[Network China Festival] Do you understand the Double Ninth Festival story in Four Great Classical Novels？

　　As an important traditional festival in China, Double Ninth Festival is an indispensable part of our life, which has left many traces in the works of literati in past dynasties. Reviewing classical Four Great Classical Novels, we can understand the cultural genes contained in the custom of Double Ninth Festival through classical literary works.

　　Chrysanthemum viewing in Chongyang (Xinhua News Agency)

　　In China, the Spring Festival on January 1st, the Shangsi Festival on March 3rd, the Dragon Boat Festival on May 5th, and begging for cleverness on July 7th are all well-known traditional festivals. One, three, five, seven and nine belong to "yang number" in Zhouyi, and "nine" is the largest yang number, so weighing nine is double ninth. On the ninth day of September, we ushered in the Double Ninth Festival.

　　The Journey to the West stills

　　In The Journey to the West, the use of the number "nine" is very common. For example, the Monkey King’s seventy-two changes, a somersault cloud with a distance of 108,000 Li, and a demon king with seventy-two holes when he occupied Huaguo Mountain, all these figures are multiples of nine. And the whole process of learning the scriptures was completed only after "eighty-one difficult". "9981" is exactly "the number of double ninth festival", which shows that the ancients had a unique feeling for the number of double ninth festival, and the double ninth festival was unique.

　　Stills of A Dream of Red Mansions

　　The Double Ninth Festival in A Dream of Red Mansions is a poetry meeting full of cultural flavor. In the thirty-eighth chapter of the book, "Lin Xiaoxiang’s poems about winning chrysanthemums, Xue Heng’s satire and crab chant" describes the scene of chrysanthemum poems and crab banquets in the Grand View Garden, showing the aristocratic family and elegant interest. In the article, Baoyu gave Shi Xiangyun a new chestnut powder cake steamed with sweet-scented osmanthus sugar, which is Chongyang Yingjing cake.

　　During the dinner, in the "Chrysanthemum Poems" written by many people, "Who pities me for being thin as a yellow flower, comforting me to say that I will see you again in Chongyang", "Don’t recognize that Dongli is idle in picking flowers, and stick on a screen to comfort Chongyang", and "Gui Ai Tong is sitting in the shade, Chang ‘an is looking forward to Chongyang" in "Crab Ode" all explicitly mentioned Chongyang.

　　From the details of chrysanthemum appreciation, steamed cakes, feasting and eating crabs, it can be seen that the custom of Chongyang in the aristocratic family of Qing Dynasty is similar to that of the previous generation, and most of these customs have been passed down to this day.

　　Stills of Water Margin

　　Turning to the Water Margin, we came to the seventy-first time that "Zhongyitang Shijie was ranked as the hero of the astronomical water margin", and Song Jiang set up a chrysanthemum meeting at the time of "it was early and cool in autumn, and the Double Ninth Festival was near" — — "Song Jiang was called Song Qing, and arranged a big banquet, and all the brothers enjoyed chrysanthemums together, which was called the meeting of chrysanthemums … … Chrysanthemums are planted all over the loyalty hall, and each of them sits in turn and holds a lamp separately. On both sides of the hall, gongs and drums were played, boasting, laughing and making noise, and the leaders drank heartily. Lin ma sings the flute and Yan Qing plays the Zheng. I don’t feel the sun. "

　　During the dinner, Song Jiang gave the word "Manjianghong" while drinking, and there was "I like to meet Chongyang, and it is better to brew new grapes today/see Danshan with clear water/bitter bamboo with yellow reed/add white hair to my head/Huang Ju &hellip is indispensable to my temples; …” It can be seen that Chongyang is also a very important day for people at that time.

　　Stills of Romance of the Three Kingdoms

　　In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Pi, the Emperor of Wei Wen, is definitely an important figure, and his Book of Nine Days and Zhong You is an early extant document that explains the Double Ninth Festival in detail.

　　"Years to month, suddenly after September 9th. Nine is the number of yang, and the sun and the moon are in harmony. It is well-known and thinks that it is suitable for a long time, so it is a feast. " The so-called "long-term" should mean longevity. It can be seen that the Double Ninth Festival is related to praying for longevity, and banquets and gatherings are the main activities. From the point of view of "vulgar praise its name", Chongyang should be a common phenomenon recognized by customs at that time. Since it is universal, it will not happen overnight. Perhaps, the custom of the Double Ninth Festival in the Three Kingdoms period has a long history.

　　Finishing:Chen Yihui (Internship) Dong Dazheng

　　Information:The Forbidden City Publishing House reads extensively.

　　[Editor: Zhang Yuexin]