Editor's note:
The Jade Rabbit bids farewell to the old year, and the Golden Dragon welcomes the New Year. Among the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, the dragon is the only fictitious mythical animal; in traditional Chinese culture, the dragon is a symbol with unique meanings.
The Year of the Dragon is approaching. China News Service's "East-West Question" has launched a series of "Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon" planning series since February 6. From the origin of the dragon in Hongshan culture to the evolution of the dragon in the Dunhuang Grottoes, from more than a hundred years Explore the cultural flavor behind the Spring Festival in the Year of the Dragon from how foreigners celebrated the Spring Festival in the past to why Chinese people at home and abroad are called "descendants of the dragon." Please stay tuned.
China News Service, Beijing, February 8th: As we bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, how can we better continue the spirit of the new year on New Year’s Eve?
——Exclusive interview with Peng Lin, senior professor of liberal arts at Tsinghua University
Author Zeng Yue Guoxuan
As the handover point for bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, New Year's Eve is regarded as an important manifestation of the spirit of the new year. Throughout the ages, New Year's Eve has not only evolved different folk customs across China, but has also become a common memory of the New Year for Chinese people at home and abroad.
How has New Year's Eve evolved over the long years? Where do the expressions "very particular" and "no taboos" come from? When old customs meet new folk customs, how can we better continue the flavor of the year on New Year’s Eve? Peng Lin, a senior professor of liberal arts at Tsinghua University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" to explain the evolution of New Year's Eve in ancient and modern times and talk about the cultural significance of New Year's Eve to Chinese people at home and abroad.
Video: [East-West Question] Peng Lin: As we bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, how can we better continue the spirit of the year on New Year’s Eve?
Source: China News Network
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: What is New Year’s Eve? What is the origin of New Year's Eve and how has it evolved?
Peng Lin:
New Year's Eve has been slowly formed, continuously enriched and developed over the long years. The Chinese call the two ends of the day Dan and Xi. Dan is morning and Xi is evening. The last night to be "removed" in the year is called New Year's Eve.
The ancients regarded the first day of Meng Chun as the first day of the year, and it was customarily called the first day of the first lunar month. On the day before the first day of the first lunar month, the ancients performed the Nuo ceremony. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" written in the late Warring States Period records, "The fate of Da Nuo is Si Da Nuo." Gao You's note: "Da Nuo is to drive away the Yin Qi and guide Yang." The Chinese talk about "Yin and Yang", and the purpose of "Nuo" is Exorcise evil spirits and eliminate epidemics, and welcome the arrival of "Yang Qi". This is the earliest documented record of New Year's Eve activities seen so far.
"The Rites of Zhou" mentions a position called "Fang Xiangshi" whose duty is to ward off epidemics and avoid evil spirits. On New Year's Eve, "Fang Xiangshi" put on a mask with "four golden eyes" and a bearskin, "held the sword and raised the shield" and walked through all the rooms in the palace, beating the drums and shouting to remove the "yin energy" from the nooks and crannies. Drive them all away, hoping to drive away all the plagues and bring good luck in the coming year.
By the Han and Wei dynasties, new customs began to prevail among the people. People hang peach trees at the door, write the names of the two gods "Shen Tu" and "Yulei" who specialize in catching evil ghosts, called "Peach Talisman", and tie reed ropes on them to scare away "evil ghosts".
In the Tang Dynasty, people began to paste the portraits of Yu Chigong and Qin Qiong on the door to serve as "door gods". These customs express the common people's best wishes to seek good luck, avoid bad luck, and pray for a safe new year.
On February 2, 2024, a door god was hung on the door of the Forbidden City in Shenyang, Liaoning, to welcome the upcoming Lunar New Year. Photographed by Yu Haiyang
In addition, folklore says that "evil spirits" are afraid of noise, so the ancients invented firecrackers. Documents record that on New Year's Eve, it is "banned to firecrackers in the mountains", so that no "evil spirits" dare to come again. After the invention of gunpowder, people made firecrackers, which not only had better effects, but also doubled the festive atmosphere. This tradition has been passed down to this day.
Another feature of New Year's Eve is posting Spring Festival couplets. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Meng Chang, the king of the Later Shu Kingdom, personally wrote the couplet "New Year's Day, Happy Festival, Changchun Festival" on peach symbols. This is the earliest record of Spring Festival couplets in ancient times. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that every household must post Spring Festival couplets during the New Year. Since then, the Spring Festival couplets have become a national cultural phenomenon and will continue to flourish.
