Characteristics of folk culture

The northeast folk culture circle includes three northeastern provinces and eastern Inner Mongolia.

According to the climate and soil characteristics of this place in Northeast China, some related folk customs are introduced below.

Let's talk about the "three eccentrics" in Northeast China. A strange thing is that "I will die after giving birth to a child." This is actually a custom of Manchu. In the past, there were many wild animals in the forest in the northeast, so it was not safe for children at home to put them on the ground, so they hung them at a certain distance from the ground. The second monster is "a 18-year-old girl with a tobacco pouch". The proportion of female smokers in Northeast China used to be relatively high. It is said that smoking is also a way to keep out the cold. The third nickname is "enough paper on the outside." In the north, especially in winter, where the door has cracks, it is usually stuck inside, while in the northeast, enough paper is stuck outside, which is the need to cope with the wind and rain. Because it is attached to the outside, it can protect the wooden window lattice from rain corrosion and wind and sun, and prolong the service life of the window.

Shaman is a belief of the people in Northeast China. In fact, according to our statement, it is the "witch" and "shamanism" in the northeast. The earliest goddess was the "Shaman" goddess, which was generally taught by the family. This is a professional "shaman", and "shamanism" is very popular in the whole northeast. It plays a very important role in the political culture and folk culture of Northeast China.

The nomadic folk culture circle includes most of Inner Mongolia, the northern edge of Liaoning, Hebei and Shaanxi provinces, and the northern part of Ningxia and Xinjiang.

Compared with the Han nationality, this place has special national characteristics.

We look at the yurt where they live. Their house is basically a yurt, and then a carriage is added. The vast grassland is their hometown everywhere, and the Mongolian people in history have no fixed abode. This lifestyle determines their costumes, such as Mongolian robes. The length of the Mongolian robe is below the knee, and there are some furs in it. Why are they long and thick? Originally, nomadic people did not need to wear such long clothes, which was inconvenient. But they ride horses during the day, and their knees are prone to cold. If the Mongolian robe is long, it can protect the knees and can be used as a quilt cover at night.

On the formation of some etiquette of nomadic people has a great relationship with their living habits, and their mode of production affects their traffic customs. Our farming people generally walk on two legs, and nobles or rich people may also take a sedan chair and then take a car. However, horseback riding was very popular in ancient times. Because it was a nomadic people, the Mongols formed a kind of etiquette: two people rode horses on the grassland, and in a place, when two strangers met, they would get off their horses and say hello to each other. Then I jump on your horse, you jump on my horse, pat the horse's ass and say "good horse". Over time, "good horse" has become a greeting. Just like we Han people meet and ask, "Have you eaten?" .

Among nomadic people, marriage customs are also different from those of our farming people.

The cultural circle of the Yellow River Basin includes Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong.

The Yellow River Basin, especially in Henan and Shandong, should be the birthplace of China culture and the cradle of China folk custom development.

Henan people and Shandong people are attached to their native land, hardworking and simple, and like to be plain.

This area is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius. Both Confucius and Mencius are from Shandong and belong to this cultural circle. People in this place are very polite.

In addition, I read a true story in a book that people in this area are very hospitable and generous.

In the memoirs of Li Yan, a master of Chinese painting in China, he said that his father Li Kuchan was very good at drawing eagles. He was from Shandong. Once, a fellow villager visited his home and saw a painting. He said to him, "Li Shifu, this eagle painting is very suitable for the main hall." Li Shifu said, "I used this to make nave." In this way, the two men kept talking and walking. When they arrived at the door to say goodbye, Li said, "Why don't you buy it if you like it so much?" The man said, "I just have no money." Why do you have to tell me if you have money? " Hearing this, Li said, "It's almost time for dinner. I'll draw you a picture now. " When it was over, his wife had put the food on the table. Since it's time for dinner, I won't go. Finally, the fellow villagers finished their meal and left with the painting. His wife asked, "Who was that man just now?" Li said, "I don't know." This true story shows the generosity of Shandong people.

In addition, people in this area believe in Mount Tai very much.

Folk cultural circles in the Yangtze River valley: ghost worship, five phoenix parasitism.

This basin is counted from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where the Yangtze River originates. The main stream of the Yangtze River flows through Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai and other provinces, cities and autonomous regions, all of which belong to the folk culture circle of the Yangtze River basin. Zhejiang Province is not included, but the tributaries of the Yangtze River pass through Zhejiang, so from these cultural circles, Zhejiang Province should be counted as this basin. Belongs to the place where the tributaries pass. Then, the customs in this area can be summarized in more concise language: "Ghosts worship goodness, and five phoenixes are parasitic." People in the south and north of China used to believe in ghosts, but the south is much stronger than the north. There is a god in a place in the south, and every village in Wenzhou has its own god. There is a god with a hole in his head, and there is a god in Cangnan. Generally speaking, the immortals in the south are particularly prosperous, and almost every village has different or the same immortals. Compared with northerners, people in this area are romantic, enthusiastic, flexible, good at dancing and imaginative.

Then let's briefly compare the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin.

