The connotation of Hakka spirit is very rich, and its core lies in unity and progress. This has very prominent and concrete manifestations in various aspects of Hakka migration history and Hakka culture.
First of all, the spirit of unity of the Hakka ancestors formed a strong centripetal force. It is this centripetal force that enabled them to bring the splendid civilization of the Central Plains to the south and spread it in the long process of migration without being assimilated by the indigenous people in the migration area. In southern Jiangxi and Gansu, typical Hakka buildings such as the multi-story dragon houses in Meizhou, Guangdong, the earth buildings in Yongding, and the nine halls and eighteen wells in Changting are both "a wonder in the history of world architecture" and a symbol of the unity and progress of the Hakka people. . In some large earth buildings in Yongding, there are stone pillars with carved couplets, stone drum supporting pillars, carved beams and painted buildings; there are patios, gardens, rockeries, bonsais, and fish ponds, which are so beautiful. There are even earth buildings with attached schools. The building has the name of the building and the columns have carved couplets, such as "Zhencheng Building", "Zhenchenglou", "Zhengang establishes disciplines, and virtues and talents are developed", teaching people to abide by disciplines, value virtues and talents, and work hard to make progress. These cultural imprints all shine with the spirit of the Central Plains civilization that advocates literature and martial arts, farming, studying and passing down family traditions.
Secondly, this spiritual quality of unity and progress is also reflected in the extensive learning and acculturation of foreign cultures. The southward migration of the Hakka ancestors was a process of long-term struggle and unity between the Han people in the Central Plains and the native people in the migration areas, and finally formed a unified body. Today's Hakkas do not rely solely on the Han people who immigrated from the Central Plains to reproduce themselves, but have developed and grown through integration with local ethnic groups. There are also other ethnic groups who have moved into Hakka areas and been assimilated into Hakkas. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, with Hakka as the main body, put forward the slogans of "natural harmony is the most precious thing, and each can enjoy peace with each other" and "many men in the world are all brothers; many women in the world are all sisters", showing the Hakka People hope to respect each other, live in harmony and treat everyone equally with the indigenous people, a simple democratic idea. In the Hakka area, people's religious beliefs are also very tolerant and friendly. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity can be as close as one family and live in the same temple. Even the enemies Liu Bang and Xiang Yu can be worshiped together in one niche. Mazu was originally the patron saint of people sailing in coastal areas, and the Hakka people also invited her to mountain villages as the patron saint of mountain villages. Hakka culture has inherited and carried forward the essence of Chinese culture. Long-term migration has developed a folk custom of embracing and absorbing the best, being pioneering and not conservative, giving the Hakka ethnic group strong cohesion and vitality. Before the Hakka ancestors entered southern Jiangxi, the indigenous people here mostly lived in ganlan-type dwellings (elevated floor dwellings). As for Tuweizi, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, when banditry was rampant on the Jiangxi-Guangdong border and the society was in turmoil, the large families of Jiake spent huge sums of money on construction and construction in order to effectively save their own lives and preserve their collective property. Its structural form The standard format of Hakka in Eastern Guangdong from Meizhou area (Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xingning City, Wuhua County, Fengshun County, Dabu County, Pingyuan County, Jiaoling County) Meizhou 2 districts, 1 city and 5 counties—— Weilongwu developed and changed. These huge and impregnable buildings have turrets built at the four corners. The buildings are connected and respond to each other, and the firepower is crisscrossed like a net. To resist fire attacks, there are many fire water injection ports inside the walls; to prevent sieges, there are many granaries inside the walls... For the enclosed houses, if you divide them more carefully, you can still see two basic modes: solid type, hollow type, and solid type. The main building in the enclosure adopts the "hall type", but the horizontal houses on both sides are raised and connected into a fully enclosed type. The plan of a square enclosed house, such as Guanxi Xinwei, covers an area of ??more than 10,000 square meters. There are three central axes (one main and two) in the three-hall style. The doorways are heavy, the corridors are deep, and there are heping, screen walls, and Horse corridors and gardens and other facilities. Hollow type, such as Yangcun Yanyiwei, with an area of ??2,500 square meters. There is no main building in the enclosure, only houses are built around the perimeter. In the middle, except for the water well, there is a large flat.
