Jia Yuanchun’s birthday is on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Why did Leng Zixing say “this is strange”?
In the second chapter of "Dream of Red Mansions", Mrs. Jia passed away in Yangzhou City, Leng Zixing gave a speech to Rongguo Mansion, Jia Yucun and Leng Zixing met by chance, and chatted about the news in Kyoto. Leng Zixing said: "The second child was born I gave birth to a young lady on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which was strange. I didn’t expect to give birth to a young man later, and it was even more strange. As soon as the baby was born, a piece of colorful crystal jade came into her mouth, with something on it. Lots of writing”.
It sounds ridiculous even now to hold a jade in one's hand and give birth to a child. If such a thing really happened, it would be quite sensational. But for all living beings in the world, most people are unable to decide their birthday once they are pregnant for ten months and once they give birth. There are 365 days in a year, and many lives come into this world every day around the world. Why does Jia Yuanchun On the first day of the first lunar month of his birthday, Leng Zixing said, “This is strange”?
Tan Chun once said: "The first day of the New Year is not in vain, the eldest sister takes it. I can't blame him for being so lucky, and having his birthday before others."
The ancients believed that the birth date determines a person’s destiny. Then, people born on special dates will also have related karma. For example, Sister Qiao was born on the seventh day of July. Wang Xifeng said: "It's a bad day for her birthday, but it happens to be the seventh day of July."
The seventh day of July is the Qiao Qiao Festival, which is related to It is the legend of the reunion of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on the Chinese Valentine's Day. The Weaver Girl is responsible for weaving cloud brocade in the Heavenly Palace, so people believe that the happy moment when she meets her husband will affect the craftsmanship of the daughters on earth, so they will beg her on this date. However, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can only meet once a year. The other times are separations and symbolize misfortunes, so Wang Xifeng believes that this birth date has a negative impact on her daughter.
The first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival, a day for family reunion and national celebration, which of course symbolizes happiness, completion and joy. Therefore, everyone thinks that Yuan Chun was born on this day because of his "great fortune".
This is a traditional understanding and can be classified as superstition. It’s not that I don’t believe it, in fact Cao Xueqin doesn’t believe it either.
Otherwise, how could he have arranged for Yuanchun, who was born on the first day of the Lunar New Year, to "turn to ashes when he returned to the Prime Minister" after experiencing a brief period of superficial prosperity?