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The New Year is approaching

In order to welcome the Spring Festival

Every household has begun to make preparations

Purchasing New Year’s goods, cleaning the house…

Of course, it is indispensable to post blessing characters and Spring Festival couplets

But did you know?

There is a lot of particularity in pasting the word \”福\” and Spring Festival couplets

Should the word \”福\” be pasted upright or upside down?

Is the Spring Couplet the first couplet on the left

or the first couplet on the right?

Come and have a good time together↓

Don’t post the wrong thing again!

Where does the word \”福\” come from?

\”Thousands of households exchange old talismans for new peaches every day

\”

The \”peach talisman\” mentioned in this poem

It is the predecessor of the word \”Fu\”, Spring Festival couplets, etc.

What is \”Peach Talisman\”?

This can be traced back to \”The Classic of Mountains and Seas\”

Once upon a time there was a mountain There is a big peach tree on the mountain

The northeast branch of the tree is the gate of ghosts

The Yellow Emperor created the custom of exorcising ghosts based on this

——Established the \”Big Peach Man\”——

The custom of placing peach figures at the door

At least in the Han Dynasty Formed

But due to the cumbersome production of peach figures

After the Han Dynasty, it was gradually simplified into \”peach charms\”

That is, writing words or drawing gods on peach boards

Hung on the left and right sides of the door

Used to ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings

During the Tang and Song Dynasties

People began to use red paper to make peach charms

In the \”Meng Liang Lu\” of the Song Dynasty

there are \”drawing peach charms\” and \”welcoming spring cards\” \”\’s record

More records in \”Yutang Miscellanies\” of the Song Dynasty

The text content of \”Spring Card\”

That is, \”Fu Lu Shou\”, \”One Wealth and Two Happiness\” and other words

I wonder if you have thought about it

The expression There are many words with happy, auspicious and beautiful meanings

Why did you choose to paste the word \”福\”?

The cultural connotation of the word \”福\”

\”福\” in oracle bone inscriptions is a reflection of human sacrificial activities. In \”The Rites of Zhou\”, there is a description of \”all those who are blessed by sacrifices\”.

With the evolution of the times, \”福\” has evolved into the meaning of \”happiness\”. There is a saying in \”Book of Rites\” that \”lucky people are prepared\”, which means \”lucky\” means everything goes well. Han Feizi believed that \”a long life of wealth and honor is called blessing.\” The \”five blessings\” we often call are also recorded in \”Shangshu\”: health and longevity, successful career, affluent life, prosperity, social stability… They are all included in the \”Five Blessings\”.

Then the question arises

How should the word \”福\” be posted?

Many people post the word \”福\”

They post the word \”福\” upside down

It means \”福 (arrived)\”

Actually not!

The door of your home must have the word \”Fu\” on it.

The word \”福\” on the gate means to welcome blessings and receive blessings

And the gate is a solemn and respectful place

Pay attention to symmetry and squareness

If the word \”福\” is pasted upside down on the door

It indicates that \”blessing arrives at the door but does not enter the home\”

And on cabinets, trash cans, and water tanks in the house

you can paste the word \”blessing\” upside down

This is to avoid pouring water and taking out garbage

The blessings in it are gone backwards

After talking about the word \”blessing\”, let\’s look at the Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets have a history of thousands of years in China

We mentioned above After the Han Dynasty

Write the name of the door god on the peach board

Hang it on the left and right sides of the door

This kind of peach charm is the earliest prototype of Spring Festival couplets

In the true sense

When was the first Spring Festival couplets born in history?

During the Five Dynasties period, during the Spring Festival one year, Emperor Meng Chang of the Later Shu Dynasty asked a bachelor to write some poems and write them on peach charms. But he was not satisfied with the bachelor\’s creation, so he wrote what is generally regarded as the earliest known Spring Festival couplets in Chinese history: \”New Year\’s greetings, and festivals called Changchun.\”

Originally there was nothing new, but this Spring Festival couplet became famous because it quickly became a prophecy and made a \”divine prophecy\”!

How to correctly post Spring Festival couplets?

The correct method of pasting Spring Festival couplets

It depends on the writing of the horizontal scroll. If the horizontal scroll is written from right to left, the top couplet should be pasted on the right, otherwise the top couplet should be pasted on the left. After judging the upper and lower couplets by level and obliqueness, paste the upper couplet on the horizontal side.

For example: if the horizontal scroll is \”Good weather\” (from left), the first couplet should be posted on the left;

Not only do you pay attention to pasting Spring Festival couplets

You also pay attention to the red paper on which Spring Festival couplets are written!

Spring couplets on red paper

Red symbolizes good luck in China. Spring couplets have become one of the most popular folk customs. There is a very important condition, which is that they must be written on red paper.

Dongli Village, Xiazhuang, Gaomi City, Shandong Province, produces 5,000 tons of red paper Spring Festival couplets every year. The production of traditional \”high-density red paper\” requires the use of high-quality white paper and then blending pigments with minerals. Exquisite technique is the key to ensuring uniform coloring.

Welcome Fuhu

All the best

Produced by Wuhan Radio and Television Station

Source: Wuhan Radio and Television Station