Shanxi Province is located in the east wing of the Loess Plateau in the west of North China. Geographical coordinates are 34 34' ~ 40 43' north latitude and110/4' ~114 33' east longitude. It is about 290 kilometers wide from east to west and 550 kilometers long from north to south. The total area of the province is156,300 square kilometers, accounting for 1.6% of the total area of the country. Shanxi lies inland on the east coast of the mainland. The outer edge is surrounded by mountains. Therefore, it is difficult to be influenced by the sea breeze and form a relatively strong continental climate. At the same time, due to the attack of cold air mass in Inner Mongolia in winter, the north is relatively cold, forming the climate characteristics of Shanxi; Winter is long, cold and dry; Summer is short, hot and rainy; In spring, the daily temperature difference is large and there are many sandstorms; Autumn is short and the climate is mild. It belongs to temperate continental monsoon climate, with an average annual temperature of 3 ~ 14℃, with a large temperature difference between day and night and between north and south. The average temperature in the western Yellow River Basin, Taiyuan Basin and most parts of southeastern Shanxi is between 8 ~ 10℃. The average annual temperature in Linfen and Yuncheng basins is 65438 02 ~ 65438 04℃. The temperature in the whole province is below 0℃ in winter and generally higher in summer, and the temperature in July is between 2 1 ~ 26℃. The frost-free period in Shanxi is long in the south and short in the north, and the Pingchuan mountain area is short. Datong basin is 1 10 ~ 140 days, Wutai mountain is only 85 days, northern and eastern mountainous areas of Xinzhou basin are 135 ~ 155 days, Linfen and Yuncheng basins are 200 ~ 220 days. The annual precipitation in the province is 400 ~ 650 mm, but the seasonal distribution is uneven. The precipitation from June to August in summer is highly concentrated and rainy, accounting for more than 60% of the whole year. The precipitation in the whole province is greatly influenced by topography, with many mountains and few basins. There are three rainy areas in Shanxi, one is Taihang Mountain and Zhongtiao Mountain in the southeast of Shanxi, the other is Wutai Mountain, and the third is Luliang Mountain.

History and culture

Shanxi is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. 654.38 million+years ago, human beings thrived on this land. Xihoudu and Ding Cun cultural sites show that human beings lived and multiplied here as early as the Paleolithic. During the Zhou Dynasty, Shanxi was the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Later, his son Xie's father changed his surname to Jin because Tang was close to Jinjiang. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Shanxi was one of the five tyrants. In 403 BC, Han Kang and Wei were divided into Jin, and the three kingdoms of Korea, Zhao and Wei, which were separated from Jin, were called the Seven Heroes of the Warring States with Qin, Chu, Qi and Yan. After Qin Shihuang unified China, there were five counties in Shaanxi: Taiyuan, Shangdang, Hedong, Yanmen and Dai Jun. By the Sui Dynasty, Taiyuan was the third largest city in the Yellow River valley, next only to Chang 'an and Luoyang. At the end of Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan and his son set out for Taiyuan. After establishing Chang 'an as their capital, they respected Taiyuan as the "northern capital", which means "other capital". Therefore, Gu Zuyu, a Qing man, pointed out in the Minutes of Reading Historical Records that the trend of the world must be taken from Shaanxi. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Shanxi's economy and culture were in a leading position in northern China. In the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi Province set up a secretariat in Taiyuan, and later changed to a company, which was in charge of five states and three states in Shanxi. In the Qing dynasty, it began to be called Shanxi. Shanxi has a long history and rich cultural heritage. Up to now, it has a written history of 3,000 years, and is known as "China Museum of Ancient Culture" and "Cradle of Chinese Civilization". Legends such as "Jing Wei fills the sea", "Goddess fills the sky" and "Yu chisels Meng Men" all happened in Shanxi. Three ancient emperors of China, Yao, Shun and Yu, all established their capitals in the south of Shanxi, namely Pingyang (now Linfen), Puban (now yongji city) and Anyi (this summer county). During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, Jin Wengong was one of the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Datong (then called Pingcheng) was once the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and later as the capital of the Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, it was called "the three generations of Jinghua" in history. Taiyuan, the provincial capital, is known as the "Long Mai" and has always been a battleground for military strategists. Shanxi immigrated more than a dozen times. The pagoda tree in Hongtong County was a major immigration station at that time. This is where the phrase "Ask where my ancestors are, Sophora japonica in Hongdong, Shanxi" circulated in many parts of the country comes from. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the rise of Shanxi merchants and Shanxi merchants banks, which paid attention to honesty and integrity, was famous at home and abroad. The Yellow River flows through Shanxi, giving birth to countless heroes and people with lofty ideals. In various historical periods of China, many politicians, strategists, scientists, writers and historians emerged in Shanxi. The most famous are Jin Wengong Zhong Er, one of the overlords in the Spring and Autumn Period, the only female emperor in China, Wu Zetian, an outstanding politician in the Tang Dynasty, Xue, a general in white robes, a "warrior saint" in China, famous figures in the Tang Dynasty, Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Di and Pei Du, famous Han Dynasty figures Wei Qing and Huo Qubing who fought against Xiongnu, Pei Xiu, a cartographer in the Western Jin Dynasty who founded the "Cartography Six Bodies", and one of the four famous works in ancient China. There are famous poets Bai Juyi, Wang Bo, Wang Zhihuan, Wang Wei and Wang Changling in the Tang Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan, a famous writer, philosopher and political reformer in the Tang Dynasty, Sima Guang, a famous politician in the Song Dynasty, and Yuan Haowen, a poet. There are three famous dramatists Guan Hanqing, Bai Pu and Zheng Guangzu among the four masters of Yuan Qu, and Fu Shan, a thinker, writer, physician and painter in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, is Jiajing. Shanxi has outstanding people and outstanding talents.

