Give gifts to poor people on the sixth day of the first lunar month

 

Chapter 9: Giving up the poor

 

Give gifts to poor people on the sixth day of the first lunar month

The sixth day of the first lunar month is also called Horse Day. It is a unique custom among Han people to give away the poor on this day. Various regions in China have their own methods of providing relief to the poor, each of which is different. But the meaning is basically the same, they are all about sending away the poor. It reflects the traditional psychology of ancient people who generally hope to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, bid farewell to the poverty and hardship of the past, and welcome a better life in the new year.

The ancient customs included in Dongfang Shuo's "Sui Zhan" of the Han Dynasty believe that the first day of the first lunar month is the day of the rooster, the second day of the first lunar month is the day of the dog, the third day of the first lunar month is the day of the pig, the fourth day of the first lunar month is the day of the sheep, the fifth day of the first lunar month is the day of the ox, and the sixth day of the first lunar month is the day of the ox. The seventh day of the lunar month is the horse day, and the seventh day is the human day. According to Chinese folklore, this is because when Nuwa created all living things, she created the six animals first and then humans. Therefore, the first to the sixth day of the lunar month are the days of the six animals.

Since the beginning of the first lunar month, cleaning is not allowed until the fifth day of the lunar month, and feces accumulates in the toilet. So on this day, we do a big cleaning and worship the toilet gods to clean the usually dirty toilets. So it is called "Yi Fei".

"On this day every year, I drink wine and worship in the street. Thousands of households and thousands of doors look at it, and no one does not send me away to the poor." This is the poem "Three Poems for Sending the Poor on a Dark Day" written by Yao He, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. The scene of "poor" days. From the poem, we can see that the custom of giving away to the poor was quite common in the Tang Dynasty.

"Giving away the poor" on the fifth day of the first lunar month is a very unique custom in ancient China. On this day, every family makes women out of paper, called "Saoqing Niang", "Five Poor Women" and "Five Poor Women". The housewife carried a paper bag, swept the dirt from the house into the bag, and then went outside the door to explode it with a cannon. This custom is also known as "sending the poor to the poor" and "sending the poor daughter-in-law out".

In the Hancheng area of Shaanxi Province, people are not allowed to go out on the fifth day. Fresh meat must be roasted in a pot, and madou must be stir-fried to make it crackle and make a sound. It is believed that this can eliminate poverty and bring wealth. In addition, in the old days, people had to eat particularly well on New Year's Eve or the fifth day of the first lunar month, which was commonly known as "filling the poor hole." The widely popular folk custom of sending the poor away reflects the traditional psychology of the Chinese people who generally hope to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, bid farewell to the old poverty and hardship, and welcome a better life in the new year.

In traditional Chinese Spring Festival customs, there are many taboos during the Spring Festival, among which not taking out garbage is the most prominent. Folk custom believes that from New Year's Day to the fifth day, you cannot take out the garbage, which can help you gather wealth, otherwise you will throw away your "luck". Garbage actually represents blessing, which is very creative. However, there are too many garbage piles, which affects sanitation after all, so they have to be dumped out on the fifth day of the lunar month. This is also called "giving away the poor".

In ancient times, there were many other names for sending the poor, such as sending the five poor, driving the five poor, sending the poor soil, sending the poor ashes, and sending the poor daughter-in-law out. Obviously, "five" relates to days, and "poor" refers to the garbage accumulated since New Year's Day. At this time, people dump garbage to help the poor. In this way, they will not be poor for a year, and of course they will be rich.

Send the poor, which means offering sacrifices to the poor ghosts, which are also called poor gods. Poor ghost, also known as "poor son". The custom of sending farewell to the poor was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. The great writer Han Yu once wrote an article "Send to the Poor", which said: "(The master) bowed his hands to the poor ghost three times and said to him: 'I heard that your son will be gone someday. I will If you have the talent to give gifts, are you interested in doing so?'" After the Song Dynasty, the custom of giving gifts to the poor was still popular. Yu Quyuan of the Qing Dynasty wrote "Three Notes in the Tea Fragrance Room? Sending the Poor Ghosts", which recorded the words of people from the previous dynasty: "I advise the gentleman and the young lady to send the poor ghosts away when they have time."

