This old rural saying, "Every household does not play the flute, and a house with a cat does not burn peaches" is mainly spread in rural areas in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in my country, and has certain regional characteristics. Nowadays, most rural areas in these areas no longer have these two kinds of values. Only a few remote villages, especially in some mountainous areas, still have this ancient custom. And people who have this kind of value, with the development of society, the times have changed. Changes have become less and less.

In this old saying, the first half and the second half of the sentence are not closely related. They refer to two different local taboo customs. They are a parallel sentence structure. The following is an analysis of the local folk customs contained in the two halves of the sentence, so that readers can better understand this rural saying. The flute is not played in every household

The flute is a bamboo instrument that simulates the sound of the wind. It has a pure pronunciation and a beautiful, mellow, soft, quiet and elegant tone. It has always been loved by people. Why is it taboo for people in rural areas to play the flute at home? This starts with the environment in which the flute was used in rural areas in ancient times.

1. The flute is usually related to funerals

The flute, also known as the hole flute, is a single-tube vertical flute. There were also panpipes in ancient times. Nowadays, apart from imitating antique performances, they are basically not used. On.

The flute was not an instrument made of bamboo at the beginning. It was derived from my country's ancient bone whistle, that is, a whistle made of bones. Later it was developed to be made of bamboo tubes and continuously improved, becoming a used instrument in ancient times. Frequent musical instruments.

According to the conclusions drawn from cultural relics and archaeology, the invention and use of the flute has a history of more than 7,000 years. It was once collectively called the flute in history. That is to say, during a period of ancient times, the flute and There is no obvious distinction in name between flutes, only recorders and transverse flutes. During the Han Dynasty, the flute was called "篴", "vertical bamboo" or "Qiang flute" (a bamboo instrument of the Qiang people who lived in Sichuan, Gansu and other regions in ancient times). During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, whether it was played vertically or horizontally, it was still called a flute. After the Tang Dynasty, there was a difference between the flute and the flute, that is, "the flute is played horizontally and the flute is played vertically." Therefore, the flute specifically refers to the flute played vertically.

Nowadays, most people think that playing the flute means playing music, performing on stage, or entertaining oneself. However, in ancient times, in addition to the two mentioned above, there was also a special saying, which was to play flute, play dirges and beg for food during funerals.

"Historical Records·Zhou Bo Family": "Bo made a living by weaving thin music, and often played the flute for funerals."

The meaning of this sentence is translated into modern Chinese. It is: Before Zhou Bo (general in the early Han Dynasty and prime minister during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty) followed Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, his main source of livelihood in Peixian County was weaving silkworm foil, and he often played flutes and played dirges during funerals. some income.

That is to say, during the Qin and Han Dynasties in ancient my country, when folk funerals were held, there were people who specialized in playing flutes and elegies, just like when funerals are held in rural areas today, folk gongs and drums bands are invited, but there is still a difference. In ancient times, playing dirges on the flute was mainly to accompany the person singing the dirge.

This folk funeral custom is still retained in some rural areas until now. For example, in rural areas of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and other places, it is still popular to sing elegy during funerals, but the name has changed. For example, in western and southwestern Hunan, people call it singing "night songs" or "funeral songs". They usually sing all night long on the first night after the death of an old man. In the central Hunan area of ??Hunan, "elegies" and "funeral songs" are called singing, sometimes at night when the funeral begins, and sometimes during the funeral process. However, this kind of "elegy" is mainly sung a cappella without any instrumental accompaniment. Ethnic minorities such as the Miao and Dong in Guangxi and Guizhou play the reed and dance with them to perform "elegies".

Generally speaking, my country’s traditional musical instruments such as gongs and drums, flutes (flute), and suona are generally integrated into funeral rituals. The modern band (performing team) adds modern elements to the funeral and has become a relatively flexible procedure. Depending on the place, or the family, and the last wishes of the old man when he died, it can be arranged or not. No arrangements are required, but traditional funeral procedures are generally indispensable.

During the funeral, the flute (flute) was played from the mouths of some professionals in the countryside, weeping and complaining, and the sound was sad and miserable, which further enhanced the sad and desolate atmosphere of the funeral. The Tang Dynasty poet Wang Zhihuan's "Liangzhou Ci" contains a poem such as "Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass." It can be seen that the Qiang flute was heard by the ancients as a sound of sorrow. In different places, the use of flutes and flutes in funerals varies. Some use flutes and flutes together, some use flutes alone without flutes, and some use flutes alone without flutes. In the past, in some rural areas, generally speaking, there was no distinction between playing the flute and playing the flute, and they were both considered the same.