On February 2, 2024, villagers were choosing Spring Festival couplets in Yangliu New Village, Tianping Town, Yuping Dong Autonomous County, Tongren City, Guizhou Province. Photo by Hu Panxue
New Year's Eve is the handover moment between saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. People should not only bid farewell to the old year, be grateful to society and nature, and celebrate the achievements made in the old year, but also welcome the new year and look forward to the future. The Chinese nation has endless power. One of the reasons is that the Chinese people always encourage themselves at the turn of the old and the new. Wang Anshi said, "Always replace old charms with new ones." One of the themes of the Spring Festival is the renewal of everything, which in today's terms is "refreshing." Individuals, families, and society are constantly being renewed, renewed, and renewed every day.
Reporter from China News Service: There are many customs on New Year's Eve, such as having a reunion dinner, giving new year's money, keeping watch on the New Year's Eve, etc. What are the details of these customs? What's the meaning?
Peng Lin:
Chinese people pay attention to the ethics of seniority and value blood relations and filial piety culture. The concept of "family" is deeply rooted. No matter how busy we are throughout the year, we always go home to visit and have New Year’s Eve dinner during the Chinese New Year. The New Year's Eve dinner is the meal with the most complete attendance, the highest standards, the most solemn ceremony, and the richest connotation in the family.
The dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner are very particular. For example, there must be fish on the dining table, and the fish must not be eaten all, but must have at least a head and tail, which means there will be more than enough every year; in many places in the south, people eat norma, which means "wealth", and eat rice cakes, which means "good luck in the coming year." Eating glutinous rice balls symbolizes peace and reunion; in the north, there is also the custom of putting a coin when making dumplings. Whoever eats this dumpling wins the lottery, symbolizing good luck... These are all expectations for the New Year.
On February 11, 2021, the eve of the Lunar New Year, Chun Yeung Street in North Point, Hong Kong was crowded with people. Many citizens came to purchase new year goods and ingredients in preparation for celebrating the New Year. Photo by Zhang Wei
On New Year's Eve, families reunite and people wish each other well. In ancient times, the earliest New Year's money was given by the elders to the younger ones. Because children were weak and prone to die young, people thought that putting the New Year's money under their pillows and in their underwear could keep their children safe. The tradition of giving lucky money has been passed down to this day.
Staying up late on the New Year's Eve has been given special cultural connotation by the Chinese. There is a saying that "one night connects two years", the old year and the new year are connected by New Year's Eve. Watching the year old is to witness the turn of the years and the moment when the old is removed and the new is introduced.
On February 5, 2022, in Nanjing, Jiangsu, the "God of Wealth" appeared in Bailuzhou Park in the south of the city and handed out red envelopes to the people. Photo by Yang Bo
The Chinese have had this awareness for a long time. "The cold goes away overnight, and spring comes with the fifth watch." Although the temperature will not change suddenly at the fifth watch, theoretically, the cold winter has left with the New Year's Eve, and the New Year is coming with the New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, family members sit around the fire and talk about their experiences in the past year and their expectations for the future.
There is also a popular saying among the people that staying up late can bless parents and elders to live longer. It can be seen that the kindness of Chinese descendants permeates every detail of social life.
China News Service reporter: In addition to common New Year’s Eve customs, different folk customs have also evolved across China. Some places believe that everything is special about New Year's Eve, while other places believe that there are no taboos. What do you think of this folkloric divide?
Peng Lin:
Traditional Chinese culture has two major "aspects", one is called rituals, and the other is called customs. Rituals are prescribed and uniform throughout the country. Customs are regional and can be chosen freely. For example, on New Year's Eve, northerners eat dumplings, while southerners eat rice cakes and glutinous rice cakes. The diversity of Chinese culture can be seen here.
Generally speaking, people start preparing for the New Year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. They sweep dust, put up window grilles, cut New Year meat, and go to the market. Each place has its own agreed-upon procedures, so that everyone can prepare step by step for the Spring Festival to "refresh". .
On January 27, 2024, Huizhong Village in Pujiang Town, Shanghai held a New Year calligraphy blessing event, and the tables full of blessing characters attracted children. Photo by Tang Yanjun
Whether there are no taboos on New Year's Eve is related to differences in folk customs, which can be seen from the story of the Kitchen God.
Every folk family has a Kitchen God. Every year on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will go to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor the good and evil of the family in the year. Therefore, people would put a note on the stove saying "God speaks good things, and the lower world will keep you safe" or put candies and cakes on them, hoping that the Stove Lord will say some kind words in heaven. Before welcoming the Stove Lord back on New Year's Eve, customs vary from place to place. There are two theories: one is that during this period, the Jade Emperor will go down to the world to inspect the good and evil in the world and determine the good and evil in the coming year, so you must be careful with your words and deeds; the other is that the Stove Lord After the prince goes to heaven, there is no god in the house, and there are no taboos.
