What is the beautiful Huxiang culture?

Huxiang Culture

The Source of Huxiang Culture

Based on the surprising coincidence of archaeological excavations in Hunan and many historical records in pre-Qin documents, people have a very clear understanding of the history of Huxiang Culture. Changhe had a new understanding: Huxiang culture not only originated from thousands of years, but also originated from the Yanhuang culture and the Shennong culture of the former Yan Emperor.

The archaeological community in my country believes that 10,000 to 5,000 years ago was the early and middle stages of the Neolithic Age in my country, that is, the legendary Shennong Era; 5,000 to 6,000 years ago was the late Neolithic Age. The period of transition to bronze ware is the legendary Huangdi era. Emperors Yan and Huang were both clan leaders and titles of clans and tribes, representing two eras respectively, namely the Yan Emperor era and the Yellow Emperor era. Previously, Hunan had a history of hundreds of thousands of years of Paleolithic culture. Hunan has a warm and humid climate, and the Jiangyong area in the south is the original wild rice producing area. Pottery over 10,000 years old and three complete rice grains were discovered at the Yuchandong site in Daoxian County, adjacent to Jiangyong. The earlier one was wild rice, and the later one was cultivated rice. There are also wild rice, indica rice and japonica rice. With comprehensive characteristics, it is the earliest cultivated rice specimen discovered in the world so far. This shows that the ancestors of Daoxian County, in the face of wild rice that nature could not meet people's food needs, cultivated and transformed wild rice, and took the lead in igniting the hope of developing rice farming culture for mankind.

The middle reaches of the Yangtze River in the Late Paleolithic have become the link between the cultural origins of both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Crossing the Jiangling area in Hubei Province is the Liyang alluvial plain with soft soil in Dongting District, Hunan Province. It has the natural conditions for the development of large-scale rice farming culture. Starting from the late Paleolithic period, ancestors gradually entered this plain. Eight or nine thousand years ago, in Pengtoushan, Li County, there were ideographic symbols, ideographic paintings and totems before the invention of writing. Around 8,000 years ago, more than 20,000 grains of rice and rice were found at the 8000 site in Li County, making it the place where the most prehistoric rice grains were found in the world. There are also agricultural tools such as wooden shovels, wooden shovels, and bone shovels, as well as wooden pestles and other processing tools. The tool is completely consistent with the legendary record in "Book of Changes·Xici" that "Shennong made it, turning the wood into sedge, and rubbing the wood into plough. The benefits of ploughing can be used to teach the world." The sum of the "five hundred and thirty years" that Emperor Yan took to proclaim himself emperor is roughly the same as in "The Chronicles of the Three Emperors" and "The Chronicles of the Three Emperors" records that the "five hundred and thirty years" it took Emperor Yan to proclaim himself emperor are roughly the same. It can be seen that the Shennong clan moved from Shaanxi and Gansu to Liyang, and the advantages they created continued to increase, forming the basic economic form of settled agriculture and developing rice farming culture to the stage of large-scale agriculture. The pottery making process is also quite skillful, with various forms of pottery and white pottery, the painted pottery is the most distinctive, and its radiant light spreads to surrounding areas such as Yuan, Hunan and Western Hubei. Huxiang culture has continued to innovate since then. 6,500 years ago, the excavation of the ancient city and rice fields in Chengtoushan, Li County confirmed the legendary record of Shennong's "Sun and China were the city". Some platform-style buildings were found at the 80th site in Lixian County. The middle main part of one of the house foundations is about 40 centimeters above the ground. The four corners extend outward in the shape of horns, and the plane is shaped like a starfish. This kind of ceremonial center site reminds people that Lixian County was originally the center of the Shennong era. The first generation of Shennong set out from here to tour the south to treat people's diseases. He accidentally tasted the broken intestine and was buried at the end of Changsha Tea Village. The Shennong clan was recognized as the central clan because of the creation of farming civilization, and its descendants were recruited and spread in all directions. The Yugong tribe of the last generation of Emperor Yan was defeated in the Battle of Banquan, and the leaves fell to their roots near the tombs of their ancestors. In this way, the Huxiang culture of the entire Shennong era developed in the heart of the central Shennong clan, and was permeated with the spirit of the Shennong clan culture.

