1. From Fu Tao to Spring Festival couplets.

"Thousands of families are replacing old words with new ones every day." When Wang Anshi added this famous sentence to the Song Dynasty, Fu Tao was already in the transition to Spring Festival couplets.

Fu Tao, as its name implies, is made of wood. Mahogany was called "the wood afraid of ghosts" in ancient times, and its belief in exorcising ghosts and evil spirits has a long history and has always been related to the portal. The eighty-sixth volume of Literature and Art Collection quotes the lost article of Zhuangzi: "Put the peach branches in the house, even under the ash, the boy is fearless, but the ghost is afraid." In recent years, archaeological discoveries have proved this ancient custom. There is an article in the medical book "Fifty-two Diseases Prescriptions" unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha: "Hey, three steps, take the east branch of the peach, not the door of benefit." Hey, kid. The content of the prescription is to exorcise ghosts and insert peach branches on the door. Taomu exorcises ghosts, also seen in the Qin bamboo slips of Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger in Hubei Province.

Today, a pair of well-known door gods, rabbits and Lei Yu, are inextricably linked with peach wood. The primitive myth of the door gods says that they "perform ghosts and stand under the peach trees in Crescent Mountain." This peach tree, don't just regard it as an environment or a background. Textual research on the meaning of Collected Stories in Qing Dynasty points out that the sacred tea is a "reincarnation story from the exhibition of peach vertebrae". The reason why people can create the myth of "sacred tea secluded base" is based on the custom of "decorating peaches on New Year's Eve" ... the custom of "guarding the fierce with Hebei" in Han Dynasty. That is to say, the fairy tale of shentu Xieji is actually an explanation of the custom of Taomu people standing in front of the door.

There are two changes in the custom of carving peach trees to ward off ghosts and evil spirits. One is to draw a door directly on the door, Kirby Wei; The other is the symbol of peach. Replace the mahogany man with a mahogany board. On the peach board, you can draw sacred tea and sacred base, and you can also write the name of the door god. The one hanging on the left side of the door says "Shen Tu" and the one on the right says "Lei Yu". This peach board is called Taofu, and it is also called the door symbol —— In the Qing Dynasty, you Dong's "Genzhai Continued": "The door symbol of others is left in Shen Tu and right in Lei Yu. Zhang Heng said, "Shout, Shen Tu is the deputy. "

In short, this is the "symbol" of exorcism.

The Political History of the Tang Dynasty, Volume III, said that the admonition doctor Ming Chongyan had spells. He once "wrote two peach charms, nailed them on them, and his voice became silent", nailed the peach charms on the wine cellar and stopped the performance of prostitutes under the wine cellar. Will nailing a peach charm really have this kind of magic? I won't. Therefore, it is a premise that the person who writes peach charms "has spells". Wang Fanzhi, a popular poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote "Father-son blind date" in Dunhuang's suicide note: "The master plays a peach symbol and hangs a red rope in the west." Fu Tao and Red Lock were placed in front of the door to ward off evil spirits.

In Song Dynasty, Hong Mai wrote the article "Siming Zhenjun" in "Yi Jian Zhiyi", which is about Fuzhou people's dream of surviving heirs, and it involves saying that they are tired of winning with peach charms: "When you go home, take down the peach charms on the door, break them with a sharp knife and store them in the net basket. On the night of the second watch, people went back to their homes a mile away and buried it three feet in the southeast cave. When the man left, he sat quietly. He swore,' Yellow Emperor, Three Cardinal Principles and Five Permanent Principles. As urgent as the law. "Once returned, it will stop."

Both of the above materials reflected people's superstitious psychology towards Fu Tao at that time.

The story of Bao Gong's murder in Yuan Zaju "Garden Flowers" is an important clue to solve the case. The story is that in the capital of song dynasty, the second brother who runs a "lion shop" is going to be rude to a young woman who stayed alone all night. The woman refused, and the second brother threatened Cui Jia with an axe, which scared him to death. The second brother said, "There must be something strange about this sudden death. We ordered a peach charm at our door, put a piece in his sideburns, put it in his pocket and throw it in this well. " "Doors first" will be nailed down. The peach symbol is nailed to the door, which can be removed and pinned to the sideburns. This peach symbol should be made of wood. "People who die suddenly must be wrong", so this is the mysterious symbolic meaning of Fu Tao, which is used to suppress ghosts.

