Shanxi's customs, geographical environment, history and culture

Shanxi Province is located in the east wing of the Loess Plateau in the west of North China. Geographical coordinates are 34 34' ~ 4 43' north latitude and 11 14' ~ 114 33' east longitude. It is about 29 kilometers wide from east to west and 55 kilometers long from north to south. The total area of the province is 156,3 square kilometers, accounting for 1.6% of the total area of the country. Shanxi lies inland on the east coast of the mainland. The outer edge is surrounded by mountains. Therefore, it is difficult to be influenced by the sea breeze, forming a relatively strong continental climate. At the same time, due to the attack of cold air mass in Inner Mongolia in winter, the northern part is relatively cold, which forms the climate characteristics of Shanxi; Winter is long, cold and dry; Summer is short, hot and rainy; In spring, the daily temperature difference is large and there are many sandstorms; Autumn is short and the climate is mild. It belongs to temperate continental monsoon climate, with an average annual temperature of 3 ~ 14℃, and a large temperature difference between day and night, as well as between north and south. The average temperature is between 8 and 1℃ in the Yellow River Valley in the west, Taiyuan Basin and most parts of southeastern Shanxi. The average annual temperature in Linfen and Yuncheng basins is 12 ~ 14℃. The temperature in winter is below ℃ in the whole province, and it is generally high in summer, and the temperature in July is between 21 and 26℃. The frost-free period in Shanxi is long in the south and short in the north, and the mountains in Pingchuan are short. Datong basin is 11 ~ 14 days, Wutai mountain is only 85 days, Xinzhou basin is 135 ~ 155 days in the northern and eastern mountainous areas, and Linfen and Yuncheng basins are as long as 2 ~ 22 days. The annual precipitation in the whole province is 4 ~ 65 mm, but the seasonal distribution is uneven. In summer, the precipitation is highly concentrated and rainy from June to August, accounting for more than 6% of the whole year. The precipitation in the whole province is greatly influenced by topography, with more mountains and less basins. There are three rainy areas in Shanxi, one is Taihang Mountain and Zhongtiao Mountain in the southeast of Shanxi, the other is Wutai Mountain, and the third is Lvliang Mountain.

history and culture

Shanxi is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. In this land, people lived and multiplied 1, years ago. The Xihoudu culture and Ding Cun cultural sites show that people lived and multiplied here as early as the Paleolithic. During the Zhou Dynasty, Shanxi was the territory of the Tang State. Later, Tang Shuyu's son Xie's father changed his name to Jin because the Tang State was near the Jin River. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Shanxi was one of the five tyrants. In 43 BC, Han Kangzi and Wei Huanzi were divided into Jin with Zhao Xiangzi, and the three kingdoms of Korea, Zhao and Wei, which were separated from Jin, were called the Seven Heroes of the Warring States with Qin, Chu, Qi and Yan. After Qin Shihuang unified China, there were 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 Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan and his son set out for Taiyuan, and after establishing Chang 'an as their capital, they honored Taiyuan as "the northern capital", which means "the other capital". Therefore, Gu Zuyu, a Qing Dynasty man, pointed out in the Summary of Reading Historical Records that the world situation must be taken from Shanxi. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Shanxi's economy and culture were in the leading position in northern China. In the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi Province was set up as the secretariat in Taiyuan, and later it was changed to the Secretary of Public Affairs, which was in charge of five prefectures and three states in Shanxi. In the Qing dynasty, it began to be called Shanxi. Shanxi has a long history and rich cultural heritage. Up to now, it has a written history of 3, years, and is known as the "China Museum of Ancient Culture" and the "cradle of Chinese civilization". The legends of "Jingwei Reclaiming the Sea", "The goddess patching the sky" and "Yu chiseled Mengmen" happened in Shanxi. Three emperors in ancient China, Yao, Shun and Yu, all established their capitals in the south of Shanxi, namely Pingyang (now Linfen), Puban (now yongji city) and Anyi (this summer county). During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, Jin Wengong was one of the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Datong (then called Pingcheng) was once the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and later served as the capital of Liao, Jin and the early Yuan Dynasty, known as the "Three Generations of Jinghua". Taiyuan, the provincial capital, is known as the seat of "Long Mai" and has always been a battleground for military strategists. Shanxi has emigrated for more than a dozen times. Dahuaishu in Hongtong County was a major immigration station at that time. The phrase "Ask me where my ancestors are, the pagoda tree in Hongdong, Shanxi" circulated in many parts of the country came from this. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the rise of Shanxi merchants and Shanxi banks, which paid attention to honesty and no deception, was famous at home and abroad. The Yellow River flows through Shanxi, giving birth to countless heroes and people with lofty ideals. In various historical periods of China, many politicians, strategists, scientists, writers and historians have emerged in Shanxi. The most famous ones are Jin Wengong Zhong Er, one of the overlords in the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in China and an outstanding politician in the Tang Dynasty, Xue Rengui, a white-robed general, China's "warrior saint", Guan Yu and Zhang Liao, famous figures in the Tang Dynasty, Di Renjie and Pei Du, famous Han Dynasty stars Wei Qing and Huo Qubing who fought against the Huns, Pei Xiu, a cartographer in the Western Jin Dynasty who founded the "Cartography Six Bodies", and one of the four famous works in ancient China. There are famous poets Bai Juyi, Wang Bo, Wang Zhihuan, Wang Wei and Wang Changling in the Tang Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan, a famous writer, philosopher and political reformer in the Tang Dynasty, Sima Guang, a famous politician in the Song Dynasty, and Yuan Haowen, a poet. There are three famous dramatists Guan Hanqing, Bai Pu and Zheng Guangzu among the four masters of Yuan Qu, and Fu Shan, a thinker, writer, physician and painter in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, was jiajing. Shanxi has outstanding people and many generations.

