The sky is like a dome, covering the four fields

——A brief discussion of the Mongolian cultural factors in Han folk customs

The Mongolian people are a nation with a long history and rich legends People of color. Whenever its name is mentioned, people will think of the ancient song "The sky is blue, the fields are vast, the wind blows the grass and cattle and sheep are low", and before their eyes they will see white clouds, gurgling rivers, brilliant mountain flowers, herds of cattle and sheep, and horses. The vast and boundless grassland scenery with galloping and fragrant flesh and milk reveals the majestic appearance of this "nation on horseback" who once dominated the world, traveled across Europe and Asia, was brave and skilled in battle, and devoured mountains and rivers.

As the only northern nomadic nation in ancient China that established a unified dynasty across the country, Mongolian culture has left an indelible mark on the vast history of Chinese culture. However, historical and cultural research since the founding of the People's Republic of China has tended to simplify Mongolian culture for a long time. In many books or textbooks, the Mongol and Yuan culture are often understated with only one or two strokes. Scholars mostly refer to Marx’s famous assertion – “Barbaric conquerors are always defeated by the higher civilization of the nations they conquer.” "conquered" (1) as a guide, either emphasizing the Mongolian people's learning, absorbing Han culture and ethnic integration, or emphasizing the negative effects of economic destruction, injection of backward production relations, ethnic oppression and discrimination caused by the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, It ignores the profound and positive impact this great nation, which once conquered all directions, was invincible, established across Europe and Asia, and ruled China with a grassland-based culture for nearly a century (1279-1368), on the Chinese nation, especially the Han folk customs. Influence. In fact, Mongolian culture, with its spirit of "the sky is like a dome, covering the surrounding fields", has more or less influence on many aspects of Han folk culture in the process of continuous penetration and deepening of Han culture.

Why does Mongolian culture influence Han folk customs

(1) The history of ethnic migration of the Mongolian people is the prerequisite for the "Mongolianization" of Han folk customs

Mongolia The migration history of the ethnic group shows that the predecessors of the Mongolian ethnic group were first active in Ergun City, Hulunbuir League, Inner Mongolia (2), living a simple nomadic life. After gradually moving westward into the Mongolian Plateau in the 9th century, the social economy began to develop significantly. In 1206, Temujin unified all Mongolian tribes and established the Mongolian state. After that, he made three western expeditions, aiming directly at West Asia, Central Asia and Europe. At the same time, the Mongolian army began to attack southward, successively destroying the Jin and Southern Song Dynasties, and established the Yuan Dynasty to rule the country in 1276, with its capital in Dadu (today's Beijing). As the political center later moved south, the Mongols, as the ruling ethnic group, also continued to migrate to various parts of the country.

In addition to living on the Mongolian Plateau, the Mongolian people during the Yuan Dynasty were also widely distributed in northwest China, the Central Plains, southwest, Jiangnan and other places. "During the Western Expedition, a large number of Mongolians stayed in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and other places. When Genghis Khan enfeoffed, the Mongolian tribes also entered the grassland area of ??southeastern Inner Mongolia. After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, they controlled the northeastern areas The Mongolian troops are most concentrated in the Liaohe River Basin. The Mongolians living in Yunnan today are also descendants of the Mongolian troops stationed in the Yuan Dynasty” (3). At the same time, the Gyeonggi region centered on Dadu (today’s Beijing, Shanxi and northern Hebei Province) is also the area where Mongolians are most concentrated. In addition, there were also a large number of Yuan Dynasty troops stationed in the early Yuan Dynasty in Shandong, Henan, Hubei, and Sichuan, which were located at the junction of the Song and Jin Dynasties. In the Yuan Dynasty, Henan and Shandong were known as the "Heartland of the World" and were the key areas where the Mongolian army was stationed. According to records in the "History of the Yuan Dynasty" volume "Shizu Ji 14", around 1327, there were 110,000 Mongolian households stationed here. Very popular locally (4). At the same time, although many people think that the area south of the Yangtze River has nothing to do with the Mongols, as the economic center of the Yuan Dynasty, a considerable number of Mongolian troops were stationed here. For example, Yangzhou was the fiefdom of King Zhennan, the ninth son of Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty. The maximum number of Mongolian troops stationed here was 40,000.

