#in Ming it was the main residence of the empress and that's about where the author has placed the plot timewise

[wangsejabin]

Chapter 112

These words instantly made Pan'er wake up with a jolt.

   What, is he planning to appoint a crown prince?

   When the emperor ascends to the throne, apart from sealing the palace, one of the most important things he should consider is the creation of a crown prince.

   After all, the crown prince is the foundation of the state, and most people who become emperor are not young, and most of them have already had sons, and more than one. It is a common belief that many sons are a blessing, but if you look at the royal family, you can see that sometimes this is not always true.

   As the sons grow older, they are surrounded by more and more subordinates, tangible and intangible, subconscious and subconscious, and everyone is betting on them. Can the family prosper for another hundred years? Who doesn't want to last forever?

   In her previous life, at first she never dared to think that Zong Yue could sit in the emperor's seat, after all, the crown prince's position was as secure as a mountain. It was only later, when there was a hint of it, and she found out that Zong Yue also had that kind of mind, that she gradually moved her mind.

But before that, that is, before Zong Cong mentioned it, she had not thought about it at all, and probably subconsciously felt that many things had changed in this life, so she did not think about it. She thought that Zong Yue was still young and did not need to think about this for the time being, but at this moment, Zong Cong's words made her wake up at once.

   How to answer?

   Although she and he were now getting to know each other better, and there was a little bit of heart-to-heart between them, and he was willing to talk to her about things that bothered her, these trivial matters were not the same as setting up a crown prince.

   The crown prince was too sensitive, especially as she had given birth to the second son, Zong Yue.

So she turned over in his arms and said, "Your Majesty, that's a strange question to ask, I've never been a crown prince, how do I know whether it's good or bad to be one? This should be asked of Your Majesty, weren't you the Crown Prince before?"

   "I used to be the crown prince, but a long time ago, I actually didn't want to be the crown prince."

Pan'er fell silent, and Zong Cong did not speak either, falling into memory.

Everyone thought that the crown prince was above all others, the future Emperor, and that he must have been a great success and highly valued. But they did not know that all this was a shackle, an existence that made them walk on thin ice.

The memories of the past, which Zong Cong never wanted to recall, were the days when he carried his mother and himself on his back, the days when he studied hard behind the scenes but pretended to be light-hearted on the surface, the days when he pretended to be generous even when he was angry, the days when he laughed in the face even when he knew that he was up to no good, the days when he had to tense his nerves every day, the days when he forced himself to be thorough and never missed a beat, and the days when he was not able to be a good friend. ......

Therefore, when he saw that Zong Duo seemed to be following his old path, Zong Cong's feelings were very complicated.

   If he was in good health, he might have been relieved in his complexity, but he was not in good health and had to compete with Zong Yue.

   But he could not blame the child, accuse him of not working too hard, and as for Zong Yue, he was even more innocent, was it a fault that he was smart and good at reading and had a competitive spirit?

Zong Cong could foresee that when the dust had settled, the court would definitely start a heated debate on the crown prince.

   What should we do when the time comes?

"Brother Cong you'd better not think too much about it, after all those things have passed, you're now the emperor, I remember you told me before that you had a lot of things to do? You still have so many important big things to do, so why do you need to think about these small things."

   Yes, he still had a lot of big things to do.

It must be said that Pan'er was still quite good at comforting, no, diverting, and Zong Cong's attention was soon diverted to his government affairs.

   He was lost in thought, his hand stroking her back with one hand, while Pan'er breathed a soft sigh of relief.

   --

   It was clearly a cold day, but Empress Chen was very active, asking daily about the progress of the Ning Shou Palace's repairs.

   It was the first year of the new emperor's ascension to the throne, so it was particularly significant that the Ning Shou Palace had not been repaired, and Empress Fu could not move out of the Kun Ning Palace.

   Two snowstorms in a row meant that repairs had to be suspended.

   Empress Chen was anxious but could not say anything on the surface. At the same time, Zong Duo fell ill again and although he was only coughing, he was still not well for half a month, which added fuel to the fire.

This was to be followed by the ceremony of the enthronement of the Empress and the investiture of all the concubines in the Eastern Palace.

After this, they have all become official and rightful ladies, although not yet moved to the palace, but several lower ranking concubines would not be able to be the master of a palace and instead would live under the supervision of a more senior concubine.

