The role of chicken in folk customs

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Zuo Qiuming's "Guoyu·Jin Language Four" recorded: "Twenty-five sons of the Yellow Emperor, 14 of them have surnames, and twelve surnames: Ji, You, Qi..." The twelve surnames reflect The twelve cell races of the ancient Huangdi tribe. Among the twelve surnames, chicken is the only member of the twelve earthly branches.

The ancient timer has not yet been invented. The cock crows in the morning to inform people that the new weather is beginning. It is not only a clock for the villagers’ family, but also a clock for public life. During the Warring States Period, the famous Hangu Pass was opened and closed according to the cock crow. Meng Changjun, who fled in despair, faced the closed gate, worried that he would be chasing soldiers from behind. Among the diners, there were ventriloquists who learned to crow, and screamed and the chickens cried, cheating to open and close the door. This story was written into "Historical Records" by Sima Qian and passed down as a familiar classic.

The ancient Han nationality had a seasonal custom of "killing chickens", which was popular in Zhejiang Jinhua, Wuyi and other places. Every year on the seventh day of July, the local people must rooster, because the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl will meet on the bridge that night. If there is no rooster to report the dawn, they will never be separated.

The Tujia people call shuttlecock kicking "kicking chicken". During the Spring Festival , young men and women kicked the "chicken" together. One person kicked the "chicken". Everyone fought for it. Those who received the "chicken" could chase anyone with grass. However, young men and women often chase their loved ones with grass. In the future, "kick the chicken" has become a medium of love and love.

On October 1st of the lunar calendar, some places in Henan want to kill chickens and scare ghosts. The legend is that Lord Yan let go of ghosts, and will collect ghosts on Ching Ming Festival the following year . The folks think that ghosts are afraid of chicken blood, and chicken blood avoids evil, so they kill chickens to scare ghosts on October 1st, so that little ghosts dare not come out. As the saying goes: "October 1st, kill the chicken."

In some areas of Shandong, there is a marriage custom of "holding a chicken". When getting married, the girl chooses a boy to hug a hen, and sets off with the sedan chair to send her off. Because the chicken is homophonic with "ji", the picture of holding a chicken is auspicious. In addition, there was a custom of keeping "long-lived chickens" in ancient times. When the marriage is approaching, the man will prepare a red rooster and the woman will prepare a fat chicken. The hen indicates that the bride is a "good luck man." At the time of marriage, the cock that the woman prepares must be held by her underage brother or other boys, set off with the sedan chair, and rush to the man's house before the cock crows. People think that the rooster does not sleep, and the hen does not sleep, and it overwhelms the rooster with momentum. Then, the man handed the cock to the cock holder, tied the cock and the hen to the legs of the table, and beat the cock from time to time until the cock became weak. This was a symbol of the wife's subduing her husband. After that, these two chickens were not allowed to be killed, so they were called long-lived chickens. In Zhejiang, the marriage custom of "slaughtering chickens" is popular. The groom goes to the bride’s house to get married, while the wife’s house spreads a piece of white cloth on the ground and lets the groom slaughter chickens on it. When killing a chicken, the wife deliberately collided with the bridegroom, but the experienced bridegroom was able to deal with it freely and would not let the wife succeed.

The custom of "chicken rice ceremony" is popular among the Bai people in Dali, Yunnan. The chicken rice gift is divided into two types: chicken rice single gift and about rice double gift. The single gift is a rooster and a jar of rice wine; the double gift is a large rooster with two sides and three knives, a jar of rice wine, and a jar of grain seeds. This is a gift given to each other at birth, marriage , and house building between pro-in-laws or in-laws . ( Chinese Zodiac http:///shengxiao/)

In the old days, the Han nationality and some ethnic minorities popularized the social custom of drinking chicken blood wine. When worshiping brothers, in order to show that they are like brothers and feet, sharing blessings, and sharing difficulties, people slaughter a rooster, put a few drops of chicken blood in each bowl of wine, swear to the sky, and then drank the blood wine.

Chicken