What are the three major folk customs areas in Fujian Province?

Northern Fujian Wuyi Mountain, Taining Dajin Lake, Jiangle Yuhua Cave;

Western Fujian Liancheng Guanzhi Mountain, Yongding Tulou, Meihua Mountain, Longyan Longkong Cave;

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Taoyuan Cave and Shiphosphorus Stone Forest in Yong'an, central Fujian;

Fuzhou City, Qingyun Mountain in Yongtai;

Taimu Mountain, Yangjiaxi, Sanduao in eastern Fujian;

Quanzhou City, Xiamen City, Dongshan County, and Longhai Volcanic Geopark in southern Fujian.

Many, to name a few.

Characteristics of Fujian folk customs

On the one hand, the formation of folk customs is adapted to people’s social material production levels, changes in the content and style of life, and natural conditions. In short, it is based on the economic foundation It changes with changes in social life, but the changes in folk customs often lag behind the economic foundation and social life; on the other hand, once folk customs are formed, they are passed down from generation to generation, and influence and restrict people with the power of traditional habits, inheritance and psychological beliefs. The consciousness and behavior of folk customs have long-term inheritance and relative stability; in addition, folk customs also have national, class and social characteristics.

Fujian folk customs are formed in the background and atmosphere of traditional Chinese culture, so they have the general characteristics of traditional Chinese folk customs. At the same time, it was gradually formed and developed under the specific natural environment, social, historical and cultural conditions of Fujian, so it must have significant local characteristics in many aspects. Among the rich and colorful Fujian folk customs, the most prominent features are:

(1) Multiple sources

The composition of Fujian folk customs is multi-source, with four main sources. :

1. Primitive aboriginal folk customs before Qin and Han Dynasties. The original indigenous residents of Fujian had their own system of folk customs before the Qin and Han Dynasties. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Minyue and Han people gradually merged. Ding Ru, a native of the Tang Dynasty, described the situation of ethnic integration in southern Fujian in the early Tang Dynasty in "Twenty Rhymes of Guixian Poems" (Part 2): "I opened a county far away in the north of Zhangzhou, and settled down in the south of Quannan for a long time. When I first lived in Guixun, I liked to write Neighbors from the old hometown... I am used to listening to the local sounds, and the folk customs are beginning to be known. With the Qin Dynasty... Hutong cultivated a lot, and they have always been from this place." (Qing Dynasty Kangxi's "Zhangzhou Prefecture Chronicles" Volume 29 "Yi Wen") Some of the customs of the Minyue people have become historical relics, and some folk customs have been inherited. Later, it became an important part of Fujian folk customs and profoundly influenced other Fujian folk customs.

2. Han folk customs. After the Han Dynasty, the Han people from the Central Plains continued to migrate southward, bringing Han folk customs with them, which gradually became the main body of Fujian folk customs. The annals say: During the Five Dynasties, most of the people in northern Fujian were people fleeing chaos in the north of the Yangtze River, so they "prepared the customs of the five directions" (Volume 3 "Geography" of "Bamin Tongzhi"), and western Fujian also "changed from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty. , quite similar to Zhongzhou." (Chen Yixin's "Study of the Supporting Fields" quoted from the "Etiquette and Customs Chronicles" of the "Changting County Chronicles" of the Republic of China). Fujian folk customs include production customs, living customs, life etiquette, annual festivals, and folk beliefs. and worship, etc., are all in line with traditional Chinese folk customs.

3. Customs of ethnic minorities. Fujian is the main inhabited area of ??the She people, and the customs of the She people with strong national style are an important part of Fujian folk customs. Some customs of the Mongolians in the Yuan Dynasty and the Manchus in the Qing Dynasty are also embedded in Fujian folk customs.

4. Foreign folk customs. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou was a world-famous port with prosperous foreign trade. A large number of Arabs and Persians came to Quanzhou to do business, and some of them settled in Quanzhou. The official annals record: "Hu Jia sailed to Quanzhou one after another, and his rich people accumulated tens of thousands of dollars and lived in the county and city." (Qing Dynasty Guangxu's "Quanzhou Prefectural Annals", Vol. 75 "Supplements" (Part 1)) They have their own school - "Fanxue", believe in Islam, and retain the traditional customs of their nation. Although these foreign ethnic groups later basically merged with the Han people, some special customs remained and became part of Fujian folk customs. In the Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and modern times, with the introduction of Christianity, some European folk customs were also introduced to Fujian. Especially in modern times, Fujian folk customs have been increasingly influenced by foreign folk customs.

(2) Fusion

The fusion of Fujian folk customs has three meanings:

1. The fusion of folk customs of different ethnic groups.

Although Han folk customs are the main body of Fujian folk customs, Fujian Han folk customs are actually integrated with the customs of other ethnic minorities and form their own system. For example, some customs of the Minyue people were inherited by the Han people. Since ancient times, religious beliefs in Fujian have been particularly developed, which is closely related to the Minyue people's tradition of "believing in ghosts and cultivating witchcraft." Another example is that women of the Minyue ethnic group generally participate in production labor. This custom was inherited by the Han people who immigrated to Fujian. In the coastal areas of Fujian, it is quite common for women to participate in production and engage in heavy manual labor. "Book of Fujian" records: "Fuzhou...Tian Ze and his wife worked together, and the women wrote more works than the men. The woman was able to carry a sedan chair, and thirty female sedans were taken to cope with the battle of the inner palace." (Volume 38 of "Book of Fujian" " "Customs") Jinjiang's "women bear the burden of mango and work with men; they are quick and good at imitating various skills." (Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, "Jinjiang County Chronicles" Volume 1 "Yu Di Zhi Customs") Some descendants of the Minyue ethnic group While retaining their unique customs, the Dan people and the She people also absorbed a large number of Han folk customs and integrated them with their own customs.

