Who are the Hakka people in Taiwan and Guangdong?

Hakka people are also called Heluolang. The Hakka people are a Han ethnic group with distinctive characteristics. They are also one of the Han ethnic groups with the widest distribution range and the most far-reaching influence in the world.

The history of the Hakka people

The ancestors of the Hakka people originated from the Central Plains and migrated from the Central Plains to the south. They are a branch of the Han nationality in southern China. Because he was in a foreign land, he was nostalgic for his hometown Heluo (the Luo River Basin with Luoyang as the center) and called himself "Heluo Lang". On the one hand, Hakka culture retains the mainstream characteristics of Central Plains culture, and on the other hand, it accommodates the cultural essence of the local ethnic groups. Hakka people often use those talented men as role models to inspire and educate their children and grandchildren, and learn from their meritorious and successful predecessors. Some people say: Wherever there is the sun, there are Chinese people, and wherever there are Chinese people, there are Hakkas. Others say: Wherever there is sunshine, there are Hakkas; wherever there is a piece of land, Hakkas will gather together, work hard, and reproduce. Because Hakkas travel all over the world, immigrate to the world, and have many successful people in overseas business circles, they are called "Oriental Jews".

The first southward migration was during the era of Qin Shihuang. After Qin Shihuang unified China in 221 BC, he sent 600,000 troops to "conquer Baiyue in the south" for political and military needs. The Qin army moving south entered Jieling (i.e. Jieyang Mountain, 150 miles north of today's Jieyang County) from the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, and reached the border of Xingning and Haifeng counties. In 214 BC, Qin Shihuang sent another 500,000 soldiers to "garrison the Five Ridges in the south" (today's Guangdong and Guangxi regions). These soldiers "garrisoned the five mountains and crossed the mountains" for a long time. After the fall of Qin, the two groups of Qin soldiers who went south stayed in the area and became the first batch of Hakkas.

The second migration to the south was during the "Five Husties" period in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At that time, some Central Plains residents moved to the Fujian-Guangdong-Jiangxi border area in order to seek refuge. Later, due to the confrontation between the north and the south, about 960,000 people from the Central Plains moved south to both sides of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Some of the population flowed into southern Jiangxi, and some entered the Fujian and Guangdong regions via Ningdu and Shicheng.

The third move southward was during the Huangchao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty. First, the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty brought huge disasters to the people and forced a large number of Han people from the Central Plains to flee south. During the Huangchao uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty, a large number of Han people from the Central Plains fled into the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi regions. For example, the clan member Li Meng moved from Chang'an to Bianliang, and then to Gubi Township, Ninghua, Fujian. Wang Xu and Wang Chao from Gushi responded to the Huangchao Uprising and led five thousand peasant uprising troops from Guangzhou and Shou Prefectures to Jiangxi, causing the population in the Fujian-Jiangxi border area to increase.

The fourth southward migration was the Southern Song Dynasty and the late Song Dynasty. The Jin people invaded and built the Yannan Crossing, and some officials and people migrated to the Taihu Lake Basin. Another part of the scholars either crossed the Dageng Mountains southward and entered Nanxiong, Shixing, and Shaozhou; or they traveled along Hong, Ji, and Qianzhou, and then from Qianzhou to Tingzhou; or they stayed in counties in southern Jiangxi. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yuan army moved south in a large scale, and a large number of Song people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi fled from Putian to Chaoshan along the coast of Guangdong to Hainan Island.

The fifth southward migration was in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. At that time, the Hakka people living in southern Jiangxi, eastern Guangdong, and northern Guangdong migrated to Sichuan, Hunan, Guangxi, and Taiwan, as well as central and western Guangdong, due to the population proliferation and the lack of land. This large-scale migration is called the "Westward Movement" in the history of Hakka immigration. The Hakkas in Sichuan basically originated from this "Westward Expansion Movement". At that time, Sichuan's population dropped sharply due to war, plague and natural disasters. The Qing government particularly encouraged immigrants to "fill Sichuan from Huguang".

The sixth southward migration was during the Taiping Rebellion in the mid-19th century. At that time, some Hakkas migrated to South Asia to avoid the war, and some were lured into indentured labor and taken to Malaysia, the United States, Panama, Brazil and other places.

In addition to the above six large-scale southward migrations, there were also Han Chinese in the Central Plains who fled southward due to droughts and floods, and there were also those who were officials, demoted, businessmen, and students of the past dynasties and settled in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi. Not all Han people who migrated south became Hakkas. Among them, only those from the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi ancestry and those originating from this ancestry were called Hakkas.

