Chapter 15 Chapter 8 Seasonal Folk Sports

Whenever the cold winter ends, the warm spring breeze begins to swell on the vast land, the remaining snow melts, the grass turns green, and the leaves turn green. Under the threat of severe cold, we have to restrict our activities throughout the winter. People who were doing it indoors changed their bloated winter clothes and walked briskly to the suburbs. Under the caress of the warm spring sunshine, they freely breathed the fresh air full of youthfulness and enjoyed the bright spring like all things in nature. infinite happiness.During the spring outing, it is the season for all things to germinate. The earth is green and green, and there is a vibrant green everywhere, so it is also called "outing green".Due to China's vast territory, diverse climates, and different seasons in different places, the time to go out for outings is also different.For example, in the south it starts in the first month of the lunar calendar, while in the north it starts as late as the third month of the lunar calendar.

The custom of spring outing can be traced back to ancient times.As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, on the day of Lichun, the emperor would lead his officials to the outskirts to hold a ceremony to welcome the spring, pray for God's blessing, and encourage farming ("Book of Rites Yueling").Gradually, this kind of religious activity became a custom, which has been continued, and many other entertainment activities have gradually been added.Confucius, who lived in the 6th century BC, loved spring outings very much.Although Confucius was a literati and scholar who founded the Confucian school, his body was very strong, he was strong, and he ran fast.Once, a student of Confucius said that one of his favorite activities was to wear newly made spring clothes and go to Yishui with a few friends to swim and bathe in the sunny late spring, letting the warm spring breeze blow over his body. Then he returned with high songs and long chants, and Confucius agreed with him very much ("The Analects of Confucius Advanced").

Spring outings in the Han Dynasty were associated with the custom of eliminating disasters and evil spirits.In ancient my country, there was a "Shangsi" festival in the first ten days of March in the lunar calendar.Every time this festival comes, people will wash their whole bodies with water soaked in herbs by the river to avoid diseases and disasters. This is called "祓禊".The Western Han Dynasty attached great importance to this festival. Every year on this day, the emperor, ladies and common people in the capital, men, women and children, come to the bank of the Bashui River in the east of the city to take a bath.In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the activities of the Shangsi Festival added a lot of secular color and became a popular outing entertainment.Officials and citizens not only washed themselves in the rivers and streams in the suburbs, but also entertained them.For example, the general Liang Shang was at the bank of Luoshui on Shangsi Day, facing the beautiful scenery of late spring, he couldn't help singing loudly, and his heart was full (note in "Book of the Later Han·Etiquette").

Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, this late spring outing has become a very important recreational activity of the year.At that time, people will go out of the city with wine, feast and entertainment.Literati and inkmen still gather by the water to compose poems, and "Qushui Liushang" left many famous lines that have been passed down through the ages. Spring outings have become a very popular sports and entertainment activity in the Tang Dynasty.Every year when the Cold Food Ching Ming Festival comes, there is a strong wind of spring outing.Before dawn, Qingmen (East Gate) in Chang'an, the capital, "the sky is full of cars and horses", and the mighty army of spring outings has already been dispatched.Those scenic tourist attractions, such as Qujiang Pond, Apricot Garden, and Dongyou Garden in the southeast of the city, Kunming Pond and Dingkun Pond in the southwest of the suburbs, and Fanchuan in the south of the city, are crowded with tourists and there is hardly any open space. .The flamboyant young people in Chang'an like to go out on horseback in groups, and when they encounter a good forest, they will get off their horses and take out wine to drink.Some rich children of You Xingda even set up tents in the garden.During the spring outing, the ladies in Chang'an were not far behind, walking in the forest with fresh air, picking flowers and folding willows, having a good time (Wang Renyu's "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao").The poets of the Tang Dynasty were even more active in spring outings. Some of them traveled with their families, "This year's cold food is so romantic, and the family will travel together today" (Yuan Zhen's "Cold Food Day"), and some rode horses for sightseeing. "(Bai Juyi's "He Chun Shen"), and some roaming on foot "carving the tourists with enough food in the cold and cold" (Wei Zhuang's "Cold Food in Bingchen in Bingchen").When Du Fu came back from his spring outing, he still reluctantly looked back and looked back frequently, leaving behind a poem of "going out on the riverside, and looking back to see the banner".The scale of the spring outing in the Tang Dynasty was very rare. Du Fu had a vivid description of the Qingming Spring Outing in Changsha at that time: "The place is full of flowers and it is the day when Changsha has thousands of people. Gnaw your knees." ("Qingming") Cold food, viewing flowers, cockfighting, and playing Cuju were very common sights at that time during spring outings during the Qingming Festival.

The Shangsi Festival on the third day of March was another hot spot for people to go out for spring outings in the Tang Dynasty.At that time, people will go out of the city to bathe, play in the water for fun, enjoy flowers in the green, and have feasts by the water.The traffic is heavy and the momentum is huge, and some tourists are not civilized enough to fold flowers and climb willows. The birds in the sky and the fish in the water are scared to avoid it: "The garden is full of flowers, and the wheels are flying. Good flowers If everything is broken, there will be no spring tomorrow. Birds avoid the clouds and tents, and fish are far away from the dust." (Xu Tang's "March 3rd in Qujiang")

During the Song Dynasty, the city developed rapidly, and there appeared folk artists who performed various juggling for a living.These entertainers regard the spring outing as an opportunity to show their talents and show their specialties to the tourists.Therefore, the content of spring outing activities is more colorful, attracting more people to join the ranks of spring outings.Schools in the Song Dynasty even gave students spring outings to let them relax. "Old Things in the Wulin" also records that on the 10th day before and after the Ching Ming Festival, the ladies in the city are neatly dressed and beautiful, and they come out in groups to watch, and there are constant tourists from morning till night.

The spring outings of northern urban residents in the Ming Dynasty seem to have lasted a relatively long time. For example, there is a record in Shen Bang about the outing on the Dragon Boat Festival in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the scholars in Beijing made appointments with each other, carrying wine, food and fruits, to the countryside for spring outings, and the location was mostly at the Temple of Heaven. Pine forest, willow forest on Gaoliang bridge, water pass inside Deshengmen, wells outside Andingmen and other places ("Miscellaneous Notes of Wanshu"). Spring outing, the ancient custom of returning to nature and entertaining the body and mind has continued to this day.