Next, "backyard flower" expresses the soul of Cui Luan, a scholar who came to stay in a hotel, with a romantic writing technique, and later gave Liu Xiucai the peach symbol. Peach symbolizes "longevity and wealth". When Bao Zheng saw it, he sang, "They set (nailed) peach symbols to ward off evil spirits, increase wealth and fortune, draw Zhong Kui, and know that their mother reported it to Kobe." Fu Tao, Zhong Kui, and the keeper are in the same breath, which shows that it still has a strong sense of exorcism.

But the peach symbols in Yuan Dynasty are different from those in Han Dynasty. Please listen to Bao Zheng's lyrics: "If you line up, you will find' long life and wealth', and now I have' suitable for Chinese New Year'." Taofu is in pairs, one of which writes "Happy New Year" and the other must write "Long life and wealth", which is according to the practice at that time. In the play, Bao Gong ordered to look for people whose doors were nailed with peaches symbolizing "Suitable for the New Year". Look at the description in the play again: "I came out of this door, turned the corner, brushed the inner corner, and came to the door of this hotel with the symbol of peach." Come to the lion shop and I'll try, but how can we have a' suitable for the New Year' instead of a' long life and wealth'? I'll compare this. It's a couple. "

This folk material preserved in zaju is very precious. It records the evolution from Fu Tao to Spring Festival couplets. This is the middle link of evolution, which is typical: on the one hand, it is still wood, but it is a symbol of peach; On the one hand, the four characters are closer to couplets; What is important is that although the ever-changing peach characters have the ancient meaning of "exorcising evil spirits", "suitable for the New Year" and "rich and longevity" have become more festive Spring Festival couplets.

2. The earliest Spring Festival couplets

Flowers in the Back Garden, a Yuan zaju, is a couplet of "Suitable for Chinese New Year" and "Long Life and Wealth", which is the Spring Festival couplets in content. There is nothing wrong with zaju calling it a peach symbol, because it is written on the peach board. Aside from written materials, it can be said that for a long time, the ancients called Spring Festival couplets "Fu Tao".

The topic at the beginning of the Spring Festival couplets made Meng Chang, the master of Shu in the late Five Dynasties, stand out a bit. Because it is recorded in Song Shi Shu Jia, Meng Chang named the bachelor as Tao Fu, and because of his non-merit, he pretended to write a poem: "New Year Qing Yu, Jia Jienuo. Changchun. " People in Qing Dynasty thought it was the earliest Spring Festival couplets. This statement has a wide influence.

In recent years, people have demonstrated that Spring Festival couplets preceded Meng Chang, and some even found antithesis in Shangshu, and a six-character inscription entitled "Book Tiger" on ancient artifacts. Among many articles, Tan Canxue's The Earliest Couplet in China, No.4, Knowledge of Literature and History (1994) quoted the couplets of Stein (06 10) from Dunhuang to prove the Spring Festival couplets in Tang Dynasty, which is worthy of attention. Dunhuang suicide note records are as follows:

Years old: Sanyang began to spread, and the fourth level began to open.

Fuqing is new at the beginning, and Shouluyan.

Also: the beginning of Sanyang, the fourth order to Xiang,

Yan Fu's new day celebrates that life has no boundaries.

Beginning of spring said, "Copper turbidity celebrates the banquet, and jade rules the yang." .

Besides the three disasters in Five Blessingg, there will be hundreds of disasters throughout the ages.

Baoji can ward off evil spirits, and Yan Rui can ward off evil spirits.

Beginning of spring returned to his residence in Sun Chang, Fuxizi.

Also: Sanyang began to spread, and Simeng (Meng) began to open.

Go back in time and come back one by one.

Celebrate every year, and there is no disaster every month.

Chickens return to evil, and Yan returns to wealth.

Guardians guard, ghosts hide and bury.

I am very happy around the door of the book.

These conjunctions in Dunhuang documents are divided into two bundles, which are recorded under "Year" and "beginning of spring Day". This is just in line with the characteristics of Spring Festival couplets. The phrase "I am healthy around the door of the book" is more important-what is the feeling of recording these couplets? It's a manuscript written in peach characters, which is the Spring Festival couplets. There are many words in couplets that are still used in Spring Festival couplets, such as "Sanyang", "Four Ranks" and "Starting to Tune Yang". On the occasion of the new year, people are willing to express their concern for the four seasons. Five Blessingg, Richness, Birthday and Cheng Xiang still have folk vitality. Traditional Spring Festival couplets reflect the theme of ancient customs, which can be summarized into two aspects: exorcism and disaster elimination. The couplets recorded in the Dunhuang suicide note are precisely to ward off evil spirits and bring happiness and prosperity.

