What are the customs in Fujian?
Fujian is located in the southeast coast of the motherland, far away from the Central Plains, and is the birthplace of China's traditional culture. There is Wang Yang Sea in the southeast of Fujian, Wuyishan in the northwest, Bopingling in the southwest and Taimu Mountain in the northeast. The oceans and mountains have seriously hindered the connection between Fujian and other places. For a long historical period, Fujian was relatively isolated from its foreign neighbors. This semi-closed natural geographical condition determined that the historical development of Fujian before Sui and Tang Dynasties was seriously behind the Central Plains, and made the folk customs in different regions of China have their own local characteristics. The main stages of the development and evolution of Fujian folk customs are as follows:
(1) Before the Qin and Han Dynasties: Indigenous folk customs formed their own system.
Archaeological excavations show that as early as the Paleolithic Age about 40,000 to 80,000 years ago, ancient humans lived in Zhangzhou, southern Fujian. Neolithic cultural sites dating from 4,000 to 7,000 years ago have been found all over Fujian. Fujian ancestors entered the patriarchal society in the late Neolithic period. For example, the "Tanshishan people" living in the lower reaches of Minjiang River live in groups and have a simple language. They use tools such as stone axe, stone hoe and stone sickle to carry out extensive farming, and use tools such as stone shovel, stone knife, clam knife and pottery net pendant to fish and collect. With simple manual labor technology, you can make quite exquisite pottery, with primitive textile technology; In terms of burial custom, there are public cemeteries, which are generally single burial, and very few men and women are buried together. Men straighten their limbs, women bend their knees sideways, and there are stone tools, pottery and other funerary objects, which shows that they have the concept of immortality. There is also the custom of tooth extraction, which reflects the primitive witchcraft. Three or four thousand years ago, the aborigines of Wuyishan had entered the bronze age. They are used to water and are good at rowing and knitting. In religious belief, they worship turtles as mysterious jellyfish. In the burial custom, hanging coffin burial is carried out, that is, after death, the body is placed in a boat-shaped coffin and then placed on a lonely cliff to pray for the soul of the deceased to ascend to heaven as soon as possible. In ancient times, at least seven indigenous tribes lived in Fujian, which was called "Seven Min" in ancient literature. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Chu destroyed Yue, and some Yue people fled to Fujian. Historically, Fujian aborigines in this period were called "Fujian and Guangdong". They like living by the water, are used to fighting with water, and are good at using boats. The most important custom is to take snakes as totems, tattoo constantly, and primitive witchcraft prevails. Explaining the word "min" in Shuo Wen Jie Zi said: "min, southeast Vietnam, snake species." The so-called "snake species" means that the people of Fujian and Vietnam regard snakes as their ancestors, which reflects their totem worship of snakes. For a long time, this worship has existed among the descendants of Fujian and Vietnam. For example, the people in Minhou were still "calling themselves snake species" until the end of the Qing Dynasty. They drew a snake in the palace temple and offered sacrifices regularly. Put a snake on the boat, named "Long Mu", and pray that the snake will keep the boat safe. If the snake leaves the boat, it will be an ominous sign. In the Qing Dynasty, women in Fuzhou always wore snake-shaped silver hairpin in their hair bun, which also meant not forgetting their ancestors.
Witchcraft, which supplements primitive religious beliefs, is also quite popular among the people in Fujian and Vietnam. People in Fujian and Vietnam have always been popular with tattoos. Zhu Zhuzhuan said, "People with tattoos are also in places outside Fujian." This is actually an imitation of primitive witchcraft, in which the hair is cut off and the snake pattern is tattooed on the body to scare away the water monster. For example, "Shuo Yuan Shi Feng" said: The Yue people "who are tattooed, gorgeous and shaped like dragons will avoid water gods." For a long time, the descendants of the Min and Yue nationalities have maintained the custom of continuous tattooing. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, wuyue was famous all over the world, and Emperor Wu also believed in it. He ordered the establishment of Zhu Yue Temple in the palace, set up wizards, and prayed for longevity with the "chicken divination" of the Yue people.
(2) Three Kingdoms to Five Dynasties: Han folk customs were introduced into Fujian and gradually dominated.
