Male left and female right, what is it like? Is it the position of standing or the position of hand when holding hands?

There is a reason why men are left and women are right (1).

Source: International Online

In our daily life, men are left and women are right, which seems to have penetrated into all aspects of our social life by convention. Go to the public toilet, male left and female right; Wearing a wedding ring, male left and female right; There are also wedding photos, couples attending some ceremonial occasions and so on. Men are often on the left and women are often on the right. If the position is reversed, some people will joke that it violates the custom of "male left and female right"

How did this custom come about? According to legend, after Pangu, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, became immortal, his body organs were transformed into the sun, the moon, the stars, the four poles and the five mountains, rivers, lakes and seas and all living things. Although this legend contains mythical elements, it provides reference materials for us to study the Sun God and Moon God in China.

According to the calendar of the May Movement Calendar, the sun, moon and Er Shen of the Chinese nation are transformed by Pangu's eyes, and the sun god is transformed by Pangu's left eye. The moon god incarnated as Pangu's right eye, and the folk custom of "male left and female right" came from this. So who is Er Shen, the sun and moon of the Chinese nation? The sun god is Fuxi; Moon God is Nuwa, and both of them are legendary ancient gods.

A few years ago, in Shuimogou, Urumqi, I saw the white relief and explanation of Fuxi Nuwa map unearthed in Astana. Due to the tombs of Astana Hara and Gu Zhuo, several portraits of Fuxi Nuwa in Turpan were found in the cemetery near Jiaohe ancient city. Most of them are buried at the top of the tomb with wooden nails, and the picture is facing down. A few paintings are folded and wrapped around the dead.

According to the ancient etiquette of China, Fuxi held the moment in his left hand, Nu Wa held the rules in his right hand, and the snake head twisted. Draw the sun on the head, the moon on the tail and the stars around. Because of its profound meaning, peculiar composition, artistic charm and mystery, it has attracted great attention from the academic circles since it came out at the beginning of this century. Fuxi and Nu Wa are both gods in ancient legends of China and ancestors of human beings.

It is said that Fuxi once taught people to engage in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery production, and Nu Wa once taught people the ethical etiquette of marriage. The rules and regulations in their hands are not only tools of production, but also symbols of social order.

1953, scientists found that the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, the basic genetic object of biology, and the double helix structure of metaplastic basic genetic material are very similar to the image of human ancestors expressing metaplastic in Turpan area. In the name of metaplasia, the portrait of Fuxi Nuwa unearthed in Turpan became the first page illustration of UNESCO magazine International Social Sciences (No.1983).

In addition, the custom of "male left and female right" is closely related to the philosophical concept of ancient people. Ancient philosophers in China believed that the two opposites of things and people in the universe were Yin and Yang. Things in nature are size, length, up and down, left and right, and so on. The ancients divided it into big, long, upper and left yang, small, short, lower and right yin. Yang is strong and yin is weak.

Men's character, men's violent and strong nature belong to the yang in the left, and women's gentleness belongs to the yin in the right. "Male left and female right" also has practical scientific significance in the application of traditional Chinese medicine. "Male left and female right" refers to the physiological differences between men and women in medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, a man takes qi in his left hand to divide the pulse, and a woman takes blood in her right hand to divide the pulse. Even if the child is sick, he will observe the handprint and adopt the habit of "male left and female right". This is the origin of "male left and female right". This custom, which has been followed to this day, existed as early as the Warring States period more than two thousand years ago. Of course, whether "male left and female right" can really express the physiological differences between men and women is another question.