Today’s southern Gansu is one of the main settlement areas for Hakkas, with more than 7 million Hakkas living there. When the distant years become a thing of the past, this enclosed house style soaked in the blood and tears of the Hakka people has also become the typical home structure of the Hakka people in the eyes of the world and a symbol of the Hakka people's emotional world. It embodies the overall spiritual sigh of the Hakka people, embraces the vicissitudes of the years experienced by the Hakka people, remains in people's hearts, and constitutes the call that haunts the dreams of the Hakka people in foreign lands. The Hakka people are very thoughtful about funeral customs, even overly red tape. The Hakka people have a strong sense of ancestor worship and attach great importance to the matter of being cautious about death." Generally, funeral rituals can be divided into three parts: burial, burial and post-burial, or three stages.
Generally practiced Second burial!
During the second burial, the body must be taken out, cleaned, and then used for sacrifice. The ancestors of the Hakka people came from the Central Plains, so their marriage etiquette is deeply influenced by ancient customs; The Hakka people have traditional rules. When a man marries a woman, she must be married to a matchmaker, so as not to be ridiculed by the villagers.
The Hakka people's marriage methods follow the six rituals of the ancient times: Promise and marriage. , report the date and send dowry, pay the bride-to-be, pay a visit to the church, and eat noodles and chicken. The Hakka people mostly live in mountainous areas, and their economy is mainly agriculture; the main agricultural products are rice, and the paddy fields near the mountains are used. River water is used to irrigate the fields. Farmers use retting manure or retting stove ashes as manure seeds, and add lime to fertilize the fields.
No workers are hired during harvesting. The women in the right house bring their own sickles to the fields to help cut the rice. This is called "helping". When their families harvest rice, the women who have been helped by others will help others.
It is a full expression of the good tradition of the Hakka people to unite, help each other and treat each other as equals. Hakka clothing is simple, practical, spacious and simple. They generally like to wear plain colors, especially blue, black and white are the most popular. A kind of apron commonly worn by rural women to cover the belly can actually cover the chest. The hem is wide and reaches both sides, and the upper end is sewn with flower embroidery. In addition, "neck chain", "waist chain", "tooth tag", "bracelet" and other clothing are added. The girl wears her braids and the young woman wears her hair in a bun. Workers mostly wear short-sleeved shirts, commonly known as gowns. Men who have studied often wear Western-style trousers.
As for footwear and socks, cloth shoes are mostly worn, which are homemade by housewives. Hakka customs generally include national traditional festivals, local worship, etiquette, etc.
New Year's Eve Customs
☆Spring Equinox: On the spring equinox in February, graves are visited to worship ancestors, also called "Spring Festival". Before sweeping the tomb, a grand ancestor worship ceremony must be held in the ancestral hall. Pigs and sheep are slaughtered. Drummers are invited to play. The ceremonial student reads the sacrificial text and leads the three offerings. When the spring equinox tomb sweeping begins, the tombs of Kaiji ancestors and distant ancestors are first swept and paid homage to. The whole clan and the whole village are mobilized. The scale is large, and the team often reaches hundreds or even thousands of people. After the tombs of the founding ancestors and distant ancestors have been swept, the tombs of the ancestors of each house will be swept and worshipped in separate rooms, and finally the private tombs of each family will be swept and worshiped. In most Hakka areas, spring ancestor worship and tomb sweeping begins at the Spring Equinox or earlier, and must be completed by the Qingming Festival at the latest. There is a saying in various places that the tomb doors will be closed after the Qingming Dynasty, and the ancestors' spirits will no longer be used.
☆Spring Festival: There are New Year greetings, recreational activities, etc. It is the most solemn festival.
☆The beginning of spring: the beginning of spring.
☆Lantern Festival: The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the traditional Chinese folk Lantern Festival. During the Lantern Festival, we eat Yuanxiao, play with lanterns, admire lanterns, and guess lantern riddles.
☆February 2: the official festival.
☆Qingming: During the Qingming Festival in March, we worship our ancestors. In most Hakka areas, in addition to the Spring Equinox tomb sweeping to worship ancestors, there are also some places where tomb sweeping is held during the Qingming Festival. On the day of Tomb-Sweeping Day, there are also some places where people worship the Lord Tutu and other shrines beside the road.
☆Dragon Boat Festival: The fifth day of May is the Dragon Boat Festival, which is commonly called May Festival or Duanyang Festival by Hakkas. Every household buys meat, kills ducks, makes rice dumplings, and makes rice crackers for the festival. The Dragon Boat Festival is a big festival. In many places, people who work outside will go home to celebrate the festival. The main contents of the festival are eating rice dumplings, realgar wine and dragon boat racing.