Dunhuang suicide note Stein 06 10 is a copy of Seven Words Record, which was copied in the 11th year of Tang Kaiyuan. We call it a hook, that is, the couplets of Spring Festival couplets, which are copied on the back of the paper. Undoubtedly, its copying date was much earlier than Meng Chang's Houshu, which proved that the Spring Festival couplets had been written on the peach board at the latest in the Tang Dynasty.

From Fu Tao to Spring Festival couplets, it is not only a question of name, but also a question of writing the word "Spring". This actually shows an innovation that changes the old content of Fu Tao. The old peach symbol was born out of the wooden statue of the altar, and the door gods were painted on the mahogany board, and the words "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu" were inscribed. In short, just like the symbolic meaning of mahogany itself, the symbolic meaning of peach lies in exorcism. This is the desire for self-protection and survival, which is more basic than the pursuit of quality of life, but it is a lower level. With the progress of social material civilization and spiritual civilization, people's pursuit of quality of life is getting stronger and stronger, which is manifested in their understanding of old customs, that is, not only seeking evil spirits, but also seeking happiness. Fu Tao's old content can no longer meet this new psychological demand. As a result, the old articles of association of Fu Tao, which wrote the name of the goalkeeper, were broken and gave way to the words "Fu Chu Qing Xin" and "Shou Yan Lu".

After this innovation, the original symbolic meaning of the peach symbol has not been lost. -mahogany is not the name of the goalkeeper; And the new meaning, plus the words pray for Najib, is superimposed. This superposition actually marks a qualitative leap. It is different from the ancient peach symbol. At the same time, the function of peach charm to ward off evil spirits has not been forgotten.

As for the name, it goes without saying that the poem of Wang Anshi in Song Dynasty and the lines of Yuan Zaju are still called Fu Tao. Zhang Bangji's Notes on Mozhuang in the Song Dynasty: "Dongpo is in Huangzhou, and the Wangs are in East Lake, so every time the public must visit. One day, I was forced to get rid of the old times. When I came to my home, I found a cure for peach charms. As soon as the public opera book was linked, it said,' The door is so big that thousands of people ride in it, and the hall is so deep that it feels male huan.' "Look, Fu Tao and The First Book take care of each other; What Su Dongpo did was to write Spring Festival couplets on New Year's Eve-however, people in the Song Dynasty said it was a "peach symbol".

People in the Southern Song Dynasty carefully wrote the book "Return to the Heart and Miscellaneous Knowledge" and the article "Fu Tao Convicted":

Huang was born in Yongjia, a county native. At the age of Wu Jia, Tao Fuyun wrote, "How can you celebrate the New Year? Do whatever you want. " As an official, I stopped.

Huang Qian, who was in high spirits, probably continued a few idioms of "It's time for the Chinese New Year" and "Everything will be fine". Unexpectedly, someone reported that he lost his job. Judging from this material, the name "Fu Tao" was still very popular in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the inscription on "Fu Tao" was already "Spring Festival couplets".

The name of Spring Festival couplets is said to come from the early Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang's story in Miscellaneous Clouds;

The Spring Festival couplets were set up in the Ming Tombs. Before New Year's Eve, news suddenly came from Jinling, the imperial capital, asking officials and gentry to add a pair of Spring Festival couplets on the door. Emperor pro-micro-line out of view, thought to laugh. Occasionally, I met a loner who wanted a pickled (castrated) seedling. I haven't heard of it. The emperor said to the great book, "Split the road of life and death with both hands and cut off the root of right and wrong with one knife." Throw a pen to Levi, a captain or something. When the heir returned, he didn't hang himself. When asked, Yun said, "Knowing is a royal book, hanging nave high, and burning incense and consecrating it as a gift for the New Year." The emperor was overjoyed, and gave him fifty taels of silver to move the industry.

Judging from this material, Zhu Yuanzhang not only advocated hanging Spring Festival couplets on New Year's Eve, but also went out of the palace incognito and saw the grand occasion of every household posting couplets; When he saw that there were no couplets on the door of the porcupine's house, he could improvise. A pair of couplets with industry characteristics was stable in confrontation and paired in pairs.

The advocacy of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty undoubtedly promoted the popularization of Spring Festival couplets. However, the ancient name Fu Tao has remained for quite a long time. Li Zhongfu, a adherent of the late Ming Dynasty, wrote an anecdote in Li Eryuan: Guo Jin in Qian 'an was good at helping Lu 'an, so he was possessed by evil spirits and had to ask for help. "Ginger, garlic, dog gall, eagle chest medicine, peach charm, ghost arrow, realgar, cinnabar town, ghost eye point has acupuncture." Fu Tao was banished from his home to suppress evil spirits. Not only is the old name still in use, but the original mysterious meaning has not been lost.