There are many ways to give away the poor. The simplest way is to just set off firecrackers early in the morning, take out the garbage outside the door and be done with it. For more complicated ones, a little person (poor daughter-in-law) must be cut out of paper and sent away, and she may even be asked to carry a paper bag filled with rubbish and sent out the door; there are even those who have not eaten enough for five days or filled the jar with water, which is called "filling". "Be poor"; or take away someone else's poor daughter-in-law and call it "get rich".

A local chronicle records:

The fifth day of the first lunar month is commonly known as Powu. Every household made a woman out of paper, carried a paper bag on her back, put the dirty dirt in the house into the bag, and sent it outside the door to blast it with a cannon, which is commonly known as "send to the five poor". (Hebei "Zhangbei County Chronicle")

On the fifth day, he got up in the morning and carried water into the urn, which was called "filling the poor". Paper cuttings were made to be given to five poor women, which was called "giving away to the poor". (Anhui "Shouyang County Chronicle")

On the fifth day, people were cut out of colored paper, and children hugged and played on the thoroughfare, saying "send away the poor"; those who snatched them away said "get rich". (Shanxi "Datong Prefecture"

There are different customs in different places on the Poor Festival.

For old Beijingers, on this day, housewives at home should throw out the garbage accumulated during the festival, which is called giving away to the poor ghost. The paper hanging on the door can also be taken off and thrown out at the same time, which is called giving away to the poor god. The most popular ones on this day are boys who have just turned 12 years old, because 12 is twice the number of 6, which can be said to be a lucky number. It is also said that Liu Hai, the God of Fortune, is a Beijinger. He is a fat boy wearing red and green clothes. There is a popular saying among the people that "Liu Hai plays with the golden toad, fishing for money every step of the way." His image is very popular among citizens. Boys in their zodiac year will dress up with bangs and carry five little figures cut out of white paper or colored paper on their backs on the street. Whoever grabs them will be regarded as the God of Wealth, and the one who is robbed will be told to throw them away and become a poor man. If two people who are both born in their zodiac year meet, whoever grabs the villain behind the other person first will have good fortune. There are also small bags made of cloth used as poor people to throw out. Both parties have to carry a small basket behind their backs. The first person to throw the small bag into the basket behind the opponent's back is the first to throw the poor people away, which is auspicious. Today's traditional national sports "hunting" developed from the game of "throw away the poor man and grab the rich man". This activity still exists in Liaoning, but is rarely seen in Beijing. On this day, hawkers take to the streets, and since it is Horse Day, the family should also buy "donkey rolling" for the "throwing poor" boy to eat.

In most areas of Shanxi, families clean their courtyards on this day. Folks pay attention to "what you like when you go in and hate when you go out", and it is especially taboo to borrow things from other people's homes. Counties such as Shouyang pay attention to carrying water from outside in the morning, which is called filling the poor. It is a habit throughout the province to eat more noodles. In southern Shanxi, people pay attention to cutting noodles with a knife, cooking them and eating them, which is called "cutting five ghosts". In the northwestern part of Shanxi, before the sun rises from the mountains, people have to lift up the kang mat, sweep some kang soil, and send it to the wild; firing cannons, burning incense, and offering paper are called "sending the poor."

In the northern Shanxi region, it is customary for people to cut images of adults out of colored paper, and children take them to the streets and exchange them with each other. Giving one's own paper figurines to others is called "giving away a poor wife"; exchanging someone else's paper figurines back is called "getting a blessed person".

