There are many overseas Chinese in Jinjiang in history. They all have the desire of "seeking roots", that is, they want to die in their hometown and bury their bones. But in fact, overseas Chinese who died in other places also appeared from time to time. After all, there are not many people who can transport coffins back to their hometown, and most of them are buried abroad. In order to let relatives return to their hometown, family members often ask Taoist priests to do a "Taoist method" at an appropriate time, put a paper boat (now there are also paper cars and planes) on the beach, play chanting and cry, and introduce the souls of the deceased into the ancestral temple, commonly known as "water diversion souls". Although this is a superstition and should not be advocated, it is a true expression of the deep sorrow of the living for their loved ones who died in a foreign country.
Step 2 talk about argot and jargon
In the past, there were some jargon and slang among the people. Some jargon is related to superstitious ideas and old customs in the old society, and some jargon is a secret language known to outsiders.
In the jargon related to superstitious customs, navigators and fishermen were the first to be promoted. Today, fishermen, sailors and even their families in coastal areas such as Shenzhen, Nansha Gang and Weitou still use them, which can also be called superstitious idioms. Try to describe it briefly: when eating fish, when you have to turn it over, don't say "turn" but "turn". As for fish bones, fish bones are not used. It is said that fish is cold.
When someone visits a ship, he says "go ahead" instead of "go slow" (because the boatman is afraid that the ship will go slow), and "go ahead" means driving with the wind.
Fishermen or crew members don't say "death". Some people say "old", "past life" or "past life" when they die, including animals and big fish.
If there are dead people at sea, they are called "guests", "leaders" or "good brothers". Knocking things over on the boat is called "beating" and knocking things down is called "obstructing" In short, avoid saying unlucky words such as death, slowness, falling and turning.
Business terms, mainly numbers. People in the industry sometimes discuss the price and use jargon to keep it from outsiders. For example, sky, sky, water, mouth and water represent the numbers one, two, three, four and five, and so on.
Shoulder-shouldered vendors and some coolies also have jargon, such as two "clips", three "chuanzai", four "kouzai", five "heap ponds", seven "melons" and eight "plums". , mainly used to talk about or discuss wages so as not to let outsiders know.
In addition to the jargon mentioned above, there were some "slang" in Jinjiang in the old days. For example, "playing crooked" is a special code word for opera personnel. Begging for food is the special jargon of beggars. When saying these argots, they are commonly known as "breaking the cliche" and "beating the cliche".
At that time, two kinds of "strange words" were popular in society. One is to use language to reverse it, such as "wine" is "Serina Liu", and the reverse is "Serina Liu Liu Zhen wine". For example, "suffering" is "Luken", and the other way around is "Luken Luken". The argot of this kind of reverse statement is all dialects, so it is impossible to write it in words. So although the author knew how to use this language at that time, it was difficult to write it.
It is estimated that this parody is due to the popularity of Yin Hui's humorous words, from which some intellectuals were inspired to create this kind of argot.
This code word seems difficult, but once you get the hang of it, you can use it skillfully, so it was very popular at that time.
There is also a kind of argot, which uses a suffix statement with similar phonology, such as "going" as "thinking"; Come on, say "come to the west", and so on, it will be easier. There is also a kind of argot with continuous suffix, that is, two similar sounds are added after a word, such as "poor" as "poor and cool province" and "big" as "vulgar". This code word is very complicated to say and can only be used occasionally.
Step 3 marry a rooster
The so-called "marrying a chicken" means that overseas Chinese can't go home for a wedding according to the engagement date, so they have to borrow a rooster as the groom and light candles in their bridal chamber. The procedure is to tie the rooster under the bed, and then the groom will lead the bride into the bride's room and say a few auspicious words, which is considered marriage. This is a special ceremony in the form of wedding in Jinjiang hometown of overseas Chinese, and it is also a custom. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the custom of advocating marriage has disappeared. At present, in addition to the general form, the wedding ceremony also adopts foreign methods, that is, holding a trip to get married and going to other places, Hong Kong, Macao and even overseas for honeymoon. This is an impact on the old wedding and an innovation.
4. The history of ancient dragon dancing.
Dashi, the hometown of overseas Chinese in Jinjiang, has a large-scale dragon-making program every time it meets the gods, the Lantern Festival or other grand celebrations.
Dragon dance, commonly known as "dragon dance", is just a name corresponding to "lion". The "Lion Team" and "Dragon Team" often participate in celebrations or parades to welcome the gods. The former gives priority to performing martial arts, which makes people feel mighty and powerful, while the latter is a comprehensive entertainment combining dance and boxing, which is both rigid and flexible and graceful and deeply loved by the masses.
In the past, major towns and villages in Jinjiang, such as Anhai, Shishi, Yongning, Shenhu, Yakou, Jinjing, and even populous natural villages, set up dragon teams to adapt to the Lantern Festival and festivals around the world. For example, before liberation, Guanyin from Longshan Temple in Anhai went to Putuo Mountain in Nanhai, Zhejiang Province to worship his ancestors. There were several dragon teams and lions. As for going to Shishi Town, Liu Xingfu in Baisha Zhenjiang Palace, and Zhenhai Palace, a famous temple in Jinjing Nansha Gang, to worship the ancestors, there must be dragons and lions to meet the gods in its vast team.
There are many forms of dragon dancing. The general "Bulong" is a mighty and magnificent faucet tied with a lead wire. Longkou can be opened and closed, and it also has a blood-red tongue. Round "big longan" and majestic dragon horn, put on wooden handles, so that dancers can hold hands and dance. The dragon body is tied into a hollow cylinder with a lead wire, and a wooden handle is tied in the middle for carrying. There are more than a dozen knots on the dragon's body, and finally there is a dragon's tail stuck high, wrapped in thick cloth painted with dragon forest. This is the common "Bulong". If candles can be lit in the dragon's body, then people who dance at night are called "fire dragons". Now, batteries have been used to light small electric beads, and two "longan" also use high-brightness electric beads, which makes this "dragon" very modern and more attractive.
In addition to the above-mentioned "Bulong" and "Fire Dragon", there are butterfly-shaped dragons tied together to form a special "Louvre Dragon". The other is that the whole dragon body is full of lit incense, dancing at night, like a fire dragon rolling, emitting bursts of fragrance. This is a very unique "Xianglong". This dragon craft is more complicated, so it is used less.
In addition, there are relatively crude and improvised dragons to meet the temporary needs. There are more than a dozen wooden stools of the same specification, one is a "wooden dragon" pieced together with a faucet and a dragon tail, and the other is a "grass dragon" temporarily tied with straw.
The word "Nong" appeared in the Tang Dynasty and was widely used in traditional Chinese operas, such as Song of Eternal Sorrow and Miao Zenong. Jinjiang has been called "making dragons" rather than "dancing dragons" since ancient times. This custom began in the Tang Dynasty and came to Jinjiang with immigrants from the Central Plains, and has been passed down to this day.