Kunning Palace and Jingren Palace is naturally out of the question, one is the empress residence, one is Su Guifei's residence. Su Guifei has always been solitary, and no one was allowed close, she's just favoured like that, it is not possible to get a person to their own palace to share favor. The only thing that remains is the palace of Consort Hu Shufei Zhou Xianfei and others.

At first, when Hu Shufei saw the frequent visits of Qian Guiren and others, she was a little surprised at what they were doing there. But she was always a meat and potatoes kind of person, and she was also a big fan of watching the fun, so she met them.

   The two of them were sent away in a rare outburst of anger.

   Qian Qiao and the two of them were still a bit aggrieved, so if they didn't want to, why did they have to get so angry? When the concubine Li found out about this, she even went to laugh at them.

   "If you don't go to Concubine Su's place and run to Concubine Hu's, you're clearly saying that she's not in favour and needs your help?"

Qian Qiao and the two of them realized that they still had no choice but to go there, otherwise each of the six eastern palaces would be dominated, what if none of them wanted them or if they were given to concubine Li by the Empress?

   They went back to Consort Xu, who was very decisive and refused on the grounds that the Fifth Prince had recently been unwell and it was inappropriate for someone to visit him.

After these two incidents, Consort De was not stupid either, so the Sixth County Princess were also a little uncomfortable.

   So there were only two concubines left, Li and Zhao.

   At this point, concubine Li was so pleased with herself that you didn't want to live in my palace because you didn't like me, so what are you doing here? The door was closed, and the concubine Zhao's place had been very busy lately.

These are all things that Pan'er heard from the people below her, just like listening to a book, and after listening to it,

After hearing this she poured cold water on the situation: "Even the Empress has not moved her palace, where else would the others want to move?

In fact, Pan'er's words proved true, and it was only a few days before the New Year's Eve that Empress Chen finally realised in despair that she would not be able to move this year and would have to stay in the Eastern Palace.

   There was no need to think about the congratulations of the first wife, or about being worshipped on the phoenix throne.

On New Year's Eve, Zong Cong hosted a family banquet at Qianqing Palace. There were many people there, including princes and their families, some close relatives, the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, several imperial concubines and the ladies of the Eastern Palace.

   The atmosphere was very cordial and, although it may have been somewhat of an illusion, at least it proved that the majority of the people had come to terms with the reality of the new emperor's accession to the throne.

After the family feast, Zong Cong led the crowd to the Hall of the Nurtured Heart to visit the emperor.

This New Year's Eve, the Hall of the Nurtured Heart is probably the only place in the entire Forbidden City where there is no festive atmosphere, as the emperor has to recuperate from his illness and naturally needs quiet, especially since the emperor has been ill and cannot speak, his temper is getting worse every day, and the servants are all cautious and downcast as they wait on the sidelines.

   The crowd of people dressed in auspicious clothes visiting the Emperor looked particularly sarcastic.

   After all, it was not easy for the new emperor to think of the emperor at this point in his life, and even if he did, he was still being filial.

It was the emperor who seemed unusually unsettled, his mouth ahhhhh and not knowing what he was saying, but no one paid any attention to this.

The only one who took advantage of the Emperor's performance was the Prince of Qi, who made a fuss, reprimanding his lackeys for not serving him well, and saying that Zong Cong was treating the Emperor with apparent filial piety, but in fact he was secretly having people sparring with him, otherwise the Emperor would have behaved like this?

   But no one believed him, not to mention the fact that so many imperial concubines were present and had to queue up every day to attend to their illnesses. It was Pan'er's idea for Zong Cong to attend to his illness, but it was a lie to avoid suspicion. The Prince of Qi is being unreasonable, and at the same time, he is at the end of his rope.

After all, if he really had a solution for Zong Cong, why would he make a fuss over such a trivial matter? There were many clansmen present, and they all had their own opinions.

On the first day of the first month, the new emperor paid homage to his ancestors at the Imperial Temple, and announced the change of the reign name to Jianying.

   At the same time, the Kunning Palace was also bustling with activity.

   The Empress Dowager Fu was in the centre, Empress Chen was on the lower left, and the concubines of the new emperor, including Pan'er, were standing on either side.

   They were all dressed in gorgeous gowns, and it was difficult for the Home Office to rush so many gowns, but the momentum was really something like a new year.

But it's not a new year, since the fifth day of the first month, Zong Cong opened the seal, Zong Cong was all kinds of big action.