In the southeastern part of Shanxi, it is customary for people to throw rotten clothes outside the wall. Legend has it that the son of the Gaoyang family in ancient times wore rags and trousers during the first month of the year and lived a idle life. Later, he died tragically outside the alley. Folks throw away their clothes as sacrifices, which is called "giving away to poor ghosts".

The tradition of Yicheng and other counties in southern Shanxi is to send gifts to ancestors on the fifth day of the first lunar month. In the evening, the sacrifices displayed on the ancestor's table are removed, firecrackers are set off, incense is burned, and the gods are moved to the original niche. The offerings will be made again during the Spring Festival next year. The custom in Fushan and other counties is to burn incense and offer paper outside the door, which means sending the ghosts of ancestors outside the house. It is a folk custom in the Yanbei area that after the evening watch, women all go out to burn paper to pay homage to the souls of the dead and cry loudly, which is commonly known as the Crying Festival.

However, there are different opinions on the date of "sending the poor":

 (1) The dark day of the first lunar month is the day to send off the poor. Li Qiao's note in "Song of the Poor" by Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty: "I have read in "Wenzong Beiwen" that when Zhuanxu was in Gaoxin, a son was born in the palace. He was not wearing full clothes, and his palace name was Qiongzi. After that, he died in the dark of the first month. After he was buried in the palace, he said to the relative, "Today I will send my poor son away." Since then, I will send him away." Tang Xunfang's "Liyu Zhengshi" quoted the "Four Seasons Treasure Mirror": "The first month of the lunar month is dark, the clothes are in ruins, and the food is dry. He was worshiped in the alley and said to send the poor ghosts away. "Ming Dynasty Chen Yaowen's "Tianzhong Ji? Hui Ri? Send the poor ghosts away": "The Gaoyang family was thin, good clothes and poor food, and died in the lane on the dark day of the first month. On this day, people are worshiped in the alleys and said to send the poor ghosts away." The book "Sui Hua Ji Li" written by Han'e of the Tang Dynasty also wrote: "On Meng Chunhui day (that is, the last day of each month in the lunar calendar), people gathered together to have fun and send the poor people away."

 (2) The twenty-ninth day of the first lunar month is the day to send away the poor. "Sui Sui Guang Ji·Yue Hui" quotes "Illustrations": "Chiyang custom is to regard the 29th day of the first lunar month as the ninth day of poverty. Sweep the dust and filth in the house and throw it into the water, which is called 'sending the poverty'."

 (3) The 30th day of the first lunar month is the day to send away the poor. Hu Pu'an's "National Customs of China? Henan? Luoyang Customs": "Sending poor people to poor people on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month is the same as sending a meal in the south."

 (4) The third day of the first lunar month is the day for giving away the poor. "Qing Jia Lu? Xiaonian Dynasty" written by Gulu of the Qing Dynasty: ""Yuan Ping Zhi": On the third day of the first lunar month, many people sweep the dust on the dustpan, add brooms, and go astray to send away the poor." Guangzhou folk lunar calendar The New Year folk song goes like this: "On the first day of the lunar month, one person worships gods, on the second day of the lunar month, people worship people, on the third day of the lunar month, people beg for rice, on the fifth and sixth day of the lunar month, it is the year, on the seventh day of the lunar month, people go in search of spring, and on the eighth and eighth day of the lunar month, they don't come back. On the ninth day of the ninth day, the head is empty; on the tenth day, spring goes away; on the eleventh day, the children return; on the twelveth day, a lamp shed is set up; on the thirteenth day, the lamp is turned on; on the fourteenth day, the lamp is bright; on the fifteenth day, after praying, the lamp is picked and all diseases are gone."