Today, the Mongolian people mainly live in the Mongolian autonomous prefectures and counties in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and other provinces and regions; the rest live scattered in Ningxia, Hebei, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Beijing and other provinces, cities, and districts. According to the fifth national census in 2000, the Mongolian population was 5,813,947 (5). This is how the Mongolian culture continues to influence the Han culture with the migration of the Mongolian people. In such a long process, many Mongolian folk customs have gradually been accepted by the Han people, injecting a certain "Mongolian" into the lives of the Han people today. transformation factor”.

(2) The Mongolian “steppe-based” ruling culture is the basis for the preservation of Mongolian culture and its influence on Han folk customs.

Genghis Khan once said: "If one day my descendants and subjects all live in houses built of mud, that will be the time when the Mongolia I established will perish." (6) Compared with previous generations. Compared with the political power established by the northern peoples, the Mongolian people have their own special features. In ancient my country, most of the northern minority dynasties were influenced by the agricultural civilization of the Han people after taking over the Central Plains, and embarked on the road of Sinicization. This is a general historical trend. However, on the road to Sinicization of the grassland nomads, the Mongols' steps were much more hesitant and difficult.

The grassland-based policy of the Great Mongol Kingdom determined that the Mongolian Khan only adopted indirect rule over the Han lands, focusing on plundering and neglecting governance, resulting in the situation of "no rule in the Han lands". After Kublai Khan came to the throne, he changed his tune, implemented Han law, and moved the center of governance from Mobei to Han, thus taking a key step on the road to Hanization. However, Kublai Khan's policy of promoting Han law was incomplete from the beginning. With the establishment of political power generally complete and the initial completion of rituals and etiquette, the work of further promoting Han law and bridging cultural differences has tended to stagnate. A large number of old Mongolian institutions that hindered social progress have been preserved for a long time under the guise of "ancestral narratives" because they involve the privileged interests of the nobility.

This may be one of the reasons for the premature decline of the Yuan Dynasty to a large extent. But on the other hand, the Mongolian rule played a very positive role in Chinese culture. In the Mobei grassland before the founding of Mongolia, various ethnic groups changed frequently and rose and fell for more than a thousand years. However, in the nearly a thousand years since the founding of Mongolia, there has always been only the Mongolian as the main ethnic group in the Mobei grassland. Even after the demise of the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongols The disintegration of the unified regime was no exception. As a result, Mongolian culture has been preserved relatively intact, and many Mongolian folk customs have also influenced the Han people and become part of the Han folk customs, injecting new factors into the life and folk customs of the Han people.

The "Mongolian" factor in Han folk customs

(1) Eating meat and drinking cheese spread to the Central Plains - Mongolian food culture affects Han folk customs.

As Mongolian culture gradually merges with Han folk customs, many people may not know that many of our common customs are related to the Mongolian people. And many common foods in our daily lives are inextricably linked to the Mongolian people.

1. The origin of hotpot mutton. Shabu-shabu mutton is a traditional Mongolian way of eating, and it was introduced to Beijing in the Qing Dynasty. Although many Han people today like to eat hotpot mutton, few people know that hotpot mutton actually originated in the Yuan Dynasty. According to Fan Yuchun's book "Cultural Roots", Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, led his army to go south on an expedition. Once, when the people were tired, the horses were exhausted, and they were hungry, he ordered a fire to be used for meals. Unexpectedly, before the cooks slaughtered the sheep, the enemy As they were approaching, the cooks, in an emergency, grabbed some of the mutton that had been sliced ??into thin slices, scalded it in boiling water, mixed some seasonings, and brought it to the tent for the general to satisfy his hunger. Kublai Khan devoured the food. After eating a few bowls, he mounted his horse and led his army to fight, and the result was a victory. After the victory, Kublai Khan ordered the entire army to be rewarded and asked the cooks to cook the delicious mutton they had eaten before the battle. This time the chefs selected the large three-fork and upper brain tender meat of high-quality sheep legs, cut them into evenly thin slices, and then Served with a variety of condiments, it was tender and delicious after being rinsed. The generals were full of praises, and Kublai Khan was even more happy. The chef hurriedly stepped forward and said: There is no name for this dish yet, please give me a name by the handsome man. Kublai Khan replied with a smile while rinsing the mutton slices: "I think it's called mutton rinsing. What do you generals think?" "From then on, mutton-shabu-shabu became a palace delicacy. It was not until the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty that mutton-shabu-shabu gradually became popular among the people (7).