In the Qin Dynasty and the early Han Dynasty, although the central government established Minzhong County and Minyue Prefecture in Fujian, Chinese culture has not yet had a great influence in Fujian because of the general plan of "governing Fujian with Fujian". In the tenth year of Yuanfeng in the Western Han Dynasty (1 10 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to destroy Fujian and Yue. In order to avoid future troubles, he imitated the Qin Dynasty's strategy of moving nobles from six countries to Xianyang, and forcibly moved nobles, officials, troops and some people from Fujian and Guangdong to Jianghuai area. "Historical Records Biography of East Vietnam" contains: "East Vietnam is narrow, Fujian is fierce, and it has been repeated. Imperial edicts and military attaché s all emigrated between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and East Vietnam was empty. " Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's policy of moving people brought serious consequences to Fujian society. Although some people in Fujian and Vietnam were still hiding in mountains, rivers and lakes at that time, Fujian, which was originally underdeveloped, was even more backward in economy and culture because of the sharp drop in population. After the Han Dynasty, Chinese culture in the Central Plains gradually expanded to the southeast coast. During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Wu occupied Jiangdong and Fujian as rear bases, so he attached importance to the management and development of Fujian. Sun Wu's regime sent troops to Fujian many times and adopted a military repression policy against Shanyue. "The strong are soldiers, and the hungry make up for their families." Then Jian 'an County, Jian 'an County, Nanping County, Hanxing County, Jianping County and Minhou County were set up in Fujian, and then the captain of the standard ship was set up in Houguan. Establish Marvin Shipyard in Xiapu. In addition to stationing troops in Fujian and sending officials to govern, Sun Wu's regime exiled many criminals to Fujian, and some scholars took refuge in Fujian, thus opening the prelude to the large-scale introduction of Chinese culture into Fujian. From the Western Jin Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, a large number of Han population in the Central Plains migrated to the southeast coast. With the influx of Han people into Fujian, Han culture has spread rapidly from north to south in Fujian, and Han folk customs such as production customs, life customs, life etiquette, Chinese New Year holidays and religious beliefs have gradually replaced indigenous folk customs and occupied a dominant position. At the same time, some Han people intermarry with indigenous people, and some customs of Fujian and Vietnam people also settle down and become an important part of Fujian folk customs.
(3) Song and Yuan Dynasties: Preserve the ancient customs of the Central Plains and form local characteristics.
In Song Dynasty, Fujian's economy and culture developed rapidly, the society was relatively stable and there were many front teeth. According to statistics, in the Jiading period of the Song Dynasty (1208 ~ 1225), the population of Fujian was 15992 15, which was nearly1more than that in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty (7 13 ~ 742). Under the historical condition that China's economic center of gravity moved southward, Fujian's economy became one of the developed regions in a short time, as the poet Zhang Shou said in his poem: "Recalling the past, the more dangerous the country is, the richer the country is in the southeast." Reflect the rapid development of Fujian economy. With the rapid progress of economy, culture has also shown a prosperous scene and education is very developed. According to statistics, in Song Dynasty, there were 56 county and state schools, 75 academies and hundreds of bookstores in Fujian. There was a record of "Three Bookstores and Two Bookstores" in Putian (Li's "Pu Yang Bi Shi" Volume 6), and there was a saying in Fuzhou that "the school never had an empty lane" (Liang Kejia's "Three Mountains Record" Volume 40 "Local People's Classics II"). Because of the strong reading atmosphere, Fuzhou is a "work-study city" (Zhu Mu's Yu Fang Sheng Lan (volume 10) Fuzhou), and there is also a scene in Taining, Lianshan District (He Qiaoyuan's Shu Min (volume 36) and Jian Zhi). Due to the developed education and prosperous reading atmosphere, Fujian imperial examination flourished and talented people came forth in large numbers. According to statistics, there were as many as 7,038 scholars in Fujian in the Song Dynasty, accounting for one fifth of the total of 35,093 scholars in China. There were 134 prime ministers in the Song Dynasty, and 18 prime ministers in Fujian, ranking third in the country. As many as 179 Fujian celebrities were recorded in the history of the Song Dynasty, ranking first in the country. In the Song Dynasty, a large number of outstanding talents, famous both at home and abroad, emerged in Fujian, including Master Zhu of Neo-Confucianism, astronomer Su Song, forensic scientist Song Ci, historian and Yuan Shu, calligrapher Cai Xiang, famous poet Yang Yi, master Liu Yong of slow ci, poetic theorist Yan Yu and writer Liu Kezhuang. Zhou Zeng, a contemporary, proudly declared: "The prosperity of cultural relics in this world is bound to be called seven people" (preface to the Southern Song Tales Volume 13).