Chinese culture as a whole emphasizes self-discipline, and it is quite interesting for ordinary people to find a reason to relax a little before the Chinese New Year.
On February 4, 2021, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year in northern China. Primary school students in Zhengzhou, Henan Province were excited after making New Year pictures and waited for the teacher to make candies. Photo by Kan Li
Reporter from China News Service: Not only domestically, many overseas Chinese will also retain customs such as eating New Year's Eve dinner and staying up late on New Year's Eve. In your opinion, what cultural implications do various customs embody?
Peng Lin:
The ancient Chinese sages once put forward the ideal of "taking the world as one family and China as one people" and hoped to build a social culture recognized by the whole country.
The common life style and value culture go deep into the bones of the Chinese nation, tightly uniting the Chinese people. Generation after generation of people have used their wisdom to enrich and improve the form and connotation of the New Year, forming a Spring Festival culture that transcends identity, wealth, and region, showing strong cultural centripetal force.
On February 3, 2024, the New Year ornaments at the Spring Festival flower market in Chinatown, San Francisco, USA attracted the attention of a child. Photo by Liu Guanguan
People often say that "loving the motherland must start with loving your hometown." This is called nostalgia. Many overseas Chinese also grew up under the nurture of Chinese culture, and their hearts are connected to their ancestral country. From blood ties to hometown love, Chinese people pay special attention to emotions, and the New Year is an important sustenance of these emotions.
Reporter from China News Service: New Year’s Eve is regarded as an important manifestation of the flavor of the new year. In your opinion, between inheriting old customs and developing new folk customs, how can New Year’s Eve better extend the flavor of the year?
Peng Lin:
New Year’s Eve has deep cultural connotations. Literati from past dynasties have left many excellent works for New Year's Eve, which add to the cultural atmosphere of New Year's Eve and are refreshing to read.
On January 15, 2023, the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the Spring Festival was approaching, the tree branches on the pedestrian streets on the east and west sides of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province were "covered" with poems, and tourists strolled through them to enjoy and take photos. Photo by Zhang Yuan
For example, Lu You of the Song Dynasty wrote "Half a lamp has not yet been lifted up to slaughter Su, and the grass in front of the lamp is writing peach charms", which has a strong sense of imagery; the poem "New Year's Eve" written by Zhao Yi, a historian of the Qing Dynasty at the age of 85, goes like this: "I put on my clothes in the cold and want to "Listen to the first sound of the rooster". In fact, the sound of the rooster is no different from usual, but the poet calls it the first sound of the New Year, giving it the meaning of the beginning of the new year; Song Dynasty poet Hu Haoran's "Note that this year and tonight are over, it seems like a sudden sleep" "Next year and tomorrow" is more like an encouraging cry.
Regarding New Year's Eve and Spring Festival, the ancients left us rich spiritual wealth. This is a "rich mine" that deserves to be inherited and promoted by today's people. We cannot turn the New Year into a carnival of eating, drinking, and having fun, or even with an excessive stench of copper. We need to fully and deeply understand and carry forward the excellent traditional culture, including New Year's Eve and Spring Festival culture, to avoid its becoming outdated and to carry it forward on the basis of returning to the roots and creating new ones.
Expert profile:
Peng Lin is one of the first batch of senior liberal arts professors at Tsinghua University, professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Humanities at Tsinghua University, founding dean of the Institute of Chinese Classics at Tsinghua University, adjunct professor at the Ma Yifu Academy of Zhejiang University, editor-in-chief of "Chinese Classics", and consultant to the International Confucian Federation ; Visiting professor at Kyoto University in Japan, City University of Hong Kong, National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan, etc., and visiting scholar at the "House of Humanities" in France, the Institute of Literature and Philosophy of "Academia Sinica" in Taiwan, and the Taedong Institute of Classical Studies in South Korea. Mainly engaged in research on ancient Chinese history and Confucian ritual and music civilization. He is the author of "Study on the Main Thought of Zhou Rites and the Era of Its Writing", "The Spread of Chinese Rites in Ancient Korea", "Ritual and Music Civilization and the Spirit of Chinese Culture", etc., and edited ancient books such as "Commentary on Zhou Rites" and "Commentary on Rites and Rites". In October 2011, he gave a lecture on "Peng Lin's Theory of Etiquette" at the "Hundred Schools Forum".