With the passage of time, the Huangdi clan emerged from the Yellow River Basin and gradually integrated and developed with the Yandi clan to form the Yanhuang Alliance and became the most powerful tribal group in ancient China. The Yan Emperor Shennong was the founder of this alliance, and later the Yellow Emperor took his place, unified the Central Plains, and expanded the four directions. The Yan and Huang Group entered the era of chiefdoms on the eve of the emergence of the country. The Yellow Emperor became the first chief and continued to hold high the banner of the Yan-Huang Alliance, pushing the primitive civilization created by the Yan Emperor to a new historical stage, thereby laying the solid foundation for an ancient civilization with the largest ethnic group and population in the world, and a stable and unified country that has lasted for thousands of years. Huxiang culture then merged and developed into Yanhuang culture.

"Book of Changes·Xici" highly summarizes the basic spirit of Yanhuang culture as "continuous self-improvement" and "carrying virtues", which is a metaphor for the character of both heaven and earth. This summary is not only reflected in the philosophical concepts of the sages, but more importantly, it is reflected in the basic spirit that continues to function in the Yanhuang cultural tradition. This is the hard entrepreneurial spirit of having the courage to conquer prehistoric times, the pioneering and innovative spirit of being diligent in scientific and technological inventions, and the willingness to benefit the people. The spirit of sacrifice and dedication, the spirit of inclusive and complementary national unity.

The cultural tradition of Hunan's ancestors who first invented cultivated rice also contains a character trait of being accustomed to promoting subjective initiative and daring to be the first in the world. These characters and spirits have been passed down to this day and have become the basis of the value orientation and way of thinking of Huxiang culture. They have formed the collectivist values ????that put the national interests above personal interests, the outstanding traditional orientation of patriotism, and the individual's response to the rise and fall of the country and the nation. A strong sense of responsibility and mission for rise and fall. This value orientation also resulted in the way of thinking of Huxiang culture, which is an open way of learning from many internal and external experts, integrating widely, and optimizing the subject of thinking. The above three levels have jointly forged the philosophical thoughts from Zhou Dunyi, Hu Hong to Wang Chuanshan, and their philosophical directions of advocating reality, initiative, emphasis on practice, adaptability, truth-seeking, and application. The Enlightenment thought of the early 17th century, represented by Wang Chuanshan, was not brought to the forefront of history until the late Qing Dynasty, and became an important ideological resource for China's national salvation movement in modern times.

Huxiang culture refers to a historical and cultural form with distinctive characteristics, relatively stable and inheritance relationship. The culture of Hunan in the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties should be incorporated into another historical and cultural form - Chu culture. Qu Yuan's poetry and art and the historical relics of Mawangdui all have distinctive Chu cultural characteristics. Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Tang and Song Dynasties, due to historical changes and development, especially several large-scale immigrants in the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, Hunan scholars have undergone important changes in their population, customs, customs and ideas. Thus, a new regional cultural form is combined and constructed, which we call Huxiang culture. Of course, the Chu culture of the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties had an important influence on the Huxiang culture constructed after the Song Dynasty and was one of the sources of Huxiang culture. This is certain. Therefore, some people hope to connect the two cultural forms of Hunan and call it Chu-Xiang culture.

Art:

The silk paintings of the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Mawangdui are one of the sources of Chinese painting, and the lacquer paintings of the Western Han Dynasty can be said to be the earliest oil paintings in the world. It gave birth to art masters such as Yi Yuanji, Zhang Yizun, and Qi Baishi.

Sports:

Olympic Hunan Army, in 2000, the Hunan delegation won 7 gold medals among the 28 gold medals in the Sydney Olympics.