☆July Festival (Hungry Ghost Festival): also known as Ghost Festival. In Hakka areas, July 15th is often regarded as the "Ghost Festival". In some places, the festival is celebrated one day earlier. It is said that "people celebrate the festival on July 14th, and ghosts celebrate the festival on July 15th." In some places, Hakkas also worship their ancestors in the middle of July.
☆Mid-Autumn Festival: Commonly known as the August Festival among the people, it is a big festival. Eat mooncakes, admire the moon, and celebrate reunion. Every household has to buy food and wine, buy pork, slaughter chickens and ducks, and make rice crackers for the festival. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, families gather together to celebrate the festival and eat moon cakes to admire the full moon after dinner. Customs are generally the same everywhere.
☆Double Ninth Festival: The ninth day of September is the Double Ninth Festival, also called the Double Ninth Festival. Hakka people commonly call it the "Nineteenth Festival". It is a major festival at the end of the year. There is a saying that "there is no major festival after the Double Ninth Festival" He said that many people who go out have to rush home to celebrate the festival. On this day, people in many places take their children to climb mountains, and some fly kites on high mountains, which is said to ward off evil spirits and plagues. Many old people say that this custom was brought by their ancestors from the northern Central Plains and has been passed down from generation to generation. On this day, some old people and women go up the mountain to the nunnery to burn incense and worship Buddha.
☆Winter Solstice: In the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, it is also called "Winter Year". Hakka people have a saying of "Winter New Year". During the winter solstice, people eat pork and beef, make rice crackers, and boil soup balls. Rich people eat velvet antlers and ginseng to nourish the winter.
☆Fast Day: It belongs to a small number of Hakka people; April 20th every year is not a Hui fasting day
Etiquette and Customs
Marriage Etiquette and Customs:
< p>Matchmaking: In the past, young Hakka men and women could ask a matchmaker to arrange marriages after the age of sixteen. Usually, the parents of the man's family ask a matchmaker to go to the girl's family to talk. There are also cases where the girl's family asks a matchmaker to visit the boy's family first.Looking at girls: The male and female families negotiate through the central media. If both parties are interested, they will agree on a time to "see girls".
Writing Geng Tie: After both parties agree, they must tell each other their birth dates and horoscopes. After returning home, each of them asked a fortune teller to "calculate their horoscopes". If the eight characters match each other and will not conflict with each other, write out Geng Ties (commonly known as marriage bills) and place them on the incense table. If there are no ominous signs within three days, the marriage will be decided. (If the eight characters do not match, the husband will The female Geng Tie is returned to the female family).
Compiling red wedding invitations: also known as "red wedding invitations", or financial gifts. The man's parents, clan relatives and matchmaker go to the woman's family together and issue the financial gifts that the man wants to give to the woman's family. Some of the red slips also include gifts for the son-in-law, such as hats, silver flowers, clothes, shoes, socks, etc. During the process of opening a red order, both parties will bargain and finally negotiate and finalize. After the red orders are drawn, the men and women also exchange tokens such as rings, handkerchiefs, etc. Finally, the man came back after lunch at the woman’s house.
Engagement: also called "a big ceremony", that is, once again officially confirming the marriage. The young man and his parents will go to the girl's house and bring pig heads, fish, meat, etc. The girl's parents, brothers-in-law, uncles, grandparents, etc. will all be present. After lunch, the girls come out to meet each other and call the boy's parents parents, and the parents of the two families call each other their in-laws and in-laws' mother.
Housekeeping: that is, the woman goes to the man’s house to see his family, sometimes before the “big ceremony” and sometimes after the “big ceremony”. In addition to the girl and her parents, the woman’s guests include her aunt and sister-in-law. All the friends, sisters, etc. were going, more than a dozen people, big and small, without any gifts, even if they brought some, the husband's family would not dare to accept them.
Send-off date: After the wedding is decided, the man will ask a fortune teller to choose a date for the wedding, including the day and time when the bride will go out and the time when she will return to the groom's house. In addition, the woman will cut a red dress and the man will make the bed. The day must also be chosen at the same time.
Sending vegetables and carrying dowry: One or two days before the bride passes the door, the groom’s family will ask relatives to deliver the betrothal gift specified in the red list and fish, meat, poultry, noodles and other items by more than ten people. The girl's family will take the dowry, furniture, etc. back to the boy's house when they come back.
