Community day (SheRi Jie)

Since ancient times, social gods have become the gods of sacrifice in the sacrificial system. Up to now, the ancient "Social God" has changed a lot, but the custom of sacrificing the land God has been preserved. With the migration of Chinese, it has also blossomed and fruited in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

For quite a long time in China's history, its social form is a typical traditional agricultural society. In such a social form, people have extremely deep feelings for land. Love is important and must be deified. Therefore, the land has long been the object of people's sacrifice, which is called "society"; The day of key sacrifice is "social day".

The word "society" is from the earth, "Earth" is the land, "and" show "means sacrifice. Then, the society is to sacrifice the land. In the early days, the land God was just a God. Later, it was gradually personified and called society, commonly known as the land God, and there was a spouse God (social mother, commonly known as the land grandmother). Sometimes, the earth God and the valley God are worshipped together, which is the so-called state in ancient times.

Compared with the spring and autumn clubs, the spring club has more activities. According to the fifth day after the beginning of spring, the spring society is generally around the second day of February, and it is said that the second day of February is the birthday of the earth God, so the worship on this day is particularly grand. Yuan Jinglan's "Wu Jun Sui Hua Ji Sheng" records this custom in Suzhou:

February 2 is the birthday of the earth God. There are special shrines in the temples in the city to pay for animal music. In the rural Tugu temple, farmers also have furniture and ketchup to wish. Shenli is commonly known as Tian Gong and Tian Po. In ancient times, it was called shegong and shemu. The community does not have food and accommodation water, so there must be rain on the community day, which is called community rain. Quick money is called social money. Folding drums to pray for new year is called social drum. Drinking to cure deafness is called social wine. Mixed rice with meat is called social rice The field will prosper, and the society is specially worshipped to pray for the auspiciousness of agriculture.

In ancient times, the days when the earth God was worshipped were called social days, usually one in spring and autumn, and later there were four times to sacrifice. According to Qiu Guangting of the Song Dynasty, the fifth day after the beginning of spring is the spring society, and the fifth day after the beginning of autumn is the autumn society, which is generally around the spring equinox or the autumn equinox. Before the Han Dynasty, there were only spring clubs, and after the Han Dynasty, there were spring and autumn clubs. The functions of worshipping gods in spring and autumn are different, that is, the so-called spring praying and autumn reporting. The spring society mainly prays for the God of land to bless the agricultural harvest, while the autumn society thanks the gods with harvest.

The Social God comes from the worship of the land. Land is the place where human beings live and the most important source for human beings to obtain survival materials (clothing, food, housing, etc.). It is an important content of primitive worship to worship the natural substances that people depend on for survival. Our ancestors have long revered and worshipped the land. However, because "the land is vast, you can't respect it all over; there are many grains, you can't sacrifice them one by one. Therefore, you can seal the soil and establish a society to show the respect of the soil." With the transformation from primitive worship to personality God worship, the primitive worship of the land will be transformed into the worship of the land God. The mound, which used to be a symbol of the vast land, has become the place and symbol of the land God, that is, the owner of the society. The sacrificial society also has a sacrificial system, which is called "the country, the God of earth and valley, how can those with virtue match food". Social day is the day of offering sacrifices to social gods. According to the research, as a festival, the social day "originated in the three dynasties, first flourished in the Qin and Han Dynasties, inherited in the Wei, Jin, northern and Southern Dynasties, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and declined in the yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties". In the history of social development, the Tang Dynasty is undoubtedly an important paragraph.

The land God is found everywhere, and the family of the land God is very large. In order to emulate the later earth emperor, the immediate superior is Chengtian, and there are 36 earth emperor kings in jiulei who are in charge of the "land department" in ten directions and three circles. At the same time, there are the local land where all parties live. The Scripture also records "the earth's father and mother, the earth's children and grandchildren, and the Tujia family members". It can be seen how huge the earth God system is. Land God plays an important role in people's daily life. It is not only large in family, but also widely distributed. There are household land gods in the home, village land gods in the village, and urban land gods in the city. Some worship the land at home, at the door, and in the community temple in the village. In short, the duty of the land God is to bless the character Kangtai in one side of the land, keep the population clean and go in and out safely.