According to statistics, the Hakka people living in mainland China are mainly distributed in Hainan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and other regions, with a total population of 5,000. More than 10,000 people account for 5% of the Han population. Abroad, Hakkas are mainly distributed in more than 80 countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore in Southeast Asia, Japan and North Korea in East Asia, the United States, Canada, and Brazil in the Americas, and the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria in Europe. countries and regions, with 10 million people.

The ancestors of the Hakka originally lived in the north, but later moved to the south of the Yangtze River, living in the provinces of Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Taiwan and Qiong, and gradually dispersed abroad and spread all over the world. Gannan was the first stop for the Hakka ancestors to migrate south, and it is also one of the areas with the largest number of Hakka residents. The origin of the name "Hakka" is related to the migration of the Hakka ancestors. To the place where they live, these people are "guests" who have moved from elsewhere. It can be said that without migration, there would be no such thing as "Hakka".

There are many reasons why Hakka people migrate. In the early days, it was mainly due to the coercion of disasters. Such as cruel wars, floods, droughts, insects and other special natural disasters and epidemics of plague. Almost every large-scale war in Chinese history resulted in a great migration of Hakka people. According to historical records, there was a great migration of Hakka ancestors during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Just imagine, in the long years, the "Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms" have been in constant war and mourning is everywhere. Can you survive if you don't escape? It is said that our ancestors of the Chen family left their homeland in western Henan during that period, traveled to Jiangxi, and finally settled in Gan County. "The moon is the brightness of my hometown." At first, the ancestors may only want to stay here temporarily for a while, but they gradually got used to it. So they built houses, cultivated fields, raised pigs and cattle, and lived there for a long time. From a temporary guest to a permanent home. Just like that, we will be "Hakka" forever!

It is worth mentioning that there is a special way of migration. It is said that in order to build the Afang Palace, Qin Shihuang drove tens of thousands of "wooden guests" to the south of Jiangxi to cut wood for the rejuvenation of the country. Those who did not die from exhaustion later stayed there. These were probably the earliest ancestors of the Hakkas in southern Jiangxi.

The process of migration is definitely difficult and dangerous. Support the old and the young, travel across mountains and rivers, and settle down to live in a strange place. The ancestors of the Hakka people overcame obstacles and obstacles, "making roads in the mountains and building bridges in the water." They finally survived and formed a prosperous ethnic group with tens of millions of people today.

The last step of migration is to build a house and settle down. An elderly guest said: "The most important thing about settling down is the location of the house. How to decide? It depends on Feng Shui. This Feng Shui is not the superstitious Feng Shui that Mr. Geography talks about. The main thing is to get sunlight, look at the wind direction, and be close to water sources. , close to the hard mountain, choose a high ground. It is an ideal choice to sit in the north, facing the south, facing the sun, close to the water, and with a wide view. "

People often praise the Hakka people for their diligence, bravery, perseverance and resourcefulness. . As an ethnic group, the Hakkas have naturally experienced social reality and production reality in a more diverse and deeper way than other groups due to their ancestors’ long-distance migrations for several generations. Therefore, they must have been tempered and nourished more, and accumulated more Gain more experience in dealing with relationships with the natural world and social interpersonal relationships. Therefore, there have been a large number of politicians, scientists, writers, entrepreneurs among the Hakka community...

There are many theories about the origin of the Hakkas, the main ones are the Hakka original theory and the Hakka indigenous theory. The Hakka original theory believes that the main body of the Hakkas are immigrants from the Central Plains, while the Hakka indigenous theory believes that "the Hakka homogeneous body is the homogeneous body produced by the mixing of the Han people who migrated to the south and the ancient Yue immigrants in the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi triangle areas. The main body is the Guyue people living on this land, not the few Central Plains people living in this area." Starting from the Song Dynasty, Han people from the Central Plains migrated southward on a large scale, passing through southern Jiangxi and western Fujian to Meizhou, eventually forming a relatively mature and highly stable Hakka ethnic group. Since then, the Hakka people have used Meizhou as their base and moved to other parts of the country and even the world in large numbers. The "Three Hakka Prefectures" are Jiaying Prefecture, Ganzhou, and Tingzhou.

