What is Shanxi culture?

Speaking of Shanxi culture, the first thing to mention is the culture of the Three Jin Dynasties. The history of Shanxi started from the Paleolithic Age and went through thousands of years of evolution from Yao, Shunyu, Xia, Shang and Zhou\x0d\ to the Jin Dynasty and the Three Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty has formed significant characteristics that are different from other regional cultures. \x0d\During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Shanxi became the birthplace of the Warring States Legalists, Strategists, famous debaters and military strategists. It was also an important branch of early Pre-Qin Confucianism, thus forming the spectacular Confucianism of the Three Jin Dynasties. These progressive trends of thought were in an era when a hundred schools of thought were contending. They not only strengthened and stirred up each other, but also complemented and promoted each other. They jointly created the Sanjin culture with progressive characteristics. \x0d\In the Sanjin culture, Shanxi merchant culture was born. Shanxi merchants refer to merchants in Shanxi (a province in the Central Plains of China). The abbreviation of Shanxi is "Jin". Shanxi merchants created the first bank account in Chinese history. "Tiaohao" was a way for merchants to do business at that time. The trade routes were far away and connected all over the world. It was once prominent in Chinese history. To this day, there is still a saying that "Shanxi people are good at business and financial management". \x0d\Food culture, mainly pasta \x0d\History and culture\x0d\ Shanxi is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. On this land, humans lived and multiplied 100,000 years ago. The Xihoudu Culture and Dingcun Cultural Sites show that humans have multiplied and multiplied here as early as the Paleolithic Age. During the Zhou Dynasty, Shanxi was the territory of the Tang State. Later, Xiefu, the son of Tang Shuyu, changed the name of the country to Jin because the Tang Dynasty was near the Jin River. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Shanxi was one of the Five Hegemons of Jin. In 403 BC, Han Kangzi, Wei Huanzi, and Zhao Xiangzi divided the three kingdoms into Jin. The three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei that were separated from Jin were called the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period together with Qin, Chu, Qi, and Yan. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he established five counties in Shanxi, including Taiyuan, Shangdang, Hedong, Yanmen and Daijun. By the Sui Dynasty, Taiyuan was the third largest city in the Yellow River Basin after Chang'an and Luoyang. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan and his son raised troops in Taiyuan. After establishing the capital in Chang'an, they regarded Taiyuan as the "Northern Capital", which means "other capital". During the Five Dynasties, the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Northern Han Dynasties all started their business based in Shanxi. During China's feudal society, Shanxi's status was very important, and due to its special geographical location, the more troubled the times, the more important it became. Whoever owns Shanxi can dominate the world. Therefore, Gu Zuyu of the Qing Dynasty pointed out in "Minutes of Reading History Fangyu": The situation in the world must be based on Shanxi. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Shanxi's economy and culture took a leading position in northern China. In the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi Xingzhongshu Province was established in Taiyuan, and later it was changed to Chengxuanzheng Envoy Department, which took charge of the five prefectures and three states of Shanxi. In the Qing Dynasty, it began to be called Shanxi. Shanxi has a long history, a rich collection of people, and rich historical and cultural heritage. So far, it has a recorded history of three thousand years. It is known as the "Museum of Ancient Chinese Culture" and is also known as the "Cradle of Chinese Civilization." The legends of "Jingwei reclaiming the sea", "Nuwa mending the sky" and "Yu chiseling the Mengmen" happened in Shanxi. The three emperors of ancient China, Yao, Shun and Yu, all established their capitals in southern Shanxi, namely "Yao's capital Pingyang (now Linfen City)", "Shun's capital Puban (now Yongji City)", "Yu's capital Anyi (now Linfen City)" This summer county)". During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wen of Jin Chong'er was one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Datong (then known as Pingcheng) was once the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Taiyuan, the provincial capital, is known as the location of the "Dragon Vein" and has always been a battleground for military strategists. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan and his son launched an army in Jinyang (today's Taiyuan City), and then captured Chang'an and established the Tang Dynasty. Later, Taiyuan was designated as the Tang Dynasty. The northern capital of the empire. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains suffered from successive wars and frequent famines. However, Shanxi, especially the southern Shanxi area, had a prosperous economy and a dense population, and became the main area for immigrants in the early Ming Dynasty. In half a century, Shanxi has emigrated more than a dozen times. Dahuaishu in Hongdong County was a major immigration station at that time. This is where the popular saying "Ask me where my ancestors are, the big locust tree in Hongdong, Shanxi" spread in many places across the country comes from. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the rise of Shanxi merchants and Shanxi bank accounts was famous both at home and abroad. After China entered a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, Shanxi's economic and cultural development was severely damaged. However, the people of Shanxi heroically resisted the invasion of foreign enemies. Especially during the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation, the people of Shanxi fought more tenaciously and wrote countless heroic stories on the land of the Three Shanxi Provinces. The Pingxingguan Victory, the Hundred Regiment Battle, and the Shangdang Battle will forever be remembered in history. In April 1949, the whole province was liberated. In September, the Shanxi Provincial People's Government was established, opening a new chapter in the history of Shanxi's socialist revolution and construction. Over the past decades, the people of Shanxi have made significant contributions to the country's socialist construction. The Yellow River flows through Shanxi and has given birth to countless heroes and people with lofty ideals. In various historical periods of China, Shanxi has produced many politicians, strategists, scientists, writers, and historians.

The most famous ones include Chong'er, one of the overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wen of Jin, Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor and an outstanding politician in the Tang Dynasty, Xue Rengui, the white-robed general, Guan Yu and Zhang Liao, China's "Martial Saints" and famous generals during the Three Kingdoms period, There are Di Renjie and Pei Du, the famous prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, the famous generals of the Han Dynasty who fought against the Xiongnu and went down in history, Pei Xiu, the cartographer of the Western Jin Dynasty who founded the "Six-body Cartography", and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", one of the four famous works in ancient China. The author Luo Guanzhong includes the famous poets Bai Juyi, Wang Bo, Wang Zhihuan, Wang Wei, and Wang Changling of the Tang Dynasty; the famous writer, philosopher, and political reformer Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty; the famous politician Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty; and the writers and poets of the Jin Dynasty. Yuan Haowen included Guan Hanqing, Bai Pu, and Zheng Guangzu, three famous dramatists among the four great masters of Yuan opera, and Fu Shan, a thinker, writer, medical scientist, calligrapher and painter in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, who was praised by Emperor Jiajing as "the direct minister of the world". "Gao Jin, Yang Shenxiu, one of the Six Gentlemen of the Reform Movement of 1898 in the late Qing Dynasty, Xu Xiangqian, Fu Zuoyi, etc. among the top ten famous generals. Shanxi is full of outstanding people, and there is no shortage of people from generation to generation. Among them, Shanxi merchants have traveled all over China and are famous all over the world. \x0d\Folk customs\x0d\ Marriage: People in Shuozhou generally get married according to the words of the matchmaker and the orders of their parents, just like other places. Although times have changed and customs have changed, they still generally follow the old customs, especially in rural areas. The important etiquette procedures remain rigid and have not changed to this day. They generally require four steps: blind date, engagement, marriage, and return home. Blind date: The matchmaker proposes marriage for a man and a woman and introduces the circumstances of both parties, such as age, zodiac sign, birth date, character, appearance, family economic status and parents, etc. After the two families have weighed the conditions and gathered everyone for discussion, if they are interested in getting married, the man will go with the matchmaker to the woman's house to see them. Both parties agree to make an appointment, and then invite the woman to the groom's house to see each other. The one he likes will stay at the groom's house for dinner and tacitly agree to discuss marriage. If he doesn't like the date, he will leave. Engagement: After many discussions between the couple, the matchmaker determines the bride price and dowry. The woman exchanges the birth dates of her children and chooses an auspicious