The first thing he did was to tell Empress Chen that her father had been made a marquis.

   This is a distinction that only imperial relatives can have, and it is usually added to the shade of the mother's family when the empress is crowned, but it is a lower rank than in the previous life, when it was a dukedom.

   Empress Chen was so happy and pleased that when Pan'er went to pay her respects, she could see the joy on her face.

   But as a result, Empress Chen was even more anxious to move the palace, and after the first month was over, she was concerned about the repair of the Ning Shou Palace.

   In the meantime, the six eastern palaces were also undergoing simple renovations, the only major one being the Jingren Palace, the residence of the princesses and the three southern houses where the imperial sons lived.

   In time for March, Zong Duo and Zong Yue moved to the South Third House, and Pan'er made several trips there to see the new paint, new doors and windows, new furniture and furnishings, and she also opened a special storehouse and added a lot of furnishings and other things for Zong Yue.

   In April, the Ning Shou Palace was finally repaired.

   Empress Chen personally supervised the decoration and furnishings inside, and waited for half a month after everything was finished before carefully mentioning that the Ning Shou Palace had been repaired when she went to the Kun Ning Palace to pay her respects.

Pan'er was present at the time, and now that she is a consort of the new emperor, she naturally cannot be as lazy as before.

The Empress Court was not the only one, but there was still the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, so she could not wait around for the concubines to come to pay their respects, so she gathered at Kunning Palace and paid her respects to Empress Dowager Fu, and then went to Cining Palace to pay her respects to the Grand Empress Dowager at her discretion.

It is not that Empress Dowager Fu is not willing to go, but the Empress Dowager also knows that she is old, every day tossing and turning disgusting, a month only on the first fifteen to come to ask for peace she will not say anything, other times to come to her are too noisy, and over time to go gradually less and less.

   Although Empress Chen had already been very particular about the way she spoke, and did not open the door to the princesses, but made a reference to the courtyard where they lived, Pan'er still saw Empress Fu and Nianqiu beside her glance at each other.

   The gesture was a little more meaningful.

   So the Empress was no ordinary person, Pan'er sighed once more.

   It wasn't that Empress Dowager Fu had tasted the hardships of being an empress before, and now she had to pick on Empress Chen. You think that the palace is so big, some of Empress Chen's actions will not fall on deaf ears, watching the repair process of Ning Shou Palace, at best filial obedience, at worst is eager to let Empress Fu move out of Kun Ning Palace.

But it's also true that she, the empress, wants to move into the Kunning Palace in a hurry.

   So the hearts of the people are like this, no one is wrong, but it is inadvertently in everyday life that countless conflicts are gathered.

   Fortunately, this had nothing to do with her, and Pan'er was sincerely grateful.

   Empress Fu didn't delay much and ordered her minions to pack up the next day. She had been Empress for many years and had lived in Kunning Palace for decades, so there was as much stuff as one could imagine.

When Zong Cong heard about this, he even made a special trip, saying that the Ning Shou Palace had just been repaired and that it would be better to wait for the paint inside to dissipate for a while before moving it, as there was no rush anyway.

   The Empress Dowager didn't say anything, she just said to move the things over slowly first.

When Zong Cong came out, Nianci told him what had happened yesterday.

He asked Pan'er why she knew.

It was because it happened that she had been recruited to go to Qianqing Palace that day, and Zong Cong had a rare moment of anger in front of her, demonstrating his displeasure with Empress Chen.

   He was becoming less and less shy of Pan'er, but Pan'er was anxious. You say he said something bad about the Empress in front of her, should she, as a favoured concubine, to advise, or not advise?

[sagarikagolder]

Throwback trip report

Beijing: 28/10/2003

After last night’s emotional visit to Tiananmen Square, we wanted to do the usual touristy things.

Summer Palace

Raka had warned me that there was going to be a lot of walking, so wear comfortable shoes.

The Summer Palace was built in 1750 by Emperor Qianglong as a spot for retreat, relaxation and even residence by imperial families and their entourage but it was during the late Qing dynasty and the regency of Empress Dowager Cixi (1861-1908) that it gained its current grandeur.

The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity (仁寿殿)

I was curious about the pair of bronze phoenix and dragon statues perched either side of the door, in front of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. I was told that traditionally, the dragon statue, representing the Emperor, is situated in the middle of the courtyard and the Phoenix, representing the queen, sits to the side. But here, since the Empress Dowager Cixi managed the affairs of the state, the Phoenix takes the central position.