In the past, in rural areas, among gongs, drums, flute (flute), suona, conch horn and other musical instruments, gongs, drums, suona and other musical instruments could be used in both happy events and funerals. Only the flute (flute) and conch horn were used The number is only used during funerals. Anything related to funerals is usually taboo. Therefore, in rural areas in the past, Xiao (flute) and conch horn were not allowed to be played in households. If you wanted to play, you could only play outside the yard and stay away from other people's yards. Otherwise, others would mistake it for a funeral at home, or It is said that playing the flute (flute) and conch trumpet "in every household" will bring about mourning in the household. "Living in every household" here refers to living in someone's house, that is, in a residence, both in one's own home and in other people's homes.

Of course, with the changes of the times, the popularity of Xiao (di) in rural areas has led to the emergence of some people's hobbies. Moreover, the development of rural culture has also changed people's current thinking. Therefore, it is no longer taboo in most rural areas, and most of this kind of attention has disappeared. However, many rural areas still do not allow the conch trumpet to be played at home. The explanation is still the same as that in the past when the flute was not allowed to be played at home.

Nowadays, rural tourism has become a kind of tourism choice. When we visit or travel in some villages, we must abide by the rural proverb: "Ask for directions when going out, and ask about the customs when entering the country." We should respect the countryside. Follow local customs to avoid causing unnecessary trouble to yourself.

The second is that it is related to begging in some rural areas.

In the old days, when begging in rural areas, when begging, every time they came to the door of a house, they would send out a begging signal, such as tapping. There are lotus-dropping, bowls and dishes, bamboo clappers, copper coins, etc. There are also musical performances, such as playing the flute, playing the erhu, etc. Nowadays, among rural and urban residents, many families taboo against using chopsticks to knock dishes. This is because in the past, when beggars used to beg for food, they used to bang dishes along the streets and villages, hoping to receive alms from kindhearted people. Blowing the flute is a signal for begging and is also a very ancient way of begging.

There is an idiom in ancient my country "playing the flute and begging for food". This idiom comes from "Historical Records: Biography of Fan Sui and Cai Ze" and is the story of Wu Zixu begging for food in the late Spring and Autumn Period. King Ping of Chu came to the throne and appointed Wu Zixu's father Wu She as the crown prince's grand master, and also appointed his favorite Fei Wuji as the crown prince's young master. Prince Jian respected Wu She very much, but he disliked Fei Wuji. Fei Wuji held a grudge and wanted to frame Prince Jian and Wu She. Through careful planning, Fei Wuji first encouraged King Chu Ping to possess Prince Jian's bride, making himself favored by King Chu Ping, and successfully alienated the relationship between King Chu Ping and Prince Jian. Then Fei Wuji falsely accused Prince Jian and Wu She in front of King Chu Ping, saying that they He colluded with other countries and conspired to launch a rebellion, thereby trapping the death of Prince Jian and Wu She's family.

After Wu Zixu learned of Fei Wuji's conspiracy, he escaped from Chu. After fleeing to Wu, Wu Zixu had no way to make a living, so he made a living by playing the flute and begging in the market. It was not until later that a knowledgeable person was discovered and recommended it to the King of Wu. Later, Wu Zixu assisted King Wu to attack Chu and helped Wu become one of the strongest countries among the nations. Wu Zixu also became a famous historical figure in the Spring and Autumn Period. This is the origin of the idiom "playing the flute and begging for food". In the old days, folk were deeply influenced by this idiom. People easily associated playing the flute with begging, and playing the flute became synonymous with begging.

Because of this, just like how people in rural areas are taboo about using chopsticks to knock the dishes when eating, people are also taboo about someone playing the flute at home, thinking that playing the flute will bring bad luck to the family. , some future generations of the family will become beggars, which is of course something no one wants to happen. Therefore, in the past, in some rural families, no matter who they were, they were not allowed to play the flute at home.

In addition, there are also some rural customs that believe that playing the flute "in every household" will attract ghosts from the wild and some unclean things. This is just a superstition used in the old rural areas to scare people. The real purpose of this argument is to make people dare not play the flute "in every household", so as to comply with the rule of "do not play the flute in every household".

In short, regardless of the taboo of playing the flute "in every household", whether it is people's taboo on funerals, or people's taboo on "begging", it is all a kind of spiritualism in the past, and they are mutually exclusive. There is no connection between them, and of course there is no reason. Today, this traditional saying has basically disappeared in rural areas and has become history, and people no longer pay attention to it.