Speaking of Hakka, the most famous thing is their earth buildings. If you search for Hakka on the Internet, many entries about earth buildings will appear at the same time. If you are a philately enthusiast, you should have noticed that one of the Fujian houses in the Chinese residential stamps is a Hakka earth building. Since most of the Hakka people lived in remote mountainous areas or deep forests, they were not only lacking in building materials, but also noisy with wolves, tigers, leopards, and thieves. In addition, they were afraid of being harassed by local people. Therefore, the Hakka people built "defensive" castles like earth buildings. style residential building. In Fujian, there are two types of earth buildings: square earth buildings and round earth buildings, while round earth buildings are relatively rare.

I guess everyone still remembers a joke about Tulou: It is said that in the 1960s and 1970s, American spy satellites conducted photo reconnaissance on China and were surprised to find that there were many earth buildings scattered in the mountainous areas of Fujian Province, my country. Many unknown large-scale buildings, either round or square, are considered to be "missile launch bases" after analysis. China's military strength cannot be underestimated.

It was not until China and the United States established diplomatic relations that Americans learned that those so-called "missile launch bases" were actually earth buildings, typical Hakka dwellings.

Of course, Hakka tofu is also very famous: Hakka Yong Tofu, Sichuan Mapo Tofu, and Hunan Stinky Tofu. The latter two can only be regarded as side dishes and snacks. Only the Hakka people have elevated tofu to a main dish or main dish. vegetable. Even their wedding songs include tofu. For example, one song goes like this:

I bought a new grindstone with a round jingle,

I bought it to grind soy milk,

Grinding tofu in the middle of the night, grinding it until dawn.

1: Hakka origin

Hakka is a huge ethnic group of Han Chinese, with a long history and a large number of people. According to the data, the current total number of Hakka people 55 million, including about 45 million in China. Among overseas Hakkas, most live in some countries in Asia, including about 1.25 million in Malaysia, about 4 million in Indonesia, about 500,000 in Thailand, about 300,000 in Vietnam, 200,000 in Singapore, and Myanmar. 100,000...Others are distributed in America, Europe, Australia and other places.

The Hakka ancestors came from the Central Plains. They were people who migrated directly from the Central Plains on a large scale due to wars in the past dynasties, or who moved in through time, or who settled there because of officialdom, relegation, or business. The migration of their ancestors occurred in the following periods:

(1) The Qin and Han Dynasties unified China, and immigrants from the Central Plains began to move south.

1. In the twenty-fifth year of the First Emperor of Qin (222 BC), the Qin army defeated Chu with 600,000 soldiers, who “conquered the king of Baiyue in the south.” After the Minzhong County was established in 1978, he divided his troops and went south, from the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi to reach Jieling, that is, Jieyang Mountain. It is 150 miles north of present-day Jieyang County and reaches the border of Xingning and Haifeng counties.

2. In the thirty-third year of the First Emperor of Qin, 500,000 people guarded the Five Ridges, that is, Zhao Tuo "generated troops to garrison the crossing." Judging from this, there are two Qin armies garrisoning on the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, one garrisoning the border of Nanye and the other garrisoning Jieling.

3. In the thirty-fourth year of the First Emperor of Qin, Zhao Tuo built a city two miles across the river to control the Wu River, and built a city of ten thousand people on Zhongsu Mountain. Zhao Tuo built a city in Longchuan again. The number of these city builders is unknown, but during the same period, those who moved to the northern border counties to build cities could be estimated to be as few as 30,000 households and as many as 50,000 households.

4. In the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor of Qin, it is estimated that the Qin garrison immigrants stationed in the borders of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi accounted for more than one-third of the local population.

5. In the fifth year of Yuanding (115 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a large number of soldiers from the Central Plains went south to garrison Lingnan and were stationed in counties, counties and military strategic points.

6. In the first year of the Han Dynasty (110 BC), the Minyue people in central Fujian and Jieyang (Chao and Meigu were the Minyue areas) all moved away, leaving only the Qin people in the area. Descendants of immigrants from Zhong County. This shows that from then on, the residents of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi border areas were mainly immigrants from the Central Plains.

(2) From Jian'an in the late Han Dynasty to Yongjia in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the people of the Central Plains took refuge, and some people moved into the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi border areas.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, people from the Central Plains took refuge in Jiaozhou, which set off a climax. The southward migration mainly came by sea.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a confrontation between the north and the south. People from the Central Plains migrated southward on a large scale again, with a population of about 960,000. Most of them settled on both sides of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Some of them entered Jiangxi and southern Jiangxi, and some entered through Ningdu and Shicheng. Fujian and Guangdong border counties.

On the occasion of Yongjia, many gentry from the Central Plains flowed into Fujian.