In the Song Dynasty, Fujian culture gradually formed local characteristics when it flourished. In terms of folklore, on the one hand, due to the traffic congestion in ancient Fujian, there was little communication between regions, which was in a relatively isolated state, providing unique conditions for the preservation of ancient culture. Many ancient cultures in the Central Plains gradually declined or even disappeared in their birthplace, but they were relatively intact in Fujian. In the old records of Fujian, the records of Fujian folk customs, such as "ancient", "near ancient" and "still ancient", can be seen everywhere. Take the traditional New Year's Day festival as an example, which reads: "The ancient meaning still exists because of weathering. This is like the order of seasons, which may be different in the past and now. " On the other hand, due to the twists and turns of Fujian coastline, there are many natural ports and the maritime trade is developed. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou Port once became one of the largest trading ports in the world, which promoted the rapid economic development in Fujian coastal areas. People have a strong sense of commodities, are brave in adventure and development, and adopt a more tolerant attitude towards foreign culture and folk customs. This situation is in sharp contrast with the simple, conservative and adventurous folk customs of the mainland people.
(d) Ming and Qing Dynasties: Folk customs became extravagant and decadent.
After the mid-Ming Dynasty, due to the emergence of capitalism and the formation of the civil class, folk customs tended to be extravagant. It is recorded in Fuzhou: "A husband marries lavishly, pearls shine brightly, and businessmen also bribe. Bo opera steals the show, and it is a million dollars. It's a pity that we have lost color, and we have to fight for the outcome and lose again. Wandering childe, dressed in a sword and demon suit, rode his angry horse through the inner door, rich and tolerant. " (Qing Qianlong's "Fuzhou Fuzhi" Volume 24 "Customs") Quanzhou is even more extravagant, and it is fashionable to shame the poor and promote the rich. "The trend of customs is still luxury." Not only businessmen and professional servants "eat beautifully, but servants ride horses, set up fertile fields and houses, walk the silk, throw them away and boast of each other." Even poor families who have no burden at home cannot be overwhelmed by "non-erotic silk". "Although one's family background is not sealed, it is shameful to live behind others" (Qing Ganlong's Quanzhou Fuzhi, Volume 20, Customs) forms a sense of shame and poverty. In western Fujian and northern Fujian, where the natural economy is dominant, the tradition of thrift has also been impacted to varying degrees. During the Jiajing period (1522 ~ 1565), Jianyang was "the market was luxurious and easy to float." (Qing Jiajing's "Jianyang County Records", Volume 3, "Customs") When Qianlong was shining, "It is still thick to marry a woman, and a banquet will be rich. Teenagers' clothes must be gorgeous, and urban and rural dramas emerge one after another. " (Qing Qianlong's Glossy County Records, Volume 4, Geography and Customs) Some rural people have also acquired luxury habits, such as Youxi, "Shu Ren is stingy and worships luxury, and is proud of food. "(Qing Qianlong's Youxi County Records, Volume III, Customs) At the same time, with the increasingly serious land annexation and Japanese invasion, a large number of yeomen went bankrupt, some of them were idle, and folk gambling and litigation prevailed." "Nan 'an County Records" records: "After Jiajing was captured, all unemployed people resorted to gambling, gambling and litigation in order to turn the corner. "Tongan County Records also said:" Gambling is prevalent, and bandits are now; Gambling is the worst and the best. " (Quoted from Qing Qianlong's Quanzhou Fuzhi, Volume 20, Customs) Similar records can be seen everywhere in the old local chronicles, which is universal.