…Ah!! the beginnings of feminism…

The Garden of Virtue and Harmony (德和园)

To the right of the  Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, is the Garden of Virtue and Harmony – the imperial leisure complex that is home to the imposing Grand Theatre.

This is where Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi watched performances of her favourite Peking opera. One can picture the Empress Dowager sitting directly opposite in the ornate Hall of Nurtured Joy occupying the best seat in the house; while other guests – by invitation only – would be seated around her.

The Hall of Joyful Longevity (乐寿堂)

The Hall of Joyful Longevity was first built by Emperor Qianlong as a gift for his mother’s sixtieth birthday. A bronze deer, bronze crane and bronze vase placed in front of the main hall symbolize peace.

Baijiashi (败家石)

This eight-meter-wide, four-metre-tall stone that sits in the courtyard of the Hall of Joyful Longevity, is called Baijiashi (败家石) – roughly ‘the stone of family financial ruin’. because of a legend attached to it. Even today many suspicious visitors still consider it bad luck to photograph the stone, fearing their own bankruptcy.

Baoyun Bronze Pavilion (宝云阁)

Unlike the other structures, which are made of wood, the Baoyun Pavillion, also called “the golden pavilion”, is made entirely of bronze. It is one of the three best and largest bronze buildings existing in China.

The Tower of Buddhist Incense (佛香阁)

The Tower of Buddhist Incense was built on the Longevity Hill.  The elaborately decorated three-tiered structure, that is as magnificent close up as it has been from afar.

A gilded statue of the thousand-handed Kwan-yin Buddha stands inside on the first floor. This statue, five meters high and five tons in weight, was cast in bronze and gilded with gold during the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty.

The Marble Boat (清宴舫)

Inlaid with colourful glass windows and wheels and paved with coloured bricks, two stories and eight meters high, this 36 meters long boat is immobile. I could visualize the Dowager Empress Cixi enjoying the exquisite view of Kunming Lake through the huge mirrors fixed on each deck while sipping her tea.

The Four Great Regions (四大部州)

It is a series of temples that mix the whites and reds of Tibetan architecture with traditional Chinese styles. A pair of stone lions and two stone sutra pillars stand in front of a spacious platform is all that remains of the southern part of Sumeru Temple after it was burned down.

Suzhou Street (苏州街)

When we arrived at Suzhou street, all of us were tired and hungry. This was a mock marketplace originally built by Emperor Qianlong to resemble the canals and architecture of the southern city of Suzhou, to impress one of his homesick concubines. Here Emperors and concubines could feel as if they were strolling on a commercial street. When the Royals went there, eunuchs and maids would playact as peddlers, customers and shop assistants to mimic market activities.

This cute old fortune teller insisted on telling Raka about her future, all for a fee of course. Though we did not understand a word he said or figure out what was written in the scroll he gave her, I am sure it must have been something good.

Finally, we rested our tired feet and filled our grumbling stomachs will some delicious local food in one of the quaint noodle shops enjoying the old world charm.

  Beijing bytes II: Summer Palace​. Throwback trip report Beijing: 28/10/2003 After last night's emotional visit to Tiananmen Square, we wanted to do the usual touristy things.

[gomacau]

Macau Chinese Temples around the islands are more then 40

Macau Chinese Temples

Around the islands are more then 40 Macau Chinese Temples which are classified as suburban temples rather than distinctive in style. This system of temples is hardly seen in the Mainland China, and neither in Hong Kong nor Taiwan.

  Macau Chinese Temples in Western Paintings and Photography

Besides the records of Matteu Ricci, a number of western painters also came to China and included the A-Ma Temple into their works. The A-Ma Temple was also photographed by French photographers and become one of three earliest photographic scenes of China after the invention of photography.

Among the western painters who come to China were Auguste Borget (1808-1877), William Princep (1794-1874), George Chinnery (1744-1852), Edward Hildebrandt (1818-1869) and etc. .

In the summer of 1844, five years after the invention of photography, Frenchman Jules Itier (1802-1877) came to Macau as one of the entourage of the delegation of Mr. Lagrene. Itier participated in the negotiation of the Treaty of Huang Pu Between China and France. One of his photos was the door of A-Ma Temple. When the film of silver version was developed at that time, its reverse side was put on the front.