(3) The Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty brought huge disasters to the people, and a large number of people in the Central Plains fled south.

(4) During the Huangchao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty, a large number of Central Plains people fled into Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi. For example, the clan member Li Meng moved from Chang'an to Bianliang, and then to Gubi Township, Ninghua, Fujian. Wang Xu and Wang Chao from Gushi responded to Huangchao's uprising and led 5,000 peasant uprising troops from Guang and Shou prefectures to Jiangxi. From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the population of Fujian and Jiangxi border areas increased sharply.

(5) During the Southern Song Dynasty and at the end of the Song Dynasty, a large number of people from the Central Plains fled to central Guangdong and the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi.

After Jianyan crossed to the south, some officials and people moved to Hangzhou, Xiu, Su, Chang, and Hu, that is, the Taihu Basin. The other part, and most of it, followed Long Huangtai along the way to Hong, Ji, and Qianzhou, and Huangtai returned to Lin'an. These scholars did not have the conditions to follow the Queen Mother, and they were unable to return north, so some of them crossed the Dageng Mountains southward and entered Nanxiong, Shixing, and Shaozhou. Part of it went from Qianzhou to Tingzhou. Some were stranded in counties in southern Jiangxi.

At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yuan army marched southward in large numbers. A large number of Song people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi fled from Putian to Chaoshan along the coast of Guangdong to Hainan Island.

(6) In addition to the large-scale southward migration due to wars mentioned above, people from the Central Plains fled south due to droughts and floods. There are also people who have been officials, demoted, businessmen, and study tours in the past dynasties and settled in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi. .

From the above historical data, the Hakka ancestors mainly came from the Han nationality in the Central Plains. In the process of the formation of the Hakka ethnic system, they continued to absorb southern minority groups such as She, Yao, Dan, and Muke to strengthen the Hakka team.

Two: Hakka etiquette and customs

(1) Traditional wedding customs

Matchmaking In the past, young Hakka men and women, after the age of sixteen, could ask a matchmaker to make a matchmaking introduction. marriage. Usually, the parents of the boy's family ask a matchmaker to go to the girl's family to talk. Sometimes the girl's family asks a matchmaker to visit the boy's family first.

Seeing girls: The male and female families negotiate through the central media. If both parties are interested, they will agree on a time to "see girls."

Writing Geng Tie After both parties agree, they must tell each other their birth dates and horoscopes. After returning home, each of them asked a fortune teller to "calculate their horoscopes". If the eight characters match each other and will not conflict with each other, write out Geng Tie (common name for marriage list) and place them on the incense table. If there are no ominous signs within three days, the marriage will be decided. (If the eight characters do not match, the husband will The female Geng Tie is returned to the female family).

Making a red wedding invitation is also called "a red wedding invitation" or a wedding invitation. The man's parents, clan relatives and matchmaker go to the woman's family together and issue the financial gifts that the man wants to give to the woman's family. Some of the red slips also include gifts for the son-in-law, such as hats, silver flowers, clothes, shoes, socks, etc. During the process of opening a red order, both parties will bargain and finally negotiate and finalize. After the red orders are drawn, the men and women also exchange tokens such as rings, handkerchiefs, etc. Finally, the man came back after lunch at the woman’s house.

Engagement is also called "Dazha", which means the marriage is officially confirmed again. The young man and his parents will go to the girl's house and bring pig heads, fish, meat, etc. The girl's parents, brothers-in-law, uncles, grandparents, etc. will all be present. After lunch, the girls come out to meet each other and call the boy's parents parents, and the parents of the two families call each other their in-laws and in-laws' mother.

The house-sitting party means that the woman goes to the man’s house to see the family. Some of the time is before the "big wedding", and sometimes after the "big wedding". In addition to the girl and her parents, the people the woman goes to visit are: Aunts-in-law, sisters, etc. were all going, and there were more than a dozen people of all sizes. They didn't bring any gifts, even if they brought some, the groom's family didn't dare to accept them.

After the wedding is decided, the man will ask a fortune teller to choose a date for the wedding, including the day and time for the bride to go out, and the time for the bride to return to the groom's house. In addition, the woman will cut a red dress and the man will make the bed. The day must also be chosen at the same time.

Sending vegetables and carrying dowry One or two days before the bride comes to the house, the groom’s family will ask relatives to deliver the betrothal gift and fish, meat, poultry, noodles and other items stipulated in the red list to the bride by more than ten people. When you return home, you will take your dowry, furniture, etc. back to your husband’s house.