Welcome to the bride: also called to receive the bride or pass through the door. The day before the wedding, more than ten people from the groom's family will go to the bride's house to pick her up. There will be a drummer band, people setting off firecrackers, some carrying sedan chairs, and some burning incense (they have to go to the bride's ancestral hall, temple, or commune to burn incense), and one person will carry the burden. There is a lead chicken (one male and one female) on one end, wine and pineapple on the other. A woman has to bring the bride's clothes, and two people carry wooden baskets, and they have to carry fish, meat, wine, and cakes. , cigarettes, firecrackers, candles, etc., the matchmaker will also go. Some grooms will go, some will not. If the groom goes with him, the groom will also have to make a sedan chair. The one who sets off the firecrackers is the man's plenipotentiary, and he will bring one or twenty red envelopes with him. indivual. After arriving at the bride's house, the bride's family will first eat snacks, and then the bride's family will take them to the ancestral hall to burn incense and pay homage to their ancestors. The girl's family will host a banquet at noon or evening. The bride usually leaves at midnight or Mao hour, and the sky becomes brighter and brighter as she goes, which symbolizes walking towards the light. If she goes out at night, she will not encounter unlucky things such as carrying a coffin. In the front of the welcoming procession are the lantern players, followed by the music players, the sedan chair is in the middle, and the people receiving the bride are at the back. When the bride arrives at the groom's house, if it has not yet arrived at the stipulated entrance time, she must wait on the gate at the gate or in a house next to the door. Entrance is usually at seven or eight or eight or nine in the morning, and some even have to wait until noon. At the entrance moment, the bride has to kick the sedan door, and the groom's bridesmaid will lead the bride out of the sedan, and then "cross the fire" at the gate. The bride steps over the fire made of fir branches before entering the gate.
Prayer: After the bride enters the hall amidst the sound of drums, she begins to worship. The incense table is arranged in the hall, with parents and elders standing on the east side, relatives on the west side, relatives on the north side, and juniors on the south side. Before the ceremony, the bridegroom's wife should hang a red cloth on the groom's body with a five-foot-long red cloth. He chants: "Holding a red flag five feet long in hand, I use it to pretend to be the groom. I will pretend that the groom will give birth to a son. If he gives birth to a son early, he will be the number one scholar." When worshiping in the hall, the groom stands on the left and the bride stands on the right. The rites call: "Bow to heaven and earth." , the second time is to worship the ancestors, the third time is to pay homage to the high hall, and the fourth time is the couple is worshiping each other. At noon, there will be a banquet and a wedding banquet, and loud cannons will be fired to invite guests. They will be fired every half hour, and three times when the banquet begins. Then the etiquette will give a list of names, and there will be two seats at each table. According to their seniority and closeness, they will be arranged to sit at the table first, and then the others will sit at their leisure. Male and female guests sit separately, and the bride and groom go to the table to toast.
Making trouble in the house: one kind makes trouble in the hall, one kind makes trouble in the new house, and some make trouble in the hall first and then go to the new house. During the riot, firecrackers were set off every few minutes until midnight.
Returning door: also called "revolving door". Usually on the third or fifth day after the wedding, the woman sends the bride’s sisters and other female family members to invite the bride and groom to be guests together. The matchmaker and the groom’s sisters also go with them. There are 7-14 people. After lunch, the wedding will be held on the same day. return.
Send the full moon: One month after the wedding, the bride’s family will come to send the full moon, and at the same time, they will send chickens, vegetables, seeds, grain seeds, beans, etc. to indicate a bumper harvest and a prosperous fortune.
Often the mother-in-law is very strict with her daughter-in-law, and she has to start working three days after she gets married.
Traditional festive customs:
1. Birth etiquette
Birthing: When a married daughter is about to give birth, usually one to twenty days before the baby is born, her natal family It is necessary to bring chickens, eggs, noodles, dried noodles, etc. to the daughter's house to "spur birth", with the intention of wishing a safe birth. If the mother is no longer here, the sister-in-law will be responsible for inducing the birth, and a banquet will be held at noon.
2. Coming-of-age rituals
Hakka coming-of-age rituals are divided into male and female ones. The coming-of-age ritual for men is called "Guan Ceremony", and the coming-of-age ritual for women is called "Hairlock Ceremony". (The Hakka coming-of-age etiquette is commonly known as "going out of the garden")
Birthday celebration: When celebrating a birthday, the married daughter will send a big rooster, as well as a shroud, a birthday hat, a birthday cake, a birthday shoe, and a birthday socks. A complete set of birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, birthday cakes, etc. Others come to celebrate birthdays, and relatives and friends usually send birthday banners, birthday couplets, or additional gifts. In many places, elderly people who are over seventy years old, have many children and grandchildren, and have a good family background celebrate their birthdays by holding a birthday ceremony. For Hakka people's birthdays and birthdays, insiders send gifts and come to congratulate them. Congratulations first and then invitations. Unless relatives and close friends send invitations, no congratulations or invitations are given.