Gold medal: Yang Xia: women's weightlifting 53kg Zhan Xugang: men's weightlifting 77kg Gong Zhichao: badminton women's singles Liu Xuan: women's gymnastics balance beam Xiong Ni: diving men's three-meter springboard Xiong Ni/Xiao Hailiang: diving Men's three-meter springboard double Li Xiaopeng: Gymnastics Men's Parallel Bars

Music:

Entertaining God Song and Dance is an early folk song and dance form in Hunan, and has lasted in Hunan for a long time. Through customary folk songs, we can get a glimpse of some of the ancient traditions of the Chu people of "heavy obscenity sacrifices", "long sacrifices", "welcome and send off gods", and "singing and music to encourage". For example, "Funeral Songs", "Qianlong Boat", "Nuo Tune" and "Hunting Folk Songs" that are widely circulated throughout the province all have traces of ancient sacrifices and entertainment to gods.

Since 1993, more than 500 people have won awards in provincial and national grand prix competitions, with more than 300 award-winning works. "Spring Full of Tujia Village", "Song of the Cradle", "Holding the Hand of Chinese Mother", "We Are People of Zhuye", "Sun Rain", dance music "Treading Water Ballad", "Nanyan Comes on the Spring Breeze" ", "Toward the Glory of Tomorrow", "Song of the Sino-French Group", "Lili in the Mountains", "Missing Wulingyuan", "National Soul" and other works won gold medals in national music awards.

In terms of music theory research, in recent years, a large number of outstanding theoretical achievements and outstanding theoretical talents have emerged. He has published more than 200 music academic papers in public journals at the provincial level and above, and published more than 60 music theory works.

Song Zuying, Li Guyi, Chen Sisi, Tang Can

Drama:

Hunan Opera is one of the major local dramas in Hunan. Folks generally call it "Da Opera Troupe", "Changsha Troupe" and "Xiangtan Troupe". The name "Hunan Opera" first appeared in the preface to the first episode of "Xixing Sanren" of "Hunan Opera Examination" published in Changsha in 1920. Because it is sung in "Zhongzhou Rhyme, Changsha Mandarin", it is also called Changsha Hunan Opera. Hunan opera includes: Qi Opera, Chenhe Opera, Hengyang Xiang Opera, Wuling Opera, Jinghe Opera, Baling Opera, Xiangkun Opera, Changsha Flower Drum Opera, Shaoyang Flower Drum Opera, etc.

Changsha Flower Drum Opera, including "beating the gong", "repairing the pot", "fragrance in the drying room", "double delivery of grain", "fourth father Luo buys a cow", "a lot of cows are sitting in a sedan chair", Plays such as "The Eighth Grade Official" and "The Cause of Laughter" are very popular among the audience.

In 1983, the mythological drama "Liu Hai Chopping Woodcutter" rehearsed by the Hunan Provincial Huagu Theater was invited by the Chinese American Association to perform in New York and Washington, the United States. The American "Overseas Chinese Daily", "Chinese Express", "New York Times", etc. all published articles and comments to congratulate the success of the performance. Changsha Huagu Troupe's performance of "Liu Hai Chopping Woodcutter" was also invited to perform in Japan and became well-known in Japan.

Dance:

As an important part of Hunan culture, Hunan dance art has a long history of development and unique artistic style. According to incomplete statistics, Hunan currently has nearly 400 dance types and thousands of dance programs. Hunan dance art has a long history of development. The flower of Hunan's folk dance art sprouts and grows in the artistic soil of Chu culture and the culture of Hunan's original indigenous residents. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, famous court dances of the Tang Dynasty such as "Green Waist Dance", "White Fang Dance" and "Zhezhi Dance" have also spread to Hunan. Li Qunyu, a native of the Tang Dynasty, once saw the dance of southern beauties in Changsha. He wrote a poem "Changsha 9th Climbing the East Tower to Watch the Dance", describing the scene at that time. These foreign songs and dances are integrated with the local Chu dance and folk songs and dances, creating a unique style of Hunan's ethnic folk song and dance art that is rich, colorful and unique. Since ancient times, many ethnic minorities such as the Miao, Tujia, Dong, Yao, Zhuang, Hui, and Wa have lived in Huxiang. Their unique national habits, lifestyles and cultural traditions constitute their different dance arts. Miao dances include "Fragrance Dance", "Jilong Dance", "Shield Dance", "Pioneer Dance", "Tea Tray Dance", "Nuo Yuan Dance", "Du Guan Dance", drum dance, Lusheng dance, etc. Tujia dances include "Hand Waving Dance", "Mao Gusi", "Eight Treasure Bronze Bells", "Battle Drum Dance", "Horse Racing Dance", "Flag Making Dance", "Tuanji Dance", "Mei Chang Dance", " "Eight-Picture Luo Skirt", "Dance Dance", etc. The main dances of Dong people include "Lusheng Dance", "Duoye", "Dongdongtui", etc. The main dances of the Yao people include "Umbrella Dance", "Knife Dance", "Shield Dance", "Sheep Horn Short Drum", "Incense Dragon" and various sacrificial dances.

Literature:

The emergence and development of Hunan literature has roughly gone through four periods. The first period, from Southern Chu during the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago to the Ming Dynasty, was the ancient Xiangchu literature period. The literary representatives of this period include Qu Yuan, Yin Keng, Li Qunyu, Hu Zeng, Zhou Dunyi, Wang Yining, Le Leifa, Feng Zizhen, Ouyang Xuan, Li Dongyang, etc.; in the second period, from the Qing Dynasty to the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, Hu Zeng During the Hunan Jingshi literature period, its literary representatives include Wang Fuzhi, Qian Wei Yuan, Zeng Guofan, He Shaoji, Guo Songtao, Deng Fulun, Wang Kaiyun, etc.; the third period, from the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1884 to 1911, was the period of bourgeois literature. Its literary representatives include Tan Sitong, Chen Tianhua, Ning Tiaoyuan, Yi Shunding, etc.; the fourth period, from the spread of Marxism in China before and after the "May 4th" movement to the new era of socialist construction, has provided new democratic literature and society with During the period of socialist literature, its literary representatives include Ouyang Yuqian, Tian Han, Ding Ling, Shen Congwen, Zhang Tianyi, Zhou Yang, Zhou Libo, Kang Zhuo, Mo Yingfeng, Gu Hua, Tan Tan, Sun Jianzhong, etc.

Qu Yuan’s poems and poems, with his deep feelings for the motherland and the people, wrote many poems describing Hunan’s landscapes, customs, folk sacrifices, myths and legends, expressing the ancient Hunan and Chu people’s sentiments. Life and emotions, while creating a southern literary genre of Chu Ci and Li Sao that are very different from the "Book of Songs", also laid the cornerstone of Hunan literature.

The famous poets Li Bai, Meng Haoran, Wang Changling, Du Fu, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Li Shangyin, etc. all lived in Hunan and left many immortal works. The great poet Du Fu died on a lonely boat in the Xiangjiang River as a guest. . Famous literary figures in Hunan during the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties include Zhou Dunyi, Wang Yining, Le Leifa, Feng Zizhen, Ouyang Xuan, Li Dongyang, etc.

Inspired by the theory of the sage Wang Fuzhi in the countryside, "what you experience with your body and what you see with your eyes is the iron threshold", Hunan scholars were the first to get the trend, which was later promoted by Tao Shu, He Changling and Wei Yuan. , formed the Hunan Jingshi School literary group represented by Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang. They pride themselves on their achievements, put practice first, and advocate intervention in life when writing poems and compositions. It was also during this period that Huxiang culture matured and prospered. In terms of prose, the Xiangxiang School of Ancient Prose in Tongcheng, led by Zeng Guofan, emerged, and some famous writers such as Wu Minshu and Deng Fulun emerged. They adhered to Tongcheng's patriarchal principles rather than adhering to Tongcheng's righteousness and law. They clearly proposed to incorporate "economics" into the category of literature, believing that In addition to paying attention to the meaning, textual research, and diction, the article should also strive to correct the emptiness and make it practical.