It is worth mentioning that as early as the Song Dynasty, Taofu had another name for couplets. In the Song Dynasty, the words and deeds of a famous official included: Song Renzong saw Yuchun's post one day, read it and fell in love with it. Ask around and say it's Ouyang Xiu's wording. So, please read in the palace. When you read a purposeful article, Song Renzong said, "When you raise your pen, don't forget the admonition rules. And a real servant. " There are many doors and many Spring Festival couplets in the palace. What did the Song people call it? Call it "Yuchun Post". It goes without saying that "Yuchun Tie" is the transition between "Fu Tao" and "Spring Festival couplets".

Spring Festival couplets have a new content, which was born in the form of a symbol of peach. From Fu Tao to Spring Festival couplets, the evolution of folk customs has gone through a long time.

3. Couplets: Spring Festival couplets evolved into four seasons couplets.

The fifty-third episode of A Dream of Red Mansions depicts a scene in which the two houses of Rong Ning bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Decorations on the door are everywhere: "It's the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and there are all kinds of colors. Both families have changed their door gods, couplets and listings, and they have new peach charms. " I also wrote that from the front door and the instrument door, the front door was wide open, and scarlet candles were lit under the steps on both sides, like two golden dragons.

What needs special inking here is that Cao Xueqin's pen uses couplets and peach symbols.

Couplets are couplets. For example, in chapter 7 of the Scholars, "The middle wall of the hall is still written by Mr. Zhou, and the red paper has been posted for a long time." It is about faded couplets on red paper. Cao Xueqin described Jia's gate as "changing door gods" and changing couplets. However, why do you say "new oil peach charm"? Couplets-that is, couplets, written on paper, like paintings, replace the old with the new; Fu Tao-Write couplets on wooden materials. It doesn't need to be changed every year. Just oil it and it will be as good as new.

By the Qing Dynasty, Fu Tao's mission had ended, because it had become a common practice to replace Fu Tao with couplets-since predecessors had found that more words could be written on the Fu Tao board to express some meanings, future generations would naturally not refuse this form. Especially in the elegant house of poetry and calligraphy, who will give up the opportunity to show literary talent with peach boards? It's just that the name "Fu Tao" has not disappeared. People haven't completely forgotten the mahogany board hanging on the door, and from there, the couplets written on the board are still called "peach symbols" to distinguish them from those written on paper.

The couplets on paper can be posted on the door when you resign, and you can continue a sentence every year to welcome the occasion of the New Year; The couplets written or engraved on wood are new as soon as they are oiled, and the sentences remain unchanged year after year, which has gone beyond the content of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new-strictly speaking, they are couplets rather than Spring Festival couplets. It applies not only to the celebration of the Spring Festival, but also to the four seasons.

Couplets other than Spring Festival couplets are called couplets or door couplets. According to the records of Hakka people in Chang 'an in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty, during Yongle period, when Beijing was built, "Daming Gate and Zhengyang Gate stood side by side", and there was a couplet:

After its establishment, Cheng Zu ordered the bachelor to write a couplet in Jie Jin. The ancient poem wrote in advance: "The sun and the moon are virtuous and the mountains and rivers are powerful." Chengzu was overjoyed and gave him a lot of money.

In Jie Jin's book, the last sentence praised the achievements of the Ming Dynasty, and later described the magnificent imperial city. Door couplets are made and hung out, which is suitable for specific occasions and sets off the atmosphere.

This pair of couplets is not Spring Festival couplets. It belongs to the same kind of couplets that people see in the historical sites today, and is usually called couplets to avoid the name of Spring Festival couplets. Of course, this is not strict enough because the concept of "couplets" often includes "Spring Festival couplets".

Fu Tao has evolved into Spring Festival couplets, at least there are traces of birth between them. That trace was printed on time, that is to say, the season of pasting couplets in the twelfth lunar month, from Spring Festival couplets to Spring Festival couplets, is still the season of "always changing new peaches for old ones", and the trace of this year has been blurred.