Nowadays, when Chongqing hot pot, Beijing hot pot, etc. are all over the streets and alleys, especially the reputation Heqi's "Beijing Donglaishun Shabu-Shabu Hot Pot" and "Inner Mongolia Little Sheep Hot Pot" are booming; when hot-pot mutton became a famous Chinese dish, it went abroad and entered the homes of countless ordinary people, but few people knew about this profound fact. The dishes that are popular among people actually have such a profound connection with the Mongolian people.

2. Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt have become an indispensable part of the daily life of the Han people. Dairy products are an indispensable food in the daily life of nomadic people. However, in the Central Plains, where cereals and vegetables are the main food, dairy products were not available at first. When dairy products were first introduced to the Central Plains, they were only regarded as very precious foods by the upper class. In the Western Jin Dynasty, there was a minister who was frail and sick, and Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty specially "gifted cheese to the officials every day" (8). It can be seen that in the Western Jin Dynasty, cheese was still a very cherished food in the northern Han society. Later, with the large number of northern peoples migrating southward, dairy products gradually became popular in the south. It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that, with the large number of Mongolians migrating southward, dairy products such as yogurt, cream, cheese, milk skin, and milk tofu gradually became popular. It has become an important food in people's daily life and has officially begun to play an important role.

Today, as the "dairy capital" of China, Hohhot, the provincial capital of Inner Mongolia, has two giants in the Chinese dairy industry, "Mengniu Dairy" and "Mengniu Dairy". In addition to "Yili Dairy", there are also many dairy companies such as "Grassland Love" and "Nailun Dairy". Inner Mongolia's dairy products are not only famous all over the world, but also occupy most of the domestic dairy market. In the 27th session that just concluded At the IDF World Dairy Conference, Mr. Jim Begg, Chairman of the International Dairy Federation, pointed out that 50% of the growth of the global dairy industry in 2005 came from China. “In the growth of China’s dairy industry, more than 50% of the contribution came from enterprises such as Mengniu.” Inner Mongolia Dairy" (9). If you walk into any supermarket, Inner Mongolia's "Mengniu" or "Yili" yogurt and liquid milk will have a place, and their milk powder, cheese, milk tea powder and other dairy products also have a large number of customers.

With "Yili" becoming the designated product of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, "Mengniu" successfully sponsoring Hunan TV's "Super Girl" and in December 2006, it cooperated with the world's largest yogurt product group "French Danone", Mongolian dairy products in Inner Mongolia It plays an increasingly important role in both international and domestic societies. Drinking a certain amount of yogurt or milk every day has long become a necessary part of the daily life of most Han people. Mongolian dairy products are playing an even more powerful role in Han folk customs. play a more important role.