Welcoming a bride is also called receiving a bride or passing through the door. The day before the wedding, more than ten people from the groom's family will go to the bride's house to pick her up. There will be a drummer band, some will set off firecrackers, some will carry sedan chairs, and some will burn incense (they will go to the bride's ancestral hall, temple, or commune to burn incense), and one person will carry the burden. There is a lead chicken (one male and one female) on one end, wine and pineapple on the other. A woman has to bring the bride's clothes, and two people carry wooden baskets, and they have to carry fish, meat, wine, and cakes. , cigarettes, firecrackers, candles, etc., the matchmaker will also go. Some grooms will go, some will not. If the groom goes with him, the groom will also have to make a sedan chair. The one who sets off the firecrackers is the man's plenipotentiary, and he will bring one or twenty red envelopes with him. indivual.

After arriving at the bride’s house, the bride-to-be will first have snacks, and then two members of the bride’s family will take them to the ancestral hall to burn incense and pay homage to their ancestors. The girl's family will host a banquet at noon or evening.

The bride usually leaves in the middle of the night or at midnight, and the sky becomes brighter as she goes, symbolizing her move towards the light. If she goes out at night, she will not encounter unlucky things such as carrying a coffin. In the front of the wedding procession are the lantern players, followed by the music players, the sedan chair is in the middle, and behind are the people receiving the bride.

When the bride arrives at the groom's house, if it has not yet arrived at the stipulated entry time, she must wait on the square at the gate or in the house next to the door. Entrance is usually at seven or eight or eight or nine in the morning, and some even have to wait until noon. At the entrance moment, the bride has to kick the sedan door, and the groom's bridesmaid will lead the bride out of the sedan, and then "cross the fire" at the gate. The bride steps over the fire made of fir branches before entering the gate.

After the bride enters the hall amidst the sound of drums, she begins to worship. The incense table is arranged in the hall, with parents and elders standing on the east side, relatives on the west side, relatives on the north side, and juniors on the south side. Before the ceremony, the bridegroom's wife should hang a red cloth on the groom's body with a five-foot-long red cloth.

Recite: "Holding a red flag five feet long in hand, I use it to pretend to be the groom. I will pretend that the groom will give birth to a son, and if he gives birth to a son early, he will be the number one scholar." When worshiping, the groom stands on the left and the bride stands on the right. The rituals are: first, worship the heaven and earth, secondly, worship the ancestors, thirdly, worship the high hall, and fourthly, the husband and wife worship each other.

Finally, relatives meet and give red envelopes to the bride. After the ceremony, the bridesmaid leads the bride into the bridal chamber with a red bow, and the bride and groom scatter wedding candies from the door to the hall amidst the sound of firecrackers. Then the bride and groom have a cup of wine. The bridesmaid held a chicken on a tray and said while serving wine: "Reunion is a perfect match, a beautiful couplet", "Avalokitesvara sends a son, and a child will be born early"; "Husband and wife are reconciled and grow old together". (This etiquette is no longer common in the Meizhou area and has been replaced by modern wedding models)

Have a banquet at noon, have a wedding banquet, use loud cannons to invite guests, fire them every half an hour, and fire them when the banquet begins. Three rings. Then the etiquette will give a list of names, and there will be two seats at each table. According to seniority and proximity, the seats will be arranged first, and then the others will sit casually. Male and female guests sit separately, and the bride and groom go to the table to toast.

One type of house quarrel is in the hall, the other is in the new house, and some are in the hall first and then in the new house. During the riot, firecrackers were set off every few minutes until midnight.

Returning door is also called "revolving door". Usually on the third or fifth day after the wedding, the woman sends the bride’s sisters and other female family members to invite the bride and groom to be guests together. The matchmaker and the groom’s sisters also go with them. There are 7-14 people. After lunch, the wedding will be held on the same day. return.

Giving a full moon. One month after the wedding, the bride's family will come to give a full moon, and at the same time they will bring chickens, vegetables, seeds, grain seeds, beans, etc. to indicate a bumper harvest and a prosperous fortune.

(2) Traditional festive customs

1. Birth etiquette

The celebration and blessing marking a person’s birth are the first etiquette in life.

When a married daughter is pregnant and about to give birth, usually one to twenty days before the baby is born, the mother's family will bring chickens, eggs, noodles, dried noodles, etc. to the daughter's house to "encourage" the baby, with pre-birth wishes. It means a safe birth. If the mother is no longer here, the sister-in-law will be responsible for inducing the birth, and a banquet will be held at noon.