The antithetical couplets have gone beyond the limitations of the theme of Taofu to ward off evil spirits and the Spring Festival couplets of Naji, and won an unusually broad space for development, becoming a gorgeous flower cluster of China's door valve culture. The content and form of China's traditional culture, from moral ideal and aesthetic taste to the writing effect and reading effect of square Chinese characters and arrogant sentences, all add color and interest to the decoration of the portal, with infinite emotional appeal and lasting charm, overflowing fragrance between the left and right doors and the upper and lower sentences. Couplets also entered the portal, entered the room and decorated the pillars of the house wall, thus completely getting rid of the shadow of the peach board at the door.

Han Xin, Huoshan County, Anhui Province, wrote a couplet "Life and death are bosom friends; The survival of two women. " The first part is about "success is also Xiao He, and failure is also Xiao He". The second part is about two allusions. The wandering mother saved her life and Lv Hou killed her. Several crosses vividly summarize Han Xin's life and show the mystery of China's language and writing skills.

Yangzhou Shi Kefa Cilian, "Count the tears of plum blossom national subjugation; Second, I know the heart of the moon. " Shi Kefa refused to surrender, but gave his life for righteousness and was buried in Meihualing. The combination of scenes not only mourns the character of old friends, but also writes the feelings of newcomers. At the same time, the famous sentence "There is a moonlit night on earth, and there are hooligans in Yangzhou" in the Tang poem "Recalling Yangzhou" is borrowed to show the rhetorical beauty and artistic conception beauty of classical poetry.

Chengdu Wuhou Cilian, "If you can attack the heart, you can eliminate it from the opposite side, knowing that soldiers are not good at fighting since ancient times;" If we don't judge the situation, that is, it is wrong to combine leniency with severity, then we must think deeply about the problem of governing Shu. " It condensed a political history of Shu, a pair of paper.

Beijing Tanzhe Temple Maitreya Temple Trade Union, "A big belly can accommodate things that are difficult in the world; Laugh when you open your mouth, and laugh at the ridiculous people in the world. " Yizhuang is also harmonious, evocative and widely circulated.

On the door couplet of the main hall of Mengjiangnv Temple in Shanhaiguan, it says, "The sea faces up, down, down, up and down; The floating clouds are leisurely, leisurely, leisurely, and the clever use of disyllabic words is wonderful. When reading this couplet, some words "Chao" can be read as morning dynasty, while others can be read as pilgrimage dynasty; Some words "long" read as long as years, while others read as long as growth. According to the Qing Dynasty's "Continuing Wanderers", the old couplet outside the Jiangxin Temple in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province reads: "The sea of clouds faces each other, and the tide is long and long." The author of the book also witnessed the Fujian Luoxing Pagoda couplet: "The dynasty is morning and evening, and it grows and disappears." They can be classified into the same type.

Only from the above-mentioned scenic spot couplets, we can get the unique style of inkstone. The long process, from the decorations in front to ward off evil spirits, peach people, peach stalks and peach symbols, to the peach symbols (with auspicious words added), Spring Festival couplets (whose festive atmosphere constantly squeezed out the atmosphere of ward off evil spirits, and later became full of New Year's celebrations), to the couplets that are not necessarily related to ward off evil spirits, embodies the progress of civilization and the development of society, and has brought great psychological significance to mankind. Later, the living environment became less sinister, and people instinctively pursued the quality of life. They refused to throw away the peach charm to ward off evil spirits, but wrote auspicious words on it. Later, people who have a more rational understanding of the relationship between heaven and earth pay more attention to their own development and happiness in life. They finally threw away the peach charm to ward off evil spirits and blessed themselves with couplets.

The change of frontispiece decoration is not only a history of customs, but also a history of social and cultural development.

4. "stealing red"

Spring Festival couplets are indispensable, and the red couplets are warm and warm, dotted with festive atmosphere. The Zhanghua County Chronicle of Taiwan Province Province says that the Spring Festival couplets are written on red paper, which has "auspicious words, especially poetic elegance, and can best symbolize the weather of the New Year". At the same time, it records that "those who have been widowed for less than three years must stick green paper couplets, and those who die must stick yellow paper couplets to show it." This is in sharp contrast to the red couplets that people are used to. For those who attended the funeral, a memorial service was posted on the portal, in black and white, such as "I only shed tears for missing all day long, and every grass and tree was hurt without a mother's heart." This is different from the color of red paper and has a strong emotional color.