(5) From modern times to the Republic of China: old and new folk customs coexist.
Since the Opium War in the 20th year of Daoguang (1840), China has gradually become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. With Xiamen and Fuzhou becoming five trading ports, foreign capital poured into Fujian, gradually shaking the self-sufficient natural economy, and some farmers became proletarians and made a living by selling labor; Some abandoned agriculture for business and started small businesses, and the change of economic base led to the evolution of traditional folk customs. With the collision of Chinese and western cultures, Western Christianity has penetrated into the mainland from the coast, and many belief groups who believe in Christ and do not worship ghosts and gods have emerged, as well as semi-foreign and semi-local believers who have both, as well as schools, hospitals and nurseries run by the church. At the same time, there are many cigarette houses in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Fuzhou and other cities, and the bad habit of smoking opium seriously corrodes the social body. At the beginning of the 20th century, under the impact of the New Culture Movement and some western thoughts, many changes have taken place in the traditional folk customs in cities and towns, and some new folk customs have emerged. During the Republic of China, Europeanized folk customs also spread to the countryside. "Changting County Chronicle" contains: "Gai Yi people are gradually Europeanized, their heels are getting stronger and stronger, they are skillful and cunning, and their food habits are all over the countryside, especially in cities." (Republic of China "Changting County Records" Volume 17 "Etiquette and Custom")
During this period, great changes have taken place in folk costumes, utensils, communication and marriage customs. In terms of clothing, both men and women in the late Qing Dynasty wore hair and pigtails. Before and after the Revolution of 1911, men cut their braids, while city dwellers learned to cut their hair short in the West. In the 1930s, more and more women cut their hair. Qing officials wore official uniforms, while the rich wore robes and mandarin jackets, and went out to sit on mounts and sedan chairs. After the Revolution of 1911, officials wore tunics and robes, and went out or traveled by car. The rich wear suits and ties, use foreign goods such as pocket watches, clocks and phonographs, and imported goods such as kerosene, matches, soap and toothpaste also enter the homes of ordinary people. In terms of etiquette, in the Qing Dynasty, ordinary people had to kneel and bow respectfully when they saw dignitaries, and various red tape emerged in the officialdom. After the Revolution of 1911, equality was advocated, feudal official ceremonies were abolished, and people shook hands, clenched fists or raised their hands when they met. In terms of marriage customs, a small number of people break through feudal customs and fall in love freely, and weddings are not as extravagant as in the past; In education, new schools have increased and girls' schools have been established. Many overseas Chinese are enthusiastic about running schools, building factories, building bridges, paving roads and other public welfare undertakings in their hometown; Some folk bad habits, such as stopping mourning, drowning babies, abandoning babies, foot-binding, child brides, greeting gods, etc., have been explicitly prohibited. Although some of them are far from being eliminated because of repeated education, they have been greatly reduced. In the vast rural areas, traditional festivals, production customs, folk sacrifices and other folk activities have not changed much. However, the general trend is that feudalism is weakened, modernity is enhanced, old and new folk customs coexist, and traditional folk customs still dominate.
(6) From 1949: Get rid of stereotypes and establish new fashions.
The establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC) overthrew the oppression of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, and the people became masters of their own affairs. They devoted themselves to the socialist revolution and construction with great enthusiasm. During this period, with the fundamental change of social system and the development of socialist material civilization and spiritual civilization construction, Fujian folk customs have undergone major changes.