A-Ma Temple became one of the earliest scenes that were photographed in China after the invention of photography.

Temple Gods and Worship

The nearly forty temples in Macao are typically mixed in terms of worship. To some extend, these temples belong to suburban temples. For example, the ancient temple of Buddha called “Chan Yuan”, have images other than the Buddha.

In the Lotus Temple, beside the images of Buddha such as Kun lam, God of Earth and Waits, there also are images of Taoism such as Tin Hau and Kwan Tai; the images of folk gods such as God of Land, Lord of Door, Personages and Eminent Horses, Empress of Kam Fa (Golden Flowers) and Lord of Dou Mu; even the images of ancient times of China such as Emperor of Shen Nong, Cang Jie and Zu Song.

Usually the Macau Chinese Temples get the gods of Buddhism, gods of Taoism and the folk gods all together.

Taking the temple of Kun lam for another example, besides the Buddha of Three Generations, Kun lam, God of Earth, Buddha of Maitreya, Eighteen Arhats, Weito and King of Hell, it is also dedicated to Empress and Kwan tai. On its back mountain, there is an image of folk god called “Immortal of Bones” which is hard to find in any books.

The worshippers’ behaviours in the Macau Chinese Temples are also peculiar. Most people offer incenses and recite Buddhist sutras. Others offer sacrifices and fire paper candles.

There is some suburban temple music collected in the Chinese Ancient Music Office. They were performed for the occasion when the ancient emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven, Earth or ancestors. In fact, during ancient times there were various sacrificial activities circulated among the people in honour of Heaven, Earth, Gods, Ghosts or even men.

Later, along with the development of the history, the emergence of religions and the differences among various conventions, the sacrificial activities in honour of Heaven, Earth, Gods, Ghost or ancestors took on multiple looks.

The sacrificial activity in honour of men has gradually changed to be part of social activity, by offering sacrifices to eminent figures of Chinese nations instead of ancestors of a clan or a family, though this social activity has developed continuously until today.

The so-called suburban culture refers to all the cultures associated with sacrificial activities. It is a spiritual belief.

The places where people offer sacrifices, process religious services, worship and commemorate are material conditions of suburban cultures, namely the relative Buddhist temples, Taoist abbeys, ancestral temples, former residences, precipices, grottos, sacrificial houses, mausoleums and tombs. (Buddhist Temples of China, Tian Jin People’s Publishing House, 1994 edition by Wu Yingcai and Guo Junjie)

The nearly forty existent temples o Macao have formed a system accumulated over a long period since the middle age of the Ming Dynasty. The number of the temples has never been reduced and the cultural relics from the Ming Dynasty are well kept in the temples.

The system of suburban Macau Chinese Temples originated mainly from Lingnan and central plains, and was influenced a great deal by central plains.

It is said in the Annals of Zhongyi Village of Foshang: “The people of Yue respect ghosts.” This custom has a deep influence in Macao.

The gods worshipped in the Macau temples have two origins: one refers to the gods from central plains such as the Buddhist gods, Taoist gods and gods of ancient times; the other refers to the folk gods from Lingnan.

The worship of Kam Fa (Golden Flowers) which can be seen everywhere in Macao came from Lingnan. The worship of Empress of Golden Flowers originated from Guangzhou. It is said that the Empress, regarded as protective god of children, can protect the normal childbirth, but also bless their peaceful growth.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the temple of Golden Flower had a large number of worshippers and more than eighty images of Empress of Golden Flower were worshipped in the temple. The phenomenon aroused the interest of the folklorist and historian Gu Jiagang and other persons, and then they made a special visit to the temple to study more about it.

At the present there are more than ten temple where Empress of golden flowers are worshipped, including temple of Lin Fung, Temple of Tai Soi, Temple of Yi Ling, Temple of immortal Lu Zu, Temple of Lin Kai, Ancient Temple of Kun Lam, Ancestral Temple of Fok Tak in Horta e Mitra, Temple of Golden Flowers of Coloane (also called Temple of Three Divinities) and etc. Among these temples, the temple of Lin Kai and the Temple of Tai Soi are the largest scale.

There are 15 images of Kam Fa (Empress of Golden Flowers) respectively worshipped in the Temple of Lin Kai and the Temple of Tai Soi. These images are in different poses: some take babies in their arms, some wave fans and some feed babies at the breast, showing their secular aspects. Though the temple is not as large as the Temple of Golden Flowers of Henan Village of Guangzhou in scale, it keeps the folk customs.