After a child is born, the son-in-law will bring chickens, eggs, and rice wine (sometimes carrying dozens of kilograms) to his in-law’s house to announce the good news. The grandma’s house will treat the child, and close relatives and friends will come to express their congratulations. Grandpa and grandma will give chickens and red eggs in return.

Do three dynasties. Three days after a child is born, he should do "three dynasties". First give the child a bath and treat the midwife to a meal. Grandma will bring big roosters, eggs, noodles, glutinous rice noodles, etc. I want to make "three dynasties of wine" and entertain my grandma and my bride-in-law. In some places, red eggs are also given to relatives and friends. Relatives and friends will return chickens, eggs, noodles and other items before the full moon.

One month after the baby is born, grandma will send a big rooster (many places give big capons), eggs, clothes, quilts, etc. for the baby. Hats, collars, windbreakers, skirts, silver bracelets and suspenders, etc., uncles, aunts, aunts and other relatives of the female family usually send pullets, eggs, clothes, fabrics, etc., and the male relatives such as aunts and uncles also come. celebrate.

One hundred days. Celebrate the 100th day since a child was born. On this day, the grandfather and the girl’s uncle will bring roosters to celebrate, and other relatives usually give red envelopes to the baby.

Celebrating the first birthday of a child. When a child is one year old, he celebrates his birthday by celebrating his birthday. An anniversary is more grand than a full moon, and there are more guests coming to celebrate.

2. Coming-of-age rituals

Hakka coming-of-age rituals are divided into two types: male and female. The coming-of-age ritual for men is called "Guan Li", and the coming-of-age ritual for women is called "Hairlock Ceremony". (It seems that there is no such etiquette now, at least not in where I am (the Hakka capital of the world - Meizhou))

3. Birthday etiquette

Hakka people have the same customs for celebrating birthdays as they do everywhere. , a small birthday is held every year and a big birthday is held every ten years, but the big birthday is more common. Starting from "Qi Shi" at the age of ten, it continues until the age of forty or fifty, and when it reaches sixty or above, it can be called a birthday celebration. For birthdays, longevity noodles and poached eggs are eaten to symbolize longevity.

(This custom has also been simplified and only applies to birthdays: those over sixty years old)

When celebrating a birthday, the married daughter will send a big rooster, as well as a shroud, hat, cakes, shoes, A complete set of birthday socks from head to toe. When a father celebrates his birthday, he also gives a complete set to his mother. In addition, he also sends birthday scrolls, birthday cannons, birthday candles, roosters, birthday peaches, birthday noodles, birthday cakes, birthday wine, birthday cakes, birthday socks, and birthday socks. Meat etc. Others come to celebrate birthdays, and relatives and friends usually send birthday banners, birthday couplets, or additional gifts.

In many places, birthday celebrations are held for elderly people who are over seventy years old, have many children and grandchildren, and have a good family background.

For Hakka people’s birthdays and birthdays, insiders send gifts by themselves and come to congratulate them. They congratulate first and then invite them. Unless relatives and close friends send invitations, no congratulations or invitations are given.

4. Building a house and moving to a new home

The Hakka people regard building a house and moving to a new home as one of the major celebrations, and they should celebrate it grandly.

When building a house, the positioning of the house and the direction of the door must be determined by Mr. Kanyu. When the vertical pillars are raised and the beams are raised, lights and colorful banners and red couplets must be pasted. After a new house is built, it is necessary to "exorcise evil spirits" and "eliminate evil spirits" the night before moving in before moving in.

When moving into a new home, you should bring a lantern (or oil lamp), a fire cage, a scale, etc. into the house, as well as a nest of chickens and a steamer of rice to show that the newcomer is prosperous. The garden is filled with joy. When moving to a new home, you need to hold a "house-in-house banquet" and entertain relatives and friends, as well as house builders and helpers. Dishes should include leeks, tofu, pig intestines, pig blood, rice cakes, etc., which symbolize longevity and prosperity.

(3) Hakka wine customs

The Hakka people are very hospitable. Whenever relatives and friends arrive, they like to treat them with home-made rice wine. This rice wine is also called "water wine" "The wine extracted from the first jar is called "wine lady". This kind of "wine drink" is delicious. Although the alcohol content is not high, it has great stamina and is easily intoxicating. They pay attention to etiquette when drinking.