From the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC) to the eve of the "Cultural Revolution", Party organizations and people's governments at all levels in Fujian attached great importance to changing customs, carried out extensive publicity and education, mobilized the masses to get rid of stereotypes and bad habits, and gradually established a new socialist trend. In interpersonal relations, we have fundamentally changed the hierarchical relationship between the rich and the poor and between the superior and the subordinate in the old society, and established a new relationship of equality and comrades. Everyone calls each other "comrades", gets along well and helps each other. * * * party member and cadres at all levels set an example, be honest and upright, serve the people wholeheartedly, and get rid of the old bureaucratic corruption style. The people sincerely support the leadership of the China Communist Party and the people's government, actively participate in various social activities, support the government and love the people, support the army and love the people. In terms of production customs, the old, ignorant and backward customs such as vigorously publicizing and popularizing scientific knowledge, applying science and technology, praying for God to cure diseases and praying for rain have been basically broken. In terms of living customs, many urban residents wear Lenin clothes and Zhongshan clothes, while farmers wear local clothes, Shang Qing and blue; The old phenomenon of traveling by car, train and ship, riding by car and horseback has been obviously reduced or even disappeared; Being sick and seeking medical treatment has become the knowledge of most people in urban and rural areas. The old bad habit of "trusting witches but not doctors" has been basically broken, and the people's government has made great efforts to completely eliminate opium smoking, prostitution, foot binding and other ugly phenomena. In terms of marriage customs, governments at all levels conscientiously publicize and implement the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, advocate free love, and start new marriages, which has gradually become a trend; Feudal arrangements, buying and selling marriages, and big weddings have been resisted and criticized by public opinion; The law protects the legitimate rights and interests of women and children, and customs that have prevailed for thousands of years, such as child marriage, infant drowning and concubinage, are explicitly prohibited. In terms of funeral customs, it is forbidden to stop burial and encourage funeral simplicity. Although burial is followed in rural areas, the custom of geomantic omen and building mountains for the dead gradually disappears. Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou and other cities carried out funeral reforms and advocated cremation, which achieved results. During the Chinese New Year, traditional festivals are still preserved, and their contents are endowed with the characteristics of the new era and become more colorful. In addition to performing traditional programs such as dragon dance, lion dance and performance, there are also sports activities such as watching movies, holding ball games and tug-of-war competitions, and old customs such as extravagance and offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods have gradually faded. In case of New Year's Day, Women's Day, Labor Day, Youth Day, Children's Day, Army Day, National Day and other celebration festivals, reports, cultural performances, ball games, garden visits and other activities are generally organized in urban and rural areas, and the atmosphere is warm and meaningful; In terms of religious belief, the people's government has implemented the policy of freedom of religious belief, at the same time strengthened atheism education, eliminated superstition of ghosts and gods with scientific knowledge, improved people's ideological consciousness, and greatly reduced folk superstition activities.
During this period, Party organizations and people's governments at all levels in Fujian Province also attached great importance to the work of ethnic minorities such as She and Hui, organized a lot of manpower and material resources to investigate the situation of ethnic minorities in this province and collect folk customs, respected and protected the customs and habits of ethnic minorities, and inherited and developed their fine customs and habits, and gradually eliminated some bad habits.
During the "Cultural Revolution", due to the ultra-left trend of thought, traditional culture was completely denied, and folk customs were dismissed as "four olds" without analysis, and they were broken by administrative or violent means. Many normal folk activities have been criticized and banned, and Fujian folk customs have been seriously distorted. In addition to the Spring Festival, traditional festivals are mostly banned, and there is also a "revolution" during the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, you should have a "sweet meal with bitter thoughts". On the first day of the New Year's Day, you are not allowed to dance dragons and lions, and you are not allowed to sing traditional dramas. People's clothes are single, and traditional cheongsam and other clothes are banned. Most temples all over the country have been destroyed or closed, or turned into warehouses and schools. Bodhisattvas and statues were destroyed, and even many cultural relics and works of art were destroyed and burned as "four modernizations".
Second, Fujian folk characteristics
On the one hand, the formation of folk customs adapts to people's social material production level, changes in life content and way and natural conditions. In a word, it changes with the changes of economic base and social life, but the changes of folk customs often lag behind the economic base and social life. On the other hand, once folk customs are formed, they will be handed down from generation to generation, influencing and restricting people's consciousness and behavior with traditional customs, communication and psychological beliefs, which has long-term inheritance and relative stability; In addition, folk customs also have the characteristics of nationality, class and sociality.