In the south, "February 2" dragon head raising mainly focuses on the custom of sacrificing the society (land God), and the custom of sacrificing the dragon is mainly on the midsummer Dragon Boat Festival when the Dragon rises to heaven. For example, in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other regions, there are not only the custom similar to the dragon head raising Festival, but also the new "February 2" custom based on the custom of sacrificing the society. Because "the earth contains all things" and "gathers money in the earth" "In the south of China, the earth God is widely worshipped, also known as" society "," society God "," earth God "," Fuzheng God ", and Hakka people call it" land uncle " February 2 "social day" is mainly to offer sacrifices to the land and gather social drinks to entertain people by respecting and entertaining gods.

Spring Club

The word "society" is from the earth, "Earth" is the land, "and" show "means sacrifice. Then, the society is to sacrifice the land. In the early days, the land God was just a God. Later, it was gradually personified and called society, commonly known as the land God, and there was a spouse God (social mother, commonly known as the land grandmother). Sometimes, the earth God and the valley God are worshipped together, which is the so-called state in ancient times. Compared with the spring and autumn clubs, the spring club has more activities. According to the fifth day after the beginning of spring, the spring society is generally around the second day of February, and it is said that the second day of February is the birthday of the earth God, so the worship on this day is particularly grand. Yuan Jinglan recorded this custom in Suzhou in Wu Jun Sui Hua Ji Sheng: February 2 is the birthday of the earth God. There are special temples in the city, and animals are paid for their music. In the rural Tugu temple, farmers also have furniture and ketchup to wish. Shenli is commonly known as Tian Gong and Tian Po. In ancient times, it was called shegong and shemu. The community does not have food and accommodation water, so there must be rain on the community day, which is called community rain. Quick money is called social money. Folding drums to pray for new year is called social drum. Drinking to cure deafness is called social wine. Mixed rice with meat is called social rice The field will prosper, and the society is specially worshipped to pray for the auspiciousness of agriculture. In ancient times, the days when the earth God was worshipped were called social days, usually one in spring and autumn, and later there were four times to sacrifice. According to Qiu Guangting of the Song Dynasty, the fifth day after the beginning of spring is the spring society, and the fifth day after the beginning of autumn is the autumn society, which is generally around the spring equinox or the autumn equinox. Before the Han Dynasty, there were only spring clubs, and after the Han Dynasty, there were spring and autumn clubs. The functions of worshipping gods in spring and autumn are different, that is, the so-called spring praying and autumn reporting. The spring society mainly prays for the God of land to bless the agricultural harvest, while the autumn society thanks the gods with harvest. February 2 is the birthday of the earth God. There are special shrines in the temples in the city to pay for animal music. In the rural Tugu temple, farmers also have furniture and ketchup to wish. Shenli is commonly known as Tian Gong and Tian Po. In ancient times, it was called shegong and shemu. The community does not have food and accommodation water, so there must be rain on the community day, which is called community rain. Quick money is called social money. Folding drums to pray for new year is called social drum. Drinking to cure deafness is called social wine. Mixed rice with meat is called social rice The field will prosper, and the society is specially worshipped to pray for the auspiciousness of agriculture.