These attention to paper color emphasizes a folk custom from both positive and negative aspects, that is, red paper must be used for Spring Festival couplets. So there is a name in folk custom called "stealing red". This "red" refers to Spring Festival couplets. Guangdong Zhaoqing 1925 Sihui County Records recorded this folk custom:

On the "Lantern Festival", women go to people's homes to pick some vegetables and say "stealing green"; Or tear up the Spring Festival couplets in front of others and say "stealing red"; Or go to the temple to pick up the lamp belt and put it under the bed, which says "suitable for men"

On the fifteenth night of the first month, women step on the moonlight until people pick some vegetables, which is called "stealing green". Sneaking to someone's door, tearing off some Spring Festival couplets and taking them home is called "stealing red". This is called stealing, not being a thief, and people need not be ashamed of it. But we should still call it "stealing", because when we do these things, we don't want others to see it. Why not do it aboveboard? It is precisely because this is what women want to be "suitable for men" that infertile daughters-in-law expect dolls after marriage, which is beyond reproach, but it is always bad to make it public.

A full moon night is a good time for women. For example, on August 15, "Men don't go to Yue Bai", women have exclusive rights. On the fifteenth day of the first month, there are no festivals. On the first full moon night of the year, women go out "suitable for men" and secretly touch the doornails on the city gate. When they touched a nail, they touched-Ding, a man. Hit a nail doesn't hurt the copper doornail at all, but you should sneak around. This helps to understand the word "stealing" in "Stealing Youth" and "Stealing Red", which mainly refers to the modality when women do it. As for "stealing"-stealing in the sense of stealing, it is extremely unimportant.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, it is a common custom for women to go out to steal. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan Province Province's "Penghu Lue" recorded that a daughter without words would steal other people's onions when she went out at night. As the saying goes, "She steals onions and marries a good man; Steal vegetables and marry a good husband. " It is a sign of a man that a woman is cursed for stealing someone else's pig basin. During the Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty, Rebuilding the Records of Yangzhou Prefecture said, "It's quieter, and female companions walk together, saying,' Take the bridge', and beggars take bricks and hide in the dark." Although these things are different, the essence is the same-"stealing" is actually "begging", which is a kind of secret begging.

The same is true of "stealing red".

5. Menbian: the text embellishment of the building.

One example of the combination of classical architecture and cultural beads in China is the plaque. Formally speaking, the tablet is the carrier of the beauty of calligraphy and the beauty of composition. The name marked on the plaque condensed the cultural connotation of the magnificent view in a concise way, greatly enhanced the brilliance of the building, and even became a symbol of social, political and cultural. Regarding the internal capacity of the plaque, there is a section in this book entitled "The Cultural Implication of the Name of the Door".

Here we only talk about the plaque, a unique decorative form of the door. Shao Wen Lu said that Zhao Kuangyin boarded the Mingde Gate and pointed to the plaque and asked, "Is the word Mingde safe to use?" Zhao Pu replied: "Language help." As in the Song Dynasty, Wen Ying recorded the scene of this incident as Zhuquemen in the annals of Shan Ye, Hunan:

Emperor Taizu will be exhibited outside the city. Fortunately, Zhuquemen planned all this by himself, and only Wang Pushi of Zhao Han was lucky. Pointing to the threshold, he asked Pu, "Why not write' Zhuquemen' and use the word' Zhi'?" "Language helps," said Patton. Grandpa smiled and said, "That's a great help."

Zhao Kuangyin is a king who can win the world at once. He probably doesn't like the style of writing, so he has some comments on the word "ambition" on the threshold.

The word "zhi" on the door plaque did not disappear because of this. Otherwise, the word "zhi" would not be further discussed in Zhang Yu-zhong's Records of Japanese in Yuan Dynasty.

If the number of words on a plaque is odd and even, the word "zhi" is often added in ancient and modern times. For example, Dacheng Hall is called Dacheng Hall, and I don't know when it started.

The word "door" on the plaque is quite interesting besides the word "zhi". The Collection of Jane Ren Xuan in Qing Dynasty quoted Ma Yu's Ma Shi Ri Copy;

Door-to-door, partial kick. Lin 'an, the capital of the Song Dynasty, suffered a disaster in the Jade Butterfly Temple, which extended to the entrance of the temple. I took a fire pen with a hook on the door and called it fire, so I took back my forehead and threw it into the fire. Those who are behind the threshold of the book don't hook their feet. My forehead at the Nanjing palace gate was written by Zhu, and there was no hook on the door.

A fire broke out in the imperial palace in the Southern Song Dynasty. Some people blame it on the fact that there is a tick at the end of the word "door" on the door plaque. "The door has a hook and a fire pen, so it attracts firepower." Take down the plaque and throw it into the fire. The fire was put out. In this way, the inscription on the door plaque can no longer be written in ink, but can only stand there firmly without a pen.