Fujian folk custom is formed in the background and atmosphere of China traditional culture, so it has the general characteristics of China traditional folk custom. At the same time, it was gradually formed and developed under the specific natural environment, social history and cultural background of Fujian, so it must have obvious local characteristics in many aspects. Among the colorful Fujian folk customs, the most prominent features are:
Multiple sources
The composition of Fujian folk customs is multi-source, mainly from four aspects:
1. Primitive indigenous folk customs before Qin and Han Dynasties. Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, the primitive aborigines in Fujian had their own folk customs. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, Fujian, Guangdong and Han nationalities gradually merged. Ding Ru, a native of the Tang Dynasty, described the ethnic integration in southern Fujian in the early Tang Dynasty in the Twenty Rhymes of Poems for Leisure (Part II): "Zhangbei opened the county far away, and the whole south stopped for a long time. Back to my first place of residence, I like being an old neighbor. ..... Now that the local accent is used to listening, folk customs will know spring. ..... Resigned from the country and married six relatives. Follow the sweet talk and ask about the time and frequency of a year. Visiting North Korea and in the evening, I forgot to go to Qin. ..... there are many kinds of children, all of which are here. " Some customs of Fujian and Guangdong ethnic groups have become historical relics, while some folk customs have been deposited and passed down, becoming an important part of Fujian folk customs and profoundly affecting other folk customs in Fujian.
2. Han folk customs. After the Han Dynasty, the Han nationality in the Central Plains moved southward continuously, which brought the folk customs of the Han nationality and gradually became the main body of Fujian folk customs. According to the records, in the Five Dynasties, most people in northern Fujian avoided chaos in the north of the Yangtze River, so they "prepared the customs of the five parties" ("Eight Min Tong Zhi", Volume III, "Geography"), and western Fujian also "learned from the Tang Dynasty, which was quite like Zhongzhou." (Chen Yixin's tablet of scholarly family is quoted from Changting County Records of the Republic of China (volume 17). Fujian folk customs, such as production customs, life customs, life etiquette, festivals at the age of four, folk beliefs and worship, are all in the same strain as China traditional folk customs.
3. Minority customs. Fujian is the main settlement of She nationality, and the customs of She nationality with strong national style are an important part of Fujian folk customs. Some customs of Mongolian in Yuan Dynasty and Manchu in Qing Dynasty were also deposited in Fujian folk customs.
4. Foreign folk customs. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou was a world-famous port with a prosperous foreign trade. A large number of Arabs and Persians went to Quanzhou to do business, and some of them settled in Quanzhou. The official records: "Hu Jia came to the Western Ocean, and he was rich and tired, living in the county." They have their own school, Xue Fan. They believe in Islam and keep their own traditional customs. Although these foreign nationalities are basically integrated with the Han nationality, some special customs still remain and become a part of Fujian folk customs. In Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and modern times, with the introduction of Christianity, some European folk customs were also introduced to Fujian. Especially since modern times, Fujian folk customs have been more and more influenced by foreign folk customs.
mix together
The fusion of Fujian folk customs has three meanings:
1. The fusion of different ethnic customs. Although the Han folk custom is the main body of Fujian folk custom, it is actually integrated with the folk customs of other ethnic minorities and forms its own system. For example, some customs in Fujian and Vietnam were inherited by Han people. Since ancient times, Fujian's religious belief has been particularly developed, which is closely related to the tradition of "believing in ghosts and worshiping witches" of the Fujian and Yue nationalities. Another example is that women in Fujian and Vietnam generally participate in productive labor, and this custom has been inherited by Han people who entered Fujian. In the coastal areas of Fujian, it is quite common for women to participate in production and engage in heavy physical labor. Shu Min said: "Fuzhou ... Tian works with his wife, and there are more women than men. A woman can get a sedan chair and take thirty female sedan chairs to cope with the battle of the Inner Palace. " ("Shu Min" Volume 38 "Customs") Jinjiang's "female burden, mixed men; Sensitive in craftsmanship and good at imitation. " (Geographical Customs of Jinjiang County Records by Qing Qianlong (Volume 1)) Some descendants of Fujian, Guangdong, Yi and She nationalities, while retaining their own unique customs, also absorbed a large number of Han folk customs and merged with their own customs.
2. The integration of folk customs in different regions of China. The migration of Han people from the Central Plains to Fujian lasted for more than 1000 years. They are mainly immigrants from Zhongzhou, but also many Han people from other areas. These Han people from different regions still have some differences in specific customs, and some even have great differences. After entering Fujian one after another, the folk customs of the Han nationality have gradually merged into one.