Hakka people like to use a square table, commonly known as the "Eight Immortals Table", a wooden table that can seat eight people at the same time. When taking a seat, they attach great importance to the arrangement of seats, and usually sit according to the dignity of relatives and friends. The size of the banquet room is arranged in this way. For example, if there is only one table in the main hall, the one on the left facing the door will be the first, and the one on the right will be the second. Then from left to right, interspersed with the introduction, the right side facing the main hall is the smallest. If two tables are arranged, the table on the left is the larger one and the one on the right is the smaller one. The sizes of the seats are also interspersed. If three tables are arranged, it is called a "first-class banquet". In this case, the chief table will be honored. If five tables are arranged, they should generally be arranged in a "plum blossom seat".

The first time of pouring wine (also called sifting wine) during the banquet is to pour wine in order of seniority, seniority and youth, and finally pour wine for oneself. After the wine is poured, the spout of the wine spout should not be facing the guests but yourself, otherwise it will be rude. When toasting, the toaster should stand up, press his left hand on his chest (to show respect and sincerity), raise the glass with his right hand and say a few auspicious words, and drink first to show respect. If someone is late, they will be fined 1-3 drinks depending on the situation, half a drink for women. If you leave the table midway, you will have to drink 1-3 drinks before you can leave.

When Hakka people drink, in order to add to the excitement and lively atmosphere, they have the custom of guessing at various banquet occasions, whether vulgar, elegant, simple or complex. There are some rules when guessing the game. For example, when making three moves, the thumb, middle finger, and index finger cannot be moved together. When moving out, the thumb should be turned sideways and not upward. When making a second move, if you use the thumb and index finger to express it, the move should be sideways, and the index finger should not be pointed at the other party like a light gun, to show politeness.

Hakka drinking habits are rich in knowledge. The guessing numbers range from zero to ten. If the total number of fingers drawn by both parties is correct, the winner is the winner. If both parties guess correctly at the same time or neither guesses correctly, there is also a "four-character" call. For example, when guessing "one", it is called "yipingaosheng"; when guessing "two", it is called "the two families are reconciled"; when guessing "three", it is called "the two families are reconciled"; "When guessing "four", it's called "Three-star Gaozhao"; when guessing "four", it's called "four seasons of fortune"; when guessing "five", it's called "five sons are admitted"; when guessing "six", it's called "six-six success"; when guessing "seven", it's called " "Seven tricks make a picture"; guessing "eight" is called "Eight Immortals celebrating their birthday"; guessing "nine" is called "nine will last forever"; guessing "ten" is called "perfect and perfect". So the words shouted are auspicious words.

When drinking and guessing, a group of three glasses of wine is usually used. The loser drinks, and the player passes after three glasses of wine. If the fun is not over, you can do another group or groups. If you need to ask someone to do boxing or drinking for you, you should negotiate with the other party and obtain their consent.

In addition to guessing and drinking, there is also a finger-pointing and drinking contest. The method is to designate one person as the leader during the banquet. According to the total number of fingers that everyone points, whoever is counted will have a drink. For example, if the number of fingers that everyone points is six, the number will be counted from the first person. Starting from 1st to 6th, you are a drinker. There is also a "spoon-turning" wine fight, where a spoon is placed on the table and one person rotates the spoon. When the spoon stops rotating, whoever the spoon handle points to gets a drink. In addition, there are also "guessing odd and even" drinking contests, where one or two coins are randomly placed in the palm of the hand and others are asked to guess odd or even, and the loser drinks.

The Hakka people have many kinds of drinking orders. Educated people also like the "Zi Ci Ling" (including local specialties, farmers' proverbs, etc.), the "Poetry Ling", and the "Tong Ling" (mostly ingenious). , involving fun and making people laugh), including guessing. Hakka people like to use the drinking rules and regulations, which are popular entertainment games, to increase the excitement of drinking and eliminate loneliness and sleepiness until they are completely drunk.

(The above information refers to the Internet)

It is worth mentioning that the above customs and etiquette are all traditional etiquette. Now some etiquette has been simplified or even no longer held

(4) Hakka people are hospitable and polite

Hakka people are not only hospitable but also polite. When they meet on a narrow road, they will give way to the young. The young will give way to the old, the men will give way to the women, and the adults will give way to the children. , The empty-handed one is given to the one who carries the load, the one who carries the light load is given to the one who carries the heavy load, and the one who carries the heavy load is given to the one who carries the heavy load. Mutual courtesy is the virtue of the Hakka people.