The worshipped of the God of water Tam Kung in the Temple of Tam Kung of Coloane and the Temple of San Seng (Three Divinities) of Ka Ho came from the folk worship of the Mountain of Nine Dragons of Huizhou of Guangdong; the Dragon Mother of Yuecheng worshipped in the Temple of Nu Wa of the Ruins of church of Sao Paul, originated from the main Goddess-Dragon Mother of Yuecheng of the Temple of Dragon Mother located I Deqing of Guangdong, which has a wide influence in the region of Delta of Pearl River.

The images worshipped in some Macau temples come from Lingnan, which shows deep influences of Lingnan culture in Macao. Macao lies to Lingnan and most residents of Macao have origins of Guangdong, so it is convenient for Lingnan to spread its beliefs since it has got the advantages of favourable climatic, geographical and human conditions.

The culture of central plains is deeply planted in Macao. Through the Macau temples are heavily influenced by the folk customs of Lingnan, they originated from central plains. The cultural system of central plains is deeply rooted and firmly planted. It has a distant origin and long development. Its great and profound influences can be seen in the Macau Chinese Temples.

The main strain of the system of folk worship of Macao mainly inherits from central plains. As we know, all the images that own a large number of worshippers of Macao such as Kun lam, Tin Hau, Kwan Tai, Pak Tai, Buddha, Lord of Earth, Tai Soi and Lu Zu, originated from central plains. At the same time, the gods of ancient times of central plains such as Nu Wa, Yan Di, Ju Song, Cong Jie, Yi Ling, Mother of Earth and the folk immortals such as Lord in charge of wealth, Hua Guang, Ancestral Master Lu Ban and others, have also exerted great influences on the beliefs of the Chinese of Macao.

Today, worshippers will gather in the temples on every anniversary of Buddha, Kun lam or relative gods. Traditional cultural worship in Macao has deep-roots.

The city of Macao was set up in the Ming Dynasty and more than half of the Macau Chinese Temples were built during the Qing Dynasty. The inflow of the beliefs of central plains and of Lingnan, their settlement and prosperity were associated more or less with the policies of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. For example, the government of the Ming and Qing Dynasties deliberately popularized and advocated images by administrative means and conferred titles to the images, which were favourable to the moralities among the people.

(Excertps from: Macau Temples by Chan, Lei and Chendra published by IACM SAR 2002)

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Macau Chinese Temples

Temple Art

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Temple Sculpture

Temple Calligraphy

Temple Literature

Temple Theatre

Coloane Temples

Kaho Temples

A-ma Temple

Bamboo Temple

Fok Tak Temple

Hong Chan Kuan

Kun Iam Temple

Kun Iam – Taipa

Kwan Tai Temple

Kwan Tai Temple

Lin Fung Temple

Lotus Temple

Na Cha Temple

Pak Tai Temple

Sam Kai Vui Kun

Sam Po Temple

Sin Fung Temple

Tai Vong Temple

Tam Kung Temple

Taoist Temples

T of City of God

Temple of Divinity

Temple of Tin Hau

Tin Hau – Coloane

Tin Hau – Taipa

Macau Temples

The post Macau Chinese Temples around the islands are more then 40 appeared first on Macau Holiday.

[printcious]