Chinese Thanksgiving Day in autumn

The autumn society is on the fifth day after the beginning of autumn. The harvest in ancient times has been completed, and both the government and the people offer sacrifices to the gods on this day to thank them. In the Song Dynasty, there were the customs of eating cakes, drinking and women returning to peace. Later generations, the autumn society gradually declined, and its content was mostly combined with the Zhongyuan Festival (July and a half). Tang Hanluo's poem "no see": "this body is willing to be a king's swallow, and will not return when the autumn society returns." Song Mengyuan's old "Tokyo menghualu autumn society": "in August autumn society, each of them will be delivered with social cakes and social wine. Your relatives and palace courtyard will cut pig and mutton, kidney, your room, stomach and lung, duck, cake, melon and ginger into pieces and pieces with harmonious taste. They are spread on the board, which is called" social meal "and invited guests to provide them. All the women in other people's homes return home late, that is, the grandparents, wives and uncles are left with new gourds and dates. As the saying goes, Yiliang's nephew. Mr. Shixue collected all living money in advance for society When they returned, they scattered with flower baskets, fruits, food and social cakes. The same is true of the Spring Festival Society, the Double Ninth Festival and the Double Ninth Festival. " Song Wu Zimei's dream Liang record in August: "on the autumn social day, the imperial court, prefectures and counties send officials to sacrifice the country on the altar, cover the spring and pray, and report in autumn." Gu Lu of the Qing Dynasty wrote in his "Qing Jialu · July · zhaitiantou": "in the middle Yuan Dynasty, farmers worshipped the God of the field, each of which belongs to flour, chicken, millet, melon and vegetables. They worshipped and wished again at the crossroads of the field, which is called zhaitiantou. Case: Han Changli's poem:" share the joy of the God of the society in the field. "He also said," wish to be a fellow member of the society and feast the spring and autumn with chickens and porpoises. "This is the worship on July 15, just like the autumn ears of the society in ancient times."

In the laughter of Qianxun ancient oak, the spring breeze today belongs to the community. After cutting meat, the wind is still there, and he likes to drink freely to cure deafness.

The fifth day after the beginning of spring is spring social day. In ancient times, the village was used as a unit to offer sacrifices to social gods and pray for a good harvest. Before sacrificing to the Social God, set up a community, build a stone house on the Earth altar with no top, and paste the red paper of "God of the country" on it. After sacrificing, sprinkle meat around to pay crows. "Jing Chu Sui Shi Ji": "on social day, the four neighbors form a community together, slaughter the animals in prison, put them under the tree for the house, offer sacrifices to the gods first, and then enjoy their happiness". Song Meiyao's minister wrote a poem in the Spring Club: "welcome the rain every year and wash the flowers in the forest lightly. There are field drums under the trees and meat crows waiting at the altar. Drink the spring mash and wine together, and the wild and old roar with each other at dusk. When will the swallow arrive, it will grow tall and have oblique wings."

The southern "February 2" festival still follows the custom of sacrificing the society, such as in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other regions; In addition, a new "February 2" custom, which is similar to the dragon head raising Festival and mainly based on the sacrificial society custom, has been formed, such as in the Hakka area of Eastern Guangxi.

The land God was called "society" and "Social God" in ancient times. It is said that it is the God who manages one side of the land. Because "the earth contains all things" and "gathering money on the earth", mankind has produced the worship of land. After entering the agricultural society, they linked their faith in land with the abundance and apology of crops. Southern China generally worships the earth God, also known as "earth God" and "Fuzheng God". Hakka people call it "land uncle", and there is a social day festival to sacrifice the Social God (i.e. the earth God). The social day custom of "February 2" is rich in content. The main activities are sacrificing land and gathering social drinks to entertain people by respecting and entertaining gods.

Before offering sacrifices to social gods, we must set up altars and temples. Those established by the king are called "Royal Society", and those established by the people are called "great society". In the social arena, there must also be a social owner, the Social God. The earliest owners were trees. For example, pine trees were planted on the altar in the Xia Dynasty, cypress trees were planted in the Shang Dynasty and chestnut trees were planted in the Zhou Dynasty. Later, the owner of the club changed to stone, wooden signboard and soil. For example, the state altar in Zhongshan Park in Beijing takes the five colored soil as the owner of the community, and takes the green soil in the East, the white soil in the west, the red soil in the south, the black soil in the north and the Loess in the center, which not only represents the land of the world, but also contains Yin and Yang and five elements. Just to pray for agricultural fertility, the God of state, who dominates the grain, was added, so it was called the altar of state. This is the "King's society" of the emperor's sacrificial society of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The community established by the people is now mostly called Earth temple. There are many local temples in urban and rural areas: in cities and towns, residents donate money to build temples; In the countryside, under the big tree outside the village, build a small temple with a square of 12 meters, or use four pieces of stone, three for the wall, one for the top, and pick up a broken cylinder piece for the cover. Such "grievances" dominate the land, age and prosperity of the God, but we have not heard the complaint and revenge of the God of the land. Therefore, most of the land gods shaped by Chinese people are kind old people with long beards. Later, some people thought it would be too lonely for him to keep the small temple alone, so they added a wife commonly known as the landlady according to the human society. However, in Fujian, Guangdong and southwest China, people set up one or two stones in the earth temple, covered with red cloth, which is the earth God - is this an ancient relic of taking stones as the owner of the society? Under the wall root of the main wall of the hall where the "heaven and earth monarch, parent and teacher deity" was enshrined, the farmhouse pasted a red paper with the land deity written on it, set up a incense burner, and invited the land deity to protect the family.