(2) Pipa has been played in Hu language for thousands of years - the influence of Mongolian language on Chinese

In addition to the gradual influence of Mongolian diet on Han folk customs, the use of language and characters also reflects similar Condition. Especially during the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian people established a centralized power to rule the country, and the Mongolian language had a profound impact on the Chinese language. During the Yuan Dynasty, "Kublai Khan ordered Phaspa to create a "New Mongolian character" imitating the Tibetan alphabet and issue it to the world. All official documents must be written in it, and then appended with local characters (Chinese, Uighur script, etc.). To promote this kind of writing, the imperial court set up Mongolian calligraphy courses in local areas for teaching” (10). A large number of Han people entered the Mongolian calligraphy school to obtain a higher education. Being proficient in Mongolian, taking Mongolian names, and having Mongolian tendencies have become common examples in Han society. Although the Liao, Jin, and Qing dynasties all created their own scripts, no script had such a great impact on the Han areas as the Mongolians. However, the influence of Chinese language on the Mongolian nobles was much weaker than that on other northern minority dynasties. Mongolian was mainly spoken in the court. Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty made preliminary research on this and pointed out that in the Yuan Dynasty, "not only the emperors did not learn Chinese, but also very few ministers learned Chinese" (11).

Under such circumstances, Mongolian has an increasing influence on Chinese. Although it has been about 700 years since the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, there are still many words in Chinese that come from Mongolian. For example:

Station: As a temporary stopover place or transfer institution (12), when understood, it comes from Mongolian. The Yuan Dynasty established the most complete relay system in ancient China. There were specialized agencies in various places to engage in relay missions, called "Zhan Chi". The original Mongolian word was jamci, which means "person who manages relay missions". Later, it was It evolved to specifically refer to the place where the post was transferred, and later derived the meaning of "station" (13).

Hutong: comes from the Mongolian word guolum, which originally means "well". As people walked to collect water, alleys with houses on both sides gradually formed. Later, "hutong" was used as the general name for the northern lanes (14).

Gobi: Derived from the Mongolian word gobi, which means "a place where vegetation is difficult to grow", it refers to deserts and rocky beaches. In later generations, it specifically refers to the desert terrain on the hard soil layer covered with coarse sand and gravel.

Evil: means "broken bones" in ancient Chinese. The meaning of "bad" and "bad" comes from the Mongolian "tai". In modern Chinese, the ancient and original meaning of "evil" has disappeared. Later, the word "evil" in Mongolian became a basic vocabulary in Chinese (15).

In most of the Han areas in Inner Mongolia today, place names translated from Mongolian transliterations are still retained. For example, "Hohhot" means "blue city" in Mongolian; Aershan means "green city" in Mongolian. It means "sacred water"; and the names of Xilin Gol, Horqin, Ujimqin Grassland, Ulanqab, Alxa, Ordos and other names vividly record the influence of Mongolian language on Han culture. It can be seen that the extensive and profound Chinese language and culture still have traces of Mongolian language, and Mongolian language still plays an important role in Chinese language that cannot be ignored.

(3) Melodious songs and dances to promote peace and prosperity - the influence of Mongolian music and dance on Han folk customs

The Yuan Dynasty seems to be the dynasty that attaches most importance to folk arts in China. According to records, the Jiaofang Club in the Yuan Dynasty was very large in scale and was quite prominent in Chinese history. In the court of the Yuan Dynasty, various songs, dances and dramas were often performed by Jiaofangsi. Under the conditions at that time, the Yuan Dynasty Rulers often interacted with artists without scruples (16). On the one hand, this is because most people in the ruling class of the Yuan Dynasty do not have enough Chinese cultural literacy to appreciate elegant poetry. On the other hand, the national character of the Mongolian people makes it difficult for them to be interested in this kind of pure written literature and art. Therefore, Kabuki music is Their special hobby. This is actually a kind of cultural "heterogeneous" invasion, which breaks the unequal relationship between traditional poetry and literature and popular literature and art. This attitude directly led to the "Mongolian sound" in the Yellow River Basin after the Jin and Yuan Dynasties took control of the Central Plains, making Mongolian-style music and dance widely spread.

1. Mongolian wind blows in the Han music scene

“Birds cannot live without their wings, and Mongolians cannot live without singing” (17). As a nation that has been good at singing and dancing since ancient times, Mongolian songs have diverse contents, especially their Mongolian long-tune folk songs, which are rough and bold, with high-pitched and melodious tunes. They are very rich in content, some describe love and marriage, some praise horses, grasslands, mountains, rivers, some praise grassland heroes, etc. These folk songs vividly reflect the customs and customs of Mongolian society, and you often feel like after listening to them. The lingering sound lingers, a feeling that lasts for three days. As the Jin and Yuan Dynasties took over the Central Plains, "Meng Sheng" spread throughout the country. The Yuan people also created a new tune based on northern popular tunes with a strong Hu music color - Beiqu.