People with cats should not burn peaches

This sentence means that people with cats cannot burn peach trees at home, including the branches, leaves and peach cores of peach trees. Why do you say that?

Peach trees are fast-growing forests. There is a proverb in rural areas: "Peach three apricots and four pears last five years, and the jujube tree will pay back the money that year." Among the traditional fruit trees in rural my country, the jujube tree is the earliest to bear fruit. , the peach tree is the oldest, that is to say, the peach tree takes a shorter time to grow into a forest than other fruit trees. However, the life span of peach trees is shorter than that of other fruit trees. In the north, due to the dry climate, the life span of peach trees is generally 25 to 35 years. In the south, due to the humid climate, the lifespan of peach trees is generally 12 to 20 years. If peach trees are planted in one place for a long time, their lifespan is shortened to about 10 years, or even shorter.

Peach trees are cut down after they die. According to the custom in some places, such as Hubei and Hunan, the land of ancient Chu, the trunks of peach trees can be used as door bolts, as well as peach wood swords, staffs, etc., which can be used to ward off evil spirits. This custom has existed since ancient times.

For example, in "The Chronicles of the Years of Jingchu", it is said that "making peach boards for household use is called fairy wood." "Peach is the essence of the five elements. It hates evil spirits and can control hundreds of ghosts."

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What we are talking about here is the ancient peach charms, which later evolved into two different folk customs, one is couplets, and the other is door latch. Nowadays, people generally believe that the final result of the evolution of peach charms is the current couplet. In fact, this is only a part of the evolution of peach charms. In the evolution of the custom of peach charms in our country, part of the evolution of peach charms is from hanging peach charms outside the door to making door bolts inside the door. The folk meaning is to "ward off evil".

Except for the usable parts of the peach tree, the rest is usually burned as firewood, which is a good firewood that is easy to catch fire. However, some rural customs believe that if a cat is kept at home, the peach tree would rather rot or be given to others as firewood than burned in one's own home. The saying here is that if the peach tree is burned at home, the cats will escape from the house. There are two views on this.

First, it is said that cats have evil spirits, and burning peach trees is not good for cats.

In rural areas, people think that cats cannot even enter the twelve zodiac signs and are a relatively evil animal. Besides, there is a folk saying that "cats are traitors and dogs are loyal ministers." Traitors are evil people with strong evil spirits. There is also a folk saying that "a pig comes to be poor, a dog comes to be rich, and a cat comes to wear a white cloth on its head". It seems that rural people have a bad impression of cats and regard them as monsters. However, cats are used to catch rats and prevent rats from harming them. The cat you keep at home is still somewhat affectionate. Of course, if you run away from home, you will still be a bit reluctant to leave it. If a peach tree is burned at home, cats will be "evicted" from the house and run away, never to return.

The second is the associative effect caused by the homophony of "peach" and "flee"

In rural areas of my country, people usually regard some homophones and homophones as taboos in folk association. For example, the word "mulberry" in "Don't plant mulberries in front and don't plant willows in the back" is a homophone for "mourning", and "willow" is a homophone for "liu", which is considered unlucky among the people and is therefore taboo.

Similarly, some rural people cannot plant peach trees in front of their houses because "peach" has the same pronunciation as "escape". This was mainly because rural people in the past were afraid that their family's wealth would escape. More importantly, ancient farming societies had to resist natural disasters. Poor ability, fear of floods and droughts, unable to live at home, can only leave home to flee. This is why rural people are afraid of "tao" (escape).

The same goes for people with cats who cannot burn peach trees. Folks believe that if a peach tree is burned as firewood at home, the cats will escape from the house.

In fact, cats raised in rural areas are no better than dogs. As the saying goes, "dogs do not mind the poverty of the family." Dogs can be said to be loyal to their owners, even if they go out with their owners or get separated from them. No matter how far you are from home, you will always come back home. Cats, on the other hand, are not so loyal to a family and like to go out to look for wild food. If they feel that another place is better than their original home, they will stay there and never return home. This is why cats raised in rural areas tend to "escape". It is because cats are not very loyal to their owners that there is a saying among the people that "cats are traitors".

In short, "people who have cats don't burn peaches." If a cat runs away from home, it has nothing to do with whether the peach tree is burned at home, but with the cat's habits. Therefore, there is no truth to this statement. It is just a psychological effect of people.