Sacrificial society was a grand festival for the whole people in ancient times. After the emperor went to the "King's society" to offer sacrifices and pray for abundance, he also had to feast the ministers. The common people collectively offer sacrifices to the social gods of the village. We can learn about the social day scene at that time from ancient poems: the villagers pooled money to buy pigs and sheep, then beat gongs and drums, carried pigs and sheep, carried wine pots and various offerings, gathered in front of the social temple, burned incense and worshipped, prayed for bumper grain, prosperous population and peace in the village. After the sacrifice, the meat is divided according to the household, and there is a picnic in front of the temple, a dinner and a happy drink, as well as drum beating, song dueling, grass fighting and other entertainment. They return at dusk. Zhang Yan, a poet of the Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "social day": "the shadow of mulberry and zhejie is scattered in the spring society, and every family is intoxicated."

The "February 2" social day in the South inherits the folk custom of sacrificing the land God from ancient times. The belief of the land God can meet the psychological needs of the people in the south to pray for good harvests and eliminate disasters. Therefore, the custom of sacrificing the land God in the South has been passed on to this day.

Fuzheng Shenbao:

Zhixin conversion ceremony

On one side of the earth Valley, the God of fortune surnamed Wan, is loyal, upright and strong, helps the country and the people, and receives a simple life. On the other side of the town, Li Shu looks forward to it. He is a meritorious Cao in charge of the Department. He plays in the palm and reaches the top with great enthusiasm. Righteousness runs through the nine days, and good and evil are revealed and responded; The three realms are well-informed, and the merits and demerits are clearly observed. Consolidate the golden soup and lay a foundation for the country. Great loyalty, great filial piety, to show to the spirit, protect the country and the people, great joy and great house, the God of good fortune, the Supreme Lord's canonization, the God of Tugu, the Royal worship of the Jade Emperor, the main altar town palace, the Ming king of the land, the God of good fortune, and the transmission of sincerity to the God of heaven.

Land patent:

Zhixin conversion ceremony

Children's faces and hair, longevity and long life, Taoist bones and fairy wind, and the most benevolent elders. He was ordered by the three realms to pass the order of thunder. Live in a free and unfettered realm and enjoy the beautiful cave sky. Wearing a flat topped golden crown and holding a flower dragon pestle and staff. The blue robe reflects the sun and moon, and the feet often climb the auspicious clouds. Look on the left, look on the right, and all sides support it. The former subdues the dragon and the latter subdues the tiger, bringing good luck everywhere. It will be beneficial for the country and the people. Pray for grace and blessing to channeling. It is difficult to think about the name of morality, and there is a spirit and response for the gods. Eliminate evil and supplement justice, be the master of one party, save the suffering and help the people, and receive the cigarettes of the world. Great mercy and great wish, great benevolence and compassion, reaching the heaven and the earth, protecting the country and the people, channeling the master and being the God in the region!

In ancient times, the date of social day festival was determined according to the Ganzhi calendar, and later changed to the lunar calendar due to calendar changes. Community day is divided into spring community day and autumn community day. Spring community is the fifth e day after the beginning of spring, and autumn community is the fifth e day after the beginning of autumn (E, five elements belong to soil).