Beiqu swept away the vulgarity, elegance, conservatism and quietness of song works since the Han and Tang dynasties. In terms of aesthetic style, it showed the main characteristics of naturalness, simplicity, heartiness and grandeur, thus deeply implanting Mongolian style music. Rooted among the people, it is full of vitality.

In recent years, in the treasure house of national folk art in my country, Mongolian folk songs have shone brightly with their rich content and unique grassland style. They are deeply welcomed and loved by the Han people. Many Han artists Collecting folk songs in the sea of ??grassland songs has further organized, protected and spread Mongolian folk songs. Songs such as "Hymn" in the large-scale music and dance epic "The East Is Red" that was popular in the 1960s, and "Walking to the High Xing'an Mountains" whose artistic charm has not faded to this day are based on Mongolian long-melody folk songs. Created. In many large-scale cultural evening parties and condolence performances, Mongolian songs such as "The Beautiful Night of the Prairie" and "Night of the Prairie" sung by famous musicians such as Li Shuangjiang also left a deep impression on people. The Mongolian unique "a cappella mixed chorus" is loved by many Han musicians and has gradually become a new singing form in Han music culture. On February 15, 2007, Inner Mongolia Grassland Songs entered the Vienna Golden Hall with its unique "a cappella mixed chorus" and melodious long tunes. The popularity of Inner Mongolia Grassland Songs further strengthened in the international music scene.

At the 2007 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, Mongolian songs also shined. "Inner Mongolia Drinking Song" sung by Qi Feng, a famous singer from Inner Mongolia, once again showed the enthusiasm and generosity of the Mongolian people to the people across the country. The adaptation of the Mongolian song "Above the Moon" in the cross talk "I Love Him" ??also reflects the Mongolian people. The popularity of the song. At the 2006 Spring Festival Gala, Ingma, a Mongolian girl, sang "Three Auspicious Treasures" for the national audience with a crisp but ethnically charming child's voice, which made "Three Auspicious Treasures" popular across the country. This has once again sparked a "Mongolian song trend" in China's Chinese music scene. In addition to "Three Auspicious Treasures", Mongolian songs such as "Ulaanbaatar's Dad" and "Above the Moon" sung by "Phoenix Legend" are also sung across the country, while "Paradise", "Mongolians" and "Father's Grassland" "Mother's River", "Beautiful Night in the Grassland", "Carved Saddle", "Blue Mongolian Plateau", "Beautiful Grassland My Home", etc. are also familiar Mongolian songs, plus "Meeting in Obo" and "Meeting in Obo" which have been sung all over the country. With songs such as "Gada Merlin", "White Clouds Floating in the Blue Sky", "The Sun That Rises and Never Sets on the Grassland", Mongolian songs have truly become a prosperous "prairie tribe" in the Chinese music scene.

Nowadays, in many CCTV programs, evening parties or competitions, Han singers have long been familiar with Mongolian songs. Those songs with unique ethnic customs have made many Han singers popular in various fields. They stand out in various performances or competitions, and many Han songs are also loved by people because of their obvious integration of Mongolian customs. In addition, whether it is the "Three Auspicious Treasures" at the Spring Festival Gala, the "Phoenix Legend" group and the "Ergun" band that went nationwide from the "Avenue of Stars" program, or Dede who went nationwide with Mongolian songs A group of grassland singers and singers such as Ma, Tengger, Siqingerile, Mahi, Qi Feng, etc. Their rise has further expanded the influence of Mongolian songs in the Chinese music scene and made the singing and creation of Han songs more popular. They all incorporate relatively more certain elements of Mongolian music.