Gift Ideas for Chinese New Year Presents

  Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival in China, is China's most important traditional festival. It is also the most important celebration for families, and a week of official public holiday. Chinese New Year 2017 is on Saturday January 28 so make sure to mark your calendars. The Chinese calendar was a complex timepiece. Its parameters were set according to the lunar phases as well as the solar solstices and equinoxes. Yin and yang, the opposing but complementary principles that make up a harmonious world, also ruled the calendar, as did the Chinese zodiac, the cycle of twelve stations or “signs” along the apparent path of the sun through the cosmos. Each new year was marked by the characteristics of one of the 12 zodiacal animals: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. 2017 is a year of the Rooster according to the Chinese 12-year animal zodiac cycle. Oracle bones inscribed with astronomical records indicate that it existed at least as early as 14th century B.C., when the Shang Dynasty was in power. The calendar’s structure wasn’t static: It was reset according to which emperor held power and varied in use according to region. Originally tied to the lunar-solar Chinese calendar, the holiday was a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family together for feasting. The ancient Chinese calendar, on which the Chinese New Year is based, functioned as a religious, dynastic and social guide. Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. Wherever they are, people come home to celebrate the festival with their families. More modern celebrations include watching the CCTV Gala, instant message greetings, and cyber money gifts. The main traditional celebrations of the festival include eating reunion dinner with family, giving red envelopes, firecrackers, new clothes, and decorations. The New Year's Eve dinner is called "reunion dinner", and is believed to be the most important meal of the year. Big families of several generations sit around round tables and enjoy the food and time together. Prior to the Reunion Dinner, a prayer of thanksgiving is held to mark the safe passag of the previous year. Confucianists take the opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered. Some people do not give a Buddhist prayer due to the influence of Christianity, with a Christian prayer offered instead. According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would eat villagers, especially children. One year, all the villagers decided to go hide from the beast. An old man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he's going to stay the night, and decided to get revenge on the Nian. All the villagers thought he was insane. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town to see that nothing was destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red and loud noises. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount. To say goodbye to the old year and usher in a prosperous future, why not send warm wishes and greetings to your friends with custom made gifts from Printcious? With thousands of designs to choose from, you will never run out of ideas and what to gift to every family member this year. 1. Pouring Down the Fu for Luck, Happiness & Prosperity The Chinese character “fu” means good fortune and happiness, and during Spring Festival virtually every family would paste it upside down on their doors in the hope that the word could bring blessings to their families. As to why “fu” should be placed upside down there are three interpretations. The first interpretation has the practice of pasting “fu” during Spring Festival originate in Jiang Ziya of the Zhou Dynasty (11th Century-256 B.C.). When Jiang Ziya was made a god, his wife demanded to be made a goddess. “After I married you I was always in poverty in my life,” Lord Jiang said. “It seems you are destined to be poor. So let me appoint you as the Goddess of Poverty.” Not knowing what being the Goddess of Poverty held in store for her, his wife was nevertheless happy about becoming a goddess. Cheerfully, she asked, “Now that I'm the Goddess of Poverty, where shall be my domain?” Jiang replied, “You are off limits wherever there is good fortune.” When the residents got word of Jiang's instruction, they wrote the character “fu” on paper and pasted it on the doors and windows of their houses to keep the Goddess of Poverty away. Thus pasting “fu” during the Spring Festival became a Chinese tradition. The second interpretation ascribes the practice to Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. One year, on the 15th of the first lunar month, Zhu went incognito on a fact-finding inspection tour. When he arrived at a town he saw people huddle together and watch a painting that poked fun at women of west Anhui refusing to have their feet bound by featuring a bare-footed woman holding a large watermelon in her arms. The emperor, however, misconstrued the meaning of the painting, thinking that people were laughing at his wife, Empress Ma. Who came exactly from west Anhui. Returning to his palace he sent some soldiers to look into the matter. He particularly wanted to know who were those people watched and commented on the painting, and who was the painter. He also asked the soldiers to paste “fu” on the doors of those who did not join in the crowd. Two days later, another team of soldiers arrived in town to arrest people from the houses whose doors were not marked with “fu” on charges of scoffing at the queen. Since then the Chinese have been pasting “fu” on the doors of their houses to shun trouble. The third interpretation attributes the practice to Fu Jin, the Princes of Gong of the Qing Dynasty. Once, on the lunar New Year's Eve, the butler of the mansion of the Prince of Gong wanted to curry favor with his master. He followed past practice and had several large “fu” written and pasted on the front gates of the warehouse and the mansion. One of the men sent to do the pasting was illiterate and put the character upside down on the front gate of the mansion. Enraged, the prince wanted to punish the perpetrator by whipping him. The butler, who had the gift