day to hold the engagement ceremony. The man sends a "food box" and part of the bride price to the woman, and holds a banquet to celebrate. The next day the woman hosted a banquet for the man. After that, they choose a date to receive their marriage certificate, and some even go out for a trip. After getting married, men and women give each other some clothes, which is called exchanging for summer or exchanging for winter. Marriage: A betrothal gift is given one month before the wedding, commonly known as "tea service". The groom sends a matchmaker to send the clothes (underwear) and "water gifts" (rice, noodles, meat) worn by the bride to the bride's family, and Notify the marriage date. Afterwards, the close relatives of the man and woman invite the future groom and bride to their homes for dinner, which is called "the wedding meal". On the day before the wedding, all relatives and friends come, which is commonly known as "treating people". Some invite "drummers" to join in the fun, so it is also called "angu". In the evening, men and women eat "turning cakes" at their own homes. On the wedding day, the couple's families eat fried cakes early in the morning, which is called "eating wedding cakes." After breakfast, the man plays drums and carries a sedan (some use a carriage or a mule to carry the sedan, but now they basically use a car) to the bride's house to marry her. Generally, the groom's uncle and concubine marry. The groom should bring a red trouser belt to the bride, which is called "happy marriage"; a bottle with an onion in it, which is called "rooting and establishing a queen"; and a piece of pork or mutton with five ribs. , called "Li Niang Meat" and "Five Party Joy". When returning from the wedding, the man will take two of the ribs back to show the harmony between the couple after marriage. It is called "the bones and muscles are inseparable". The woman will provide tea, candies and pastries. Waiting to entertain the bride. The bride puts on the clothes brought by the groom (usually red cotton clothes and cotton trousers). After bidding farewell to her parents, her sisters help her get into the sedan. Some of her companions present new ones and open boxes. The "He Tang" (also known as Yuanfan) person will accompany you and enter the groom's house at the time chosen in advance. After arriving at the groom's house, the bride is led by her groomsmen, steps on the "red carpet" into the bridal chamber, and "burns tea" for the "greeters" and eats the "entry-in meal." At noon, the groom and the bride worship the heaven and the earth, and the banquet begins immediately after the ceremony. , the name is: "Sitting". During the banquet, the bride and groom should toast, salute, and recognize the guests. In the evening, the groom's brother-in-law presides over the wedding ceremony, commonly known as "pouring the treasure pot". The bride and groom are asked to tell tongue twisters, guess riddles, and tell jokes. Afterwards, the couple eats opposite each other until late at night. Early the next morning, the bride and groom salute their relatives and friends, saying "Bow someone" (in some places, it is held after worshiping heaven and earth), and the party receiving the worship will give money as a congratulation. Return home: Usually on the day after the wedding ceremony, the bride’s family sends people and cars to personally invite the bride and groom back to the home, and holds a banquet in honor of the bride and groom and the bride’s relatives and friends. Days return. On the fourth day after marriage, the daughter and her husband visit each other, which is called "Zhu Dui Yue" or "Zhu Si Liu". In recent years, with the progress of society and the development of the times, Shuozhou's wedding customs have also undergone great changes, and the etiquette has become simpler. Funeral: The funeral rituals in Shuozhou in ancient times were extremely complicated and can generally be divided into small gatherings, large gatherings, burning paper, sending lights, saying goodbye, performing funerals, and resuming the ceremony. After the death, the person wears a shroud, breaks a hole in the window paper, holds the door panel, stops on the back wall, kills the "inverted chicken", burns paper under the head, lights a lamp, and offers incense as a sacrifice, and the children wail loudly. This is Xiaolian. Then, a "disaster notice" and a "disaster paper" are hung outside the street door to announce the obituary in the village. The younger generation wears linen and pays filial piety, and the filial son wears heavy filial piety and goes to the home of the owner (the close relative of the deceased) to report the funeral. The next day, the corpse was moved into the coffin, commonly known as "Rulian". The corpse was covered with a red cloth, the lid of the coffin was hidden, the coffin was placed in the main room, offerings were placed, a lantern was lit, and a memorial ceremony was held day and night. Relatives, friends, tribesmen and neighbors went to burn paper to express their condolences.