Folk customs

Marriage: As in other places, people in Shuozhou usually get married according to the words of matchmakers and parents' orders. Although the times have changed, customs have changed, but in general, they still follow the old habits, especially in rural areas, and the important etiquette procedures have not changed so far. Generally, they have to go through four steps: blind date, engagement, marriage and returning home. Blind date: the matchmaker proposes marriage for men and women, and introduces the situation of both parties, such as age, animal sign, birth date, personality, appearance, family economic situation and parents. The two families weighed the conditions, gathered all the people to discuss, and those who intend to get married, the man went to the woman's house with the matchmaker to look at each other. The two sides agreed to make an appointment, and then invite the woman to the man's house to sit up and take notice. The one who likes it will stay at the man's house for dinner, and the marriage will be negotiated silently. If you don't like it, you will leave. Engagement: The bride price and dowry were decided by the matchmaker between men and women for many times. The woman exchanged her children birthdates, set an auspicious day for the wedding, and the man gave her a "box" and part of the bride price, and held a banquet to celebrate. The next day, the woman gave a banquet for the man. After that, they get marriage certificates on a certain day, and some of them travel abroad. After marriage, men and women give each other some clothes, which is called changing summer or winter. Marriage: A month before the wedding, a betrothal gift, commonly known as "tea", is given. The man asks the matchmaker to send the clothes (underwear) and "water gift" (rice, noodles and meat) worn by the "bride" to the woman's house and inform her of the wedding date. After that, the next of kin of men and women invited the future groom and bride home for dinner, which was called "having a happy meal". On the day before the wedding, all relatives and friends come, commonly known as "treating others", and some invite "drummers" to entertain them, so it is also called "putting drums on". In the evening, men and women eat "turning cakes" at home. On the wedding day, men and women fry oil cakes early in the morning, calling them "eating hi cakes". After breakfast, the man played drum music and carried a sedan chair (some carried the sedan chair with a carriage or mule, but now he basically used a car) to marry the woman. Generally, the man's uncle and nephew get married. The groom will bring the bride a red belt called "tie the knot"; Take a bottle and put an onion in it, which is called "after taking root"; A piece of pork or mutton with five ribs is called "Leaving Mother's Meat" and "Five-party Celebration". When the wedding comes back, the man should bring back two of the ribs to show that the husband and wife are in harmony after marriage, which is called "Bones and bones are inseparable". The woman provides tea, candy, cakes and so on to entertain the wedding guests. The bride puts on the clothes (usually red cotton clothes and trousers) brought by the man, and after saying goodbye to her parents, the younger sister mixes them into the sedan chair (car). Some of the companions send new ones, open boxes, and those who are accompanied by "Hetang" (also known as the reunion dinner) enter the man's house at a pre-selected time. After arriving at the man's house, the bride is led by the relatives, walks on the "red carpet" into the new house, and "cooks tea" and eats "in-door meals" for the "He Tang". At noon, the bride and groom worship the heavens and the earth, and the banquet begins immediately after the ceremony, which is called "sitting at the table". During the dinner, the bride and groom should toast, salute and recognize the size of the guests. In the evening, the bride and groom's brother-in-law presided over the wedding ceremony, commonly known as the "pouring pot", which allowed the bride and groom to say tongue twisters, guess riddles and tell jokes and make fun of each other. After that, the couple ate opposite meals and didn't finish until late at night. The next morning, the bride and groom bowed to their relatives and friends, saying "Worship" (in some places, it was held after worshipping heaven and earth), and the worshiped party gave gifts to congratulate them. Funeral: The funeral etiquette procedures in ancient Shuozhou are extremely complicated, which can be generally divided into small collection, large collection, burning paper, sending lights, saying farewell to the spirit, funeral, and resumption. In 26, "China's First Liulin Mengmen Festival on the Loess Plateau of the Yellow River" was held in Mengmen Town, Liulin County, and together with hundreds of folklore experts and scholars, it unanimously passed the Mengmen Declaration on Protecting the Traditional Folk Culture of China.