There is another way to say the word "door" besides fire. According to Gu Dong Notes, in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhan Xiyuan wrote a plaque on imperial academy's door with a hook on it. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious at this: "We want to gather sages, but we have to close the door and get in the way for sages?" This Ming Taizu reads words and fully mobilizes his imagination. A "door" is like a door closed, blocking the road to becoming a sage. In fact, with this kind of "gathering talents", there is no way to recruit talents. It's not in the door. How about a stroke?

The plaque on the front door of Beijing is "Zhengyangmen", and the last word "door" is very strange, so I don't pick the hook. The folks made up a story that the emperor wouldn't let the people who wrote the plaque pick the hook. Why? It is said that the emperor thought: I want to go to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven, and I have to take the Zhengyang Gate. If the door is hooked, won't it cut me

There is a blue gold-plated plaque under the eaves of Guanyin Pavilion of Dule Temple in Jixian County, Tianjin. The plaque is vertical with the title "Guanyin Pavilion" and the inscription "Taibai". Scholar Shi Shuqing believes that this plaque should be inscribed by the great poet Li Bai. His argument is that most of the architectural plaques in the Tang Dynasty are vertical, and the existing plaques in the Tang Dynasty, such as the "Buddha Glory Zhen Temple" in the Beige Temple in Wutai Mountain, Shanxi Province, are vertical, and the threshold of the Tang Zhao Temple in Nara, Japan is also vertical.

In fact, there are still vertical plaques after the Tang Dynasty. For example, in the Song Dynasty, someone carved the poem "Man Chun in the Temple under the Pavilion" and used it as a horizontal book to name the pavilion. Those who are classified as evil are called' Listening to the Spring Temple' at home. "Braided Chicken Ribs" specifically stated that "it is a horizontal sign", which shows that not all the plaques in the Song Dynasty are horizontal.

The shape of the plaque, like a book, is called a hand-rolled forehead, and like an album, it is called an album forehead. In order to avoid rigidity, the garden plaque is also made of autumn leaves, which look like fallen leaves.

The font of the plaque is really a cursive seal, rich and colorful. The color of the plaque is also very rich. In the Confucian Temple in Wuwei, Gansu, the front of the main hall and the cloister are covered with plaques of the Qing Dynasty, which is a landscape. These plaques are in four colors: blue, purple, yellow, green and black. The inscriptions on the plaques are painted in four colors: gold, silver, blue and green. On each plaque, four characters are written: Jing Tian Di Wei, mediation, civilization in the world, killing for gentle friends, writing to carry the Tao and writing to carry the Tao.

The "one" plaque, one of the two famous plaques in Tainan, is wide and blue, and the word "one" is golden, like a blue sea and a golden dragon. The plaque is surrounded by regular script, and the book reads: "People waste their time, do their best, the truth is clear, and you can't cheat ..." * * * 77 words, shaped like lace.

The horizontal book "Li Xue Hall" has a plaque with a tourist's surname, four historical stories embossed on four sides, and "Cheng Men Li Xue" at the bottom, telling the reason why the hall is named "Li Xue"; On the left, you Zuo and Shi Yang were disciples of Cheng Men in Song Dynasty, who went to Fujian to spread Neo-Confucianism after their studies. At the top is "benefiting the government for the people", which shows the political achievements of You Zuo; On the right, "promoting learning and teaching", especially on the left, students give lectures. On the plaque, there are both words and pictures, and its cultural connotation is increasingly rich.

6. Family name hall number plaque

The plaque "Li Xuetang" was just mentioned in the last section. You's name is "Tang", which is based on the story of the Song Dynasty and. You Zuohe joined Cheng Yi, Cheng Yi was a great Confucian in Neo-Confucianism, Cheng Yi sat there printing, and You Zuohe waited until Cheng Yi woke up and it began to snow outside. The You family took "Sydney" as the Tang name, which was intended to pass on the traditional virtue of respecting teachers and attaching importance to education from generation to generation.

There is a plaque embedded above the door cannon of the residential building, and the plaque is often the house number. The hall number is a plaque used to express the surname and carry forward the ancestral style. Usually choose idioms or allusions related to their surnames to be engraved on the plaque. Such as "faithfulness and honesty", "Three Huai Yu Repairs", "Fragrant Hill Legacy School", "Long Legacy" and "Wonderful Show in Huaiyin", etc., and "established practice", people with different surnames will not mix them.

Sometimes it is directly called soup, such as You's, Zhou's Ailian Hall, Zhang's Hundred People's Hall, and San Huai Hall.