First of all, we should know that every day has its own tiangan dizhi day (old yellow calendar).

Ten day stem: A, B, C, D, e, self, G, Xin, Ren and GUI.

Twelve Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, you, Xu, Hai.

For example, the beginning of spring in 2020 is February 4 of the Gregorian calendar. According to the perpetual calendar, it is Ding Chou day.

The spring social day is the fifth day after the beginning of spring.

The six days of Wuyin, Wuzi, Wuxu, Wuwu, Wushen and Wuwu are called Wuri, also known as "Liuwu".

Therefore, the first e day after February 4, 2020 is 2.5 Wuyin day, the second is 2.15 Wuzi day, the third is 2.25 Wuxu day, the fourth is 3.6 Wushen day, and the fifth is 3.16 Wuwu day. Therefore, March 16, 2020 is the spring society day in the year of gengzi in 2020.

The Social God is the land God, which belongs to the worship of nature. "Gongyangzhuan · the 25th year of Duke Zhuang" records: "drums are used for animals in the society." "Zuo Zhuan · the 29th year of Zhaogong" said: "the son of Gonggong is called Gou long, which is the land of later generations." "The earth is the society". It can be seen that the social gods in the pre-Qin era originated from the later earth belief. The hook dragon was the Social God, and the drum was used to sacrifice the social gods with animals. According to the book of rites, when sacrificing soil, the first day is used, that is, the beginning of the day. The beginning of this day is set on the first day of February, the first day of February, in the same book "monthly order".

There are more materials about social sacrifice in the Han Dynasty. We can have a further understanding of social sacrifice. "White tiger Tongyi · state" records: "why does the king have a state? He seeks blessings and rewards for the world. People do not stand on the earth and do not eat grain. The land is vast and can not be respected all over. There are many grains and can not be sacrificed one by one. Therefore, the land is sealed to establish a society, which shows that there is soil. Respecting the head of the grain, the land is sealed and sacrificed." It can be seen that the society is the sacrificial soil installation of the altar of "sealing the earth", which is the spring and autumn society sacrifice twice a year. In the Han Dynasty, there were societies from the emperor to the princes, even in counties and villages. In addition to the state's social system, Chinese people also established private societies. According to a note in the annals of the five elements in the Han Dynasty, the state stipulates that 25 families are one society. And the people or ten or five are tianshe, which is a private society. The Social God has been personified. The book of the later Han Dynasty · biography of alchemy tells that Fei Changfang can "drive the social public". The book of Han Dynasty, biography of Chen Ping, records the story of Chen Ping's division of meat as a sacrifice: Li Zhongshe sacrifice, Chen Ping is responsible for cutting meat and dividing meat evenly. Li's father praised him for cutting meat well. Chen Ping said that if I could take charge of the world, it would be as fair as dividing meat. This story makes us understand that the social sacrifice needs to provide meat, and we share the meat after the sacrifice. Therefore, social sacrifice can be carried out at a certain cost. "Hanshu. Food and goods records" said: "the temple of the new spring and Autumn Period in shelu costs 300 yuan." It probably refers to the social sacrifice burden of the people during the social sacrifice.

After the Han Dynasty, the spring and autumn social festivals of February and August were still implemented. As for the time of social sacrifice, Ji Han of the Jin Dynasty said in the preface to social Fu that the Han Dynasty divined the Bingwu day in February, the Wei Dynasty chose the Dingwei day in February, and the Jin Dynasty was the unitary day of January. This is because of their luck. The spring and autumn society of Wei contained in the book of Wei · Li Zhi I uses the month of Wu. The Sui and Tang Dynasties inherited the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, spring and autumn were divided into the fifth day after the song and Yuan Dynasties. As far as the Spring Festival Society is concerned, it is basically held in February.