3. Building a house and moving to a new home
The Hakka people regard building a house and moving to a new home as one of the major celebrations, and they should celebrate it grandly.
When building a house, the positioning of the house and the direction of the door must be determined by Mr. Kanyu. When the vertical pillars are raised and the beams are raised, lights and colors and red couplets must be pasted. After a new house is built, it is necessary to "exorcise evil spirits" and "eliminate evil spirits" the night before moving in before moving in.
Before moving to a new home in the Hakka area of ??Jiexi, Guangdong, one should ask a fortune teller to "pick up the day" (that is, an auspicious day and auspicious time, most of which are the beginning and end of the year, and the auspicious time is in the evening), set up an Eight Immortals table at the door of the new home, and serve a banquet. , presided over by a fortune teller, invites gods such as door gods, earth gods, and ancestors of the first three generations to come and enjoy it, which is called "worshiping the door gods" (moving in before worshiping the door gods is called "borrowing").
Then the land deed written by the fortune teller was burned to inform the gods and ancestors that there was an owner here. After the gods and ancestors have finished eating, paper money is burned and firecrackers are set off. The head of the latter family carries a hot charcoal stove, and each family member brings new kitchen utensils and other small items (those with a small family bring a hen and a brood of chickens, which symbolizes a prosperous family). Everywhere in the new house has to be passed by. . The next morning, the daughter-in-laws of the same ethnic group came early to help with "Lei Cha" (a food used by local Hakkas to receive guests), make glutinous rice balls, receive relatives and friends who came to congratulate them, and prepare a banquet for relatives and friends at noon. There are many etiquettes, which are roughly described.
Traditional New Year customs:
New Year: "The New Year is the first one". Like most places across the country, the Hakka people regard the New Year as the most solemn and joyful festival of the year. . People start preparing for the New Year very early. In September and October, sweet potato slices and rice cake slices are dried for frying and stir-frying during the New Year. As soon as the "Winter Solstice" arrives, wine begins to be steamed. On the thirtieth day of the new year, every household will steam rice cakes, make rice crackers, butcher pigs, make tofu, slaughter chickens, etc. to welcome the new year happily.
Celebrating the New Year: New Year’s Eve, also known as New Year’s Eve, is the most lively and joyful day during the New Year. On this morning, every household will worship Bodhisattva and worship gods. On New Year's Eve, portraits of ancestors should be hung in every hall, and bright red Spring Festival couplets should be pasted on the door. Red paper strips should be pasted on barn doors, in front of poultry stalls, on furniture, beds, and beside water tanks, which is called "Signing the New Year." ", also called "Shanghong". Both adults and children should take a bath, put on new clothes, and celebrate the New Year cleanly. Each hall must also display an offering table, arrange an incense table, and place chicken, fish, meat, fruits, etc. to worship the ancestors. On New Year's Eve, we have a reunion dinner with sumptuous dishes. A few extra sets of bowls and chopsticks should be placed on the table to invite the ancestors to come back and celebrate the New Year together. Before the meal, the ancestors should sift the wine first, sprinkle the wine on the ground, and then start eating. During the banquet, the elderly and children ate chicken legs to show respect for the elderly and the young.
Shou Sui: After the reunion dinner, the stove should be washed clean in preparation for a vegetarian meal on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month or throughout the day. In the evening, we must stay up late to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. Every room must be brightly lit all night long, which is called "lighting the new year's fire." In some places, cattle pens and pig houses are also lit with lights. Parents need to give lucky money to their children, and in some places, they also give lucky money to the elderly.
Open the gate: On the first day of the first lunar month, the gate is opened according to the auspicious time specified in the "Tongshu". Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers comes one after another, resounding through the sky.