There are also examples of how many branches have surnames and each has a hall number. The Montessori family in Zhangqiu, Shandong Province is a business giant. After the separation of the Meng brothers, they set up their own branch halls, so the silk satin cloth shop had a hall of tolerance for Zeng Ruixiang, a hall of pity for Rui Fuxiang and a hall of divinity for Lin Ruixiang. These hall names of Meng surname give people the feeling that they are all selected from Mencius' remarks.

The name of a hall usually takes allusions related to surnames. Wang Xing's book "Sanhuaitang" may have a plaque of "Wonderful Show in Huaiyin". Its story comes from the biography of Wang Dan, the history of the Song Dynasty:

Wang Dan is very famous, very famous. ..... Father You, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, Shangshu, there is an article in the Han and Zhou Dynasties, Taizu and Taizong were both famous ministers. Du Zhongwei was told that there was no anti-Han, and Lu Duoxun's plot to harm Zhao Pu was rejected, so that Fu Yanqing was not guilty. Many people called him Yin De. The withered hand planted three towers in the court and said, "I will have three officials in the next life, which is why I am determined."

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang You, assistant minister of the Ministry of War of Shangshu, had a good writing style and made achievements as an official. He believed that the descendants of the three families would make public appearances, so he planted three locust trees as symbols in the yard. Later, his son, Wang Dan, became prime minister, and was called "Sanhuai King" at that time. He built the Sanhuai Hall of the Wangs in Kaifeng.

Wang Youzhi's "Three Huai" borrowed the allusion of "Three Huai". "The History of Banknotes in Qiu Guan, Zhou Li" records that "there are three pagodas in the face and three in the public position". It is said that three locust trees were planted outside the court of the Zhou Dynasty, and three of them appeared in front of the emperor. These three official titles, collectively referred to as the three highest titles of the imperial court, were three in the Zhou Dynasty: Taishi, Taifu and Taibao. Writer Su Shi is a friend of Wang Gong, the grandson of Wang Dan. At the request of Wang Gong, he wrote an inscription for three Tang Huai. This article was compiled into the book On China's View of Ancient Literature, which was widely circulated.

What Zhang boasted in front of the door was "the legacy of forbearance", and they often took "forbearance" as the hall name. There is a saying called "Endure makes gold", which contains the story of several generations living together. Old Tang Book Filial Piety Biography Zhang Gongyi;

Zhang Gongyi, a native of Shouzhang, Yunzhou, lived under one roof for nine generations. In the Northern Qi Dynasty, Gao Yongle, the king of Dong 'an, came to comfort him. During the reign of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty, envoys and Shaoyanggong paid tribute to each other and took on a new look. In Zhenguan, special officials add tables. Li Dezhong, Emperor Gaozong is related to Mount Tai. He passed through Yunzhou, and fortunately, he asked his righteousness. The man asked for a pen and paper, but there were more than 100 words "forbearance" written on the book. Emperor Gaozong shed tears for it and gave it a doubt.

Zhang Gongyi lived under the same roof, became famous and won several honors. The Book of the New Tang Dynasty also recorded the story of climbing Mount Tai, passing through that state and going to the Zhang family. "Ask the story, the book' forbearance' is right, and the eldest son cries for it."

Although there is some bitterness in "forbearance", it is also a glorious thing to be moved by wearing a dragon robe for a long time. In ancient China, it was always regarded as a good fashion to live together for generations, have the same family for generations, and have an orderly family. As a result, the Zhang family took "forbearance" as the hall name and followed suit.

Because Ailian Shuo was written by Zhou Dunyi, a famous Neo-Confucianist in Song Dynasty, Zhou was often called "Ailiantang". "Ailian Shuo" contains more than 100 words: "The flowers of land and water plants are lovely, and Tao Jinyuan loves chrysanthemums alone. Since Li Tang came, people all over the world have loved peonies. Alone in the lotus, the mud is not stained, the ripples are clear but not demon, the communication is straightforward, the fragrance is far and clear, and the plants are slim and graceful, which can be viewed from a distance without being ridiculous. Want to call chrysanthemum, the hermit of flowers; Peony, blooming with wealth; Lotus, the gentleman of flowers. Hey! The love between chrysanthemums and flowers is rarely heard after Tao. Who gave the lotus love? The love of peony is suitable for all ages! " Zhou Dunyi's "love lotus theory" has a long meaning, saying that lotus is a metaphor for people, which can be said to have reached an extreme. After Zhou Dunyi, many people loved lotus flowers. Zhou's thought of Tang's name not only made him proud, but also encouraged himself by the gentleman of flowers.