In the old days, people in Guangzhou believed that the third day of the Lunar New Year was "red mouth" and they were not allowed to pay New Year's greetings. They clean houses and stoves at home, and send garbage and dust out of their homes. What's more, they will burn old furniture and large utensils, and then dump the ashes into the Pearl River. These were regarded by the old Guangzhou people as "sending away the poor". Today, Poor Ghost Day has gradually faded out of the lives of Guangzhou people. I believe no one will dump burned things into the Pearl River on that day, but the custom of cleaning on the third day of the Lunar New Year is still retained. The old Hakka custom in Jiexi County regards the third day of the first lunar month as "Poor Ghost Day", and no relatives are allowed to visit on this day. Whenever villagers have something unsatisfactory at home, they are "suspicious of ghosts" and think that ghosts are causing trouble, so they prepare sacrifices to worship. They are also afraid that the ghosts in the underworld will compete for food. The domestic ghosts will not be able to fight for food in the underworld, or they will be bullied by strange ghosts. This is This gave rise to the custom of "giving ghosts away". The time to send ghosts off is around ten o'clock in the evening, at the three-way intersection. You can give gifts such as candies, dried tofu, noodles, and eggs. The sacrifices are put down, three sticks of incense are burned, blessings and prayers are given, silver paper sacrifices are burned, and the abandoned land is not taken back.

 (5) The fifth day of the first lunar month is the day for giving away the poor. There is also some local legend that it is imitating Shi Chong's intention of sending a boat to the poor. In other places, it is customary to put a little ashes in a basket on the morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, cut out five paper figures, send them outside the door, burn incense and set off fireworks before returning them. It’s called “sweeping the five ghosts.”

On the days when the poor are sent to the poor, people also have the custom of digging out toilets and piling excrement outside the door, which is called "sending the poor". Later, it evolved into a custom that encourages people to seize the time and work hard to get rich. The "Central County Chronicle" of Shaanxi Province in the Republic of China records: "In the fifth day before dawn, people, boats and carts, and embarrassing bait were bundled up and sent to the thoroughfare, which is called sending away the poor." The mentioned boats, carts, and embarrassing bait are all described in Han Yu's article on sending away the poor. The "Continuation of Nanzheng County Chronicles" of Shaanxi Province in the Republic of China clearly stated: "On the fifth day, the dust and cannon debris accumulated in the gates and courtyards were swept away, and the thoroughfares were abandoned. This is also the story of Han retreat's 'sending away the five poor'."

 (6) The sixth day of the first lunar month is the day for giving away the poor. The sixth day of the first lunar month is also called "Horse Day".

Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the traditional view is that the first day of the first lunar month is Rooster Day, the second day is Dog Day, the third day is Pig Day, the fourth day is Sheep Day, the fifth day is Ox Day, and the sixth day is Horse Day. The seventh day of the lunar month is Human Day. Legend has it that when Nuwa created all living things, she created the six animals first and then the humans. Therefore, the first to the sixth day of the lunar month are the days of the six animals.

Because the sixth day of the lunar month is Horse Day, known as Yi Fei in ancient times, people really start working or doing business on this day. Since the beginning of the first lunar month, cleaning is not allowed until the fifth day of the lunar month, and feces accumulates in the toilet. So on this day, we do a big cleaning and worship the toilet gods to clean the usually dirty toilets. So it is called "Yi Fei". In order to make business prosperous, on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, people seek prosperity and abandon the poor.

This day also means that farmers in the old days began to go to the fields on this day to prepare for spring plowing. It is customary to eat fried beans on the sixth day of the first lunar month in Baode County. Legend has it that this is to avoid attracting flies in the summer. In some places in southern Shanxi, it is customary to dig out one of the eyes of the door god on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year to prevent him from causing trouble. The time for sending poor people away changed. It was probably in the Song Dynasty that this day was set on the sixth day of the first lunar month. Lu Xizhe of the Song Dynasty quoted "Sui Shi Guang Ji? Ren Ri" from Song Lu Yuanming's "Sui Shi Za Ji": "The day before Ren Ri, sweep the dung broom, and when the person is not leaving, cover it with seven pancakes and leave it in the thoroughfare to send the poor ." Today, Beijing still retains the custom of giving gifts to poor people on the sixth day of the first lunar month.