New Year greetings: Eat vegetarian food on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month. After the meal, people greet each other and say auspicious words to each other. The children are wearing new clothes and playing happily, and some are vying to pay New Year's greetings to their elders: "My father-in-law and uncle's family are getting rich, so bring the candy cakes and fruits to Ya (me)." On the second day of the first lunar month, relatives visit to pay New Year's greetings. Especially the newly married son-in-law (the in-laws’ family will use book stickers to invite him) will go to the parents-in-law’s home to pay New Year greetings. Usually the young couple goes together, and sometimes the son-in-law goes alone; some come back on the same day, and some stay for five or six days. When you go, you should bring little hens, rice crackers, candies, incense candles, firecrackers, etc. When you arrive, you should burn incense, light candles, and set off firecrackers in front of the ancestors of the Yue family. At noon, the Yue family entertained guests, and the son-in-law had to get drunk. He would not be enthusiastic if he was not drunk.
Eating New Year's rice: Eat "New Year's rice" on the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year (some are steamed on the evening of the 29th of the first lunar month, and some are steamed on the evening of the second day of the first lunar month). Put chopsticks on the rice. How many are there at home? Individuals just insert a few pairs, and then insert a branch with leaves, and some even put oranges, grapefruits and other fruits. Before eating the New Year's meal, the meal should be placed on the "that day" altar to worship the gods and ancestors. There are a lot of dishes to prepare for New Year's Eve dinner, including chicken and meat, which is similar to having a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve. No killing is allowed on the third day of the lunar month. Chickens should be killed on the second day of the lunar month or kept during the Chinese New Year.
Wandering Gods: Hakka villages in the Chaoshan area (including Chaoshan villages) will invite the gods from the village’s temples on a fixed day at the beginning of each year to form a group of as few as dozens of people and as many as one or two hundred people. A team of wandering gods walked through the streets and alleys beating gongs and drums. Ask the gods to bless every household in the village and everything goes smoothly (almost all the gods here include the patron saint of Chaoshan - the King of the Three Mountains).
The New Year Boundary: On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the New Year Boundary comes out. The portraits of ancestors in the hall must be put away, the paper door curtains must be removed and burned, and those who go out to work can start their journey. On the seventh day of the first lunar month, people eat "seven dishes". The "seven dishes" here refer to seven kinds of pure vegetarian dishes that are stir-fried together. Also known as Leicha, Hakka people eat Leicha on this day, along with seven kinds of vegetarian dishes
Lantern Festival: The Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, also called the "Shangyuan Festival", every household has Prepare dishes and drink wine to celebrate the New Year. The Lantern Festival is about to take place, and the New Year's entertainment activities reach their climax. From the beginning of the Chinese New Year to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, recreational activities continue in various places, mostly dragon lantern parades and lion dances. Some activities start on the first or second day of the first lunar month. Before the dragon lantern and lion teams arrive, they will post a message in advance and give them red envelopes and snacks after they arrive. In addition to performing in every household, dragon lanterns and lion troupes also go to temples and ancestral halls in the village to pay New Year greetings to gods and ancestors. During the first market period after the Spring Festival, dragon lanterns, boat lanterns, lion lanterns, etc. all come to the market to perform, which is called "opening the market." From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, there are the following recreational activities in various places:
Spring Cow Sending: Usually on the first day of the Lunar New Year, a team of three or five people will send pictures of Spring Cows to each household, and some will play the suona. Those who play snare drums and cymbals play at the door of each house and send red stickers saying "Congratulations on the New Year", and the owner will give red envelopes.
Ship lantern: The lantern is shaped like a boat and is used for singing performances on land. Rehearsing before the Spring Festival, the gong and drum team played ten times to coordinate. After arriving at the village, after having snacks, there will be a performance in the open space. The boatman and the boat lady will sing "October Pregnancy", "Twelve Moon Ancients", "Melon Seeds", "One Flower" and other tunes. The boat man only rows and does not sing. song. In the evening, we have to "open the Heavenly Official" in the ancestral hall, sing "The Heavenly Official Blessing", etc., and finally have a drink and a meal.
Lion lantern: There are Nuo people, a lion head, a lion tail, a monkey, a sand monk, and a gong and drum team. After the lion, monkey and sand monk finish singing, they will perform martial arts performances, including boxing, knife dancing, stick playing and table dancing. The Lions team will hire a master to teach them martial arts before the Chinese New Year.
The custom of worshiping nine:
In Hakka language, nine is the same as long, so the Hakka people regard nine as a symbol of good luck, and they have the custom of worshiping nine.