of the gab, hastened to go down on his knees and pleaded: “Your humble servant often heard people say that Your Excellency is a man of longevity and great fortune. Indeed, great fortune did arrive today; it is a good sign.” The prince was convinced. “This is why the passers-by were saying that great fortune had arrived in the mansion of the Princess of Gong,” he thought, “Once an auspicious saying is repeated for a thousand times, my wealth could increase by 10,000 taels of gold and silver.” He then awarded the butler and the servant who pasted the paper upside down fifty taels of silver. Since then the practice of pasting “fu” upside down during Spring Festival has become a tradition followed by both imperial aristocrats and commoners. Send the best wishes of luck to friends and family with personalized upside down fu gifts. Get your personalized and loving gifts here! 2. Let the Door Gods Usher in Positive Things Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. In modern use, door gods are usually printed images which are pasted to paired doors. They are usually replaced every Chinese New Year. Occasionally, they are sculpted in relief or placed as statues to either side of a door. The figures should face each other; it is considered bad luck to place them back to back. So what's the history of the door gods, you ask? The 10th chapter of the Chinese novel Journey to the West includes an account of the origin of door gods. In it, the Dragon King of the Jing River disguised himself as a human to outsmart the fortune teller Yuan Shoucheng. Since he was able to control the weather, he made a bet with Yuan about Chang'an's forecast for the next day. He was nonplussed, however, when he received an order from the Jade Emperor telling him to give the city precisely the weather Yuan had predicted. The Dragon King preferred to win the bet and disregarded the order, going to Yuan to gloat the next day. Yuan remained calm and revealed that he had known the Dragon King's identity all along. Moreover, since the dragon had been so arrogant as to disregard an order from the Jade Emperor, his doom would be short in coming. The dragon was shocked to see his disobedience known and immediately pleaded with Yuan to save him. Yuan let him know that the Jade Emperor would send Wei Zheng—a senior minister from the court of the Great Ancestor of the Tang ("Emperor Taizong")—to execute him at noon the following day. He told him his best course of action was to ask Taizong for help and, taking pity on the Dragon King, the emperor agreed to save him. In order to do so, the emperor summoned Wei Zheng to play go with him in the morning. He endeavored to keep Wei from leaving until after noon, preventing him from carrying out the Jade Emperor's order, and was delighted when Wei grew so tired with the long game that he fell asleep. A little while later, however, the Great Ancestor was told that a dragon's head had fallen from the sky. Wei awoke and told him that his spirit had left his body during his nap and gone to Heaven to carry out the Jade Emperor's order. The annoyed spirit of the Dragon King then haunted the Great Ancestor each night until his generals Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong volunteered to stand guard at his door. The emperor enjoyed his peaceful sleep but did not want to continue bothering his two generals. In their place, he had artists paint their portraits and paste them to the doors. This was then copied by his subjects. So why not send friends and families their own door guards to commemorate the upcoming rooster year? Get your Chinese New Year gifts here! 3. Brightening Paths with Red Lanterns for a Brighter Future There are many origins about the Lantern Festival. One said that it was originated from the Taoism. It is called Shangyuan Festival according to the Daoism. ‘Shang’ refers to the heaven. On the day, families should worship the Heaven Officer of Taoism and decorate the house with lanterns to get safety. Another said it is related with a Buddhist legend. According to the legend, the fifteenth day of the first Chinese lunar month was the day that Sakyamuni defeated the demons. So to commemorate the day, lanterns should be lighted. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD), the custom has been popular. The Emperor Hanmingdi ordered all the temples and families should light lanterns on the evening of the day. From that time on, it has a custom to light lanterns for the festival. It is also said that in ancient times, a beautiful bird flew down from the heaven to earth. It was killed by a villager by accident. As the bird was favored by the Jade Emperor in Heaven, after knowing this, he got angry and ordered to burn the village and all the people on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Unable to bear witness, the daughter of the Jade Emperor told this message to the villagers. All the villages were anxious. Luckily, an old man had suggested that every family hang red lanterns, set off fireworks and firecrackers on the 14th, 15th and 16th day. In this way, the Jade Emperor may thought the villages had been on fire and the villagers were burned to death. On the evening of 15th day, the Jade Emperor saw the village was ablaze and thought the people had been died. So, he didn't order to burn the village. From that time on, people hang lanterns, set fireworks and firecrackers on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year to celebrate the victory. Send gentle wishes and loving thoughts with personalized gifts to light their new year this 2017! Wow! So this is a definitely a long post from us and we hope you enjoyed the legends of a few important Chinese New Year icons. From the theories of how the upside down Fu came about to the door gods as well as the red lanterns, we hope this entry has been beneficial for you. This Chinese New Year, the year of the Fire Rooster, don't forget to send warm wishes and offers of luck to friends and families. May the present bonds be tightened and new relationships be formed to usher in a prosperous year and further future. Send personalized gifts by Printcious.com today! Searching for inexpensive gift ideas? Read our blog here!