When people meet, they will say hello and say hello to each other. Even strangers will call each other as relatives. For example, if they meet someone similar to themselves, a man will call him "Lao Bo". ("Biao" is a dialect and means brother) Women are called "eldest sister-in-law" or "eldest sister". If the other person is older than himself, men usually call him "uncle" and women call him "aunt". If the other person is younger than himself, he calls him "brother" or "old sister". For those who open a shop and do business, men are called "boss" and women are called "boss wife" or "boss wife". Craftsmen are generally called "masters" and physicians are called "doctors". Children call people who are similar in age to their parents "uncle", "uncle" and "aunt". Children who are similar in age to their own grandfather or grandmother are called "grandpa" or "grandma".

Hakka people pay great attention to the etiquette of interpersonal communication. "The upper family comes over and the lower family is a guest", that is to say, when the upper family comes to the lower family, they will be treated like guests. Relatives and friends, whenever there is a happy occasion, they will visit the door to congratulate each other. Hakka people have always been hospitable and pay attention to etiquette. For any banquet or casual meal, there are certain etiquettes, such as seating according to seniority and separate seats for men and women. The guests at the banquet are, in order, the first great-uncle (great-grandmother's maternal family), the second uncle (grandmother's maternal family), and the third uncle (mother's maternal family). Folks call it "three generations of relatives". At the wedding banquet of the man's family in the city, the first person is the uncle, the second is the uncle, and the third is the uncle. If the chief is not present and the banquet is not held, and if for some reason or because of prejudice against the host he does not want to be present, the host should leave the seat empty before the banquet can begin. In addition to "third-generation relatives" as honored guests, in-laws come second, and relatives of the same clan are seated according to seniority and age. Friends can sit anywhere they want. If you are building a house and raising beams to entertain guests, the leader should be a craftsman and a geologist, followed by the above-mentioned "three generations of relatives". The banquet host will arrange the table. Those who are late must drink alcohol to express their apology. If you leave the banquet in the middle, you must explain the reason to the host. In the middle of the banquet, when the host comes to thank the guests for a toast, the guests should stand up to show courtesy.

Usually, when a guest arrives, the host will greet him politely, invite the guest to sit in the house, and treat him with cigarettes and tea. Whether they are Hakkas in the city or in the country, their houses are equipped with a small bathroom and a bidet. When the guests arrive, the hostess will politely boil a large pot of boiling water, fill it with a bucket, take it into the bathroom, and also bring it to the bathroom. Pour in a bucket of cold water and let the bather wash the water so that the water temperature is not too hot or too cold. Let the guests take a refreshing bath to eliminate the fatigue of the journey. "Visitors from one family are received by neighbors" This is the custom of Hakka people in mountain villages. No matter who is visiting, the neighbors will usually cook a few dishes, warm a pot of glutinous rice wine, bring it to the guest's neighbor's house, set it on the table, and personally pour a bowl of wine for the guest, and invite the guest to taste their own home. Stuff and cook your own dishes. Even if there have been quarrels between neighbors, they will still carry wine bottles and dishes to their neighbors' houses to entertain guests, regardless of the old grudges. In this way, the neighbors will be reconciled as before.

For example, during the New Year, relatives and friends will pay New Year greetings to each other. When paying New Year greetings, they will often wrap a red envelope and bring a bag of food such as rock sugar, brown sugar, etc. as gifts. The host will definitely let the guests drink. It is served with various cured meats. When drinking with relatives and friends, the host will put a piece of chicken or duck meat into the guest's bowl (each chicken or duck is usually cut into 9 to 11 pieces), plus two round eggs. To show respect, if it is a rare visitor, treat him with chicken legs or duck legs. When the guest returns home, the host will return the red envelope (plus some money) and gifts as a sign of respect. When a guest says goodbye, the host should let the guest go first. If the guest is old or infirm, the host will carefully support him or her when going out, or ask a junior to take him or her home.

(5): Traditional customs during the New Year

The New Year is "the New Year is the first." Hakka people, like most places across the country, regard the New Year as the most solemn and joyful time of the year. festival. People start preparing for the New Year very early. In September and October, sweet potato slices and rice cake slices are dried for frying and stir-frying during the New Year. As soon as the "Winter Solstice" arrives, wine begins to be steamed. On the thirtieth day of the new year, every household will steam sugar cakes, make rice crackers, butcher pigs, make tofu, slaughter chickens, etc. to welcome the new year happily.

Sacrifice the Stove on December 23rd. After the evening of the 23rd, the stove must be cleaned, the old Stove God must be removed and burned, and the new image must be put up on the morning of the 30th. For both gifts and greetings, wine, meat, candies, sugar cane, rice crackers, etc. must be placed on the stove