When Hakka people build new houses, they usually choose days related to the ninth day, such as the ninth day of the lunar month, the eighteenth day of the lunar month, etc. The number of floors and rooms in the building is also a multiple of nine, thinking that this way they can live together in the same place for a long time. Nine is particularly important in Hakka weddings. Men and women generally choose days related to the number nine for blind dates and exchange of wedding invitations. The dots of the bride price should be nine, such as 1999 yuan, and the wedding team should also have a total of nine people. All gifts must be of 9 square meters to be considered auspicious. When Hakka people make birthday cakes, they have to make 81 or 360 rice dumplings, and all the vegetables are cut into three, six, and nine pieces, such as three delicacies soup, stewed dog meat (Dog Kaijiu), leek tofu, Double Ninth Festival (Nine-nine) birthday cake, etc.
Because the number nine is the same as leeks, children must eat leeks when they start school. Hakka folk songs also use leeks to express the meaning of nine, such as: Swallows carry mud across Jiujiang, my sister sends her husband off to a foreign country, and they plant leeks on September 9th. The two have a long-lasting friendship. The Hakka people's emphasis on the ninth day of the first lunar month is also reflected in the fact that they regard the ninth day of the first lunar month as an auspicious day. After the Spring Festival, people who go out to work or do business usually do not leave home until the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, hoping for good luck and prosperity in the new year. Proverbs are a type of idioms that are easy to understand. They are almost always one or two short sentences in form, and generally express a complete meaning.
Hakka proverbs are the spiritual wealth summarized and created by the Hakka people in their long-term working life. They are vivid in language, rich in content, meaningful and thought-provoking.
Hakka proverbs can be roughly divided into the following three categories:
①Production proverbs. Summarize production experience, including weather, seasons, farming techniques, livestock raising, manual work, etc.
For example, "The red clouds rise in the morning and rain falls in the evening, and the red clouds rise in the evening to kill the fish." Hoe deep”, “Pigs need to be fed well, cows need to be fed night grass”, etc.
②Social proverbs. Reflects class oppression and social conditions.
For example, "The crows in the world are as black as the bayberries everywhere", "Money can make the devil grind the mill", "The mouth of the vat can be sealed, but the population cannot", "The strength of a moment depends on strength. The eternal victory or defeat depends on reason" and so on.
③Life proverbs. Summarize experiences in all aspects of daily life and reflect people's world outlook, life attitudes and moral concepts.
For example, "Stand firmly on both feet, not afraid of being shaken by strong winds", "We should treat good years as bad years, and we will not go hungry in bad years." "Listen", and "You can walk a hundred steps after a meal without going to the medicine shop" etc.
The Hakka people are good at singing and have many nursery rhymes. Hakka nursery rhymes have variable word lengths, short sentence patterns, changeable rhymes, and bright and brisk rhythms. These nursery rhymes have the same popular sentences as Hakka folk songs, and the words at the end of each sentence have the same rhyme, so they are catchy and you will remember them as you grow old. The difference from Hakka folk songs is that Hakka nursery rhymes are only recited but not sung. Hakka has six or seven tones, which are full of musical charm. Here are some nursery rhymes that have been circulated among Hakka people for a long time for your appreciation.
★Sitting in rows
Sitting in rows, singing folk songs, while I play drums and gongs. The bride stir-fries snails on the back of the stove. The snail shell pricked the servant's feet, and the servant croaked, and the bride laughed.
★The young man is studying
White rice, white pearls, dress up the young man and go to study. I left in the first month and returned in February. I waited for my sister-in-law to return with a basket and a basket. When she returned, there was no water dripping from the flower vat. The goose fills the water, the duck washes the vegetables, the rooster husks the grain, the dog steps on the hoe, the fox makes the fire, the cat stir-fries, and the monkey steals food to lick his mouth.
★Lingjiaozi
Lingjiaozi, with its curved corners, my eldest sister married in Water chestnut mountain. The younger brother rides an ox and waits for the elder sister, who has no time to work cutting crops. I put down the sickle and prayed twice, and the juice from my eyes flowed to the fields.
★Shrike
The shrike has a big mouth. She has a mouth to talk about others, but no mouth to talk about herself.
★Fireworms (Fireflies)
Fireworms shine in the grass, turn over excrement holes, and hang lanterns.
★The moonlight shines, the talented scholar
The moonlight shines, the talented scholar, the boat is waiting for you, and the sedan chair is here to carry you. Carrying them one by one to the center of the river, shrimps, hairy crabs, and crabs worshiped Guanyin. A flower at the foot of Guanyin was given to my sister and passed on to her mother-in-law, who made her smile haha! In the light of the moonlight, the talented lady rides a white horse across the lotus pond. On the back of the lotus pond, she plants leeks and leek flowers. She marries her in-laws. There is a pond in front of the in-laws' house. They plant carps eight feet long. The long ones are used for wine and food, and the short ones are used for food. girl.
