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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.
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China News Service, Beijing, February 13th: How was the image of the God of Wealth established?
——Exclusive interview with Huang Jingchun, professor of the Chinese Department of the School of Liberal Arts of Shanghai University, and Zhang Bo, researcher of the Institute of Beijing Studies of Beijing Union University
Author Liu Yang
"If you burn incense sticks on the fifth day of the first lunar month, you will have abundant wealth all year round; if you touch ingots on the fifth day of the first lunar month, you will not be able to use big or small money; if you invite the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the first lunar month, every household will be rich; if the five gods of the first lunar month come into your home, you will be blessed with good harvests and blessings."
The words "burning incense sticks" and "touching ingots" in this folk song are all customs and habits of "receiving the God of Wealth" on the fifth day of the first lunar month. On this day, every household cleans their houses, sweeps the "poor" out of the door, and welcomes the "God of Wealth" into the house. How was the image of the God of Wealth established? What are the similarities and differences in the ways young people seek money in ancient and modern times? Recently, Huang Jingchun, a professor at the Chinese Department of the School of Liberal Arts of Shanghai University, and Zhang Bo, a researcher at the Institute of Peking Studies at Beijing Union University, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" to explain this.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: How did the custom of "welcoming the God of Wealth" come from on the fifth day of the first lunar month? Why does northern China call it "Powu"?
Huang Jingchun:
Chinese folk belief in the God of Wealth can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. During the Jingkang Incident at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Meng Yuanlao left Tokyo to live in Lin'an (Hangzhou). In his later years, he wrote the book "Tokyo Menghua Lu" to recall the prosperity of Tokyo. In this book, Meng Yuanlao described the scene where every household went to the streets to buy "wealth horses" (i.e. statues of the God of Wealth) before the Chinese New Year. The God of Wealth at this time does not have a clear name, he is just the God to whom people pray for wealth.
The record of "welcoming the God of Wealth" on the fifth day of the first lunar month can be found in Feng Menglong's novel collection "Warning Words" of the Ming Dynasty: "On the fifth day of the first lunar month, it is a custom in Suzhou that every household sacrifices to the gods of the five roads, which is called burning the market." Ming Dynasty Later local chronicles also recorded records of receiving the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the first lunar month.
The days to welcome the God of Wealth vary from place to place. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it is on the fifth day of the first lunar month, while in Beijing it is the second day of the first lunar month to "sacrifice the God of Wealth". The customs of welcoming the God of Wealth from various places have also been continuously integrated, and gradually formed the folk custom of welcoming the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the first lunar month. When I investigated Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and other places from 2000 to 2010, I found that people in various places had different attitudes towards the fifth day of the first lunar month. Shanghai had a strong atmosphere of welcoming the God of Wealth, while Guangzhou was relatively dull. The ceremony of welcoming the God of Wealth in several temples in Wuhan gradually gradually Make it bigger.
People "welcome the God of Wealth". Photo by Ni Shubin
In addition, the definitions of the fifth day of the first lunar month are also different between the north and the south. Liu Zhongyu, a professor at East China Normal University, once compared the "Po Wu" in the north with the "Welcome God of Wealth" in the south in his book. He believed that the north sends "poverty" away, while the south welcomes "wealth" in. People in the north and the south all have good hopes for a prosperous life, but their attitudes and approaches are different.
This difference in attitude is related to the regional development differences between the north and the south. In "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", people can intuitively see the market life of the Northern Song Dynasty: vendors are coming and going on the Bianhe River, and there are many shops and stalls on both sides of the street. During the Song Dynasty, China's economic center of gravity moved southward, the urban commodity economy developed rapidly, businesses and handicraftsmen continued to flow into the city, and the citizen class continued to grow. Citizens’ prayers for life are no longer satisfied with “sending poverty”, but directly express their pursuit of “prosperity”.