3. Integration of Chinese and foreign folk customs. With the development of commodity economy and the prosperity of overseas trade, the southeast coastal areas of Fujian in the Song and Yuan Dynasties treated foreign cultures with an open attitude, especially Quanzhou Port, where "people and foreigners are mixed" and "there are customs in all directions in the city". (Xitang Collection, Volume 7, Dai Taishou Xie Quanzhou Arrives) The reference and integration of foreign cultures by Han people in Quanzhou. Taking religious beliefs as an example, in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, besides Taoism, Buddhism, folk religions and other folk beliefs, Islam, Christian Nestorius, Catholic Franciscans, Brahmanism, Hinduism and Manichaeism were introduced from abroad. These foreign religions are not only practiced by expatriates, but also by many Han Chinese. Various traditional religions and foreign religions coexist peacefully, blend with each other and penetrate each other.
(3) regionality
The ancestral home of the Han nationality in Fujian is mostly in the Central Plains. Because of the differences of hundreds or even thousands of years before and after they entered Fujian, there are also great differences among Chinese in the Central Plains. After entering Fujian, due to the different degree of integration with local aborigines, inconvenient transportation and little contact between regions, many dialect areas that can't speak to each other have gradually formed. Liancheng, Liu Qing, Datian and other mountainous counties don't even have a common dialect, and even neighboring villages can't communicate with each other. Fujian dialect is famous for its complexity. Among the eight dialects in China, except Xiang dialect, the other seven dialects are popular in different areas of Fujian.
Language is the main carrier of culture, and regional cultural characteristics are often reflected in language. Folk customs also vary from dialect area to dialect area. Take folk beliefs as an example. The beliefs of Lady Linshui and Five Emperors are mainly popular in the eastern Fujian dialect area with Fuzhou as the center, Mazu belief center in Xinghua dialect area, Wang Ye and Baoshengdi belief mainly popular in the southern Fujian dialect area, Koubing ancient Buddha belief mainly popular in the northern Fujian dialect area, Dingguang ancient Buddha belief mainly popular in the central Fujian dialect area, and so on.
In the same dialect area, different states and counties have different folk beliefs. Take Minnan dialect area as an example: the temples of Emperor Baosheng, Emperor Baosheng and his subordinate generals, Li, Emperor Baosheng, Emperor Baosheng, Emperor Baosheng, Emperor Baosheng and his subordinate generals are mostly in Zhangzhou Prefecture. Guangze's belief in Wang Zun is the strongest in Quanzhou and Nan 'an, and Shimizu's founder has a great influence in Anxi, Yongchun and Dehua. Qingshan Gong has the largest number of believers in Hui 'an County. The same is true in other dialect areas, where each prefecture has its own patron saint.
In the same county, every shop, neighborhood and village worships one or several specific gods as protectors, which used to be called the Lord of the neighborhood, the Lord of the blessing, the Lord of the soil and the God of the society. Take Quanzhou as an example. In the old days, Quanzhou City was divided into 36 stores and 94 realms, in which there were stores and gods. * * * There are more than 130 large and small temples dedicated to more than 100 gods. The temple of the Lord God was built with donations from people living in this area, and various religious activities were also attended by people in this area. Generally speaking, people can't go beyond the boundaries of this area when walking with God.
plastically
Ordinary people are not so strict, and often combine the recruitment of relatives with the roll call, the recruitment of relatives with the invitation period to simplify wedding etiquette. Weddings for poor families are even more simplified. Even on New Year's Eve, many people hastily close their houses. Another example is that the custom of reburial is prevalent in most parts of Fujian, especially in southern Fujian. Slang has the saying "born in Suzhou and Hangzhou, died in southern Fujian". However, different cities and counties in southern Fujian, or different villages in the same city and county, and different families in the same village, have very different funeral customs. Another example is birthdays. Besides sumptuous banquets and birthday banquets, a wealthy family will also perform entertainment. However, ordinary families are unable to do great things, and poor families dare not expect to hold birthday ceremonies. It's good to cook a bowl of birthday noodles to entertain guests. Many people haven't even celebrated their birthdays. A similar situation is also common in Fujian folk customs.
