What are the customs of Yancheng?

Navigation custom

Meeting with a full load and wine with a full load in the old society, fishermen and children would hold a tribute meeting before going out to sea during the flood season. The purpose of the tribute meeting is "the Dragon King blessed and returned home with a full load". So it is also called a full-load meeting. If you can return home with a full load, it is considered that the Dragon King is merciful, and the owner must prepare enough food and wine to thank the Dragon King. Then the whole boat drinks and gets drunk, which is called full of wine. This custom has been going on for many years. Until now, when fishing boats come back from the sea, every family has the custom of drinking and setting off firecrackers. Open the net at the beginning of the first month of each year, fishermen hold a net opening ceremony before going out to sea. On this day, the shipowner decorated incense sticks and offered three sacrifices (pig head, chicken and fish), with the shipowner taking the lead. Every fisherman bowed down to Poseidon and prayed for peace at sea. Then, all the boat people ate "full wine" at the owner's house. After drinking, the boatman presided over the ceremony of offering the net: beating gongs and setting off firecrackers, laying the net flat on the beach, asking a pregnant woman to cut 2-3 eyes on the net, then trawling the boat, anchoring and sailing. Sailing is to turn the boat around first. When there is no wind, it is called "noisy wind". The boatman stands at the bow to lead the way and shouts "Oh-ho-ho-ho". This is called Hufeng, which means that the wind turns in the sky and someone needs to call on the boat.

March outing

In the third month of the lunar calendar, the grass grows and the warblers fly, and the water and soil are soft. Under the beautiful spring breeze, between peach blossoms and green water, people who have spent the winter come to the fields in the suburbs to play and stroll. On March 3rd, Jinhua was called a festival. "Zhou Li Chun Guan" contains: "When a witch is old, she has to take a bath." Bathing is taking a bath with herbal smoked soup. During the Spring and Autumn Period, on the "already" day in early March, men and women of the State of Zheng came to the water's edge, holding orchids and evoking souls, joking and admiring. In the Han Dynasty, officials were scheduled to go to the top. "They are all on the east running water and are washed away every day. When they go, they stay in the mud." This is how the knot is formed. After the Jin dynasty, this festival was changed to a fixed date, "March 3 is used more, not reused." In the past, on March 3, people on the salt plains, men, women and children, could hold hands, raise willow branches and sprinkle water on the river. Some take kites to fly in the suburbs, or pull needles, pick wild flowers and dig shepherd's purse in the countryside. After a day of entertainment, I came home at sunset with the fragrance of the earth. Although the custom of going for an outing on March 3 has partially disappeared, people are increasingly going to the suburbs for spring outing around March 3. Spring outing has become a great pleasure in people's daily life. The beautiful March 3rd has a long history and is fascinating.

Bao gu bu nian Hua

Near the Spring Festival, the sound of fried rice came from time to time in the streets of Yancheng. Groups of children are grabbing fried rice with baskets and pockets, and housewives and old people are not far behind, making do with it. Their excited faces and laughter make people feel the breath of spring. I don't know when the custom of popcorn and non-stick flowers originated in the Spring Festival. According to legend, this is an imported product, which was introduced into China from Jiangnan when Hongwu was driven away. There is a poem in the notes of the Ming Dynasty: "When 100,000 households enter the Dongwu Gate, every family breaks the valley and makes a fortune. Throw the golden millet into the pot, and it becomes Bai Yuhua. The wedding of imported marble is a happy event, and the old man is asking about his career. Xiao Lai decorated the children and put a few plum blossoms in the temples. " Whether everyone's divination is effective or not, no one asked after that. Year after year, from generation to generation, popcorn has become an interesting thing during the Chinese New Year. People regard this as a little flower that announces spring, and there is endless fun in it.

Eat carrots on Dragon Boat Festival.

Dongtai folk have the custom of eating carrots on Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, this custom originated from the Dragon Boat Festival peasant uprising in the first year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty. In the first year of Tongzhi (1862), Li Hongzhang collected the insurgents under the former Taiping Army Lin Fengxiang. One of them, a Qipin military attache named Zhan Yi 'an, surrendered and rebelled on his own, and ran rampant everywhere, with extremely bad military discipline. In the second year of Tongzhi, Li Hongzhang sent him to lead more than 200 people to buy a shop in Dafeng, Dongtai by 10. The ship anchored at the pier of Samai Temple. These executioners who suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did all kinds of evil wherever they went. Dongtai local officials are also fearful as tigers, and they are cautious about compliments and dare not neglect them. Gao Fengqing, a magistrate of Dongtai County, and Taizhou Salt Transportation Company (in Dongtai) are too small to take Zhan Jun's case. People satirize them as "high (phoenix) is carefree and small () is comfortable". Zhan Jun is therefore more unscrupulous. One day, Zhan Yi 'an wandered around Dongtai Cross Street and saw a beautiful and handsome girl in the "Ji Shen" deli. He suddenly had evil thoughts, and ordered his men to rob Miss Shen into the boat and wantonly trample it. Shen Laohan and Zhan thief were killed. The goddess was filled with grief and indignation, and jumped into the river while the Qing soldiers were unprepared. Seeing this, Shen's mother was in agony and ran into the Samadhi Temple stone tablet. There is only one daughter 14 years old left in this family of four. When she came to the county government, she drummed and complained, and the magistrate of a county cared for her. Instead of upholding justice, she was put in prison. This unjust case aroused strong resistance from Dongtai people. They met on Duanyang Festival on the fifth day of May. Under the cover of "Guandi Epiphany", hundreds of thousands of people set fire to Zhan Jun's warship with a big rake in one hand and a carrot head in the other. In this uprising, Zhan Yi 'an was killed by the insurgents and all the warships were burned. The magistrate of a county was frightened and fled. People opened the prison and rescued the complaining women. In order to commemorate the victory of the uprising, Dongtai people still eat carrots on the fifth day of May every year.