The Book of Songs can be produced on the land of the Yellow River Basin, and it can also reflect the social reality. It is mainly written in a realistic way and has a deep influence in the Yellow River Basin. Therefore, "Songs of the South" was widely circulated in the Yangtze River basin. The Book of Songs is more about the description of real life. Of course, there are also articles about sacrifice, but most of them are realistic works. Most of Chu Ci written by Qu Yuan is metaphysical.

In Xiangxi, Hunan, it is Shen Congwen's hometown. There is a bad habit among the people called "bewitch". Of course, according to historical records, it has also been found in Guangxi and Guangdong. There are many theories about how this "method" came into being. It is generally said that at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, all kinds of "French" insects were caught, centipedes, scorpions, poisonous snakes and many poisonous insects were kept in tanks. Give them no food and let them kill each other. Finally, I left one, dried it, and finally became medicine. This medicine is chronic, and skin contact with food can cause chronic diseases. So in Xiangxi, if this person doesn't have a spider web at home, you shouldn't go in, because he may have a "method" at home. If you see a wallet underground, you shouldn't take it, because there may be a "way". You'd better not eat the food of someone he doesn't know, because there may be a "method" in it. Then this "farming method" became a unique folk custom of Miao nationality in western Hunan at that time.

The Qinghai-Tibet folk culture circle covers the whole territory of Tibet, Qinghai, northwest Sichuan, southwest Gansu and southern Xinjiang.

Tibetans are basically distributed in these places. In the Qinghai-Tibet folk culture circle, the biggest feature is their religious culture and religious complex. This can be reflected in their buildings. Potala Palace is so spectacular and unique in China. Then, the religious piety of the Tibetan people is rare, and their status as "living buddhas" is lofty. These places constitute the unique landscape of this cultural circle.

In addition, there are thousands of temple buildings in Tibetan areas. The sculptures and paintings in each temple are very beautiful. There are also Tibetan costumes that are different from other ethnic groups. And their Tibetan doctors, Tibetan doctors are also part of the protected culture of the Chinese nation. Tibetan medicine has its own theory, which is different from traditional Chinese medicine. Tibetan medicine can only grow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, such as "Crocus sativus", "Cordyceps sinensis" and "Xueyuanhua", which basically grow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. There is also a kind of "sculpture of Tibetan ghee", which should be the embodiment of national consciousness and religious consciousness: ghee solidifies in winter, and then it is made into various sculptures, which can be preserved for more than half a year and then melted the next year.

Yunnan-Guizhou Folk Culture Circle refers to Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, including Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and a corner of southwest Sichuan.

As far as natural conditions are concerned, the climate in this area is warm and the seasons are like spring. There are many ethnic minorities in this place. We just talked about the northern nationalities in the northeast, we also talked about the nomadic nationalities, and talked about the customs of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The total number of ethnic minorities in those places is not as large as that in this area. We call the ethnic minorities in this place "southern nationalities".

There are 26 ethnic minorities in Yunnan province alone. The whole Yunnan Province is the place with the largest number of ethnic minorities in China, where there are Ashima legends, Mosuo weddings, "eighteen eccentrics in Yunnan" and so on.

Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau folk culture circle, because there are many ethnic minorities, has formed the unique scenery of China folk customs. Their nation believes in Buddhism, so all Dai boys here have to become monks and go to temples for education when they are old enough to study. When they grow up, they go home one by one, get married and have children, some become monks, and some go into business, so the educational level of the whole Dai people is relatively high. And their wells, whether white or Dai, have a building, either a pavilion or a Buddha statue or other sculptures. In a word, the well in their house can't be open-air, so it can be said that the people there are relatively hygienic.

Fujian-Taiwan Folk Culture Circle: The whole East China Sea, including Taiwan Province Province and Fujian Province.

This area is called Fujian-Taiwan Folk Culture Circle. Many books say that Fujian-Taiwan Folk Culture Circle refers to Fujian Province and Taiwan Province Province. But I personally think that Wenzhou or southern Zhejiang should belong to this cultural circle. Fujian and Taiwan Province provinces, sandwiched between southern Zhejiang, form a circle with similar dialects and customs. All these places have marine culture, and marine culture has derived fisheries. Fishing used to be a high-risk occupation, so the belief of Mazu was derived, and there were two goddesses, Chen Jinggu (the fourteen goddesses of Chen in Wenzhou folk belief). People who go to Taiwan Province Province from here basically speak Minnan dialect.

A considerable number of people in Cangnan, Zhejiang Province also speak "Minnan dialect".

This place is different from Guangzhou. They drink tea and kungfu tea. I haven't seen this before in Wenzhou, but this custom is more common in Guangdong, so I think this cultural circle should actually be bigger, Fujian, Taiwan and Guangdong, plus southern Zhejiang, but in that case, dialects will not work. Minnan is spoken in Fujian, Taiwan Province and southern Zhejiang, but in Guangdong it is Cantonese, not Fujian-Taiwan. But one thing is the same, whether it is Wenzhou or Fujian and Taiwan. Basically, every village has a temple, an ancestral hall and a god who believes in himself. This is basically the case in villages of all sizes. I will briefly introduce these aspects about the seven major folk cultural circles, thank you.