★Two sisters learn to grow vegetables
Two sisters learn to grow vegetables. It is difficult to bend down when growing vegetables, but they learn to hunt birds. Birds can fly, and I am tired of crying halfway through. My friend asked, "Are you crying?" There is no master and no sorrow. When you go home, the raccoon cat carries water, the fox cooks the vegetables, and the male cat goes upstairs to catch vegetables.
★The beginning of my teacher teaching me how to be a human being
When my husband taught me how to be a human being, I taught him how to hunt wild boars. The wild boar rushed across the river, but my husband was helpless. The wild boar rushed across the wall, and my husband’s crotch was just right. .
Hakka opera can be divided into three types according to its origin: (1) Local opera types derived from local folk songs, integrated with other art forms, and developed by absorbing nutrients from brother operas, such as: tea-picking opera and folk songs Play etc. (2) Dramas that were introduced to the local area from other places and gradually became localized, such as Han opera, puppet theater, etc. (3) Operas from other places are spread in the Hakka area in their original form. Such as: Qiyang Opera, Peking Opera, Yue Opera, Gan Opera, etc.
Tea-picking opera is divided into southern Jiangxi tea-picking opera, western Fujian tea-picking opera, northern Guangdong tea-picking opera, Guangxi tea-picking opera, Taiwan Hakka tea-picking opera, etc.
Yong Tau Foo is one of the three famous Hakka dishes. This dish evolved from stuffed dumplings in the north. Since the south has more rice but less wheat, and is rich in soybeans, people used tofu as dumpling skins, stuffed with meat fillings and fried them. They found that the taste was particularly delicious, so it became a dish. Famous Hakka dishes. The fillings are determined by personal taste or family budget. Generally, pork belly is better, paired with some mushrooms, squid, shrimp, etc., plus MSG and salt, stuff the stuffing into matchbox-sized tofu cubes, fry in vegetable oil and simmer for more than 10 minutes before eating. In the northern mountainous area of ??Xingning, you can make tofu stuffed with pork and scallions, which has a unique flavor. Jiaoling people like to use sea black salted fish or eggs and lean meat as fillings. Nanxiong people have the practice of roasting tofu in oil. Liancheng, Fujian has the famous "Sibao Yongdoufu", which is fragrant, tender, refreshing and delicious, and you won't forget it after eating it. The Zhai Yong Tofu in the temple meal is filled with peanut kernels, leeks, scallions, and beancurd sticks. It can be fried, pan-fried, or boiled. It is fragrant and will not get greasy. In terms of brewing method, the people from Meixian District of Meizhou City are the most unique, using a triangular shape. In terms of cooking techniques, there are braised, fried, pan-fried, boiled, steamed, half-fried and half-boiled, and some hot pot. There are many kinds of things, competing for the strange and beautiful.
Hakka Leicha
Among the vast and exquisite tea arts of the motherland, Leicha is a unique and unique product. This custom generally only exists among Hakka people. When making tea, the beater sits down, holds a pottery bowl between his legs, puts a handful of green tea into the bowl, holds a half-meter-long beating stick, and pounds and rotates it frequently. While beating, continue to add some sesame seeds, peanut kernels, and herbs (vanilla, yellow flowers, fragrant leaves, vine grass, etc.) to the bowl. When the contents in the bowl are pounded into pieces, the tea is ready. Then, use a ladle to sift the beaten tea, put it into a copper pot, add water and boil it, and the whole hall will be filled with fragrance. It is said that Leicha has detoxifying effects and can be used both as food and medicine; it can both quench thirst and satisfy hunger. Another saying is that Leicha originated from the Central Plains and flourished in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is still popular in the Hakka residential areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi. Hakka people are warm-hearted and often serve tea to entertain their guests. There are two types of tea for entertaining guests: meat and vegetables. When entertaining vegetarian guests, add peanuts, cowpeas or soybeans, glutinous rice, kelp, sweet potato vermicelli, dried japonica rice noodles, cold dishes, etc.; when entertaining meat eaters, add fried shredded pork or small intestines, sweet bamboo shoots, shredded mushrooms, Fried tofu, vermicelli, chives and other ingredients.