Tiangou food day is the name of the ancient people in China for the phenomenon of solar eclipse. Due to the limitation of ancient scientific level, this kind of solar eclipse scene is often mistaken for an ominous sign.
Eclipses are natural phenomena that have existed since ancient times, and there are many records in ancient civilizations of the world. Among the ruins of Babylon and Nineveh, there are six ancient solar eclipses recorded on clay vessels and broken stone tablets. The earliest one occurred in 9 1 1 year BC. It was once thought that this was the oldest solar eclipse record in the world.
Andrew in China's Confucian classic Shangshu recorded an eclipse of the moon: in the era of Zhong Kang (about 2 1 century BC), there were two official names, Yihe, who was in charge of the four seasons of heaven and earth. They neglected their duties, not only failed to predict the date of the solar eclipse, but also got drunk when it happened. According to the political code at that time, both of them were executed. This data is recognized by Chinese and foreign astronomers as the earliest solar eclipse record in the world.
Scholars at home and abroad have different opinions on the date of this solar eclipse recorded in Shangshu: the earliest thought is that it should be 265438 BC+05665438 BC +00 years1October 22; The latest is 65438+ 2007 BC1October 25th. Even if it happened in 2007 BC, it was 10 16 years earlier than the oldest solar eclipse recorded abroad.
Legend about annular eclipse: the sun was eaten.
When someone used to educate children, they always said? If you don't listen, the dog will take you away! ? In fact, this stems from the ancient people's perception of solar eclipse. According to the research of history and ancient books, China has observed solar eclipses for more than 4,000 years, and China has the earliest and most complete solar eclipse record in the world. Since the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the ancients recorded the total solar eclipse, annular solar eclipse and partial solar eclipse more than 1000 times. In ancient times, people believed that the process of solar eclipse was caused by the opposition between the evil god such as Tiangou and human beings and the deliberate destruction of the sun on which everything depended.
Wu Zhilun said after consulting the materials that in fact, there are legends about solar eclipse not only in China, but also all over the world, but all these legends have one thing in common, that is, they all think that monsters (China thinks dogs) swallowed the sun or destroyed it.
In Indian mythology, people blamed the sudden disappearance of the sun on a devil named Lahu, who thought it bit the sun and caused the solar eclipse.
Sun worshippers in ancient Egypt believed that there was a kind of python that would eat the sun. Other Egyptian legends believe that the eclipse occurred because a vulture trying to dominate heaven tried to take away the light of the sun god.
Ancient meaning: God punishes others.
In ancient times, due to the lack of scientific knowledge, when the solar eclipse appeared, it was considered as an ominous sign, whether in China or abroad. There is also a famous rule in the Han Dynasty in China, that is, in case of solar eclipse and lunar eclipse, the prime minister of the dynasty should resign, because at that time, these astronomical phenomena were regarded as the punishment of the imperial court. Xian, a professor at Chongqing Normal University, said that in a broad sense, the appearance of solar eclipse was usually regarded by the ancients as the king's indiscretion and political chaos, and it was a way to punish crimes and warn mankind.
In the face of an eclipse, ordinary people will also take action, that is, save the day, so-called saving the day. In ancient China, there were many ceremonies to save Japan, such as praying for blessings, beating drums and setting off firecrackers.
Abroad, every time Mexican Indians see a solar eclipse, women scream hysterically, because they think it is a signal that the devil is coming to the world to eat people. During the solar eclipse, Ojbu Wa Indians in the United States will shoot burning arrows into the sky in an attempt to rekindle the sun.