Insert willow branches in front of Qingming Gate.

In the rural history of Yanfu, there was a custom of inserting willow branches before Qingming. According to legend, this custom originated in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Huang Chao, the leader of the peasant uprising, built a city in Meiyukou, Funing (now Shizhuang), attacked the city and seized land everywhere, killing corrupt officials. Bandits and bullies hate him, and it is destiny takes a hand to spread rumors and incite Huang Chao to kill 8 million people. Once, when Huang Chao's army was chasing corrupt officials, it met a woman carrying a boy of 10, with a boy of 5 -6 years old on her back, running out of breath. Huang Chao wondered, thinking, wouldn't it be easier for this man to carry a small one and a big one? So he dismounted and asked, "Sister-in-law, why don't you carry the small one with the big one, so you can't run fast?" The woman replied, "The oldest child on her back was born by her former mother, and the child in her hand is her own. There is only one mother-in-law, and I can regenerate later. If Huang Chao comes after me, I will leave the little one in my hand and the big one on my back to escape! " Huang Chao was deeply moved and told the woman truthfully: "I am Huang Chao, who specializes in killing bad people. I will never kill you, a kind person with virtue and righteousness like you! " As soon as the woman heard that the man in front of her was Huang Chao, she knelt down and begged, "If you don't kill me, won't your men kill me?" Huang Chao helped the woman up and told her to go home. The next day was Tomb-Sweeping Day. In order to prevent his men from manslaughter, Huang Chao said to the woman, "You put the willow branches in front of your house to make a mark, and my men will never disturb the people who insert the willow branches." The woman kowtowed and thanked again and again. After returning home, she told the whole village that every household had planted willow branches in front of the door, which was really safe. Since then, every year in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people will put willow branches on their doorsteps to pray for peace, and this custom has continued to this day.

Sacrifice Zhang Wang.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Shicheng, the leader of the salt uprising in Dafeng Baijuchang, led the uprising army. Love for the people is a famous place for the rebels, and autumn is harmless to the people. Every time a city is captured, it will open a warehouse to help the poor. Except for military supplies, the rest of the property will be distributed to poor farmers. Therefore, there is a folk song that "I don't blame Taizhou (sincerity) when I die, but I don't thank Baoying Yang (end) when I live". Later, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Zhang Shicheng and established the Ming Dynasty. However, Zhang Shicheng's image in people's minds is indelible. People try their best to commemorate him. In order to hide people's eyes and ears, the folks in Xituan, Baiju and Caonian changed the custom of offering sacrifices to the Tibetan king on July 30, which has been inherited in history, to offering sacrifices to the Tibetan king in the Ming Dynasty and secretly offering sacrifices to Wang Zhang. That night, there is a sacrificial table outside the threshold of every household, on which there is a fragrant oil lamp made of clam shell, several wicks are soaked inside, and a candle is lit on each side, with incense in front. In an instant, light and shadow flickered, cigarettes were dyed red, and men, women and children kowtowed and bowed down. Prayer: "punish evil and eliminate evil, sacrifice to all beings, Zhang Ankang." After the sacrifice, people came to a pre-built staff door, holding branches and reeds, tying a column of incense at the top and a string of firecrackers at the end. Incense burns slowly, firecrackers are lit and sparks are scattered, like stars in the night sky. It is said that this is "Zhang Wang observing the world with his eyes open". Then, people play various musical instruments, such as Xiao Sheng and Suona, and gather into a magnificent sound. It is said that this scene symbolizes Zhang Shicheng's huge momentum and hundreds of thousands of armor, and also symbolizes the people's eternal memory of the king. This commemorative activity is held once a year and lasts until midnight every time. The custom of offering sacrifices to Zhang Wang on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month has been circulating in Dafeng for hundreds of years.

Touch autumn

On beginning of autumn night, there is a custom of "touching autumn" in the north of Yancheng. On this night, people can touch all kinds of melons and fruits in private or collective melon gardens, commonly known as "touching autumn". People who lose "Qiu" don't curse, no matter how much they lose. This custom began in the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of Yuan Dynasty, a peasant uprising army appeared in Huaihe River basin. The soldiers who participated in the uprising were all farmers. They suffered greatly from Yuan soldiers and hated the harassment of soldiers. This team has strict discipline, and Qiu has never committed a crime wherever he goes. One day, the rebels moved to the bank of Huaihe River, and it was inconvenient to disturb the people in the middle of the night, so they camped in the open air in the wilderness. Several soldiers were so hungry that they picked some melons and fruits in the field to satisfy their hunger. This matter was discovered by the Commander-in-Chief, and Tian Ming was prepared to punish those people. After the villagers learned about it, they pleaded with the coach. In order to excuse the soldiers' mistakes, an old man casually said, "Don't touch the autumn in August and steal things." The soldiers were pardoned for this. That day happened to be the beginning of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and since then, there has been the custom of "touching autumn".