(5) Entertainment
The formation of folklore needs to be recognized and willing to participate by most members of the whole society, and it needs to be entertaining. The entertainment of Fujian folk customs is particularly prominent. Taking religious sacrifice as an example, religious sacrifice activities in Fujian are often accompanied by colorful drama performances. In people's minds, in order to win the favor and blessing of the gods, in addition to offering rich sacrifices and devout worship, it is also necessary to show the behavior of rewarding, flattering and entertaining the gods; Not only should God perform acts on his birthday to repay God, but he should also perform traditional festivals, wedding celebrations, ancestor worship, the completion of temples, the opening of God's eyes, temple fairs, rain prayers, grain harvest, fasting ceremonies and other activities to repay God. The most typical thing is that even the funeral should be performed to flatter the gods, commonly known as "monk drama" or "funeral drama" such as Zhenghe County: "The first funeral, buying wine to invite guests, making trouble in the play, is a ritual death." ("Politics and County Records of the Republic of China" Volume 20 "Etiquette and Custom") Xianyou County: "Parents' mourning, long without burial, must be sincere. ..... wine show after burial, congratulations from the village. " (Chen Shengshao's "Asking Folk Customs", Volume 3, "Golden Fight in Xianyou County") In the late Qing Dynasty, Quanzhou funeral drama became a fashion, and Wu Zeng wrote in "Spring Folk Sorrow Drama": "The folk customs are too bad, and it is a great merit to act. Large and small classes, no small establishment, men and women as soon as possible, all arrived. Joking is a joke, and suspicion is unavoidable. No sadness, great joy. Spend hundreds of thousands, many people call it filial piety, and friends call it xian. " The custom of combining religious sacrificial activities with theatrical performances was formed at the latest in the Northern Song Dynasty. Although it is for the purpose of "rewarding", "flattering" or "entertaining", it objectively achieves the effect of entertaining people.
(6) Mystery
Since ancient times, Fujian's religious beliefs have been particularly developed. History says: "Its folk belief in ghosts still worships, and its emphasis on the teaching of pagodas." ("History of Song Dynasty" Volume 89 "Geography") It is also recorded that "the folk customs are good for witches and ghosts, and the temple sends Shan Ye, and there is it." The gods worshipped by Fujian folk are very complicated, including those left over by Fujian, Vietnam and other indigenous peoples, all kinds of gods worshipped by the Han nationality introduced from the Central Plains, and those imported from India, the Middle East, Europe and other foreign countries. In particular, the number of gods created by Fujian people is amazing. You can create whatever you need, and it is very practical. Not only the characters in myths and legends (such as Pangu, Nuwa, Queen Mother of the West, Peng Zu, etc.). ), including the characters in classical novels (such as the Monkey King, Zhu Bajie, Tianshi, Jiang Ziya, the Eight Immortals, the Four Seas Dragon King, etc. ) is regarded as a god, as well as rocks, ancient trees, flowers and plants, dead bones, poultry and livestock, soil, furniture and so on. Will be worshipped when necessary. In a word, ghosts and gods are almost everywhere in Fujian, which is full of heaven, earth and hell, forming a very complicated system of ghosts and gods. Developed religious beliefs have a profound impact on all aspects of Fujian folk customs, making production customs, life customs, life etiquette, Chinese New Year holidays and so on all accompanied by various sacrificial activities and taboos, with mysterious colors to varying degrees.
(7) Radioactivity
Fujian folk customs have the characteristics of wide radiation range, which are mainly manifested in the following three aspects: First, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of Fujian people, mainly Minnan people, crossed the Taiwan Province Strait and moved to Taiwan Province Island, and Minnan folk customs were almost completely transplanted to Taiwan Province Province, becoming the main body of folk customs in Taiwan Province Province; Second, after the Ming Dynasty, Fujian people immigrated to some countries and regions in Southeast Asia, which brought Fujian folk customs and influenced the folk customs of their countries of residence to varying degrees. Thirdly, Fujian folk customs have also influenced Ryukyu and other places in Japan.