The time of the wax moon passed quickly, and in the successive snowstorms, I unconsciously came to the twenty-fourth day of the wax month. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

This day, in the Dashun calendar, is called "handover year", which means that on this day, the old year and the new year are handed over on this day. In this sense, this day is the New Year of the people.

In fact, it is true, on the New Year's Festival, the people of Chang'an City are burning money paper and reciting Buddhist scriptures and mantras to send off the old and welcome the new. During the day, every household, whether rich or poor, must prepare "vegetable beans" to sacrifice to the stove, that is, to worship the king of the stove. Folklore has it that on the twenty-third night of the lunar month, the god Vesta reports to the heavens, and returns to the world on Chinese New Year's Eve, and the Han people hope that he will "say good things from heaven and return to the palace to be auspicious", and every family worships him in order to have a safe and auspicious year. This is just a legend, but in fact, it also proves that the people understand the importance of the stove to a family, and if the kitchen is not clean, people are prone to illness, and the money earned all year round goes to the pharmacy. Therefore, there is a folk saying, called "the king of the stove is greater than the god", that is to say, when the god is on the paper, the god of the stove is higher than the god. It is not difficult to see that these simple people pray for the safety of their families.

At night, "ask the monks to read the scriptures, prepare wine and fruit to send to the gods". Sending God is sending the God of the Stove, and it is recorded in Ge Hong's "Hug Puzi Wei Zhi" of the Jin Dynasty: "On the night of the moon, the God of the Stove is also guilty of white people in the sky." The big one wins the discipline. Chronicle, three hundred days. The lesser wins. Counter, a hundred days also". In other words, whoever offends the god of the hearth will live 300 days less for the serious ones, and 100 days less for the minor ones. This was originally some ethereal legend, but the folk fools and fools all believed in it, and it slowly turned into a custom.

Because it is the "Day of Sending the Gods", the neighborhood market is full of noise during the day, and the sound of selling five-colored rice food, flowers and fruits, gum tooth dumplings, beans and other sacrificial stove supplies is everywhere. In the market, there is also a procession of worshipping the gods of "Yingwu", beating gongs and drums, and "begging for the benefit of the market" to each household.

Originally a dance in ancient ritual ceremonies, it gradually became a drama performed at the turn of the New Year. At this time, in Chang'an City, whether it is Goolan or Washe, there will be a puppet drama on these days.

For ordinary people, especially those in the slums in the north of Chang'an, who rent official houses, it costs a lot of money to buy New Year's goods. This money and silver is naturally not a problem for large families. However, poor families living in government public housing may not be able to cope with the expenses of the Chinese New Year.

Everything grows in its own way. As the saying goes, ants have ant paths, snakes have snake paths, and poor people have poor people's methods. After entering the wax moon, the poor people in the market, three or five people as a team, pretending to be gods, ghosts, judges, Zhong Kui, little sisters, etc., beating gongs and drums, begging for money along the door, commonly known as "beating the night hu", also has the meaning of driving away. In fact, "expulsion" is only a superficial form of this custom, and more importantly, it gives the urban poor a chance to obtain relief without losing dignity. Chinese people value face the most, even if they are poor, they must live a more glorious life on the surface, let alone the people in Kyoto.

Lu Chengqi didn't know about it at first, but it wasn't until Gao Hao inadvertently mentioned it that Lu Chengqi knew. He felt that this was a kind of social assistance, so he did not interfere with it. If some poor people can be reduced, Lu Chengqi is happy to let it go.

The happiest people on the New Year's Day are not the people, but the people who go out to be officials. Because according to the custom of Dashun, since the twenty-twelfth day of the lunar month, the yamen of the state capitals in various places are no longer working, and officials who serve as officials outside can pack their bags and go back to their hometowns to visit relatives. Chinese people have a strong sense of vernacularity, and it is essential to visit relatives every year.

It has become a common practice for some Beijing officials to go out on errands and still need to return to Beijing to report on their work before they can go home again.

As a result, from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Beijing officials who had gone out on errands returned to Beijing one after another, including the supervision envoys of the Supervision Department in various localities.

When the streets of Chang'an City were lively, there was a dilapidated carriage slowly driving from Chunming Gate. Because the New Year is approaching, the forbidden soldiers of the City Defense Division are also busy. Originally, the defense of Chang'an City was not very strict. But during the Chinese New Year, it suddenly became nervous. If nothing else, there are envoys from dozens of countries, all in Chang'an City. If something happens to them, no one will be happy if they are investigated from above.

Therefore, the City Defense Department specially inspected such a carriage, no matter which one it was, it had to be carefully checked from the inside to the outside, and whether it had brought any weapons into Chang'an City.

The dilapidated carriage was stopped, and a head of the city defense department led by him gave a military salute to the coachman and said: "During the lunar month, I have been ordered to strictly investigate, please bear with me!" ”

The coachman also seemed to be accustomed to big scenes, and he was no stranger to such things, so he nodded, and then turned his head and said, "Master, it's a routine inspection by the City Defense Division." ”

A young voice came from the carriage and said, "Since it's a public case, let them investigate!" ”

The coachman got out of the carriage, got out of the way for the city defense department to inspect, and whispered at the same time: "This military master, my master is the secretary of the second-grade Ministry of Works, and he was ordered to return to Beijing to report on his work. Seeing that the sky is about to get dark, you will be accommodating, and the meaning is what it means. If you delay the emperor's important affairs, I'm afraid you won't be able to afford it! ”

In Chang'an City, if you bump into a random person, you may be a four-grade Beijing official. There are so many people coming and going, what official of the City Defense Department hasn't seen it? Immediately said lightly: "I know, we won't be embarrassed." ”

With a wave of his hand, he asked some of the city defense soldiers to step forward and check inside and out. At this time, a young man dressed in a second-grade official uniform, no more than twenty-eight or nineteen years old, got out of the carriage, looked at the towering gate tower of Chang'an City, the three big characters of "Chunming Gate" written in block letters, and suddenly said with some emotion: "The Yellow River Kyoto is actually two scenery!" ”

The head of the city defense department can also be regarded as discerning, seeing this second-grade official, knowing that the coachman is not lying, seeing that his subordinates have finished checking, he gave another military salute and said: "Shangshu, please forgive your sins, you have an order, you can't act cheaply." ”

The second-grade official waved his hand and said, "This is your duty, what is there to blame." Li Cheng, let's go, go to the palace before the time of the unitary, I want to face the saint. ”

The coachman Li Cheng hurriedly answered, and after he got into the carriage, he jumped up, waved the horsewhip, and pretended to be beating, and the horse was reflexive, slowly took a step, and drove into Chang'an City.

Passing through the long arched city gate, the eyes suddenly open up. There was some light snow before, but now it has stopped, and there is still snow on the ground. The Ministry of Labor Shangshu lifted the curtain of the car window and looked at the children playing on the street, with an indescribable emotion in his eyes...... (To be continued.) )