2. The integration of Han folk customs in different regions. Han people from the Central Plains migrated to Fujian for more than a thousand years. They were mainly immigrants from Zhongzhou, and many were Han people from other regions. These Han people from different regions still have some differences in specific customs, and some are even very different. After entering Fujian one after another, the Han folk customs gradually merged into one.

3. Integration of Chinese and foreign folk customs. The development of the commodity economy and the prosperity of overseas trade made the southeastern coastal areas of Fujian in the Song and Yuan Dynasties adopt an open attitude towards foreign cultures, especially the port of Quanzhou, where "people and foreigners are mixed" and "markets are mixed with customs from all over the world." (Xitang Collection) "Volume 7 "The arrival of Xie Quanzhou, the acting prefect") The Han people in Quanzhou learned extensively from foreign cultures and integrated them. Take religious beliefs as an example. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, in addition to Taoism, Buddhism, folk religions and other folk beliefs, there were also Islam, Nestorian Christianity, and Franciscan Catholicism introduced from abroad. , Brahmanism, Hinduism, Manichaeism, etc. These foreign religions are not only believed by expatriates, but also have many believers among the Han people. Various traditional religions and foreign religions coexist peacefully and blend with each other.

(3) Regional

Most of the ancestral origins of the Han people in Fujian are in the Central Plains area. Since they entered Fujian with hundreds or even thousands of years apart, the Central Plains Chinese they brought with them There are also big differences; after entering Fujian, due to the different levels of integration with the local indigenous residents, as well as the inconvenient transportation and limited exchanges between regions, many dialect areas that cannot speak to each other gradually formed. In mountainous counties such as Liancheng, Qingliu, and Datian, there is no common dialect in the county, and even adjacent villages cannot communicate with each other in language. Fujian dialects are famous for their complexity. Among the eight major dialects in China, except for Xiang dialect, the other seven dialects are popular in different areas of Fujian.

Language is the main carrier of culture, and the cultural characteristics of a region are often reflected in language. Folk customs also vary according to different dialect areas. Take folk beliefs as an example. The beliefs of Lady Linshui and the Five Emperors are mainly popular in the Eastern Fujian dialect area centered on Fuzhou, the belief in Mazu is centered in the Xinghua dialect area, the beliefs of Wangye and Emperor Baosheng are mainly popular in the southern Fujian dialect area, and the ancient Buddhist beliefs of Kuobing are mainly popular in the Xinghua dialect area. Popular in northern Fujian dialect areas, Dingguang ancient Buddhist beliefs are mainly popular in Minke dialect areas, etc.

In the same dialect area, the folk beliefs of different prefectures and counties vary. Taking the southern Fujian dialect area as an example: Emperor Baosheng, Kai Zhang Saint King Chen Yuanguang and his generals Fushun General Ma Ren, Fusheng General Li Boyao, Fuyi General Ni Shengfang, and Furen General Shen Yi have many palaces and temples in the counties under Zhangzhou Prefecture. Guangze Zunwang's faith is most popular in Quanzhou and Nan'an, Qingshui Patriarch has greater influence in Anxi, Yongchun, and Dehua, and Qingshan Gong has the largest number of believers in Hui'an County. The situation in other dialect areas is roughly the same. Each prefecture, state, and county has its own patron saint.

In the same county, each shop, environment, and village worships one or several specific gods as protectors, formerly known as the land owner, the blessing owner, the soil owner, the social god, etc. Take Quanzhou as an example. In the old days, the city of Quanzhou was divided into 36 shops and 94 areas, with shop owners and surrounding gods. There were more than 130 large and small temples, worshiping more than 100 gods.

The temple of the local god is jointly built with donations from the people living in the local area, and various religious activities are also participated in by the people in the local area. Traveling to carry the god generally cannot go beyond the local boundary.

(4) Plasticity

Folklore is gradually formed by the people in the long-term social production and life. Its general content and form are, for most members of society, It has an invisible binding force, which is the so-called "convention". However, in specific folk activities, the operations are not uniform and have a certain degree of plasticity. They can generally be complex or simplified, and people can make choices based on their own needs and possibilities. There is a huge difference in the complexity and simplicity of folk customs in Fujian. Generally speaking, in areas with relatively developed economies, various rituals are more complicated than in areas with less developed economies. The homes of dignitaries and rich people are more pompous than poor homes. Take weddings and funerals as an example: from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the "Six Rites" were generally accepted by the people as the basic marriage etiquette, but the specific operation process varied greatly. The families of dignitaries and wealthy people strictly followed the "Six Rites". Cumbersome. Common people, on the other hand, are not so strict. They often combine the acceptance and name asking into one, and combine the acceptance and request period into one, and at the same time simplify the etiquette of welcoming a bride. Weddings in poor families are more simplified, and there are many people who even hastily share a house on New Year's Eve. Another example is that the custom of lavish burials is prevalent in most places in Fujian, and even more so in southern Fujian. There is a slang saying "born in Suzhou and Hangzhou, died in southern Fujian". However, there are great differences in the complexity and simplicity of funeral customs in different cities and counties in southern Fujian, or in different villages in the same city or county, or in different families in the same village.