2. The influence of Mongolian dance on Han dance

Dance is an important way for humans to express their emotions. People first need to use language to express their feelings, "There are not enough words, so the words are long (singing); the long words are not enough, so they sigh; the sighs are not enough, so the hands dance and the feet dance." Due to the early origin of Han writing and the relatively developed use of writing, as well as the long-term influence and influence of farming and settled life and the traditional culture of "emphasis on ethics" in Confucianism, Han people are more accustomed to using language to express their feelings. Therefore, Han people in The expression methods such as music or dance are far less developed than those of ethnic minorities, and their expression methods are far less bold and explicit than those of ethnic minorities in nomadic economic conditions. Therefore, although most ethnic minority areas have now immigrated a large number of Han people, the music and dance culture of the Han people are largely influenced by ethnic minorities. In this regard, with the continuous collision between Mongolian and Yuan culture and Central Plains culture, Mongolian dance has greatly influenced Han dance with its hearty, smooth, free, stretched and heroic characteristics.

Mongolian dance has long been famous, and there are countless dances that have won awards at home and abroad. Famous traditional dances include "Andai Dance", "Cup and Bowl Dance", "Chopstick Dance", etc. Contemporary creative dances include "Eagle", "Saber Dance", "Horse Taming Dance", "Pentium", "Ordos Wedding Dance", etc. Among them, "Bowl Dance" and "Ordos Dance" created by dancer Jia Zuoguang won the International Gold Medal, and "Milkmaid Dance" won the International Bronze Medal (18). Mongolian dance is characterized by distinctive rhythm and enthusiasm. Women's dance has a cheerful rhythm and light steps. It is most famous for its movements such as shaking shoulders and turning bowls, which express the warm and cheerful character of Mongolian girls. The male dance is tall and bold in shape, with free and easy steps. With a wave of the hand, a whip and a leap, it gives people a masculine beauty of bravery, strength and power.

Some of the traditional Mongolian dances are strong and high-pitched, and some are unrestrained and unrestrained, which are in sharp contrast to the soft and languid traditional Han dances. Throughout the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties, the beauty of Han dances is that they are as light as a swallow, they look attentively, and their dance skirts are graceful. This beauty of "dancing to clear the shadows" is really the same as the Mongolian dance of "strong winds and flying clouds". far cry. But on today's TV screens, we can often see lively, magnificent, bold, magnificent, powerful and elegant dances. These dances are the product of the fusion of Han dances and Mongolian and other ethnic minority dances over thousands of years. To a certain extent, it proves the glorious and splendid Mongolian civilization.

In addition to the above aspects, Mongolian culture also affects Han folk customs in many ways. For example, Inner Mongolia cashmere or wool enterprises represented by Ordos cashmere products have promoted the use of cashmere and wool by the Han people. and development; Beef jerky with Mongolian characteristics is generally loved by Han people; Mongolian Yuan drama is the foundation and prototype of today's Han drama, and is a mature drama with complete literary scripts, strict performance forms, and complete and rich content. dramas; Mongolian operas such as "Gada Merlin" and "Dana Bala" enriched the singing forms of Han operas and influenced the creation of later Han operas.

In short, in the process of its long-lasting and extensive influence on Han culture, Mongolian culture continues to inject new vitality into Chinese culture with its vision and courage of "the sky is like a dome, covering the four fields", and has also continued to inject new vitality into Chinese culture. It has gradually become an important internal factor in the development of Han folk culture. Along the line of historical development, we can clearly see that the Mongolian people's entry into the Central Plains and their continuous migration to Han areas have made them have a certain degree of influence in various aspects such as food culture, language culture, music and dance culture, etc. Influenced the formation of today's Han folk customs. It is precisely with the large-scale integration and convergence of Mongolian culture and Han culture that the formation of a diverse and integrated pattern of the entire Chinese nation and Chinese culture has been accelerated. It is precisely in this process of continuous "conformity" of Han folk customs that the Chinese nation has grown stronger, the Han folk custom culture has been continuously enriched, and the Chinese culture has continued to prosper and thrive.