kitchen God’s mouth becomes sweet, he will no longer eat it. No matter how bad you say, you can only say good things. Secondly, the maltose sticks to your mouth and you can't open your mouth to say bad things, so you can only speak vaguely. The common people also use this set of human life experience of "taking advantage of others' short hands and eating their soft mouth" in worshiping the Kitchen God. Fan Chengda's "Poetry for Sacrifice to the Stove" of the Song Dynasty says: "On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Stove Master looks up to the sky and wants to say something. The clouds and carriages are winding and the horse is lingering around. There are cups and plates at home for the ceremony. The pig's head is cooked well and the fish is fresh, and the bean paste and spikenard powder are used. The bait is round. A man offers his daughter a cup of wine to avoid, and he pours wine and burns money on the kitchen stove. The king is happy. Don't hear the fight between your maidservants. Don't be angry when the pigs and dogs touch the filth. Send you to the gate of heaven drunk and full. Don't return to the clouds with long ladles and short ladles to beg for profit. When you return from the market, you will get points." This is not a sacrifice to the Kitchen God, it is clearly a gift or bribe to the Kitchen God. Gods can also bribe, not to mention human dignitaries?

The most famous saying of Confucius is "Only women and villains are difficult to raise!" Confucius said to men: There are five kinds of women who are not allowed to marry: those who are rebellious in the family, those who are promiscuous, those whose fathers have died or those who are sick. Confucius also said to the men: There are seven kinds of wives who can be divorced. Which seven kinds are they? Those who disobey their parents, those who cannot bear sons, those who are sexually immoral, those who are envious, those who are disabled, those who steal, and those who are troublemakers. Confucius divorced his wife on this grounds, Confucius' son also divorced his wife, and Confucius' son's son also divorced his wife. It can be said that it was a model of divorce for three generations. Confucius's theory of male superiority and female inferiority has been rampant for thousands of years. Even the sacrifice to the Kitchen God clearly stipulates that women who coexist with the stove day and night are not allowed to participate in any stove sacrifice ceremony.

The worship of the Kitchen God, from the early stage of praying for blessings to the later stage of hoping to avoid disasters, tortuously reflects the ancient people's confusion about their own destiny, and they can only attribute all kinds of good and bad fortunes they encounter to gods. Now, with the progress of society and the innovation of stoves, the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves has gradually faded away, and it will gradually move away from people's lives. But the dregs of the Stove God folk culture, Confucius's "Zofa culture", should not be forgotten to clean up on New Year's Eve.