Visitors view "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". Photo by Yu Jing
Relatively speaking, many areas in the north continued the tradition of farming society in the old days, so "sending the poor" was the main theme on the fifth day of the first lunar month. This is also related to the fact that the fifth day of the first lunar month is called "Powu" in the northern region. The ancients believed that there were many taboos during the New Year. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, people thought that after the New Year, they would start working in the fields. Therefore, the fifth day of the first lunar month also means that taboos are "sent away". Send away all kinds of taboos, and also send the "poor" out. This is the main content of "Po Wu".
Reporter from China News Service: When you talked about welcoming the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the first lunar month, you mentioned that the image of the God of Wealth has different origins. How was the image of the God of Wealth established?
Huang Jingchun:
During the Song Dynasty, people would buy "wealth horses" and post them at home. "Wealth Horse" is the portrait of the God of Wealth. There is no specific description of the image of the God of Wealth from this period. In the Yuan Dynasty, the god of blessing began to appear, also known as the Lord of Fortune and Silk Star. Four Yuan dramas mention the God of Blessings, and some directly call him the "God of Wealth", but each one has a different name and origin. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the belief in the God of Wealth and Blessing spread to North China, and some local chronicles also recorded temple fairs of the God of Wealth and Blessing.
In addition to the God of Wealth, Zhao Gongming and Wutong God both have the function of God of Wealth. From the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, worshiping the "Wutong God" gradually became popular. The origin of Wutongshen is in India and was later introduced to China. Legends and beliefs about the Wutong God began to appear in the Tang Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, there were many Wutong temples in various places in the south of the Yangtze River, including small temples in the village and large temples in Hongxuan.
The folk image of "God of Wealth".
Wutong Shen has many different names, such as Wuxian Shen, Wusheng Shen, Wuyang Shen, Wulu Shen, Huaguang, Ma Lingguan, etc. The "Wu Ram" in Lu Xun's retrospective essay "Wu Ram" refers to the Five Gods. Suzhou and other places also call Wutong God "Wulang God" and "Five Brother God". The change in the name of Wutong God is also related to the rejection of Wutong God by Confucianism at that time.
According to legend, the God of Five Powers can bring money, but the money is not given away in vain. He asks for women in return. His money was often stolen from elsewhere. In the eyes of Confucians, the God of Five Powers teaches adultery and thieves, and is a typical evil god. Of course, behind using thieves as the God of Wealth is the concept of conservation of wealth, which takes the total amount of social wealth as a fixed amount, and what I gain and what I lose is what I lose. Wutongshen are not the creators of wealth, but the porters of wealth. They do not increase the total amount of social wealth. In the eyes of Confucian scholars, this violates Confucian ethics and corrupts social morals.
Confucian scholars pushed the government to launch many campaigns to ban the destruction of Wutong. Under this kind of social pressure, Wutong Shen changed his name and also transformed into his "godhead". Then, the Five Gods of Wealth appeared. In the spread of the Five-Way God of Wealth, the interpretation of "Five-Way" has also evolved into the connotation of "Five Elements of Righteousness" and the beautiful vision of "getting wealth in the east, west, south, north, and middle". The Five-Way God of Wealth retains the wealth-giving function of the Five-Way God, eliminates theft, adultery and other obscene acts, and adds the ethical connotation of loyalty, filial piety, fairness and justice. The transformation of Wutong Shen took hundreds of years. His image broke out from the anti-ethical and anti-social dilemma. He completed the name change and perfected his godhead as the God of Wealth, and was accepted by all walks of life.
Five Ways of Wealth
Reporter from China News Service: In the historical process of overseas Chinese immigrating overseas, what impact has it had on the spread of the belief in the God of Wealth? What interesting phenomena did you discover during your research in various places?
Huang Jingchun:
Overseas Chinese also believe in the God of Wealth. I saw a portrait of an emperor in a Chinese restaurant in Singapore and asked the lady boss who was in the painting. She said it was Qianlong. Qianlong has the same pronunciation as "Qianlong". Qianlong is made of copper coins engraved with the words "Qianlong Tongbao" strung into a dragon shape. On the beam of the Yangxing Hall in the Forbidden City, there is a Qianlong about 2 meters long, which means that the family is safe and the descendants are long. The Chinese in Singapore hang Qianlong's portraits in restaurants and hotels to pray for wealth and good fortune.
In Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, there is also the custom of worshiping the God of Fortune and Righteousness. The God of Fortune and Righteousness, commonly known as the Lord of the Land, is a wealth belief formed in a farming society. Chinese immigrants spread the land god belief to Southeast Asia and integrated it with the local religious culture. Nowadays, scholars are constantly studying the relationship between Chinese immigrants and Southeast Asian customs from the perspectives of folklore and anthropology.
Statue of Fude Zhengshen
Reporter from China News Service: During the Spring Festival, many people, including young people, want to offer incense to pray for prosperity in their studies and careers. What "tricks" did young people in ancient times use to seek money? What are the similarities and differences with contemporary young people?
Zhang Bo:
The age definitions of young people are different in ancient and modern times, and there are few records on how young people in ancient times sought wealth. But people can still see the continuation and changes of customs and habits from the comparison of ancient and modern ways of seeking wealth.
In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, when you greet the God of Wealth from the Five Roads, you should hang a scroll of the God of Wealth in the middle of the living room, put five wine cups, five pairs of chopsticks, and offerings of the "five dryness" and "the five wetness" in front of the living room. Add four bowls and four plates, and put the "three animal plates" in the middle: two golden roosters, one side of pork ribs, and one live silver carp and one pomfret each. The chicken should be tied into the shape of an ingot, with green onions in its mouth; a kitchen knife should be pressed on the fish. Merchants also open their markets around the fifth day of the Lunar New Year to worship the God of Wealth and invite people to drink, which is called "Jie Lutou". Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province also has the habit of meeting the road on the fifth day of the first lunar month. People get up early on this day to worship gods devoutly, which is called "Kili City".
Merchants in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province open their markets around the fifth day of the Lunar New Year to worship the God of Wealth and invite people to drink, which is called "Jie Lutou". Photo by Wang Jiankang
Merchants in Jiaodong, Shandong Province, have specific rules for eating dumplings on the fifth day of the first lunar month. On this day, a few dumplings must be deliberately broken. The shopkeeper asked loudly outside the kitchen: "Man, have you earned the ingot?" The waiter replied loudly: "Earn it!" This is a good sign. Moreover, when eating dumplings with garlic as seasoning, you are not allowed to say you eat garlic, but you say you eat "Yihe cuisine".
The above are just the old customs and habits in some areas on the fifth day of the first lunar month. Contemporary young people have simplified their methods, but they also have certain traditions, such as going to temples to offer incense and praying for blessings on the fifth day of the first lunar month, eating specific foods, and placing specific objects at home. Through these methods, people look forward to a better life in the future and "encourage" their work and life. (over)
Interviewee profile:
Huang Jingchun is a professor and doctoral supervisor in the Chinese Department of the School of Liberal Arts of Shanghai University. He mainly studies folk literature and folklore. He has published more than ten books and more than 100 papers. Currently, he is the chief expert of major projects of the National Social Science Fund. He concurrently serves as the vice president of the Chinese Folklore Society, director of the Folk Literature Subcommittee of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Terminology Approval Committee, executive director of the Chinese Folk Literature Society, and vice chairman of the Shanghai Folk Literature and Artists Association.
Zhang Bo is a researcher at the Beijing Studies Institute of Beijing Union University, deputy director of the Beijing Philosophy and Social Sciences Beijing Studies Research Base, and concurrently serves as the vice president of the Chinese Folklore Society, the vice president of the Beijing Local Chronicle Society, and the vice president of the Beijing Ancient Capital Culture Research Association. Beijing’s “four batches” of talents. He has authored, co-authored, and edited more than 20 titles, including "Study on Festivals in the Tang Dynasty", "Chinese People's Time Wisdom", "Chinese People's Views on Customs and the Practice of Changing Customs", etc. He has published more than 200 academic articles and written more than 10 research reports.