"Jing Chu Sui Shi Ji" leaves us the specific situation of social sacrifice. It can be seen that on this day of the Spring Festival Society, the surrounding neighbors gathered to hold a ceremony to sacrifice the social gods, kill cattle, slaughter sheep and offer wine. Build a shed under the social tree, offer sacrifices to the gods first, and then enjoy the sacrificial wine and meat together.

Social day prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and there are many descriptions in Tang poetry. It reflects that when the village village community sacrifices, the drum is set as usual to gather people. Prepare wine for the social sacrifice, and drink the social wine after the sacrifice. It has been said since ancient times that "social sacrifice drinking can cure deafness". There is also meat for social sacrifice, which shall be divided after the sacrifice. The Tang Dynasty also instructed the head of the society to collect taxes. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty often gave their officials sheep wine, seafood, wine noodles, japonica rice, steamed cakes, ring cakes, etc. on the social day. Chang gun, Bai Juyi, Gao Pian and others all expressed their gratitude to the imperial court for their additional rewards. Generally speaking, offering sacrifices in the Spring Festival Society is to pray to the gods for good weather. Folk women also have the custom of "avoiding needles" to stop sewing on social days (Zhang Zecheng, festivals of the Tang Dynasty, Vol. 37 of literature and history, Zhonghua publishing house, 1993).

The social day custom in Song Dynasty is the same as that in Tang Dynasty. Mei Yaochen's poetry anthology of the spring society reflects the situation of the social sacrifice: "welcome the social rain every year and wash the forest flowers lightly. There are drums under the trees and meat crows waiting at the altar. Drink together in the spring and the old and the evening. When will the swallow arrive, grow tall and have oblique wings." It is worth noting that the land belief prevailed in the Song Dynasty, and there are many legends about land in Hong Mai's Yi Jian Zhi. In the Song Dynasty, ancestral temples of land gods were set up all over the country. This kind of land ancestral temple was established in addition to the society and belongs to the land belief together with the society.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, social sacrifices declined in the north, but still prevailed in the south. At the same time, earth temples were further popularized. This is related to the Ming Dynasty system. Zhu Yuanzhang asked all cities to build Town God's Temple, and the villages set up the temple. They also stipulated one hundred families in each city, one altar to the altar, and five gods to the gods of five grains. More striking is that from the Ming Dynasty. In Jiangnan area, February 2 is designated as the birthday of the land God. Li Yiji's "picking strange things in the month" in Wanli and the "Min book" in Chongzhen all say that February 2 is the birthday of the earth God. The land God's birthday also affects the social sacrifice. According to the Chun'an County Chronicle of Jiajing, Zhejiang, the rural sacrifice was held in the community on February 2. Gu Lu's "Qing Jia Lu" records in more detail: "the second day of February is the birthday of the land God, commonly known as the land father-in-law, and there are ancestral halls in both large and small official tombs. The officials pay homage to the gods, and the officials and Xu offer incense and fire. Each animal is happy to pay for it. The village farmers also have household ketchup to wish God Li, commonly known as Tian Gong and Tian Po." The mixture of land belief and social sacrifice is even more obvious in the records of Liuhe County Chronicle in Jiajing, Jiangsu Province: "when there is a social day in February, each lane has lilies to sacrifice to the local land God, which is called the land, and the society will drink after the social sacrifice. The same is true when there is a social day in autumn and August. The owner of the society changes every social day." According to the records of local chronicles in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of them recorded that the social sacrifice was on the social day to worship the social gods to pray for the new year. The society during the festival was very lively. The Wukang County Chronicle of Jiajing, Zhejiang Province, said: "Spring Festival club, a few days before Qingming. Each village led 10 or 20 people to a society, slaughtering livestock, drinking wine, burning incense and Zhang Le to worship the God of earth and valley. It was like dressing up as a wizard and a pavilion, beating drums and gongs, inserting knives and pulling locks, and shouting Hu ī) Suddenly, such as bumping, such as crazy. " The events of the Spring Festival Society are recorded in detail in the Shidai County Chronicle of Jiajing Anhui Province. In addition to offering sacrifices to the social gods, there are other customs such as soaking grain seeds, offering new tombs and treating silkworms.