In terms of poetry, famous writers such as He Shaoji and Wang Kaiyun appeared. They were disciples of many disciples, and their literary talents flourished for a while. They reflected each other in the sky of Sanxiang, creating a wonderful landscape in the Chinese poetry world at that time.

The period of bourgeois literature spans from the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1891 to around the Revolution of 1911. Chen Tianhua, the "great writer of the Revolutionary Party", skillfully used the rap form and simple vernacular that the people loved to hear and heard, and wrote works such as "Looking Back" and "The Warning Bell" to prepare public opinion for the Revolutionary Uprising of 1911.

Cultural relics:

Changsha kiln began in the mid-Tang Dynasty, flourished in the late Tang Dynasty, and declined in the Five Dynasties. In the late Tang Dynasty, the products of Changsha kiln were exported to North Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and West Asia, and were one of China's important foreign trade ceramic products at that time.

The more important ones include Western Han Dynasty ox stirrups, Wei and Jin humanoid chandeliers, Five Dynasties Ma Yin iron basins, Ma Xiguang and Ma Xifan bronze mirrors, Song Dynasty bronze rules, Yuan Dynasty blue and white character stories Yuchun vase, Pisces market and early Qing Dynasty of iron cannons, etc.

Hunan is one of the provinces in the south where the largest number of bronze artifacts from the late Shang Dynasty have been discovered, with a total of about 300 pieces. Among them, the particularly important ones include the Four-goat Fang Zun from Zhuoerlun in Yueshan County, Ningxiang County, the Human-faced Fang Ding from Huangcaizhaizi Mountain, the Elephant Zun from Lion-Shaped Mountain in Liling, the Ox Zun from Baojiataizi in Hengyang City, and the Jiuhua Golden Pot Raised in Xiangtan County. The pig statue of Li, the sacrifice-headed animal-faced statue of Huarong, Yueyang and Changning, etc. These bronzes are famous for their tall and thick bodies, elegant and beautiful decorations, majestic shapes, and excellent casting. They occupy a high position in the treasure house of Chinese bronze culture.

Mawangdui Ancient Tomb of the Western Han Dynasty, Mawangdui Han Tomb is located in Wulipai, the eastern suburb of Changsha City, Hunan Province. It is a saddle-shaped mound with a height of more than 10 meters and a diameter of about 30 meters. It was originally thought to be the tomb of Ma Yin, King of Chu of the Five Dynasties. Excavations were carried out from 1972 to 1974, and three tombs of the Western Han Dynasty were unearthed. According to research, this is the cemetery of the princes' families in the early Western Han Dynasty. The structure of the tomb is very grand and complex, and the coffins and burial tools in tombs No. 1 and 3 are well preserved.

The excavation of the Mawangdui Han Tomb is of great value to our country’s history and scientific research, and the unearthed cultural relics are extremely precious. For example, the silk book "Fifty-two Prescriptions for Diseases" unearthed from Tomb No. 3 may be earlier than the "Huangdi Neijing" (written in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period). The book records 52 kinds of diseases and mentions more than 100 diseases. There are more than 280 prescriptions for each disease and more than 240 medicines used. This is the earliest prescription that can be seen in our country now. The discovery of "Fifty-Two Prescriptions for Diseases" supplements the medical content of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region before the "Nei Jing" and is a very precious medical heritage.

The excavation of the Neolithic ruins in Chengtoushan, Li County, the excavation of the Western Han Dynasty royal tomb in Changsha, and the unearthing of the Three Kingdoms Sun Wu chronicle slips at Zoumalou in Changsha were rated as outstanding achievements in 1992, 1993, and 1996 respectively. One of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country.