Anti-plague poem

I have been staying at home these days, responding to the call of self-isolation.

Idle, suddenly thought of a question:

Our medical technology is so advanced now, but there seems to be no more effective way to prevent this epidemic plague!

Then, how did people prevent it in ancient times when the level of medical technology was relatively backward?

So all kinds of reading, the result in a poem by Meng Jiao, found a strange phenomenon.

Xian Gexing dreams of driving away from playing the flute, but his face is white with thin ghosts.

I am secretly pulling the whip, full of sorrow.

Laughter flooded the field, and Tao Arc cried alone when shooting arrows.

This is a poem describing the exorcism ceremony held by people in the Tang Dynasty.

According to the description in the poem, the specific ceremony is as follows:

People play drums and flutes first.

Then, in the darkness, a group of epidemic ghosts appeared.

What is the plague like?

One by one is skinny (skinny ghosts), with painted faces (dyed faces) and exposed teeth (only white teeth), dragging a straw whip in the dark and rushing past (walking pathetically).

At this time, a man holding a "peach arc", that is, a bow made of peach wood, first laughed in the courtyard, and then pulled the bow and shot at the epidemic ghost. Whichever one you shoot, that one will make a shrill scream.

The plague ghost was shot and the ceremony ended, indicating that the plague had been dispelled.

Why do the Tang people think that such a ceremony can drive away the plague?

In fact, this is a custom handed down before the Qin and Han Dynasties.

At that time, people thought that the plague was caused by "ghosts with diseases".

To this end, the Zhou Dynasty also specially selected a fierce-looking person named Fang, and then asked them to "wear bearskin, mysterious clothes, hold Ge Yangdun, be handsome and handsome, be a servant, and use the cable room to drive away the epidemic."

Wearing bearskin, black jacket and red underwear, holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, he led hundreds of slaves, who were responsible for expelling epidemic ghosts.

It was only in the Tang Dynasty that people probably thought it was meaningless to dance for a long time without even seeing a ghost. So in order to increase the interest, find someone to play the role of epidemic ghost, which is obviously much more interesting to shoot, hide, chase and run.

This is Nuo Dance, which was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, and is known as "the living fossil of China Dance".

Of course, the most effective way to prevent an epidemic like # novel coronavirus # is to # stay at home #, keep indoor air circulation, pay attention to rest and exercise moderately.

It is absolutely not advisable for people like the Tang Dynasty to get together for exorcism ceremonies.

But "Nuo dance" shows that the ancient people's awe of nature in heaven and earth is what we modern people lack most.