folk custom

Marriage: The marriage of Shuozhou people, like other places, is generally the words of a matchmaker and the fate of parents. Although times have changed and customs have changed, on the whole, they still follow old habits, especially in rural areas, and important etiquette procedures have not changed so far. Generally, there are four steps: blind date, engagement, marriage and returning to China. Blind date: the matchmaker proposes marriage for both men and women, and introduces the situation of both parties, such as age, zodiac, date of birth, personality, appearance, family economic situation, parents, etc. The two families weighed the conditions, called everyone to discuss, and if they planned to get married, the man took the matchmaker to visit the woman's house. The two sides agreed to make an appointment, and then invited the woman to the man's house to sit up and take notice. The one you like will stay at the man's house for dinner, and the marriage will be negotiated silently. Leave if you don't like it. Engagement: The bride price and dowry are decided by the matchmakers of both men and women many times. The woman exchanged her children's birthdays and set a wedding date. The man gave her a "box" and part of the bride price, and held a banquet to celebrate. The next day, the woman hosted a banquet for the man. After that, they got a marriage certificate one day, and some of them traveled abroad. After marriage, men and women give each other some clothes, which is called changing summer or winter. Marriage: One month before the wedding, a betrothal gift, commonly known as "tea", should be given. The man asked the matchmaker to send the clothes (underwear) and "water ceremony" (rice, noodles and meat) worn by the "bride" to the woman's home and told her the wedding date. After that, the close relatives of both men and women invite the future bride and groom home for dinner, which is called "having a happy meal". The day before the wedding, relatives and friends all come, commonly known as "treat guests", and some invite "drummers" to entertain them, so it is also called "playing drums". In the evening, men and women eat "turning cakes" at home. On the wedding day, men and women fry oil cakes early in the morning, which is called "eating wedding cakes". After breakfast, the man plays drum music and lifts the sedan chair (some use carriages or mules to lift the sedan chair, but now they basically use cars) to marry the woman. Generally speaking, the man's uncle and nephew gets married. The groom will bring the bride a red ribbon called "tie the knot"; Take a bottle and put an onion in it, which is called "after taking root"; A piece of pork or mutton with five tendons is called "keeping the mother's meat" and "celebrating the five parties". When the wedding comes back, the man should bring back two of the ribs to show the harmony between husband and wife after marriage. This is called "inseparable bones and muscles". The woman provides tea, candy, cakes, etc. to entertain the guests attending the wedding. The bride puts on the clothes brought by the man (usually red cotton-padded clothes and trousers), and after saying goodbye to her parents, her sister gets into the sedan chair (car). Some companions send new ones, open the boxes, and those who accompany "Tang He" (also known as reunion dinner) enter the man's house at a pre-selected time. After arriving at the husband's house, the bride, led by her relatives, walked into the new house on the red carpet to "cook tea" and eat "in-house meals" for the "lotus pond". At noon, the bride and groom worship heaven and earth, and the banquet begins immediately after the ceremony, which is called "sitting at the table". During the dinner, the bride and groom should toast, salute and recognize the guests. In the evening, the bride and groom's brother-in-law officiate at the wedding ceremony, commonly known as "pouring the pot", and let the bride and groom say tongue twisters, solve riddles on the lanterns and tell jokes and make fun of each other. After that, the couple ate the opposite meal until late at night. The next morning, the bride and groom bowed to their relatives and friends and said "worship" (in some places, it was held after worshipping heaven and earth), and the worshiped party presented gifts to congratulate them. Funeral: The funeral etiquette procedure in ancient Shuozhou is extremely complicated, which can be generally divided into small episodes, large episodes, burning paper, sending lanterns, parting spirits, mourning and recovery. In 2006, "The First China Liulin Mengmen Festival on the Loess Plateau of the Yellow River" was held in Mengmen Town, Liulin County. Together with hundreds of folklore experts and scholars, the Declaration on Protecting the Traditional Folk Culture in China was unanimously adopted.