How did the ancients celebrate the second day of February: the farmers were sacrificed first, and the emperor plowed it himself.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, on February 2nd, offering sacrifi

How did the ancients celebrate the second day of February: the farmers were sacrificed first, and the emperor plowed it himself.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, on February 2nd, offering sacrifices to farmers and emperors became an important national ritual.

The emperor offered sacrifices to the first farmers.

The dragon has an extremely lofty position in the hearts of people of all ethnic groups in our country. Ancient ancestors believed that the dragon was the symbol of the son of heaven, the auspicious thing, and the master of wind and rain. Therefore, since ancient times, there have been many legends about dragons among the people. It is said that the Dragon Head Festival originated in Fuxi era. Fu "attaches importance to farming and farming". On February 2nd every year, "Huang Niang delivers food and uses her to plow the fields". Later, the Yellow Emperor, Tang Yao, Yu Shun and Yu Xia all followed the example of their predecessors. For Zhou Wuwang, we have not only followed this traditional practice, but also implemented it as an important national policy. This practice has been passed down from generation to generation. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, on February 2nd, it became an important national sacrificial ceremony to hold sacrifices for farmers and emperors. After that, the emperor also led hundreds of officials to the altar of Xiannong, to worship the god of Xiannong, and to cultivate the fields himself.

The emperor cultivated the fields with strict etiquette system. Ming system is the emperor's right hand plowing, left hand whipping, plowing back and forth four times; The clearing system was changed to plow back and forth three times, and then, from the west stage to the viewing platform, after the viewing platform was over, I retired from the east stage.

The Picture of Yong Zhengdi Sacrificing the Immortal Farms, which is still preserved in the Palace Museum, depicts the ceremony of Yong Zhengdi's offering sacrifices to the Immortal Farms from the time he left the palace and the scene of the emperor's demonstration.

According to relevant historical records, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the pro-farming ceremony, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty had to practice farming in advance before farming. Yuanmingyuan Mountain is high, and Fengze Garden in Zhongnanhai is two important farming places. When Emperor Jiaqing plowed the land himself, he also made a joke: when he met a disobedient plowman, he put the blame on the officials in Shuntianfu. One year, Jiaqing came to the Xiannongtan to farm. It happened that the cattle prepared by Shuntianfu were not tamed, and at that time they were angry and refused to farm anyway. After changing a lot of scalpers, Jiaqing still couldn't control it, and finally plowed three times. Jiaqing completed the etiquette and ordered some officials to plow the fields. These officials can't farm, they can't manage cows, and even cows have fled everywhere. Jiaqing was furious and sent an imperial edict to the army on the same day: "Farming is a grand ceremony for farming, and cattle are prepared for the land." I don't usually exercise often, but I just play carelessly. Shen Shousheng, the magistrate of Daxing County, and Zhang Qia, the magistrate of wanping county, were all on the top and handed over to the Ministry for strict discussion; Shun Tianfu magistrate Fei Xizhang is a member of the special jurisdiction, and the Ministry of Communications has a strict discussion ... "

Similarly, among the people, there are more and more proverbs and customs on February 2. For example, "On February 2nd, the dragon looks up, but it doesn't rain without looking up", which means that the dragon looks up, indicating that heaven and earth are connected, clouds make rain and everything grows. In addition, after the Tang Dynasty, some areas in the north regarded February 2nd as the day of "welcoming wealth", and there was a saying that "on February 2nd, dragons looked up and gold and silver flowed everywhere".

Although these are platitudes, they actually have some truth. In February of the lunar calendar in China, the climate gets warmer and spring returns to the earth. This is the beginning of agriculture, and it is also the time to sow in spring. People all over the world are praying for a good agricultural harvest in the new year. At the same time, February 2 is also around the solar term, all kinds of insects are ready to move, and there are many plagues. At that time, science and technology were underdeveloped, and people had to wait for the dragon to come out to curb all kinds of poisonous insects, so there was a saying that the dragon looked up.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many ballads, folk customs and dietary customs in Beijing, some of which still exist today.

"On February 2nd, the dragon looked up, the emperor plowed and drove the cattle, and the official empress came to deliver the meal. The courtiers lost their species, and the spring ploughing and summer harvesting led the world, and the grain harvest was peaceful and autumn. " This is a folk song that I sang when I was young. It was written in a New Year picture called "The Emperor Plows the Fields" at home. In the New Year's picture, the emperor wearing a dragon robe plows his homeland with a plow, the minister carries a bamboo basket in one hand and sows in the other, and the seven-product county magistrate holding a cow. In the picture, the queen carries a basket to deliver meals and several maids. This new year picture is very interesting, and it is still fresh in my memory after more than 60 years.